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A Busch Gardens Day Out With Toddlers
Hi there! My name is Christina and I am the mom behind the blog, Life With Les Deux. I am a local mommy from Tampa and love to chronicle the not so boring life with my one and two year old.
Today I am here to share some insight on taking toddlers to Busch Gardens for a fun and educational day out! I am a Tampa native so Busch Gardens has always been an oversized playground right in my backyard. I couldn’t be happier to now have the opportunity to show my children this gem and watch them enjoy it as much as I did and still do. We are annual pass holders at the theme park and love to take advantage of all of the perks Busch Gardens has to offer.
Whenever I mention to someone that I frequent Busch Gardens alone with the children they look at me as if I have four eyes. In reality, it’s quite simple to take the kids there and the activities are endless! One of the great perks that we have as annual pass holders is the free stroller parking. I didn’t realize stroller parking existed until about a year ago and it has been life changing. Simply let the parking attendant know that you are in need of stroller parking and they will direct you where to go.
This Florida heat is not a joke, so it is also important that we get to the park as early as possible. Busch Gardens is great about letting you bring snacks for the kids so I always bring cold water bottles, juices, fruit, and snacks in a thermal lunch tote. Packing things and getting organized the night before helps to make sure we can arrive as early as possible.
One of our favorite areas to play at Busch Gardens is of course the Sesame Street Safari of Fun area! This play area is close to the front of the park so we usually spend most of the morning here. They have rides, splash areas, shows, character meet and greets, and dining with the characters! There are also rides that toddlers can ride alone as well as rides that adults can tag along on.
The splash areas are usually our first stop since we are always trying to beat the heat. There are family friendly changing areas that are also great to utilize! Once we have splashed our little hearts out we usually dry off and head over to watch the A is for Africa show! This show is great! It has all of the characters singing and dancing and also incorporates different educational aspects to learn about animals! After the show they hold meet and greets with the characters, but you can usually find Big Bird or Elmo hanging around in the meet and greet area at different times as well!
We can stay in this area all day, but there are so many other areas to explore at the park! What I love about Busch Gardens is the combination of rides with an entire zoo. The kids love to see all of the animals and it’s a great learning opportunity for them when they can be up close and personal with so many exotic creatures. Busch Gardens also opened a Madagascar Live: Operation Vacation show that is fun, energetic, and in the air conditioning! This is another great stop that the little ones will enjoy. There are also restaurants all around the park and as long as they have seating, they will have highchairs as well!
What I love the most about taking the kids to Busch Gardens is that there are so many things to do and we can’t even do half of them in one day. This leaves a whole new adventure for next time we go. Of course, Elmo is a must when we visit Busch Gardens. Every toddler needs a little Elmo in their lives.
