Animal Kingdom
vs
Busch Gardens Tampa

On a typical day Busch Gardens Tampa queues less: about 22 minutes a ride against 32 at Animal Kingdom, a difference of roughly 10 minutes on every queue you join.

See both right now Compare other parks

01 · On a typical day

What you would normally queue.

Averages across recent weeks, so one broken ride or one wet Tuesday cannot decide it. This is the comparison to plan a trip on; the live figures below are the one to act on today.

Animal Kingdom and Busch Gardens Tampa compared on their typical recorded queue times
Typically	Animal KingdomUnited States	Busch Gardens TampaUnited States
Average wait per ride	32 min	22 min (best of the two)
Rides with recorded waits	6	10 (best of the two)
Longest typical queue	Avatar Flight of Passage58 min	Cheetah Hunt46 min
Shortest typical queue	Wildlife Express Train7 min	Air Grover6 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running	92% (best of the two)	62%

Averaged across every ride at each park with recorded waits. A ride that never opened is left out, so a park is not flattered by counting a shut ride as a queue of zero.

02 · Right now

Both parks, this minute.

Live queue times at both parks. These fill in as soon as the page loads, and keep updating while you are here.

Animal Kingdom and Busch Gardens Tampa compared on live queue times
Right now	Animal KingdomUnited States	Busch Gardens TampaUnited States
Average wait right now	-	-
Rides open	-	-
Opening hours today	-	-
Longest queue	-	-
Shortest queue	-	-

These keep refreshing while this page is open. A closed park posts no waits, so its rows read as dashes rather than zeroes.

Verdict, on a typical day On a typical day Busch Gardens Tampa queues less: about 22 minutes a ride against 32 at Animal Kingdom, a difference of roughly 10 minutes on every queue you join.

03 · Choosing

Which one is your day out.

Every line here is earned by one of the figures above - nothing is a generic sentence with a park name dropped into it.

Pick Animal Kingdom if…

You will accept a longer queue - 32 minutes a ride here against 22 at Busch Gardens Tampa - for what Animal Kingdom has that Busch Gardens Tampa does not
You would rather not find rides shut: Animal Kingdom's rides run 92% of opening hours against 62% at Busch Gardens Tampa
Avatar Flight of Passage is on your list - it is Animal Kingdom's longest typical queue at about 58 minutes, so it is the one to do first
You want Animal Kingdom's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Busch Gardens Tampa if…

You want shorter queues: Busch Gardens Tampa averages 22 minutes a ride against 32 at Animal Kingdom
You want more to do: 10 rides here have recorded wait data against 6 at Animal Kingdom
Cheetah Hunt is on your list - it is Busch Gardens Tampa's longest typical queue at about 46 minutes, so it is the one to do first
You want Busch Gardens Tampa's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

04 · The parks

What each one is.

Animal Kingdom

Disney's Animal Kingdom blends a full theme park with a working zoo. The park sits at Walt Disney World and is the largest of the four by area. Signature attractions include Avatar Flight of Passage, Na'vi River Journey, Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safaris, and the Festival of the Lion King show. Pandora – The World of Avatar regularly posts the longest wait times in the park.

Animal Kingdom is usually less crowded than Magic Kingdom or Hollywood Studios, but Avatar Flight of Passage still routinely exceeds 60-minute queue times. Early mornings are best for the safaris when animals are most active. Check live wait times on arrival and head to Pandora first. Use our crowd calendar to pick a quieter date outside US school holidays for a more relaxed visit.

Animal Kingdom live queue times

Busch Gardens Tampa

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay combines a full theme park with a 300-acre zoo, making it one of the largest combined attractions in the US. The coaster line-up is exceptional: Iron Gwazi (one of the world's top-rated roller coasters), SheiKra (a 200-foot dive coaster), Kumba, Montu (an inverted coaster), Cobra's Curse spinning coaster, and the classic Python. African animal exhibits include rhinos, giraffes and tigers.

Florida summer heat drives queue times into early mornings, while Howl-O-Scream, Christmas Town and US school holidays are the busiest periods. Weekdays in September, October and January stay dramatically calmer. Check live wait times for Iron Gwazi and SheiKra the moment you arrive, and use our crowd calendar to pick a midweek date for marathon coaster days.

Busch Gardens Tampa live queue times

05 · Questions

Animal Kingdom or Busch Gardens Tampa?

Which is better, Animal Kingdom or Busch Gardens Tampa?

If you are judging on queues, Busch Gardens Tampa: it averages about 22 minutes a ride on a typical day against 32 at Animal Kingdom, roughly 10 minutes back on every queue you join. Animal Kingdom has 6 rides with recorded waits against 10 at Busch Gardens Tampa. Animal Kingdom also runs its rides more reliably - 92% of opening hours against 62%.

Which has shorter queues, Animal Kingdom or Busch Gardens Tampa?

Busch Gardens Tampa, by about 10 minutes a ride. On a typical day Busch Gardens Tampa averages 22 minutes against 32 at Animal Kingdom. Queues still move hour by hour, and a midweek day outside school holidays beats the gap at either park. See Animal Kingdom best time to visit and Busch Gardens Tampa best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Animal Kingdom and Busch Gardens Tampa in the same trip?

Yes - both parks are in United States, so a two-park trip is realistic over a long weekend. Split the days so you start at whichever opens earliest and drive to the other in the evening.

How many rides does each park have?

See the tables above for ride counts - or jump to Animal Kingdom and Busch Gardens Tampa for the full ride lists.

Is Animal Kingdom bigger than Busch Gardens Tampa?

By rides we track waits for, Busch Gardens Tampa is the bigger day out: 10 rides against 6. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours - and on those Busch Gardens Tampa is the quicker park.

Then pick
the quiet day.

Both parks have a crowd calendar with six weeks of forecast and the best day left to go.

Animal Kingdom calendar Busch Gardens Tampa calendar Compare other parks