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Park Queue TimesPQT

Busch Gardens Tampa
vs
Busch Gardens Williamsburg

On a typical day Busch Gardens Tampa queues less: about 11 minutes a ride against 17 at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, a difference of roughly 6 minutes on every queue you join.

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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.

Busch Gardens Tampa and Busch Gardens Williamsburg compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyBusch Gardens TampaUnited StatesBusch Gardens WilliamsburgUnited States
Average wait per ride 11 min (best of the two)17 min
Rides with recorded waits 11 (best of the two)9
Longest typical queue Congo River Rapids18 minLe Scoot80 min
Shortest typical queue Air Grover5 minDarKoaster®5 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running73%86% (best of the two)

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.

Busch Gardens Tampa and Busch Gardens Williamsburg compared on live queue times
Right nowBusch Gardens TampaUnited StatesBusch Gardens WilliamsburgUnited 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 11 minutes a ride against 17 at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, a difference of roughly 6 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 Busch Gardens Tampa if…

  • You want shorter queues: Busch Gardens Tampa averages 11 minutes a ride against 17 at Busch Gardens Williamsburg
  • You want more to do: 11 rides here have recorded wait data against 9 at Busch Gardens Williamsburg
  • Congo River Rapids is on your list - it is Busch Gardens Tampa's longest typical queue at about 18 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Busch Gardens Tampa's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Busch Gardens Williamsburg if…

  • You will accept a longer queue - 17 minutes a ride here against 11 at Busch Gardens Tampa - for what Busch Gardens Williamsburg has that Busch Gardens Tampa does not
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Busch Gardens Williamsburg's rides run 86% of opening hours against 73% at Busch Gardens Tampa
  • Le Scoot is on your list - it is Busch Gardens Williamsburg's longest typical queue at about 80 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Busch Gardens Williamsburg's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

04 · The parks

What each one is.

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

Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Busch Gardens Williamsburg is consistently rated one of the most beautiful theme parks in the world, winning "Most Beautiful Park" industry awards year after year. Set across European-themed villages in Virginia, it runs a top-tier coaster line-up: Alpengeist, Apollo's Chariot, Griffon (a dive coaster), Verbolten, InvadR, and the newer Pantheon - one of the world's fastest multi-launch coasters.

Virginia school holidays, the Howl-O-Scream Halloween event and the famous Christmas Town event drive Busch Gardens Williamsburg's biggest crowds. Weekdays in May, September and early October are dramatically quieter. Check live wait times for Pantheon and Alpengeist first thing on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a lower-crowd date - the park's wooded setting keeps temperatures pleasant.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg live queue times

05 · Questions

Busch Gardens Tampa or Busch Gardens Williamsburg?

Which is better, Busch Gardens Tampa or Busch Gardens Williamsburg?

If you are judging on queues, Busch Gardens Tampa: it averages about 11 minutes a ride on a typical day against 17 at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, roughly 6 minutes back on every queue you join. Busch Gardens Tampa has 11 rides with recorded waits against 9 at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Busch Gardens Williamsburg also runs its rides more reliably - 86% of opening hours against 73%.

Which has shorter queues, Busch Gardens Tampa or Busch Gardens Williamsburg?

Busch Gardens Tampa, by about 6 minutes a ride. On a typical day Busch Gardens Tampa averages 11 minutes against 17 at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Queues still move hour by hour, and a midweek day outside school holidays beats the gap at either park. See Busch Gardens Tampa best time to visit and Busch Gardens Williamsburg best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Busch Gardens Tampa and Busch Gardens Williamsburg 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 Busch Gardens Tampa and Busch Gardens Williamsburg for the full ride lists.

Is Busch Gardens Tampa bigger than Busch Gardens Williamsburg?

By rides we track waits for, Busch Gardens Tampa is the bigger day out: 11 rides against 9. 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.

Busch Gardens Tampa calendarBusch Gardens Williamsburg calendarCompare other parks