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Park Queue TimesPQT

Busch Gardens Tampa
vs
Epcot

On a typical day Busch Gardens Tampa queues less: about 11 minutes a ride against 29 at Epcot, a difference of roughly 18 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 Epcot compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyBusch Gardens TampaUnited StatesEpcotUnited States
Average wait per ride 11 min (best of the two)29 min
Rides with recorded waits 1111
Longest typical queue Congo River Rapids18 minGuardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind71 min
Shortest typical queue Air Grover5 minGran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros7 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running73%92% (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 Epcot compared on live queue times
Right nowBusch Gardens TampaUnited StatesEpcotUnited 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 29 at Epcot, a difference of roughly 18 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 29 at Epcot
  • 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 Epcot if…

  • You will accept a longer queue - 29 minutes a ride here against 11 at Busch Gardens Tampa - for what Epcot has that Busch Gardens Tampa does not
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Epcot's rides run 92% of opening hours against 73% at Busch Gardens Tampa
  • Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is on your list - it is Epcot's longest typical queue at about 71 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Epcot'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

Epcot

EPCOT sits at the centre of Walt Disney World, split between Future World (with Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Test Track, Spaceship Earth, Soarin', and Frozen Ever After) and the World Showcase - eleven pavilions themed around countries including Japan, Germany, France, and the UK. Flower & Garden, Food & Wine and Festival of the Holidays events run through much of the year.

EPCOT's biggest crowd drivers are its festivals rather than just ride popularity. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind consistently posts the longest wait times in the park. Check live queue times on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a lower-crowd date outside the peak festival weekends - the World Showcase pavilions can take a full afternoon to properly explore.

Epcot live queue times

05 · Questions

Busch Gardens Tampa or Epcot?

Which is better, Busch Gardens Tampa or Epcot?

If you are judging on queues, Busch Gardens Tampa: it averages about 11 minutes a ride on a typical day against 29 at Epcot, roughly 18 minutes back on every queue you join. Busch Gardens Tampa has 11 rides with recorded waits against 11 at Epcot. Epcot also runs its rides more reliably - 92% of opening hours against 73%.

Which has shorter queues, Busch Gardens Tampa or Epcot?

Busch Gardens Tampa, by about 18 minutes a ride. On a typical day Busch Gardens Tampa averages 11 minutes against 29 at Epcot. 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 Epcot best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

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

Is Busch Gardens Tampa bigger than Epcot?

They track the same number of rides here - 11 each. Acreage matters less than how many of those you can actually get on in a day, which comes down to queues and opening hours, and there Busch Gardens Tampa is ahead.

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 calendarEpcot calendarCompare other parks