Busch Gardens Tampa
vs
Universal Islands Of Adventure

On a typical day Busch Gardens Tampa queues less: about 22 minutes a ride against 24 at Universal Islands Of Adventure, a difference of roughly 2 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.

Busch Gardens Tampa and Universal Islands Of Adventure compared on their typical recorded queue times
Typically	Busch Gardens TampaUnited States	Universal Islands Of AdventureUnited States
Average wait per ride	22 min (best of the two)	24 min
Rides with recorded waits	11	18 (best of the two)
Longest typical queue	Cheetah Hunt47 min	Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure™67 min
Shortest typical queue	Air Grover6 min	Storm Force Accelatron®5 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running	61%	88% (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 Universal Islands Of Adventure compared on live queue times
Right now	Busch Gardens TampaUnited States	Universal Islands Of AdventureUnited 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 24 at Universal Islands Of Adventure, a difference of roughly 2 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 22 minutes a ride against 24 at Universal Islands Of Adventure
Cheetah Hunt is on your list - it is Busch Gardens Tampa's longest typical queue at about 47 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 Universal Islands Of Adventure if…

You will accept a longer queue - 24 minutes a ride here against 22 at Busch Gardens Tampa - for what Universal Islands Of Adventure has that Busch Gardens Tampa does not
You want more to do: 18 rides here have recorded wait data against 11 at Busch Gardens Tampa
You would rather not find rides shut: Universal Islands Of Adventure's rides run 88% of opening hours against 61% at Busch Gardens Tampa
Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure™ is on your list - it is Universal Islands Of Adventure's longest typical queue at about 67 minutes, so it is the one to do first
You want Universal Islands Of Adventure'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

Universal Islands Of Adventure

Universal's Islands of Adventure is widely regarded as one of the best theme parks in the world. Its line-up blends record-breaking coasters with detailed themed lands: Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, VelociCoaster, The Incredible Hulk Coaster, Pteranodon Flyers, and the classic Jurassic Park River Adventure. The Wizarding World's Hogsmeade is the park's most iconic area.

Like its sister Studios park, Islands of Adventure stays busy year-round, with Hagrid's and VelociCoaster consistently posting the longest queues. Peak periods are US school holidays, Halloween Horror Nights and Christmas. Check live wait times immediately on arrival and head to Hagrid's first. Use our crowd calendar to pick the quietest possible date for your trip.

Universal Islands Of Adventure live queue times

05 · Questions

Busch Gardens Tampa or Universal Islands Of Adventure?

Which is better, Busch Gardens Tampa or Universal Islands Of Adventure?

If you are judging on queues, Busch Gardens Tampa: it averages about 22 minutes a ride on a typical day against 24 at Universal Islands Of Adventure, roughly 2 minutes back on every queue you join. Busch Gardens Tampa has 11 rides with recorded waits against 18 at Universal Islands Of Adventure. Universal Islands Of Adventure also runs its rides more reliably - 88% of opening hours against 61%.

Which has shorter queues, Busch Gardens Tampa or Universal Islands Of Adventure?

Busch Gardens Tampa, by about 2 minutes a ride. On a typical day Busch Gardens Tampa averages 22 minutes against 24 at Universal Islands Of Adventure. 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 Universal Islands Of Adventure best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Busch Gardens Tampa and Universal Islands Of Adventure 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 Universal Islands Of Adventure for the full ride lists.

Is Busch Gardens Tampa bigger than Universal Islands Of Adventure?

By rides we track waits for, Universal Islands Of Adventure is the bigger day out: 18 rides against 11. 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 calendar Universal Islands Of Adventure calendar Compare other parks