Busch Gardens, Tampa (must see)

If thrills are what you seek, make sure to spend the day at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. This 335-acre theme park is owned by SeaWorld Parks and hosts some of the biggest and baddest roller coasters around. Along with the thrill rides, you'll find live entertainment and more than 12,000 live animals from more than 200 species.

The park is divided into regions with African themes, like the Morocco area that features a hang glider ride and the Egyptian marketplace that features the Montu 150-foot inverted roller coaster.

Why You Should Visit:
The reasons to visit Busch Gardens are as varied as this multi-faceted theme park is. Most visitors fill their day with the animal encounters or with thrill rides and roller coasters. Of course, you can also have a healthy mix of the two!

For animal encounters, the Serengeti Express is a kid-friendly train ride through the park's Serengeti Plain animal exhibit. The 65-acre natural habitat is home to giraffes, rhinos, cheetahs, tigers, zebras, and more. For an extra fee, you can join a small-group Safari for an even more up-close look at the animals. Other up-close tours include the Elephant or Penguin Insider Tours and the Sloth Encounter.

Rides at Busch Gardens range from adrenaline-inducing "extreme" to relaxing "kid-friendly." There are Montu and Scorpion, both of which feature inverted rides and loops. Tigris is Florida's tallest launch coaster, while the Cheetah Hunt features a triple-launch design. Sheikra has a 200-foot vertical drop, and Falcon's Fury is a 335-foot drop from a free-standing tower. There's also the Congo River Rapids and Stanley Falls Flume water rides for ultra-hot Florida days. Top it all off with the view from Skyride, a relaxing panoramic-view cable car.

Tips:
It's easy to spend an entire day at this park with so much to see and do. Make sure to plan your day out to avoid too much walking during the hottest time of day. Pack light and rent a locker since bags aren't allowed on most rides.

Plan your stay based on what you want to see and do the most. Do you want to ride every coaster or see all of the animals? Grab a map at the ticket booth and plan carefully.

If you are eating in the park, consider the All Day Dining Pass, which entitles you to one entree, one side dish or dessert, and one drink every hour at the participating restaurants.

If you want to see the most animals, plan to visit early in the morning when the animals are more active. You may also consider signing up for a tour of the Busch Gardens Animal Care Center, and keep an eye out for the occasional Animal Keeper Talks.