Busch Gardens is creating a Wild Oasis for families. What to expect from the new ‘realm.'
Busch Gardens is creating a Wild Oasis for families. What to expect from the new 'realm.'
Show Caption
Hide Caption
New baby rhino rivals the cuteness of viral pygmy hippo Moo Deng
Busch Gardens Tampa has an adorable new baby Southern White Rhinoceros calf and they're leaving the naming honors to the public.
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is sharing new details on what it's calling 'North America's most immersive kid-friendly adventure realm.'
Wild Oasis is set to open in the Florida theme park's Jungala section this spring. It was first announced last fall.
'We're incredibly excited to introduce the Wild Oasis – a vibrant, rainforest-inspired realm with amazing animal habitats, thrilling attractions, and interactive play areas that will entertain, educate and inspire our guests to cherish the wonders of the natural world,' Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Park President Jeff Davis said in a press release, which revealed more on what's coming.
Here's what guests, particularly with young children, should know about Wild Oasis.
Is Busch Gardens getting a new ride?
Yes. Wild Oasis will have a new 35-foot drop tower ride called Tree Top Drop, with multimedia. 'Riders will be surrounded by action-packed jungle scenes displayed on screens,' Busch Gardens said in Wednesday's press release. Kids will need to be 38 inches tall to ride with an accompanying adult or 42 inches tall to go solo.
Another coming attraction is called Canopy Climb. While not a ride, this four-level climbing structure is sure to attract kids and kids at heart with '200 feet of horizontal climbing trails and vertical climbs reaching 50 feet high,' according to the park.
Is Busch Gardens good for small children?
Yes. The park already has several kid-friendly attractions and entertainment offerings, ranging from the Grand Caravan Carousel to the Phoenix Rising family roller coaster, which opened last year.
The park is also one of the largest zoos on the continent and is accredited by the industry-leading Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
What animals can you see at Busch Gardens?
There are currently 200 animal species already at the park, including tigers, elephants and sloths.
When Wild Oasis opens, guests will also be able to see giant anteaters, capybaras, squirrel monkeys, and tropical birds that are new to the park in a multi-level, multi-species habitat called Habitat Hideaway.
'For those looking to journey further, the Rainforest Quest offers guests the opportunity to embark on a self-guided educational scavenger hunt, providing an exploration of the interconnected wonders of nature and highlighting the relationships between different species in the rainforest,' according to the park.
When will Wild Oasis open?
A specific date has not been announced beyond spring, but the park said annual passholders would be the first to experience Wild Oasis.
Does Busch Gardens in Tampa have a water park?
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay has a splash area called Sesame Street Safari of Fun Splash & Play.
Wild Oasis will add another kid's water play area to the park, called Enchanted Falls, with a splash pad, spray towers and fountains.
A separately ticketed sister water park called Adventure Island Tampa Bay is located across the street from Busch Gardens.
Bring the kids: 10 of the best places in the US to go with kids in 2025
Do kids get in free to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay?
Like many other theme parks, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay offers free admission to all kids under three years old.
Additionally, Florida preschoolers under age six are eligible for a free Preschool Card, granting them free entry to both Busch Gardens and Adventure Island for all of 2025. The first visit must be made by the end of February.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
As Epic Universe draws hype, what's next for Tampa's hometown park?
As Universal Orlando put the finishing touches on its $7 billion new gate, Epic Universe, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay had an announcement too. The Tampa theme park and Adventure Island, its accompanying water park, will spend $40 million to fund a new attraction and restaurant, as well as improvements to other eateries, shade, pathways, restrooms and more. That's an impressive sum of money — until you compare it to what's being spent across Interstate 4, said Robert Niles, founder of Theme Park Insider, an industry publication. Busch Gardens, he said, is going to have to provide what Disney and Universal are not: great deals for locals, who are becoming an increasingly important customer niche. 'It's honestly ridiculous in this industry when you think about it sometimes,' he said. 'Because $40 million is a lot of money. It's just that in the Central Florida theme park industry, $40 million ain't anything anymore. ... If you're in this business and you're saying 'I've got $40 million,' that's like, meh. They found that in the lint trap over at Disney.' Niles said it was easier 10 years ago for Busch Gardens to lure Central Florida visitors. Families might spend a few days at Disney and Universal, then head west for the beach and a pit stop at Busch Gardens, which boasted larger, more thrilling coasters than its Orlando counterparts. But with Epic Universe, Universal aims to become a weeklong destination for tourists, set designers and producers said before its opening last month. Universal is catching up in the coaster department, with new entries Jurassic World VelociCoaster and Stardust Racers. On-site hotel deals and cheaper multi-day tickets are keeping tourists rooted in the park they chose as their primary destination. 'A decade ago, people were saying, 'We're going on vacation to Florida,'' Niles said. 'Now Disney and Universal want a Disney and Universal trip. That's making it really tough on a lot of other attractions around the state that used to be able to ride the coattails.' United Parks & Resorts, Busch Gardens' parent company, also owns SeaWorld Orlando. The company posted a net loss that has deepened since the same time last year in its most recent earnings report. Still, there are reasons to remain optimistic about Busch Gardens, experts said. The park has a new president, Jeff Davis, who wants to tout recent investments and offerings. Wild Oasis, a massive, netted kids' play area that rivals Universal's Islands of Adventure's Camp Jurassic, is expected to open soon. Busch Gardens initially set an opening day of Friday, June 6 for Wild Oasis — just two weeks after Epic Universe launched. But on Thursday, a spokesperson said the opening timeline has been shifted back. It's now unclear when visitors will see the new attraction. Among regional competitors like Six Flags and Dollywood, Busch Gardens looms large, said Carrissa Baker, an attractions and theme parks professor at University of Central Florida. In 2023, Busch Gardens was one of the top 20 most-visited theme parks in the United States, according to the global attractions attendance report, which estimates annual metrics. The parks do not release their own numbers. Busch Gardens netted about 4 million visitors, ranking 13 out of 20, according to the report, just behind SeaWorld Orlando, Knott's Berry Farm in California and Cedar Point in Ohio. Disney and Universal properties in California and Florida dominated the first nine spots. Busch Gardens fulfills an important role in the industry, Baker said. Most can't afford annual visits to Disney or Universal, where one-day tickets can cost more than $200 per person. A one-day ticket for a weekend day in June would run a Busch Gardens visitor about $75. Locals can buy a 'fun card,' which offers unlimited visits through 2025, for the same price. Sweet deals for locals are common among regional parks, Baker said. The goal with those kinds of discounts is to get more money out of local attendees for parking, merchandise and food, Niles said. The strategy works when locals are willing to pull out their wallets each visit — but it falters if residents bring food from home or park off-site. Higher admission prices at Disney and Universal help them avoid relying on in-park spending. Davis, the new park president, said he's not agonizing over the parks owned by corporate behemoths down the road. 'There's always competition,' Davis said, noting that it's not just from other theme parks but from attractions like the beaches. 'I think the parks that are successful are focusing on themselves.' But regional parks are locked in a vicious battle over Universal's and Disney's scraps, Niles said. Cedar Point merged with Six Flags last year, and the company is cutting costs by eliminating individual park presidents. Last week, Herschend, owner of Tennessee's Dollywood, acquired Palace Entertainment, upping its portfolio to 49 parks. Universal and Disney properties all attract at least twice as many visitors as the country's smaller parks. As international travel dips amid global economic uncertainty, the two giants may more aggressively target domestic visitors who would otherwise stick with regional parks, Niles said. 'What we're really heading toward is a further widening of the split between the winners and everybody else,' he said. 'Disney and Universal are gonna get theirs. They're investing huge amounts of money. ... It's everybody else that is now fighting, more viciously than I've seen in a generation, over the rest of the industry.' So what can Busch Gardens do to stay ahead of the curve? Wild Oasis is a good start. New attractions tend to inflate attendance numbers for at least six months, Baker said. And enticing the family demographic is key, she said. Busch Gardens' zoo component, plus new additions this summer of capybaras, a giant anteater and squirrel monkeys, already give it a leg up. Families 'spend more money,' Baker said. 'They form relationships with the park. That means generationally, they come back again and again.' Counter-marketing the hype surrounding Epic Universe could also help, Niles said. Busch Gardens could try playing into the sibling rivalry between Tampa and Orlando. What some forget, Visit Tampa Bay CEO Santiago Corrada said, is that Busch Gardens predates Universal and Disney. Twelve years ago, Busch Gardens was Tampa's premier attraction. Now downtown developments like Water Street and the Tampa Riverwalk give visitors more options. But Tampa owes a debt to its theme park, which put a once sleepy city on the map, Corrada said. 'I assure you, I will be at Wild Oasis before I go to Epic Universe,' he said.
USA Today
4 days ago
- USA Today
Moo Deng is raising brows. See famous pygmy hippo's new look.
Moo Deng is raising brows. See famous pygmy hippo's new look. Moo Deng, just shy of her 1st birthday, lives at Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand. Show Caption Hide Caption Moo Deng debuts fancy, temporary eyebrows The famous pygmy hippo, Moo Deng, was munching on a tray of vegetables in her enclosure, when the keeper put pieces of leaves on her head. The world's favorite pygmy hippopotamus is stunning in a new, all-natural look. Moo Deng, the pygmy hippo who first stole hearts last summer, is going viral once again for videos and photos showing her sporting two green leaves as eyebrows, captured by zoo attendees on May 31. Watch the video above. Moo Deng is known for making a mess of her food dishes, stomping around and flinging platters full of veggies all over herself. But her new look was done on purpose. Moo Deng's zoo keeper at Khao Kheow Open Zoo told Newsflare that he placed the pieces of leaves on the hippo for a bit of fun, removing them later. Khao Kheow Open Zoo did not immediately respond for comment about the "eyebrows" when contacted by USA TODAY on June 5. More Moo Deng: Who's that baby hippo on your timeline? Meet the wet, chubby 'lifestyle icon' captivating the internet Animals: Why do we love Moo Deng, Pesto and other baby zoo animals? Psychologists explain Who is Moo Deng? Just shy of her first birthday (July 10), Moo Deng lives at Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Bang Phra, Thailand. She gained popularity last summer for countless videos of her yelling at zoo keepers, resting in water buckets and enjoying baths in the sun. In Thai, Moo Deng's name means "bouncing pig." Born to Jona, 25, and Tony, 24, she has two siblings: Pork Stew and Sweet Pork. Moo Deng is also the granddaughter of Thailand's oldest hippo, Malee, who is 59 years old. What are pygmy hippos? Thought of as the smaller cousin, pygmy hippos are about half the size of common hippos, weighing less than one-fourth of a full-sized common hippo, according to the Pygmy Hippo Foundation. Pygmies are native to West Africa and their average life expectancy is 27 years. In 2016, pygmy hippos were deemed an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A 1993 survey conducted by IUCN found that only about 2,000-3,000 pygmies remained worldwide. Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Revealing Jeff Buckley Doc, ‘It's Never Over,' to Arrive This Summer
A new documentary, It's Never Over: Jeff Buckley, which examines the life of the late singer-songwriter, will open in movie theaters on Aug. 8. An HBO premiere will follow this winter. The film, by director Amy Berg (Phoenix Rising, West of Memphis), features never-before-seen footage from Buckley's archives. His mother, Mary Culbert, and former partners Rebecca Moore and Joan Wasser gave new interviews for the picture. It also includes commentary from Buckley's former bandmates, Michael Tighe and Parker Kindred, as well as singer-songwriters Ben Harper and Aimee Mann. More from Rolling Stone 'It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley' Pays Tribute to One of the Greatest Singers Ever Jeff Buckley's Mom Finally Explains Why That Brad Pitt Biopic Never Happened Questlove's Sly Stone Documentary to Premiere at 2025 Sundance 'I've spent practically my entire career trying to make this film, which takes a very intimate look at one of the greatest singers and songwriters of all time,' Berg said in a statement. 'I'm so excited Magnolia and HBO have come on board to share this film with the world and give old fans and new audiences a chance to experience Jeff from this unique vantage point.' The film looks at how he followed in the footsteps of his father, singer-songwriter Tim Buckley — who died at age 28 when Jeff was 8 — and launched his own music career, signing to Columbia Records. A concert recording, Live at Sin-é, came out in 1993, and Buckley's sole studio album, Grace, came out in August 1994, three years before his death at age 30. His own legacy has grown ever since. When the film premiered at Sundance in January, Rolling Stone wrote that the picture 'does justice to [Buckley's] legacy.' 'Buckley's mother, Mary Guibert, has been extremely protective over her son and his songs, but she's opened up the vaults for Berg's film,' the review said. 'There are pictures of Buckley as a chubby, smiling baby, and rocking a metalhead shag mullet as a teen; clips of him playing in high school bands, glimpses into notebooks filled with an elegant scrawl that you can only describe as Buckleyesque. Music from every phase of his career, in both rough-demo and finished form, plays over the soundtrack, along with voicemail messages — including the last one he left his mom — and recording session banter. Rarities abound, which makes this feel as much like an archive tour as a movable scrapbook.' Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
