Busch Gardens Tampa Update: May 6th 2013

 

Some weeks, my wife and I just need to get away. Life gets too stressful, and we can't deal with the crowds typically found in the Orlando theme parks. One of the cures for those days is Busch Gardens Tampa. The crowds are low during the week, the animal collection is stellar, and there's a great collection of rides.  Well, we've never ridden anything more intense than the train, but the rides are nice to watch at least. The top reason it's our therapeutic getaway, however, is that you can pet the kangaroos.

Before you get to the kangaroos, however, you have to past lots and lots of advertising for the new "Madagascar Live! Operation: Vacation" show. The park's major addition for the year, it's featured at the parking tram shelter,

And throughout the park, including the entrance.

 

The new show has only about a week until opening, but work is still finishing up on the Stanleyville Theater.

Creatures of Central Florida: Caribbean Flamingo

 Caribbean Flamingo

• Native(ish): While found primarily in South America and the Caribbean, small flocks will occasionally fly as far North as Florida
• Roseate Spoonbills are often mistaken for Caribbean Flamingos
• Spotted in captivity at SeaWorld Orlando, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, and Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo
• Also known as the American Flamingo

Busch Gardens Tampa Announces the 13th Annual Howl-0-Scream

Images courtesy of the Howl-O-Scream official site.

Busch Gardens Tampa has released details and launched the website for their 2012 Howl-O-Scream event.  Like Universal, this event includes mazes, "scare zones" with roaming monsters, and shows all packaged to terrify guests.  This year's collection of horrors is themed "The Trickster's Garden," with the tagline "Unlock the Fears Inside."

Dealing with Beastly Weather: Busch Gardens vs. Animal Kingdom

Summer weather in Florida is infamous for 2 reasons: extremely hot, humid days, and entirely unpredictable afternoon storms.  In the height of summer, it's not unknown for the forecast to look identical for weeks, with every day being about 95 degrees with a 50% chance of precipitation.  Flip a coin on an average day, and you'll know as well as the weatherman whether it's going to rain that day.  This makes rain and storm response critical in theme parks in Central Florida.  In one week I witnessed two very different reactions to bad weather from two very similar parks.

On Monday, July 30th, I visited Busch Gardens Tampa for the first time.  Not long into my time at the park, heavy clouds began to dot the sky.  Before any rain began to fall, thunder was audible, or lightning visible, the park began closing all attractions.  They even closed the train ride, kicking off all passengers who had just waited over half an hour to board.  The stated reason was that lightning was close enough to the park to be a risk, but it seems the storms never came close to approaching the park. At worst, a moderate rain fell for a few minutes, and the skies almost immediately began clearing afterward.

Busch Gardens Tampa Has a Summer Baby Boom

Photos courtesy of SeaWorld Parks

Summer has signaled the arrival of a load of new babies at Busch Gardens Tampa.  Many of these new additions are still behind the scenes being cared for by their parents and keepers.  As the year continues, more and more babies will be added into public areas, so keep an eye out for some surprises.

This little ball of armor is a three banded armadillo.  Born June 21, 2012, this baby and its parents can be found in Jambo Junction, where Busch Gardens animal ambassadors live when not meeting celebrities and appearing on television.

Creatures of Central Florida: Giant Anteater

Giant Anteater

• Non-Native: Natural Habitat in Central America and South America
• Spotted at Busch Gardens Tampa and Disney's Animal Kingdom

These large, furry creatures are a great example of specialization in nature.  When not sleeping up to 15 hours a day, the largest of the anteaters uses its amazing sense of smell to find colonies of insects.  It then uses its extremely sticky, long tongue to eat thousands of termites, ants, and other similar bugs a day.   Unlike some of their tree dwelling cousins, the Giant Anteater lives entirely on the ground.  They raise a single baby at a time, with it riding on its mother's back for a year, blending in with her fur pattern to hide from potential predators.