Disclosure: I received park admission and a free safari for me and my daughters to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own honest review.
My youngest daughter recently hit a birthday mile stone… double digits… she turned 10! When I asked her what she wanted to do for her birthday, she told me that she wanted to go to Busch Gardens. So, that is what we did, and we had a BLAST! We had so much fun, that I wanted to share the many reasons for you to consider taking your kids there for their birthdays!
7 Reasons to Go to Busch Gardens for Your Kid’s Birthday
1. Animal Photo Bombers! I cannot tell you all the times that animals at Busch Gardens have photo bombed my pictures. I love it! It makes for a better picture, and we always enjoy going through our pictures to see what bombers we had that day. It makes the memories of the special day more fun!
Mr. Flamingo decided to photo bomb this one!
2. The Coasters! We are maniacs in our family! If there are coasters–we’re there! Going to Busch Gardens for my little one’s 10th birthday was cool, because she was tall enough to go on even more coasters! Wo0t! Busch Gardens has some of the best coasters in the world! They have Gwazi, Kumba, Montu, oh my!! Two of our favorites are Cheetah Hunt and SheiKra! EEEK– ra is a better name! LOL!
SheiKra is on the left and Cheetah Hunt on the right. SO much FUN!
3. Fun Rides. Not only does Busch Gardens have amazing coasters, they also have a ton of other fun rides and activities. There’s activities in Jungala; plus… Stanley Falls, Congo River Rapids, Rhino Rally, Air Grover, The Wild Surge, and SO MUCH more!! There is no way to not have fun. Fun is basically the only option!
4. Close Encounters with Incredible Animals! They have amazing opportunities like Serengeti Safari, Elephant Insider, Keeper for a Day, Heart of Africa, and a lot more! We chose the Serengeti Safari, and my sweet girl got to feed and pet one of her favorite animals–the giraffe!
5. Amazing Animals! They have a plethora of animals to see! There are animals from all over the world and various environments. Your kids will enjoy seeing cheetahs in action, hyenas, lemurs, peacocks, elephants, apes, zebras, kangaroos, tigers, rhinos, hippos, fantastic bird species, and many many more! We loved seeing the elephant’s enrichment time, and some very cool tortoises during our visit.
6. Cool Souvenirs to Remember your Special Day! Since feeding the giraffes was the highlight for my sweet, new 10 year old, she chose a very pretty kid-sized back pack with the the most adorable stuffed baby giraffe in it. She LOVES this little giraffe. Her name is Tatiana, and she is now a part of our family. She will always be a happy memory from my sweet girl’s 10th birthday celebration at Busch Gardens!
7. Happy Memories. Seriously, anyone can do the traditional birthday party, however, how many kids get to go on an amazing adventure for their birthdays?? Rather than go for the status quo, think out of the box, and take your kids to Busch Gardens for their next birthday! You will have an AMAZING time, overflowing with happy memories and joy that will last a lifetime! They will never forget that birthday–I know my little girl won’t!
I really could go on and on about the many reasons to go to Busch Gardens for your kid’s birthday, there’s the good food, shows, baby animals, special events, and more. It really is a great place to celebrate!
What is one of your favorite birthday memories from childhood?
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Donna says
April 4, 2014 at 5:26 pmYou’re so right… what a wonderful lifetime memory she will have! I’d love to do this for my son.
Kay M. says
April 4, 2014 at 6:54 pmThis looks absolutely amazing! I wish we lived closer to Busch Gardens! We have Moody Gardens in Galveston, but they are not this amazing.
Karen Coutu says
April 4, 2014 at 9:45 pmIt looks like a great place to make lasting childhood memories! My children would love the animals and the cool souvenirs. :D
Audrey at Barking Mad! says
April 5, 2014 at 2:07 amThis looks like so much fun! When I was a kid we had a local drive through safari type place and I think it closed when I was an older teen, but I have great memories of driving through and my mom getting all panicky when it looked like an ostrich was going to eat our windshield wipers. I’d love to take Gaby to a place like Busch Gardens . . . so much to do and see.
Michelle J says
April 5, 2014 at 10:31 amLooks like a fantastic place to visit! My 6 year old would flip out over all the fun stuff there, especially the animals!
Jenn p says
April 5, 2014 at 4:25 pmWhat an awesome birthday! That is one I am sure she will never forget. My son would love it!
Chelle @ oh just stop already says
April 7, 2014 at 6:22 pmLooks like a fabulous times! I can’t wait to go visit Busch Gardens one day. it’s been on our list of places.
Jennifer H says
April 7, 2014 at 7:13 pmI agree, it’s a fabulous place to celebrate a birthday!
Robin {Mom Foodie} says
April 7, 2014 at 7:25 pmMy daughter would love this. She isn’t into rides but likes animals.
Crystal says
April 7, 2014 at 8:46 pmZoos are such a great place to take a family trip to, birthday or just because. I actually never thought to have a birthday there, but I’m sure that would be a really fun time and you definitely have a lot of party animals (ha!) to help celebrate.
LyndaS says
April 7, 2014 at 9:02 pmI must be too old – I cannot recall birthdays when I was little. I am all for traveling and making memories.
Kathleen B says
April 7, 2014 at 10:30 pmI loved Busch Gardens so much as a child, I think we went every month. Of course, we used to live in the same city as the park.
HilLesha says
April 9, 2014 at 1:16 amI agree! I remember going there as a child. It was one of my best experiences of my childhood. :)
Shannon says
July 16, 2014 at 8:37 pmI love Busch Gardens and any day is a good day to visit!
Sarah L says
July 20, 2014 at 11:06 pmToo bad it’s 2,000 miles from my house to Busch Gardens. I was there several years ago and it was fun.
Kelly Faber says
July 29, 2014 at 9:31 pmOh I have always wanted to go here!! I love rollercoasters!! I am definitely going to take my kiddos when they are older..and what an awesome birthday it would be there! Looks like you guys had a great time! :)
RANDY FULGHAM says
July 31, 2014 at 11:12 amthis looks like a lot of fun..but i have to take my grand-kids to the dallas,tx zoo about once a year….wished they had rides other than train ride…..
Dandi D says
July 31, 2014 at 2:32 pmThis looks like such a fun place for kids. I wish we lived closer.
Kim says
August 1, 2014 at 10:09 pmI think it would be less special for us since we go all the time! We have So much fun there! :P It looks like you had a blast!
Tina says
August 12, 2014 at 9:59 pmI have been to a few theme parks but we went to Busch Gardens when I was a kid and I still have vivid memories of it.
Anna C. says
August 18, 2014 at 10:04 pmI hope to take my daughters there soon. I love the backpack.
John says
September 10, 2014 at 11:50 pmThe animal photo-bombers are the BEST! I always love the great pics of my kids with the awesome wildlife!
Christina Kelbel says
September 19, 2014 at 9:44 amHeehee “animals photo bombers”………I love it. Never thought about that but I have a few zoo pics like that myself.
Christina G. says
September 29, 2014 at 6:58 amI’ve never thought of doing Busch Gardens for a kid’s birthday party. Great idea. Thanks for sharing!
Rosie says
October 18, 2014 at 12:00 pmI’ve never been to Busch Gardens – this is definitely a wonderful birthday idea!! I had no idea there were so many attractions – all ages could have a wonderful time. I need to keep this in mind!!!
Adriane says
October 30, 2014 at 4:06 amWent there many years ago with my mom – we loved it :)
Liz Mays says
October 30, 2014 at 11:14 amI love the combination of thrill rides and more subdued animal area. You’re not kidding about it being a great birthday activity!
Nicole says
October 30, 2014 at 11:27 amLooks like a lot of fun. I wish that we had a Busch Gardens anywhere near by.
Robin (Masshole Mommy) says
October 30, 2014 at 12:19 pmI was at Busch Gardens in Tampa about 10 years ago and loved it. I would love to take my kids someday.
Debbie Denny says
October 30, 2014 at 3:39 pmSounds like very good reasons to me. Wish we were closer.
aimee fauci says
October 30, 2014 at 4:25 pmI think I have been everywhere but Busch Gardens! I really want to take my girls. I see so many great things about it.
Pam says
October 30, 2014 at 6:18 pmWe went to Busch Gardens once when the kids were young and they still talk about it. It was a lot of fun!
Pauline Cabrera says
October 30, 2014 at 7:13 pmI never thought of throwing a kid’s birthday party at the zoo but seeing those amazing rides convinces me it can be something.
Amber C. says
October 30, 2014 at 7:57 pmI remember having huge family birthday parties when I was little! Our family had kind of shrunk so I think this would be a great idea for my son’s birthday!
Chrysa says
October 30, 2014 at 9:55 pmThat looks like such a super fun day! It would be fun for a birthday or for ANY day actually!
Dawn says
October 30, 2014 at 10:00 pmI have never been to Busch Gardens, but I have heard it is a lot of fun! I wish to go some day!
Ann Bacciaglia says
October 30, 2014 at 10:55 pmGrowing up we lived two hours away from Canada’s Wonderland. It is a Theme park with a lot of roller coasters. We would go whenever one of our friends had a birthday. It was so much fun i will always remember our trips. Busch Gardens looks like a great place to spend a day making great memories.
fancygrlnancy (Nancy Partin) says
October 30, 2014 at 11:55 pmMy son would love to go there for his birthday. Too bad we live way to far away.
Veronica says
October 31, 2014 at 12:26 amI completely forgot about Busch Gardens. We went long time ago when we lived in FL. it was fun
Rosey says
October 31, 2014 at 7:55 amYep, that does look like a great place to celebrate a birthday! And the giraffe was a nice souvenir for her to take home!
Christie says
October 31, 2014 at 12:21 pmBusch Gardens is one of my family’s fave places to visit! We could look at the animals all day!
Tracey says
October 31, 2014 at 12:23 pmNow this would be an amazing spot for a party! I know a lot of kids that would be dying for their birthday to be spent at Busch Gardens!
Krystal's Kitsch says
October 31, 2014 at 12:43 pmI used to be a passholder. IT’s so much fun for kids and grownups alike.
Chrystal @ YUM eating says
October 31, 2014 at 3:08 pmWe’re in Michigan and kiddo birthday is in January. I am sure FL would be great in January (ugh snow) but it wouldn’t be practical as traveling that time of year is really hard. Maybe a summer trip!
Janell Poulette says
November 1, 2014 at 4:35 pmMy husband and I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary at Busch Gardens this year. We had so much fun.
Camesha | Mama Motivator says
November 2, 2014 at 2:21 pmI went there when I was a child. Looks like a fun birthday treat.
Dawn says
November 2, 2014 at 2:53 pmI’ve always wanted to see Busch Gardens. It would be so awesome to hang with the family there.
Shell says
November 3, 2014 at 9:18 amMy kids would love to do this for their birthdays- or any time, really! Looks like a blast!
Marina @ Mommy Snippets says
November 3, 2014 at 11:51 amThat looks like soo much fun! I wish we lived closer so that we could go there.
Jessica (Savory Experiments) says
November 3, 2014 at 6:24 pmOf all of the times I’ve been to Busch Gardens, I don’t think I’ve ever done the safari. I know I’m missing out, but our friends are always to excited to get to the rides!
Melissa @ This Girl's Life Blog says
November 17, 2014 at 1:09 pmWe took our daughter to Busch Garden’s several years ago. It was a lot of fun. She got to have lunch with Elmo and everything. Definitely a place that we will be going back to.
Zitta says
September 5, 2016 at 10:09 amHi Lara,
Excellent post. I have been to Busch Gardens with my daughter. We loved it so much. My daughter asked to have her 10th birthday party there. I was searching for fun ideas for her 10th birthday and I am so glad I found your site. I’m in for another fun and invigorating time at BG. Birthday party it is! Thanks