Just back from our first non-Disney Orlando trip.

[musketeer]

I wasn't sure what it would be like. But we decided to give it a try. For years I've always been on a Disney trip and saw the signs for sea world, busch gardens (not exactly orlando), etc, and always felt like I was not giving other places a chance. So we decided to do a Sea World/Busch Gardens/other Orlando trip. I was worried I'd feel sick when we drove right by the signs for Disney. But it was really cool. Sea World is way better than I had thought it would be. Great shows, good rides, food was...eh.

We stayed at a "Sea World Hotel", really just a marriott that has some sea world type theming. But if you do stay there, you get a quick queue unlimited pass which was convenient. Pretty much the same as Univeral front of the line pass for staying at a universal hotel.

Busch Gardens was even better. Had great themeing, some really cool rides, great animal displays.

We also went to Green Meadows Farms, crazy, the place has been there for nearly 25 years and I had never heard of it. It's a petting farm about 5 or so miles south of Disney. Really a cool place. NO ONE there, amazing they stay in business.

We even drove through Celebration, although we didn't get it because our drive was to get my kids to take a nap.

OH, and the price. 5 nights in the hotel, park tickets for sea world and busch gardens, and free dining for two of our days, and it was about 1/3 the cost of Disney.

So I guess I don't really have a point, just that it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I was worried I'd have this terrible empty feeling, but the excitement of the new places prevented that from happening.

All this being said, having just got home from the airport about 4 hours ago, we are already thinking about an April Disney trip, because while it was great, it just isn't the same.

 

[ChrisFL]

I'm always interested to know....how would you compare Busch Gardens vs. Animal Kingdom?

Obviously AK has better theming, but besides that?

 

[captainkidd]

I'm always interested to know....how would you compare Busch Gardens vs. Animal Kingdom?

Obviously AK has better theming, but besides that?

Busch Gardens has many more and many better rides.

 

[zooey]

You did it!

 

[musketeer]

I'm always interested to know....how would you compare Busch Gardens vs. Animal Kingdom?

Obviously AK has better theming, but besides that?

I don't know if I'd necessarily agree that Animal Kingdom has better themeing.

I think the best way to describe it is that Busch Gardens felt like a Cedar Point/Kings Island/Six Flags crammed into a zoo like place. While Animal Kingdom feels like a Disney park crammed into a zoo like place. But the theming of Busch Gardens was really cool. I guess I do think that the Africa part of Animal Kingdom is one of the best themed areas of ANY of the Disney Parks in the US (haven't been to any other Disney park).

I can't really comment on the roller coasters because I had two 2 1/2 year olds so didn't ride any. But overall, I was very impressed with Busch Gardens.

 

[puntagordabob]

Glad you had fun..... I suspect more and more people are taking trips as you just did.... perhaps in time this will actually help WDW by allowing the Imagineers to get approval for a buch of truly amazing projects sitting on the Blue Sky shelves....

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

We love Busch Gardens. We try to visit every few years. Sea World is fun too, every few years or so. My sister and I are big into thrill rides so the coasters at BG are right up our alley. Glad you guys got to experience something other than Disney. As much as we love WDW, sometimes we just need to do other things a few times to really appreciate just how much Disney has to offer

 

[wendysue]

We can't wait for Nov. 2012, (or maybe sooner) as we plan on doing the same thing. I am excited to see other attractions in Florida.

 

[musketeer]

For the record, this was not a trip to protest the evils of Disney or anything like that. It was just to try something new....for a WHOLE LOT LESS $$$ by the way.

 

[monorailguy01]

Bush Gardens sucks! I went there a few years back and got my money back from my park ticket. Even though they have more rides then AK I still rather be at AK

 

[MKCP 1985]

I'm always interested to know....how would you compare Busch Gardens vs. Animal Kingdom?

Obviously AK has better theming, but besides that?

Like Chester and Hester pretending to be themed to a Florida roadside tourist trap? :lookaroun

I agree with musketeer. Sea World, Busch Gardens, Universal, etc. can be a lot of fun - and are a lot less expensive - but they aren't Disney. When we did our Universal Studios vacation way back several years ago, we went over to Downtown Disney just to eat and do a little shopping and came back with the plans for a whole separate Disney World vacation the following year.

Still, if Disney could swap Animal Kingdom for Busch Gardens they would be foolish not to do so. One for one, Busch Gardens is much more fun, but it is all the way out in Tampa and pretty much stands alone, so is not much of a threat. If Disney had Busch Gardens, they could throw a healthy dose of pixie dust around the place and people would be oohing and aahing in a way Animal Kingdom never gets. :shrug:

 

[ScoutN]

Busch Gardens has many more and many better rides.

Because it is a steel jungle?

 

[musketeer]

Bush Gardens sucks! I went there a few years back and got my money back from my park ticket. Even though they have more rides then AK I still rather be at AK

Riiiighhhtt.

Why does it suck? How did you get your money back? How long were you in the park before you decided to get your money back? Did you just go up to the ticket office and complain and they just gave you your money back? What did you say to them to convince them you needed a refund?

This is a very odd post.

 

[Crockett]

Bush Gardens sucks! I went there a few years back and got my money back from my park ticket. Even though they have more rides then AK I still rather be at AK

^I agree with this. BG is in no way better than DAK. While BG has higher numbers of rides and roller coasters, that doesn't surpass the fact it lacks in quality.

Not sure if the OP is trolling or not, but these types of threads seem odd on a Disney fan site. There are plenty of theme park/Busch fan boards where people can praise Busch, Sea World, etc. But to post something like this here seems a bit suspicious. (imo)

The OP also mentioned how Busch/Sea World are much cheaper than WDW. True, but consider what you get for your dollar. At Disney, you're paying top buck for top quality. I don't expect a Six Flags ticket to cost the same as a WDW ticket. But I also do not expect the same quality & magic that we have come to know over the years at Disney. You pay for what you get.

And no, BG is not better than DAK. Not by a long shot.

 

[musketeer]

^I agree with this. BG is in no way better than DAK. While BG has higher numbers of rides and roller coasters, that doesn't surpass the fact it lacks in quality.

Not sure if the OP is trolling or not, but these types of threads seem odd on a Disney fan site. There are plenty of theme park/Busch fan boards where people can praise Busch, Sea World, etc. But to post something like this here seems a bit suspicious. (imo)

The OP also mentioned how Busch/Sea World are much cheaper than WDW. True, but consider what you get for your dollar. At Disney, you're paying top buck for top quality. I don't expect a Six Flags ticket to cost the same as a WDW ticket. But I also do not expect the same quality & magic that we have come to know over the years at Disney. You pay for what you get.

And no, BG is not better than DAK. Not by a long shot.

Not a troll. And I understand the idea of paying for higher quality. But I strongly disagree that Busch Gardens "sucks". As I said, this was the first time we've ever done an orlando vacation that didn't include disney and I thought I'd pass along my thoughts.

My point is that I was surprised at how good both parks were.

The one thing that all other places are missing (the sea world parks, universal, etc) is that one thing that brings it all together. And for disney, it has to be the mickey-ness everywhere. Other places try with characters, but they aren't as central or as valued. The sea world parks kinda just threw in the sesame street characters, but it doesn't feel like it binds it all together.

EDIT: By mickey-ness, I don't mean the misconception that people have of mickey being EVERYWHERE, it's the subtleness of it all.

 

[Walt Disney1955]

Yeah you have to do the non-Disney stuff when you are down there too. Sea World and Busch are too good of parks to pass up. I assume you had already done Universal.

Sea World is always better than people think. The Journey to Atlantis ride isn't quite the thematic masterpiece of Splash Mountain but it is a thrilling log ride probably better than Ripsaw Falls in Universal. The shows are great at Sea World. The Sea Lion and Otter show left me in stitches. There is a mime that pretends to seat people as everyone is filing in and he'll walk behind guests going to their seats and mock them. Just hilarious. Then there's Shamu of course.

Busch Gardens has a Six Flags feel to it, which is alright, but its almost as if someone woke up one morning and said "how can I combine an amusement park with a zoo?" It's done well and worth the trip to see. The Rhino tour is very well done. The train ride is nice and long. We had to stop because there was a baby rhino on the tracks. The rollercoasters are phenomenal there. Montu, Sheikra, Kumba and Gwazi are thrilling. The Congo River rapids is much better than Kali River Rapids.

Overall it is obviously missing the Disney charm and theming but what else is new? It still holds up on its own as a full day park

 

[The Empress Lilly]

- Sea World is great!
The park looks like a charm. There are some fantastic rides, the animal exhibits are great, the place is a big, beautiful park, with flowers and fresh paint everywhere.

- Pricing strategy means it is very expensive to combine Disney with other parks. It is expensive to visit a park for just a day, whereas there is barely an additional cost to adding several days more to an existing ticket.
I too have therefore considered a non-Disney Orlando vacation.

 

[MarkTwain]

Just back from our first non-Disney Orlando trip

Get him!!

...Just kidding. We stop by SeaWorld literally every time we go to Orlando, and stop by Universal occasionally as well.

 

[c-one]

Not sure it's fair to say Busch Gardens is like Six Flags. The theming is definitely a notch below Disney and Universal, but it's a couple notches above the likes of Six Flags and Cedar Fair. The attractions at both Busch Gardens parks may be lacking in story but the landscaping is fantastic. Tough to compare it to AK... I like both parks for different reasons.

 

[Lee]

Not sure it's fair to say Busch Gardens is like Six Flags. The theming is definitely a notch below Disney and Universal, but it's a couple notches above the likes of Six Flags and Cedar Fair. The attractions at both Busch Gardens parks may be lacking in story but the landscaping is fantastic. Tough to compare it to AK... I like both parks for different reasons.

Yes.
Busch parks are great. Nothing at all like Six-Flags, which are fine for what they are, too.

Odd to do a non-Disney trip and leave off Universal, though. I would have chosen that over Busch or Sea World, but I guess having little kids might effect those decisions.