Summer is here and Busch Gardens’ annual Summer Nights promotion is in full swing. Now through August 18, the park is open until 9:00pm Sunday though Thursday, and until 10:00pm Friday and Saturday. The park is also celebrating summer with fireworks every night.

Kinetix

The popular night-time show that infuses live music, dancers, and acrobatic stunts is back for another summer at Busch Gardens. It’s an all new show for this year, featuring new songs and new stunts. It’s a rockin’ good time. Kinetx performs nightly at 9:00pm at Gwazi Park  (weather permitting, of course).

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Lions and tigers… oh my!

Busch Gardens recently welcomed three lion cubs, two females and one male, who arrived from South Africa on May 18. The females, who are sisters, were born March 20. The male, who is not related to the females, was born on February 20. All three cubs have genetic lines from the Kalahari and Kruger regions of South Africa, where lions are recognized for their large size and impressive manes on the males. The addition of the cubs comes as the result of a relationship between Busch Gardens and a private zoological facility in South Africa, and enhances the sustainability of lions living in managed care in North America, as well as aids in the park’s breeding program.

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Guests will be able to see the cubs in the Edge of Africa area of the park. The Busch Gardens animal care team has begun introducing the cubs to the lion and hyena habitat in the Edge of Africa. The female lions have been named Shtuko (meaning “twitch”) and Shaba (meaning “brazen”). The male lion has yet to be named.

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If that wasn’t enough, three rare Malayan tiger cubs were born at Busch Gardens on March 31. Malayan tigers are critically endangered. Scientists estimate that only 500 remain in the wild. In addition, Malayan tiger births in managed care are rare, with just one successful birth in 2012. These are the first Malayan tigers born at Busch Gardens.

Falcon’s Fury Construction

Construction is already underway for Falcon’s Fury, the new drop tower ride the park announced last week. Construction walls stretch from the Phoenix ride all the way around the former site occupied by the Busch Flyers kiddie ride and Sandstorm.

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Construction Percussion

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With the construction, the park has the opportunity to bring back the popular Construction Percussion band, which performs several times daily to delighted guests.

Madagascar Live! Operation: Vacation

This new show is proving to be very popular, playing to packed houses several times a day. It’s a very fun, high-energy show that both children and adults can enjoy, even if you haven’t seen the Madagascar films.

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 Around the Park

And we’ll end today’s update with some photos around this really beautiful (and underrated) park.

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That will do it for this update from Busch Gardens Tampa. We’ll be back with a look at the construction of Falcon’s Fury and how the summer is going soon.

Have you been to Busch Gardens Tampa yet this summer? Are you enjoying their summer offerings? Are you excited for Falcon’s Fury? Let us know in the comments below!

Amy VandenBoogert
Amy is lucky to live in beautiful Tampa Bay, Florida and frequently visits the Busch Gardens theme park in that city. You can find Amy's updates on Busch Gardens and other Central Florida attractions in MiceChat's Orlando Parkhopper columns.