Busch Gardens Shuttle

letmebackpotus · 26 Sep 21, 10:57 PM

Just noticed that the free shuttle Busch run (picked up at loads of places including Seaworld) each day has been stopped due to Covid.

As someone who doesn’t drive when in Florida, this is a huge bummer as we absolutely love Busch Gardens (not to mention had already bought our Busch/Seaworld combo ticket for 2022!).

They may restart this service I guess (one would assume it’s entirely dependant on Covid, of course), but I tweeted them and got a non committal reply along the lines of “This service is unavailable”. Busch have arguably their biggest ever ride opening next year (Iron Gwazi) so you’d have thought that they really need that service up and running to be able to draw on the Orlando crowd, but maybe not?

This is a long way of me getting round to the question of, is there any other way to get there if that service isn’t running when carless?! Any help appreciated!

loldis · 26 Sep 21, 11:29 PM

Will be interesting to see whether all the shuttles start again, so many of them have been reduced or cancelled. I think demand for this one is probably much lower than you think though, the locals will all drive.

You can Uber from Orlando, although it will be pricey. You can also get a bus between Orlando and Tampa, then just Uber from the bus station to Busch. I know Greyhound have a service but it's not very frequent so may require an overnight stay. If you haven't already booked your flights, one option could be to do one of the legs from Tampa so you only have to do the journey once and can have a night or two out in Tampa.

themeparksandy · 2 Oct 21, 07:19 AM

I stopped going to Busch Gardens after our visit in 2008 when before lunch everything was open then it started to rain for a couple of hours then they had to wait to the storm was over 5 miles away from the park for all outdoor attractions reopened could only watch the 4D cinema and indoor shows with the rides reopening about a hour before park close as we got the shuttle we felt we had a wasted day but in September it’s hard to plan when it can rain/thunder every day.

bilbous · 2 Oct 21, 12:35 PM

I would expect the shuttles to start back up as more international visitors return. There is also a train service that goes from Orlando to Tampa that passes through Kissimmee.

JP81 · 3 Oct 21, 05:26 PM

Originally Posted by bilbous

I would expect the shuttles to start back up as more international visitors return. There is also a train service that goes from Orlando to Tampa that passes through Kissimmee.

wouldn't bother with the train.
It's one return service per day,
Arrives Tampa 12:23 and leaves at 17:27.
Multi-Mode trips are over 5 hours each way.

If the shuttles don't restart, the only real option is to drive or Uber.

letmebackpotus · 30 Jan 22, 09:03 PM

Hi all,

Just in case it’s useful to anyone else, the Mears Busch Gardens Shuttle website does now appear to be taking Busch Gardens shuttle bookings again (this site was previously saying that the shuttle had been ceased due to Covid).

Slore · 31 Jan 22, 08:35 AM

Originally Posted by letmebackpotus

Hi all,

Just in case it’s useful to anyone else, the Mears Busch Gardens Shuttle website does now appear to be taking Busch Gardens shuttle bookings again (this site was previously saying that the shuttle had been ceased due to Covid).

From another thread I’ve seen, I think they restart today! 😄

DisneyCupcake · 1 Feb 22, 07:18 PM

Originally Posted by Slore

From another thread I’ve seen, I think they restart today! 😄

Yes it is - I posted the links here - at least it is helpful for those who don't have a car.

https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/sho...ighlight=Busch

Crisps · 4 Feb 22, 07:10 AM

This is great news for us as we don’t drive, so as long as things don’t change again and it gets cancelled again, we will be using it!

I did note that the Universal pick up point has changed - it used to be in the main Universal bus station but it’s now at the Doubletree hotel on Kirkman Road.

Doesn’t say anything about return times though. I’ve never used it before. If park closing is 6pm, for example, what time approximately would we be picked up?

26 Sep 21, 11:29 PM	#2
	26 Sep 21, 11:29 PM loldis Imagineer
loldis Imagineer Join Date: May 17 Location: Sussex	Will be interesting to see whether all the shuttles start again, so many of them have been reduced or cancelled. I think demand for this one is probably much lower than you think though, the locals will all drive. You can Uber from Orlando, although it will be pricey. You can also get a bus between Orlando and Tampa, then just Uber from the bus station to Busch. I know Greyhound have a service but it's not very frequent so may require an overnight stay. If you haven't already booked your flights, one option could be to do one of the legs from Tampa so you only have to do the journey once and can have a night or two out in Tampa. Edited at 11:30 PM.