I must admit to never having heard of Busch Gardens prior to our coming to Florida. The theme park tickets we purchased came as a package (Sea World, Busch Gardens, etc) and I really didn't have high hopes for it. We drove a fairly easy and straightforward hour to Tampa from Davenport (where we are staying) and arrived just before the park opened at 9:45 am.

We were pleasantly surprised to find this combination of zoo and amusement park to be the best park we've been to so far!

Zoo and amusement park? Yes, and more. The park is divided into different "countries"; Morocco, Egypt, Nairobi, Timbucktu, Congo, and a Sesame Street zone for the smaller kids. Each zone has themed restaurants, stores, attractions and music.

Huge roller coasters weave over the park, with open plan savannah underneath populated by zebra, ostriches, giraffes, antelope, and rhinos. They also have enclosures with lions, cheetahs, hyenas and elephants. You can tour the park and get a good overview of it from the train that leaves every 20 minutes or so and runs through the animal enclosures.

The roller coasters were impressive, and the entertainment was good too - we had lunch at the Moroccan quarter and were treated to a performance by some drummers and belly dancers.

We started at the Sesame Street Zone, where my eleven year old discovered she was too tall for more than one ride (first time for everything) and everything was perfect for my four year old. He was in heaven. Then, we caught the train to the Congo and enjoyed the animals along the way.

It turns out Matthew (9) is a daredevil, who cheerfully went on the scariest of roller coasters while his older sister is a scaredy cat like me. Imogen (7) is pretty game, but went on one coaster that she was tall enough for that tested her courage. Joe was disappointed that he was too small for the big coasters - I have long known about his daredevil tendencies!

We ended the day at around 5:00pm and collected Chinese takeaway for dinner on the way home. We enjoyed the meal, as well as the fortune cookies and cute takeout boxes - just like on tv.

Tomorrow? Maybe a quiet day after three theme parks in a row?