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‘Busch Bucks’ for Busch Gardens Passport kids

Posted Mar 30, 2010 by Beth Gaddis

Updated Mar 30, 2010 at 12:44 PM

Good news for Busch Gardens Florida Passport members who already had paid full price for kids’ tickets before the park announced free admittance for children ages 5 and under.

This isn’t being advertised, but a Busch Gardens spokeswoman confirms you can get reimbursed with “Busch Bucks,” vouchers you can use to buy food and merchandise in the park.

Here’s what you do.  Go online at www.SesameStreetSafariOfFun.com to register your child for the free Preschool Pass, then bring proof of age to the front gate to pick up the pass and request $70 in Busch Bucks.  It’s that easy.

I took my kids back to Busch Gardens on Sunday to check out the Dine with Elmo and Friends character buffet.  My kids, ages 4 and 20 months, loved it!  While Big Bird and Elmo posed for pictures in the back of the restaurant, Cookie Monster, Bert and Ernie came around to all the tables, spending lots of time with each family.  Each also stole the spotlight for a song and dance, with Bert bringing back memories of my childhood with his pigeon dance and Ernie singing his famous “Rubber Ducky” song.

If you haven’t been there yet, here’s a parents’ guide to the attractions:

Dine with Elmo and Friends: A reservations-only buffet restaurant with character interaction.  Great for all ages.

Air Grover: A roller coaster for ages 3 and older.  My 4-year-old was initially a little scared, but once he saw his neighbor on it, he wanted to go.  It ended up being his favorite ride.

Bert & Ernie’s Watering Hole: Babies and toddlers will love the gentle bubblers on the right side of the attraction, while older kids will enjoy running under the buckets of water and spraying each other with the water cannons on the left side.  As a parent, I particularly enjoyed all the seating.

Oscar’s Swamp Stomp: Mizzly’s Marsh got a makeover and toddlers loved splashing through the ankle-deep water.

The Count’s Zambezi Rally: As long as your child can walk, he or she can go on this ride.  My kids loved spinning the steering wheels as they sat side-by-side in one of the tot-sized cars.

Zoe-Patra & The Hippos of the Nile: This gentle flume ride where the kids ride in brightly-colored hippos does have one pint-sized hill that used to scare my older one.  Now he loves it, and once we got home, he climbed into an empty clothes basket and pretended it was one of the hippos.

Snuffy’s Elephant Romp: Ride up and down with Snuffleupagus.  We didn’t go on this, but I saw lots of happy 3-and 4-year-olds riding it.

Elmo’s Safari Go-Round: This is a good first carousel for little kids since the African-themed animals don’t go up and down.  Older kids might enjoy the old-fashioned merry-go-round in Timbuktu.

Rosita’s Djembe Fly-Away: I wasn’t sure about putting my 1-year-old on this ride, but he did fine.  It’s designed for little kids under 42 inches tall.

Big Bird’s Whirly Birdy: A Ferris wheel that’s good for kids two and up.

Telly’s Jungle Jam: Billed as a hands-on play area, it works best if one parent can stay with younger kids to lift them up to peer through the portholes while another parent looks through from the other end.

Elmo’s Treehouse Trek: I know kids as young as two who go through the three-story tall obstacle course without a problem.  My oldest just did it for the first time on Sunday.

Cookie Monster’s Canopy Crawl: I saw parents letting their 1-year-olds into this three-story-tall net climb alone, but I personally wouldn’t recommend it.  It’s best for bigger kids whose feet won’t slip through the netting.

Slimey’s Sahara Sand: I wish Busch Gardens had added Sesame Street-themed pails, shovels and other toys to this sand-filled play area.  My boys went in, but stayed only about two minutes.

Sunny Day Theater: We didn’t get to see this 10-minute musical performance featuring Grover and other Sesame Street characters, but we saw lots of kids waiting patiently to go up on stage to meet the characters afterwards.

“Lights, Camera, Imagination!” Some friends thought the spraying water that was part of this “4-D” movie featuring the Muppet was a bit too much for little kids.  They recommended waiting until kids are about five.

If you go, share your pictures in our photo gallery or go online to our Facebook page to let us know what you thought!