At Busch Gardens, safety is the only consideration that takes precedence over fun! Thrill rides, by their very nature, create forces and speeds that may not be acceptable or tolerable to some guests and may cause injury to some riders with known or unknown pre-existing conditions.

Many theme park rides incorporate safety systems designed by the manufacturer to accommodate people of average physical stature and body proportion. These systems may place restrictions on the ability of an individual to safely experience the ride. In general, you should ride only if you are in good health. Do not ride if you know or suspect you may be pregnant, have high blood pressure, heart, neck or back problems, motion sickness, recent surgery, or any other medical condition that may be affected by the features of the ride. You should not ride if you have any impairment or condition that would prevent the intended use of seating and safety restraints as provided or inability to follow any safety requirement.

In order to ride, guests must be able to maintain the proper riding position throughout the ride and brace themselves upright in their seat, keeping their head upright and their back against the seatback. Guests must be able to use the restraint device properly and be able to hold on tight and keep their hands, arms, legs, and feet down and inside the ride at all times. Guests must be able to demonstrate a willingness and ability to comply with verbal and written rider requirements. The rider requirements and health restrictions are listed at the entrance of each ride.

Guests with casts or braces will be restricted from riding certain rides where the cast or brace may present a hazard to the guest or others. Please consult with our Guest Services & Reservation Center staff for more information or if in doubt about your ability to safely experience a ride.

Busch Gardens team members can offer assistance steadying a guest transferring to or from a wheelchair. They may not lift or assist in lifting anyone using a wheelchair. All guests must be able to board a ride themselves or with help from a member of their party.

The maturity level of any rider must be considered prior to riding.

Height requirements are posted at each attraction. Your child may be measured at the height check station located at the Guest Information & Reservation Center in England. All guests, including those using wheelchairs, must meet the height requirement.

Guests with hard casts, braces, and walking boots will not be permitted to ride Alpengeist, Apollo's Chariot, and Griffon. Guests with a full arm cast, full leg cast, or braced arm cast may be restricted from riding certain rides and should refer to the Ride Information section of this guide for more information.

Guests with any type of prosthesis should ensure it is properly secured before riding any ride. Leg prostheses are not permitted on Alpengeist, Apollo's Chariot and Griffon.

Guests with an amputation below the knee may ride Alpengeist and Griffon but must remove the leg prosthesis prior to riding.

Guests with a single amputation above the knee may ride, with the use of a separate three-point harness, provided the guest has at least one functioning hand, one functioning leg, and enough leg remnant to be secured by the separate three-point harness.

Guests with an amputation below the ankle may ride Apollo’s Chariot but must remove the leg prosthesis prior to riding.

Guests with a single amputation above the ankle may ride, with the use of a separate three-point harness, provided the guest has at least one functioning hand, one functioning leg, and the amputation is at the knee or below.

Guests with an arm prosthesis must have one fully functioning hand and two natural functioning legs to ride Apollo's Chariot. One natural functioning hand with original fingers (not prosthesis) is necessary to hand-grasp the lap bar.

Guests should refer to the Guest Information & Reservation Center to determine their specific ability to ride Alpengeist, Apollo's Chariot and Griffon.

In order to ride, all seatbelts, lap bars, and shoulder harnesses must be positioned and fastened properly. Due to rider restraint system requirements, guests of exceptional size may not be accommodated on some of our rides. Larger guests may experience difficulty on Alpengeist, Apollo’s Chariot and Griffon. Test seats are located at the ride entrance and we recommend utilizing these before entering the ride queue. Our team members may assist you by asking you to try out the seat.

Ride escorts may be required due to mechanical problems, weather conditions, or power interruption. If a ride escort is required, guests may need to negotiate stairs from the highest point of the ride and down steeply inclined catwalks or steps. Guests requiring assistance during the ride escort may be escorted last in order to expedite the ride escort process. Please inquire about specific procedures prior to boarding a particular attraction.

Loose articles are not permitted in the ride queue lines or on Alpengeist, Apollo’s Chariot, Davinci’s Cradle, Escape from Pompeii, Griffon, Grover’s Alpine Express, Loch Ness Monster, Roman Rapids and the Der Wirbelwind. This includes but is not limited to, cellular phones, hats, cameras, pagers, purses, wallets, keys, backpacks, umbrellas, etc. Items must be safely secured in a sealed pocket, a waist pack, left in a locker or with a non-rider. Busch Gardens is not responsible for lost or damaged articles.

For safety reasons, picture-taking is not permitted on any ride except the Skyride, Busch Gardens Railroad and Rhine River Cruise. Due to the nature and dynamics of all rides and the potential for injury, unsecured cameras or video cameras of any size are not permitted on the rides. To store such equipment, either return them to your vehicle or use the lockers that are available for a nominal fee.

The following conditions must be met for the hands free cameras/camera harnesses to be permitted:

SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment is committed to providing guests a safe and enjoyable experience. Because of different pathway configuration and terrain as well as large crowds that include small children and strollers, we regret that we cannot permit the use of two-wheeled, self-balancing electric vehicles such as Segways. We are pleased to offer other forms of personal transportation, including electric convenience vehicles, four-wheeled stand up electric convenience vehicle and standard wheelchairs will be provided. We encourage you to contact Guest Services with any questions you may have.

Due to the dynamics and certain characteristics of the rides, oxygen tanks are not permitted on any ride except the Carousel (Bench Only), Busch Gardens Railroad, Rhine River Cruise, and Skyride. Oxygen tanks are permitted in theatres, exhibits, and other enclosed facilities.

The Guest Services & Reservation Center is situated just past the turnstiles on the right hand-side. Guests with disabilities are welcome to stop by for any assistance they require. Guest Relations Guest Relations is located past the ticket booths prior to the turnstiles on the right hand-side.

Parking is provided directly in front of the main entrance for guests with a valid parking permit. Most space for guests with disabilities are accessible to vans.

Wheelchairs and Electric Convenience Vehicles (ECV’s) may be rented at Stroller Rental at the Main Gate. This shop is located to the right-hand side of the restrooms at the Main Gate Ticket Booths. Wheelchairs and ECV’s are rented on a “first-come, first served” basis to guests with disabilities. Reservations for wheelchairs are available and must be made at least 3 days in advance of the planned visit. Guests may also use their own wheelchairs or ECV’s. Guests using wheelchairs may join any admissions line to enter the park.

Companion restroom facilities are situated at the Main Entrance/Exit, Sesame Street Forest of Fun, First Aid, Germany, Scotland and France.

Assistance animals are welcome at Busch Gardens. All assistance animals must remain on a leash or in a harness at all times. Where permitted, guests with assistance animals should follow the same attraction entrance procedures as described for guests using wheelchairs.

The following suggestions will maximize your visit with your assistance animal: Although assistance animals are discouraged from riding any ride, your assistance animal will be permitted on:

• Bert and Ernie’s Loch Adventure
• Bumper Cars
• Busch Gardens Railroad
• Carousel Bench
• Land of the Dragons Rides
• Little Balloons
• Oscar’s Whirly Worms
• Red Baron
• Rhine River Cruise
• Skyride

Please review additional ride information in this guide to determine if you feel the ride experience is appropriate for your animal.

We suggest that while experiencing a ride, the animal should be left with a responsible non-rider.

The guest attending the animal may then board the ride without waiting in line once the first guest assumes responsibility of the animal.

Busch Gardens team members are not permitted to care for assistance animals.

Assistance animals are the responsibility of the owner and cannot be left unattended. Guests are responsible for the clean-up of service animal waste and for controlling their service animal’s behavior. If at any time your service animal’s behavior becomes a threat to the safety and well-being of other park guests or animals, you will be asked to board the animal at our kennel or leave the premises. “Break” Area for Service Animals For your convenience, a Service Animal “Relief Area” is located to the left-hand side of the Pompeii Gift Shop.

Text Telephone Devices (TTD) are situated at Guest Services. Please see a team member for assistance. Public telephones, accessible to guests using wheelchairs, are provided in Oktoberfest and at the main entrance/exit to the park. Some public telephones are equipped with volume control.

If you are reading this in preparation for your visit, American Sign Language interpretation can be provided at live shows with a minimum of one week’s notice. Call (757) 253-3201 for reservations. Every effort will be made to provide interpreting services with less than one week’s notice, depending on the availability of the interpreter. Guests requesting this free service will be contacted prior to their visit.

Visually Impaired Guests must have someone (a companion or park team member) read the ride restrictions to them prior to boarding.

While dining at our restaurants, please be aware that most venues offer cafeteria-style service. Special assistance is available upon request. For guests with special dietary needs, we offer a variety of allergy friendly options throughout our park. You may stop by Guest Services, or any of our meal facilities, to receive an Allergen Card with more detail on our Allergy Friendly program and offerings. When dining, please go straight to the cashier upon arrival and ask to speak with a supervisor to discuss the severity of your allergens and determine a meal that will be safe for you. We also suggest you visit meal facilities during non-peak hours or ahead of meal time so that you can be efficiently assisted and served.