A city known for its mix of modern landmarks and turn-of-the-century buildings with historic architecture, Tampa is culture infused with Spanish and Cuban flavors. For visitors and residents alike, there is so much to do in this destination whether sampling the flavorful tequila during a margarita festival, paddling on the Hillsborough River, riding a thrilling coaster at Busch Gardens, enjoying a hockey game, or exploring the various aquariums and museums. If you want to save huge when visiting Tampa City, you can consider the Tampa Bay CityPASS. The Pass gives you an opportunity to explore the must-see attractions while you cut back on your entrance charges.
How does the Tampa City Pass work?
Tampa Bay CityPASS remains valid for a period of nine consecutive days from the first day of activation. The Pass offers one admission within each attraction per an individual. A visitor must present the voucher they were sent when they purchased the Pass so that they get the CityPASS ticket booklet. The presentation of the voucher should be done within six months following the date of purchase. The entire ticket booklet will expire after the end of the nine days from the time of activation. The Pass is activated on the first attraction you visit.
A visitor should avoid removing the tickets from the booklet because they will be rendered invalid or void. Only the attendants at the entrances of the attractions can remove the tickets. The prices of children apply to ages of 3 to 9 years. In the event that you want a refund, you can get full refund if you cancel the Pass not less than 24 hours of the date of start of the touring experience.
When you purchase the Pass, you will get a voucher that is sent via email, the booklet can also be shipped to you. If a voucher has been sent to you, you will have to get the booklet once you arrive in Tampa. You can also get mobile tickets, which you can present at the entry points of each attraction through your mobile device. It is also possible to print the ticket in case you want to have a hard copy. The ticket booklet can be shipped to you if you are in Canada, US, Germany, Portugal, Australia, France, UK, New Zealand, Spain, and Italy. Otherwise, you can also consider buying your Tampa CityPASS tickets when you arrive in Tampa at the first attraction that you visit.
How Much Can You Save?
You can save up to 50 percent or even more in your visit to top attractions in Tampa Bay if you purchase the Tampa CityPASS. The Pass offers admission to various attractions, which include The Florida Aquarium, The Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Zoo Tampa located at Lowry Park, and Chihuly Collection or Museum of Science and Industry.
Now, let’s take a look at specific attractions and see how much you can save.
· Busch Gardens Tampa Bay : The price for single admission including all rides, exhibits, and shows is $113.91 for adults and $113.91 for children ages 3 to 9 years.
· The Florida Aquarium: Admission to this aquarium is priced at $28.95 for adults while kids pay $23.95. The exact price for adults may vary based on the date in which you visit. It can vary between $28 and $32.
· ZooTampa at Lowry Park: An adult will pay $36.95 for one-day admission to the Zoo, which includes all shows, rides, and keeper talks. A child pays $27.95.
· Clearwater Marine Aquarium: An adult pays $24.95 for general admission to the aquarium while children pay $19.95.
· Museum of Science & Industry: An adult will purchase a ticket for $12.95 and children pay $7.95 for general admission to this museum. The tour includes visits to permanent exhibits like Idea Zone and Connectus.
· Chihuly Collection: A visit to this attraction will cost an adult $19.95 whereas children pay $12.95. The ticket gives you access to Chihuly Collection as well as Morean Glass Studio & Hot Shop in addition to Live Glassblowing demonstrations.
When you look at the above prices for each attraction, the regular prices of all the attractions will amount to $224.71 for adults while children pay $198.71. If you have the Tampa Bay CityPASS, it will cost $107.00 on single admission for all the attractions in the case of an adult, while a kid visiting all the attractions will pay $97.00.
So, when you calculate the difference, you find that an adult using the Tampa CityPASS will save $117.70 and a child will save $101.71, which translates to about 52 percent savings off the regular prices of the attractions featured in the Tampa Bay CityPASS.
The Attractions Included in Tampa Bay CityPASS
Visitors who purchase the Tampa Bay CityPASS can have access to Busch Gardens plus four other attractions, which are:
- ZooTampa situated at Lowry Park
- The Florida Aquarium
- Clearwater Marine Aquarium
- And a choice between Chihuly Collection and Museum of Science and Industry.
Busch Gardens
This theme park has over 12,000 animals, which include rhinos, cheetahs, giraffes and others. There are exciting rides that include zippy Cheetah Hunt, which is a triple-launch coaster stretching about 4,400 feet forming the longest ride in the park. The Falcon’s Fury coaster is the tallest self-supporting drop tower within America.
At Bush Gardens, you will be transported to Pantopia where you feel the thrill of the exciting rides and attractions, great shopping experience, amusing entertainment, and a taste of sensational food and beverages.
Like the Falcon bird of prey, when you ride at Falcon’s Fury, at the highest point of the ride, riders spin around 90 degrees within midair so that they face down in their diving position before they instantly speed straight down at a plunging speed of 60 mph. You can also encounter an experience with the orangutans while testing your strength at Jungala with a Bengal tiger.
The Florida Aquarium
The aquarium has over 20,000 sea creatures including otters, sharks, penguins and many others. You have a chance to cool down in a rainforest-themed Splash Pad with a 2-acre water zone containing wet and dry play elements, lush landscaping, sandboxes, and much more. A Wild Dolphin Cruise takes you through a 75-minute tour departing everyday from the waterfront district of the aquarium.
ZooTampa at Lowry Park
At ZooTampa, visitors have a unique look of the world’s only non-profit manatee hospital. This is one of the few places you are able to encounter the gentle giants throughout the year. When you head to Safari Africa, you will see the amazing natural wildlife including zebras, elephants, white rhinos, meerkats, pygmy hippos, African penguins, okapi also known as zebra giraffe or Congolese giraffe, and many others. At the feeding plateau, visitors can stand to watch the giraffes, the tallest animals you can find in the world. In addition, visitors can explore the Florida’s native wildlife.
The Wallaroo Station offers you an opportunity to see great animals including wallabies, emus, cockatoos, koalas, singing dogs and others from Down Under. For the families with kids, the Australian Children’s Zoo, an award-winning zoo brings you hands-on Aussie entertainment with interactive animal encounters and fun rides.
Lowry Park Zoo was rated number countrywide by Parents Magazine back in 2009 making it one of the most interesting spots to visit.
Clearwater Marine Aquarium
Clearwater Marine Aquarium hosts the movie star dolphin. It is also home to otters, turtles, sharks, stingrays, pelicans, and a shrimp known as Scarlett together with an eel known as Spot. Guests can walk to the railing area Winter and Hope’s pool within the Winter Zone to have a look at the amazing dolphins. Remember to get to the Shipwreck Alley where you can watch the Winter Zone within the underwater viewing tunnel to see the Winter and Hope and play underwater. At Otter Oasis, you have an encounter with the rescued river otter named Walle of North America in a perfect environment comprising of toys, water, and sand. Visitors also have a chance to meet Harold of the Dolphin Tale 2 Box Office hit who played Mavis.
Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI)
Recently the MOSI introduced new features among them being Connectus, a permanent exhibit offering you an encounter with the future. Connectus gives you access to latest technologies that have not even been released to the public. An experience at the 3D Printing the Future: The Exhibition brings you a narrative of night sky within the Saunders Planetarium. It’s an exploration that will inspire you to be an astronaut with the Mission: Moonbase. The idea Zone cranks up your creativity as you design as well as engineer various projects.
Chihuly Collection
This stunning collection of sculptural art glass fixtures or installations of the famous artist Dale Chihuly will offer an interesting experience. It is possible that you have seen the works of Chihuly hanging over from the Bellagio’s ceiling in Las Vegas or from the Morean Hot Shop’s glass-blowing demonstrations. The permanent art collections of Dale Chihuly are in an intimate and custom-designed setting. The Morean Arts Center Galleries, which are included in the Tampa Bay CityPASS admission, offer contemporary exhibits and exciting local art of different mediums. It’s at Chihuly Collection where you will find the only IMAX DOME theater in Florida.
Wrap Up
Your visit to Tampa Bay can be an exciting experience if you take advantage of the Tampa Bay CityPASS. Visitors have about five attractions that they can visit in a span of nine days, a duration that the Pass remains valid once you have activated it during your first visit to one of the featured attractions. That’s pretty plenty of time for a visitor to explore the attractions.
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