With five roller coasters, Busch Gardens is paradise for thrill-ride jockeys. But this state-of-the-art theme park also is a world-class zoo with more than 2,000 animals and a live entertainment venue that provides a full day (or more) of entertainment for the whole family. The 335-acre adventure park's habitats offer views of some of the world's most endangered and exotic animals. You can experience up-close animal encounters on the Serengeti Plain, a 65-acre free-roaming habitat that is home to reticulated giraffe, Grevy's zebras, white rhinos, bongo, eland, impala, and more. Myombe Reserve: The Great Ape Domain allows you to view lowland gorillas and chimpanzees in a lush, tropical-rain-forest environment. Edge of Africa is an intense walking tour of lions, hippos, and hyenas. The Broadway-style theater extravaganza KaTonga: Tales from the Jungle is a 35-minute celebration of animal folklore, and the hapless Leslie Nielsen leads a bumbling band of buccaneers on the big screen in Pirates 4-D.

SheiKra, North America's first dive coaster, opened in mid-2005. On the wings of an African hawk, riders fly through a three-minute journey 200 feet up, then (gulp!) plunge 90 degrees straight down at 70 mi per hour. The park's coaster lineup also includes steel giants Kumba and Montu, a double wooden roller coaster called Gwazi, and Cheetah Chase -- a five-story family coaster full of hairpin turns and breathtaking dips. The off-road safari Rhino Rally brings you face-to-face with elephants, white rhinos, and Nile crocodiles. (When it's running properly, which isn't always the case, a flash flood adds a river-raft element.) Land of the Dragons is a 4-acre playland for children that has rides, special shows, play areas, and a three-story tree house with towers and stairways. For those 21 years or older, the Hospitality House in the Bird Gardens offers complimentary Anheuser-Busch products and the Budweiser Beer School hosts a 30-minute lesson in the art, science, and tradition of beer brewing. Allow six to eight hours to experience Busch Gardens.