Hi ctc917, Although my son enjoyed the Busch Gardens camp a lot he did not like it nearly as well as the SeaWorld camp in Orlando. He loves roller coasters and animal interactions, but his real passion is for marine mammals and sea creatures (always has been), so really it should be no surprise at all to me that he liked the SeaWorld camp best. He just was soooo excited about the up front and personal experiences with the sea creatures and marine mammals in Orlando in particular (every week he went) -- shark cage, penguin encounter, preparing food for the marine mammals, talking to the dolphin and Orca trainers, and getting close to the marine mammals. Busch Gardens for him was a camp to try once. SeaWorld San Antonio and SeaWorld San Diego were camps to try once. SeaWorld Orlando was one he would go to even now if they had one for college aged students or adults. That's the one he repeated and went to four times. San Antonio is the only one with college aged, graduate school, teacher, and adult over 25 camps. // I think part of his liking the Orlando camp best too is spending your evenings in Orlando at two animal venues (first and last night) and the Marriott Residence Inn (three middle nights) vs. being in a basic camp style bunk room. Sleeping in the animal venues was a super memorable (hearing the beluga whale at night the one night, being in the underwater viewing area for dolphins, dolphins deciding they really like you and spending all night right next to you - right by your head against the glass, etc. was just really cool for example). And those Marriott Residence Inn beds were just way more comfortable than the bunks too. // DS too is not by any means cell phone obsessed or anything like that. But he really appreciated that he could keep his cell phone with him the whole time he was at the Orlando camp vs. the Busch and San Diego ones where you had to turn in certain things to counselors the first day who kept them locked away for the duration of camp. He felt that the Orlando counselors treated individuals with the upmost respect and like adults vs. the other camps that had lots of what he thought were unnecessary rules and restrictions. // I don't remember what the scoop was at the San Antonio camp on that, but there too being in college and being in a bunk room with high school kids who weren't as mature in San Antonio wasn't that thrilling for him either.
Orlando is a tropical climate, so very hot and humid in the summer. They have lots of air conditioning, keep the kids hydrated, etc., so DS said it really wasn't that bad. I think those youngsters are much better with the heat and humidity than I am.
We are from Missouri and each time he flew by himself to Orlando. If there is anywhere in the Orlando airport I know he would always be able to find it would be the SeaWorld gift shop lol. Do note that it gave me comfort that he had a cell phone and that he could call me when he arrived. And counselors have your son or daughter call you once your child has connected with the group. He flew to San Diego and San Antonio by himself. // Now I actually went with DS to Tampa (we flew in together), and we spent a few days before the camp at Clearwater beach and visited Winter at the Clearwater Marine sanctuary before the camp (something after seeing the Dolphin Tale movie DS always wanted to do). This was a really fun weekend. I have a cousin who lives in Tampa who joined us for that. I also spend another day with my cousin after we dropped DS off at the Busch Gardens camp. DS, though, from there did fly home on his own (well actually the counselors really look after the kids, get them to the airport, etc. and through security).
I think all of the Busch Gardens / Sea World camps were great experiences and as a parent would have to give them all a big thumbs up. The Orlando one in particular, though, was always just such a magical week for DS.
Do note that we live in St. Louis, MO and have a wonderful zoo here too that has day camp programs with an overnight on the last night, overnight experiences, and behind the scenes programs that sound very similar to a lot of what they do at Busch Gardens. We are zoo members and have always participated heavily in the programs we have locally for kids, families, and adults. We have done a lot with our local wolf sanitary too which was started by Marlin Perkins which breeds, trains for the wild, and reintroduces wolfs on the endangered species list to the wild. DS has done camps there, and we have participated in family programs there too. We love things like this, and the Busch Gardens / SeaWorld camps are leaders in education and provide world class experiences for campers.