TAMPA, Fla. — Busch Gardens has a new tour that makes the park more accessible for people with special needs.
The idea came from a zoologist specialist at the park who is medically disabled.
What You Need To Know
Busch Gardens is offering a new tour for people with accessibility and sensory needs
The idea came from Savannah Ingersoll, a zoologist specialist at the park who is medically disabled
The sensory-friendly tour is offered on the third Sunday of each month
Tour participants will go in a sound and light-controlled environment
Taking care of the animals at Busch Gardens is a dream job for Savannah Ingersoll.
But this lifelong dream faced a lot of uncertainty.
“I have anomalies with my spine. I have anomalies with my heart. I had surgeries on my trachea and my esophagus, as well as my renal system, so your kidneys, your bladder,” said Ingersoll, a Zoologist Specialist Senior 1 at Busch Gardens.
Savannah Ingersoll works with a lot of the animals at Animal Connections at Busch Gardens. She’s been working there for nearly three years (Spectrum Bay News 9/Tyler O’Neill)
The zoologist specialist was born with a rare condition called VACTERL Association. Ingersoll has had more than 20 surgeries since she was a little girl and with a lot of trips to the doctor’s office, she said she struggled to feel like a normal kid.
“Growing up kind of feeling like sometimes I wasn’t always included in things or certain activities were a little bit more challenging for me. I want to make sure that in my line of work, I always can provide an inclusive experience,” she said.
When she started working at Busch Gardens nearly three years ago, she said she saw a need for a wheelchair accessible tour; that idea grew to help people with all sorts of needs.
“There wasn’t a safe space, as far as tours are concerned, that these individuals that might be a little overwhelmed by those lights and those crowds and those noises could experience an animal tour,” Ingersoll said.
Ingersoll worked with her supervisors to set up a sensory-friendly tour. It’s held in a sound and light-controlled environment where there are inclusive options for sitting or standing. There are also bins full of sensory items for people who need something to touch while they listen.
“Everybody deserves to be able to experience environmental education and if that looks a little different for some communities, we should be able to provide those experiences for them,” she said.
Ingersoll’s supervisor, Conner Lindsay, said there was a real need for a tour like this and that it’s been rewarding to see the difference it’s made.
Ingersoll feeds the flamingos and make sure their habitat is clean for the birds (Spectrum Bay News 9/Tyler O’Neill)
“We’ve had groups say they would have to pick events, like to do one thing with one child and then something else with the other child, where this is something that they could do all together. They all have enjoyment from it and they all get to see wildlife firsthand, it’s super cool,” said Lindsay, supervisor of zoological operations with Animal Connections at Busch Gardens.
The tour is held on every third Sunday. Participants get to meet animals like an echidna.
“Just the fact that I’m standing here hanging out with animals, getting to clean habitats and talk to people about what I love, that’s a blessing,” Ingersoll said.
The next sensory-friendly tour will be on Dec. 21, 2025.
The 30-minute experience is $20 a person.