There's a reason Busch keeps adding new thrills. Theme parks are an insanely competitive business. The Tampa park, with 4.3 million annual visitors, doesn't even make it into America's top 10 (it's 11th, while Disney's Magic Kingdom in Orlando ranks No. 1 with 14 million).

Still, that's no small feat for an attraction that came from humble beginnings.Thirty years ago, it was a thriving brewery that, as an after thought, offered a bird show and free beer for those who toured the plant. Today, the beer makers have moved north and the birds are just one element in a rollicking park that in addition to those roller coasters has hundreds of African animals in a package that rivals Orlando's Walt Disney World, Universal and SeaWorld.

While the theme park is an exclamation point to Tampa's fun side, the city and Hillsborough County are more popular among professionals than vacationers. Core businesses include banking, phosphate, and business and convention hotels. Those industries in the last decade have helped the county's population grow 19.8% to 1.03 million. Much of that growth has occurred in north and east county suburbs and bedroom communities, including those just across Tampa's northern border, in Pasco County.

Most visitors will spend an extra day in Tampa visiting Busch Gardens, touring the Florida Aquarium, partying in Ybor (pronounced Eee-bore) City's clubs or watching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play at Raymond James Stadium in the fall or the New York Yankees train at Legends Field from mid-February through March.