Six Flags Great Adventure announces Safari Off Road Adventure

I have never spent the extra money for the safari. I'm excited to be able to do it with general admission now. I may even splurge to do the zip line.

I'd venture to say my 38 year streak of never having gone through the Safari...in any form..will continue.

It looks cool, especially the part about being able to fed the animals. Even though it's been done before, like at Animal Kingdom and Busch Gardens, this is going to be unique for the area. This is going to be a very popular main attraction for the park.

In a world of upcharges and hidden fees it's cool six flags included this as one price.

We have done the Safari a number of times and have always enjoyed it. I have taken several friends with us that admitted that they would not have gone if they were at the park on their own (it helped that the safari was open an hour before the park). To a person every one of them said that the safari was the highlight of their park visit.

While I will miss driving myself though the park, I think this will actually be better. If you followed the rules, you always saw the animals through your car's glass. This will give you clearer views of the animals and will be better for photography as long as they don't try to make the trek into a "thrill ride".

The zip line sound cool. I have never done one, but this sounds like it might be worth an up-charge.

Now if they would just put in a hotel :D

Cedar "Counter" Point said:

In a world of upcharges and hidden fees it's cool six flags included this as one price.

There is talk of some upcharge attractions added to the safari, like the zipline, and lunch with the animals. That's not a bad thing. Paying a few dollars for the safari experience would have been reasonable, so it is very cool that it is included with admission. I am very interested to know how much the gate price will go up for 2012 the season.

Good point ....higher gate price....LOL.....it's not a charity....it's a business.

This is a cool move. Not to mention with their own vehicles and drivers it will be a safer experience for the animals.

I hear they are going to load the vehicles in the frontier area, go behind the amphitheater and into the safari through an existing maintenance gate. thing is unless they are rearrange animals. So that your entering and exiting the American west your way out of theme. They could have removed bizzaro and created a whole mini area to support the new attraction.

I think you are going to see a lot of SFGAdv prices go up. They will have to find some way to cover the costs of the animals.

We've always enjoyed the safari. That was our mid day lunch break from the park. Go and pick up food. Then drive through the safari and check out all the animals in our car with the a/c blasting.

I think the addition of a guide will make it a better experience. The only sad part is no more a/c and not being able to pick up outside food.

This will probably get me to do the safari next time if I can pull myself away from Toro. And Nitro.

One thing's for certain: Based on my views today from two rides on Toro and three on Medusa, there were more cars going through the Safari than I've seen in recent years. Guess it's that old expression..you don't know what you've got until it's gone (or soon to be, in this case.)

Anyone see this as a future growth move? With land getting tight and only swamp land and parking lot as an option, they can now condense the safari and move onto that land. The possibilities could be endless if they started to use safari land.

^That's what I figured all along. This is Temporary until they can find new homes for many of the animals over the next several years.

Land tight? Great Adventure has the most land of any regional park. I'm thinking this is just a way to jumpstart the safari experience

If they were going to get rid of the safari, they'd have done it already.

But seriously, I highly doubt this is a play to move into the safari land when they have plenty of land around the park. Land isn't tight at that park at all, not sure where that came from. And I'd like to think they'd at least do something to the old section where Batman & Robin were before they even thought about expanding into the Safari. Plus there is other land to go to.

If anything, I think this is a play for the park to become the de facto flagship of the east coast SF parks. And with the way they've been operating, its just a way to take an old attraction, make a few changes, and make it 'new' to market. Since this is near the largest metro in the US, it can now be the largest park and be marketed as such.

I could see them adding more upcharge attractions and/or family type attractions (but not necessarily rides) in the Safari, which would make great sense.

...Or Disney's Animal Kingdom. lol

Or Maverick.

Concerning the open-air vehicles: Here in Ohio we are home the "The Wilds", the largest wildlife conservation center for endangered species in North America. Years ago the guided drive through tours were given on school buses. When they added modern air conditioned buses, old buses were converted into open-air vehicles. The windows and roofs were removed and replaced with a canvas top. No more fighting to get your camera lens through a tiny peephole or open window at the very top.

I much prefer the open-air vehicles. It's much better for photography and you just feel so much closer to the animals. And it adds to the whole atmosphere making it seem more like a real safari in the wide open savanna. Wind in your hair and dust in your face. "Safari Charm"!