SALON

Thursday, Aug 30, 2012 11:45 AM UTC

NJ’s Six Flags safari to be a park ride in 2013

By

Topics: From the Wires,

The nosy giraffes, fearless llamas and casual rhinos that motorists have had to maneuver around at a popular New Jersey theme park will be back again next year, but park staff will be doing the driving.

Six Flags Great Adventure told The Associated Press on Thursday it is combining its animal safari with its amusement and water parks into one attraction that it claims will be the world’s largest theme park next year, about 10 acres larger than Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Orlando.

“Never before have guests been able to experience a journey so close to that of a true African safari here in the U.S., said John Fitzgerald, the park’s president. “By combining the world’s most exotic animals with Six Flags’ signature entertainment, the Safari Off Road Adventure will be the most incredible animal adventure anywhere. Where else can you ride a wave, go on safari, and soar on world-record breaking coasters?”

The popular drive-thru safari in Jackson Township, about 50 miles southwest of New York City, is ending Sept. 30, but guests will be driven through a revamped safari area next year on park-provided open-air vehicles. They’ll even be able to pet or hand-feed some of the animals, and can ride a zip line above them for an extra fee.

When the current Wild Safari attraction closes its gates for the 2012 season this fall, it will undergo a massive renovation including a redesign of various simulated natural habitats and the creation of Camp Aventura.

Camp Aventura will be the main stop along the off-road excursion. Guests will be able to hand-feed or pet some of the animals, including exotic birds, snakes and other reptiles, rabbits, sheep and potbellied pigs. Guests also will be able to board a zip line in this area.

One of the main differences between the current drive-thru safari and next year’s attraction will be the ability to see some of the more popular animals more closely, said park spokeswoman Kristin Siebeneicher. While in their cars, motorists had to stay on the drive-thru safari’s paved roads, and often were at a distance from some of the larger or more exotic animals.

“It’s an off-road experience; the SUV travels wherever the animals are,” she said.

Siebeneicher said the largest theme park in the world currently is Disney’s Animal Kingdom at 500 acres. Six Flags Great Adventure will be 510, she said.

Six Flags currently provides tours of the safari for an additional price, but the most popular has proven to be its off-road VIP tour for 5 or 6 people. But the $150 price of that trip kept it out of reach for many guests. The 2013 off-road tours are designed to make that level of access more affordable to visitors.

The park will also add Big Wave Racer, a massive new water slide ride.

Six Flags currently charges $63 for a single-day admission, but is selling season passes for 2013 for the same price through Oct. 28. Ticket prices at the main gate will remain at $63 for a single day next year.

Siebeneicher would not say how much the publicly traded company is spending on the changes.

___

Wayne Parry can be reached at http://twitter.com/WayneParryAC

More Wayne Parry.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • A missing poster hangs on a tree outside the Cleveland home of Amanda Berry Wednesday. Berry and two other women, Michelle Knight and Gina DeJesus, made a daring escape this week after being held captive for more than a decade.
    Credit: AP/Tony Dejak

  • Elvis Rafael Rodriguez and Emir Yasser Yeje offer their best impression of  Eric B. & Rakim. On Thursday, New York prosecutors identified the pair as members of an international gang that robbed $45 million in a matter of hours by hacking into a database of prepaid debit cards and draining ATM machines around the world.
    Credit: AP

  • New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie walks to a podium during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Technology Enhanced Accelerated Learning Center at Essex County Newark Tech in Newark, N.J., Tuesday. Christie made less flattering headlines this week after undergoing a secret stomach surgery to curb his weight.
    Credit: AP/Julio Cortez

  • Workers stand outside the Tung Hai Sweater Ltd. factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday after a fire broke out in its 11-story building. Eight people were killed in the blaze.
    Credit: AP/Ismail Ferdous

  • Workers rescue a woman trapped for 17 days in the rubble of a garment factory building in Saver, Bangladesh, Friday. The building's collapse was the worst industrial disaster in the country's history, killing more than 1,000 people.
    Credit: AP

  • Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford gives his victory speech Tuesday in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., after winning back his old congressional seat in the state's first district.
    Credit: AP/Rainier Ehrhardt

  • Jodi Arias reacts in Maricopa Country Superior Court Wednesday after being found guilty of first-degree murder in the gruesome killing of her one-time boyfriend, Travis Alexander. Arias has subsequently said she wants the death penalty, claiming she'd "prefer to die sooner than later."
    Credit: AP/The Arizona Republic/Rob Schumacher

  • Ariel Castro stands for his mug shot Thursday at the Cuyahoga County Corrections Center, where he is being held on $8 million bail. The former bus driver is accused of imprisoning three young women and beating them repeatedly over a period of 10 years.
    Credit: AP/Cuyahoga County

  • Charles Ramsey addresses the media Monday after helping rescue three women held captive in Cleveland for more than a decade. Ramsey's hero portraiture has been complicated by revelations of his own domestic violence record.
    Credit: AP/The Plain Dealer/Scott Shaw

  • Michael B. Donley, Secretary of the Air Force, testifies during a Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill Wednesday. The military branch was rocked this week after its chief sexual assault prevention officer was charged with sexual battery.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 0 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: So long, Sookie Stackhouse

Recommendations