Where-To-Go Wednesday: Six Flags Wild Safari

Today we were are excited to bring back Where-To-Go Wednesday and talk about a place we have actually visited. However, unfortunately, this does not yet signify the permanent return of our Where-To-Go Wednesday posts. Since things are obviously still not fully back to normal our ability to actually visit places and post about them in future Where-To-Go Wednesdays will most likely fluctuate. We will post future Where-To-Go Wednesday posts when we can. Alternatively, when we are not able to do so we will continue to post about virtual visits to fun locations in future What-To-Do Wednesday posts instead.

What: Six Flags Wild Safari
       
Where: Six Flags Great Adventure
             1 Six Flags Blvd.
             Jackson, NJ

 Who: All ages

Me - Six Flags Wild Safari was very enjoyable. I liked seeing all the animals because I love animals. There were quite  a lot of cute animals. One of my favorites was this little elephant. I'm not sure if it was a baby or not, but it was smaller than the others.  I also really liked this sleeping bear. In fact, I really liked most of the animals.

I like going through the Safari more in our own car than going on the Safari Off Road Adventure where you have to go in the park's vehicle. There is more room in our own car. We can go at our own pace, and we don't have to be with strangers. Being able to go through the Safari in our own car again is one of the few nice things to come out of the Coronavirus crisis. I hope they keep it that way or at least continue to give the option of going through it in your own car.

Mom -  When the park opened in 1974, visitors to Six Flags Wild Safari drove through the park in their own cars. Until 2012, they at least had the option to continue to do so. After that the safari became just another one of the park's rides and if you wanted to go through you it, you had to go through in one of the parks giant off-road vehicles with a large group of other people. However, due to social distancing requirements in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Safari was recently reopened as a drive-thru attraction which visitors can go through in their own car.

Although we are fairly certain that the park will return to the Safari Off-Road format in which it is only possible to go through the safari in the park's vehicles as soon as it is safe to do so, there are good and bad things about both formats. We will talk more about the Safari Off-Road Adventure in a future post. For more about going through the Safari in your own car, see below.

The best thing about going through the Safari in your own car is that you can go through at your own pace. It is also more comfortable being in your own vehicle, and you do  not having to worry about anyone being annoying by talking too much or kicking your seat or anything like that except for the members of your own family (or the occupants of your own vehicle even if they are not family). However, when everyone goes through in their own vehicle there are a lot more vehicles in the Safari overall. Thus it can be a lot slower to go through, and there can be a lot of stopping and starting making it like driving through a traffic jam.  This is partially due to the fact that everyone going through the park must go through in their own vehicle and partly due to the fact that not all other entertainment options have reopened. Most other places that have reopened including the amusement park attached to the Safari are not yet fully open and are still restricting the number of visitors per day. While Six Flags Wild Safari may or may not be limiting the availability of tickets per day and/or time, a lot more people can visit at one time than can currently visit most if not all other fun locations that are currently open. However, it is possible that the crowds may abate as more places open and people have more options of fun places to go but it is also possible that when that happens the the park will return to the Safari Off-Road format, and it will no longer be possible to go through in your own car. The other downside of visiting the park in your own car is that it is kind of expensive as each person in the vehicle must purchase a separate ticket while some similar attractions may only charge by the car load.

However, despite any drawbacks, it is still worth a visit to the Safari especially if you love animals because you will certainly have the opportunity to see a lot of  them including numerous different species. The park currently claims to have 1200 different species from six different continents. It also  may be easier than visiting a zoo, even if that option were available, especially if you have difficult walking around for long periods of time and/or have small children. Most of all though it is just great to have something fun to do and a place to go that is not your house for a few hours.

And that's our view.

For more about Six Flags Wild Safari or to purchase tickets, visit
www.sixflags.com/greatadventure/attractions/safari. Please note that although under normal circumstances tickets can be purchased at the park during the current crisis that option is not available. All tickets must be purchased in advance on the Six Flags website.

Tune in tomorrow for Theater Thursday.