When Great Adventure opened in July 1974, the Safari was considered as big an attraction and the Enchanted Forest Theme Park. The Safari, like so many things about Great Adventure, was that it was the biggest-- "Largest Drive Through Safari outside of Africa" with thousands of animals roaming free while guests rode through in their cars (or if they had a vinyl top, taking the Tour Bus instead).
Originally all the animals truly roamed freely, with the elephants, lions, tigers, and bears (oh, my!) walking up to an on people's cars, sometimes causing damage to their vehicles. The Baboons especially were known to pull parts off of cars, giving rise to the "Baboon By-Pass" which went around the Baboon area.
Click for a look at the Safari in 1974:
https://www.greatadventurehistory.com/1974SafariTour.htm
Originally all the animals truly roamed freely, with the elephants, lions, tigers, and bears (oh, my!) walking up to an on people's cars, sometimes causing damage to their vehicles. The Baboons especially were known to pull parts off of cars, giving rise to the "Baboon By-Pass" which went around the Baboon area.
Click for a look at the Safari in 1974:
https://www.greatadventurehistory.com/1974SafariTour.htm
Last edited:
