Six Flags Wild Safari Drive-Thru Adventure will kick off the 2021 season March 20, and begin daily operation March 27. This spring, the Animal Care Team looks forward to welcoming an array of adorable babies, and introducing a new species – the rare African bongo.
Wild Safari Drive-Thru Adventure will take guests on a self-guided journey through 1,200 exotic animals from six continents. From the safety and privacy of their own vehicles, guests will slowly wind through 11 simulated natural habitats seeing animals such as giraffes, elephants, rhinos, lions, tigers, bears and baboons. While most animals roam freely in the safari, predators are safely kept behind fences. All animals are clearly visible from car windows.
Six Flags Welcomes Rare African Bongo and Other Spring Babies
When the park opens March 20, guests will see the babies of 2020, including four giraffe calves and two Siberian tiger cubs.
Six Flags will introduce the rare bongo species including an adorable calf in mid-April. Key facts about the bongo include:
- World’s third largest antelope, native to the continent of Africa;
- Striking, reddish-brown herbivores have unique white and black face markings, body stripes, and long, spiraled horns to aid with camouflage in their natural habitat;
- Mainly nocturnal animals, occasionally the bongo will exhibit crepuscular behaviors – making them most active at dusk and dawn; and
- Since the bongo’s wild population is estimated at fewer than 150 due to hunting and habitat loss, the species is considered critically endangered.
Safety Efforts, Education, and Save an Icon
The safety of guests, team members, and animals is Six Flags’ top priority. The safari journey will offer a contact-free experience. All safari tickets must be purchased online and in advance. Ticket sales will not be available at the gate. To prevent overcrowding and provide proper social distancing, the safari will require all guests to make advance reservations using Six Flags’ online reservation system. Active Members, Season Pass Holders, and single-day ticket holders can make reservations at www.sixflags.com/reserve. Guests without advance reservations will not be allowed to enter.
A list of safety requirements is available on the park’s website at www.sixflags.com/greatadventure and include keeping all windows, doors, and convertible tops closed; not feeding or touching the animals; no smoking, littering, or stopping; cars, SUVs and consumer pickup trucks with empty beds only – no campers, RVs, commercial vehicles or trucks larger than a consumer pickup truck; maximum speed of 5 mph and maintaining safe distance between other cars and animals. Pets are not permitted inside vehicles. All vehicles will be inspected prior to entering the safari, rules will be enforced throughout the journey by park staff, and anyone who violates the rules will be ejected from the park without a refund and possibly prosecuted.
Restrooms are located at the entrance/exit only, and light snacks are available for purchase. Six Flags encourages guests to plan accordingly for restroom breaks, gasoline, and food. As a safety precaution, all Six Flags employees will be temperature and health screened each day, and wear masks and gloves where appropriate. Guests are required to wear cloth face coverings when speaking with a Six Flags team member.
Six Flags Great Adventure’s safari operated as a self-drive-through experience from 1974 through 2012 and entertained more than 10 million guests. Since 2013, Great Adventure has offered guided truck tours of the safari as part of the theme park experience. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Wild Safari Drive-Thru Adventure reopened in late May, 2020 and will continue to operate until the theme park is able to reopen its guided Safari truck tours.
Recently, Six Flags Great Adventure launched a new, virtual animal education program, Cyber Safari. The program centers on a new series of free web videos that teach students about adaptations, conservation, evolution, and genetics. Schools, scouts, libraries, nursing homes, and other community programs more have the option to purchase a virtual Safari program with a variety of unique options including virtual animal outreach. The 12 free Cyber Safari videos and coordinating lesson plans are available on the park’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/SixFlagsGrAdventure/playlists
Six Flags also offers an onsite educational program, Science on Safari. This contact-free, drive-through safari experience features 1,200 exotic animals from the farthest reaches of the globe, and expands upon lessons from the virtual videos through a new audio tour and guidebooks. Cyber Safari and Science on Safari are part of Six Flags’ extensive education series, Academic Adventures.
Six Flags is proud to partner with the Wildlife Conservation Network to support global conservation efforts. Proceeds from the park’s Save an Icon pin program are donated to WCN where 100% of the donations directly benefit animals in their natural environments. This year’s pin, available for sale on the web and in gift shops, will feature the white rhinoceros and giraffe.
Guests can learn all about the Wild Safari’s animals and their habitats on the park’s website at www.sixflags.com/safari For operating hours, tickets and reservations, visit www.sixflags.com/reserve
