We began our day at the safari. I believe the safari is unparalleled in terms of animal quantity and encounters as well as comfort and uniqueness of the experience. We've been to countless zoos over the years, but nothing quite compares to the luxury of driving along in your own air conditioned vehicle with a tremendous amount of animals roaming around your car as you move along through the safari road. They have so many animals to see: elephants, rhinoceros, tigers, lions, baboons, zebras, water buffalo, and much more. Our absolute family favorites are the flamingos, bears, and giraffes.
I am amazed at how many animals roam pleasantly within the confines of the safari as we move about them in the comfort of our cars, which is what I find most exceptional. The safari leads to some fantastic stories to share, too. Ask either of my kids about the ostrich sneezing on our car window or the giraffe licking at the outer window area of our sunroof and they'll be all too happy to launch into story mode for you.
After getting our fill of the animals for the day, we hopped on over to the Great Adventure theme park. I love that the safari opens an hour and a half prior to the theme park, as you can experience it early and still get into the theme park as the rides open for the day and get a head start on any lines. Since it's been so hot out lately, we immediately headed over to the Congo Rapids, but not before stopping for a quick picture with Batman and Robin and then Sylvester and Foghorn Leghorn on our way there. Sylvester was trying to snatch the Tweety Bird picture right off of my younger daughter's shirt for lunch. It was quite comical. The kids loved their first time on Congo Rapids so much that we had to revisit it not once, not twice, but three more times for a grand total of four rides on it throughout our day at the park. That water adventure was so much fun for all of us to truly enjoy as a family together.
There's a new Adventure Alley area of the park over where the big fifteen story tall ferris wheel is located. In this section, brave the 24-story journey into the air and soar in a 98 foot circle at heart pounding speeds of 40 miles per hour on the all new SkyScreamer swing ride. Keep your feet on the ground with new family attractions – Fender Benders, Air Jumbo and Scrambler. Note that Fender Benders, the bumper car ride, just began construction and is therefore not yet open but will join the other rides in this section upon completion. Here is a great snapshot of the brave riders on the SkyScreamer that I snapped from up at the top of the large ferris wheel.
Our family's favorite rides of the day were The Runaway Mine Train, Congo Rapids, the Saw Mill Log Flume, and the Skyway - a great cable car transport from one end of the park to the other and great fun in and of itself, too. For those of you with older children or who yourselves are roller coaster enthusiasts, there are a myriad of options throughout the park but I personally recommend trying Kingda Ka, the tallest coaster in the world and the fastest in North America, as it's speed and height make for a breathtaking coaster experience. It is a tremendously fun and exhilirating ride. I loved it. Other alternatives include but definitely are not limited to El Toro, the well known wooden coaster with steep drops, as well as Superman:Ultimate Flight, Batman:The Ride, Green Lantern, Nitro, and Bizarro. For those of you with young ones at home, there are two areas in the park, namely Safari Kids and Bugs Bunny National Park, that provide a large selection of rides for the little adventure seekers. You also won't want to miss the Carousel and the Enchanted Teacups inside Fantasy Forest, too.
There are a number of show options throughout the park and at varying times througout the day. New this year is the Sea Lion Celebration. We made sure to take a break from the rides to catch this show. The kids were fascinated by the fact that a sea lion could dance! We enjoyed learning a little bit about the behaviors of the sea lions and it was exciting to see them perform select ones for the audience.
The kids enjoyed meeting various Looney Tunes characters throughout the day, too. Every hour near Main Street, different characters were out to visit with the families. They were particularly excited to see Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck later in the afternoon.
Ultimately, for anyone with kids in various age brackets, Six Flags Great Adventure can satisfy everyone from the adults and teens all the way down to those still in strollers. A tip for families focusing on the two young kid sections during the day would be to use the Skyway to go between them and eliminate the walking. You can fold up and bring a stroller on the Skyway, and it drops you off right near the Bugs Bunny National Park on one side and Safari Kids on the other side.
Currently, the best deal available for a day trip is the three day advance online ticket purchase option found at this link, as it saves you $25 off the gate ticket price.
Last weekend, my family and I were hosted by Six Flags Great Adventure. Now it's your turn for a chance to go check out the safari animals and enjoy the theme park rides with your family. One very lucky Macaroni Kid Lincroft-Holmdel-Tinton Falls subscriber will win a family four pack of one day admission tickets to Six Flags Great Adventure & Wild Safari!! Simply click here to enter for your chance to win. All entries must be received by August 1st at 5:00 p.m. to be eligible for the drawing. One entry per person, per day. Good luck!
