6 replies to this topic

[29yrswithaGApass]

Below is an excerpt from the original proposal for Great Adventure prior to the park's opening. It outlines the number of each type of animals planned for the Safari Park.

The original plans for the theme park were scaled back dramatically and I was wondering if the same could have been said for the Safari? It seems the size of the park didn't change but how about its occupants? It looks like some of the numbers below are higher than what materialized. Does anyone know if anything in particular was eliminated or cut back because of budget or other constraints when the park first opened? For instance, the polar bears never made it to New Jersey.

A drive-through Safari Park with more than 10 miles of road. The animals are separated into twelve different sections. The carnivorous animals are separated by species from each other. All animals have large barn-like facilities out of sight where they may go during inclement weather. This is the largest assortment of wild animals in the world outside of Africa . There are large herds of tigers (45), cheetah (25), puma (25), bears – brown, black, polar (100), giraffe (50), zebra (60), antelope (250), baboons and other monkeys (250), elephants (40), rhinoceri (20), camels (25), ostrich (100), kudu, hartebeest, wildebeest, deer, kangaroo, wild goat, wild sheep, cranes, flamingoes, vultures, hornbills, buffalo, moose, elk and others. The drive-through Safari has many natural highlights, such as oak and maple forests, lakes and waterfalls, wild flowers and flowering trees.

[Gary Hill]

I know that they wanted my elephant herd to be at least 30 but I actually only had 28. 16 rhinos and 52 ostriches was the count when we opened, but let me adjust the rhino numbers because I had two births before I left, so the count was 18 rhinos.

[Gary Hill]

I would like to add that there were never any Cheetahs or Puma's at all.

[Ed Chiles]

I think we had 14 giraffe and I know we had 140 baboon's.

Edited by Ed Chiles, 08 March 2011 - 11:34 PM.

[Coaster Justin]

They did scale it back:

Remember the "Original Park Concept"

http://www.greatadve...OVERVIEWMAP.jpg



I Feel like a Jerk for Correcting you

[CoasterPrince]

It would be nice if the safari added some more animals. Hippos, Cheetahs, or Hyena.

[Gary Hill]

On my visit in 09 , I was informed that they did have Hippos for a short time. Problem is that they say underwater most of the time....Cheetahs like any big cat are lazy when well fed... Hyena's would be interesting as long as they had carion to munch on otherwise they would be lazy also...I think warthogs would be nice, some other animals even some Asian elephants so people would tell the differance of the species....