Buy your tickets at Costco
Purchasing your tickets ahead of time at Costco can save you a bunch of money, especially if your whole family is going. We saved over $30 for our family simply by getting our tickets at Costco before we left. Tickets can be purchased at the gate when you arrive but they are more money. The good news…parking at African Lion Safari is included in your ticket price.
Get to the Park Early
Like any other theme park, this one gets busy around lunchtime. If you get there when the park opens, not only will you get a great parking spot which will come in handy at lunch (more on this later) but you can enjoy wandering around the park looking at the animals with very few people around, it can be quite peaceful. Another perk is that you can get on the train and boat ride before the lines get too long.
Book your Safari Bus Tour
When you get to the park walk over and book your Safari bus tour right away before there is a line. First, it gets you in and out much quicker, second, you get to pick the time you want. We generally go for our Safari Tour right after lunch. It’s getting hot and busy by that point and we’re generally all ready to just sit in the A/C and enjoy the tour. The bus tours are not first come first serve so if you’re looking for a particular time, best to book it early. There is a separate expense to take the bus tour but it’s totally worth it, we’ve seen enough to not want to take our car through there. Read more about this in my “African lion Safari…you’ve been warned” post.
Current rates for the Safari Bus Tour can be found here… https://lionsafari.com/safari-tour-bus/
Bring your Lunch & Snacks
The food at African Lion Safari is your standard theme park food and the prices are high for what you get. The good news…you’re allowed to bring your own food. Get there early and get a good parking spot, leave your blanket and cooler in the car until lunch then pull up a shady spot under a tree and enjoy a tasty lunch full of healthy options that your kids will actually eat. Having lunch and snacks with you that you know they’ll eat sure helps to avoid hangry children all afternoon.
Bring Swimsuits & Towels
Some of you may be thinking… “It’s just a splash pad, the kids can just go in with their clothes on.” This splash pad is massive and there are kid-sized water slides that your kids will definitely want to go on if they’re tall enough. Walking around in wet clothes after will not be pleasant for anyone.
Bring an Umbrella for Shade
The sun is hot at the park and in certain areas, there is not a lot of shade. The shows are all in outdoor pavilions that have no coverage from the sun. It gets extremely hot especially since all of the showtimes are in the afternoon. Keeping the direct sun off you can make a huge difference in your temperature and your mood.
Pet the Elephant
This was the highlight of my three-year-olds day at the park. If you stick around after the elephant show the trainer will walk her around the outside of the “stage” area and you can pet her as she walks by.
We live relatively close to this park (about an hour an a half away) and can make it a day trip and be home by dinner but it’s not too far from the city of Cambridge so you could easily grab a room there if you live a bit further away. Here’s a link to African Lion Safari’s Preferred Hotels including stay and park packages.
African Lion Safari has been a huge hit for our family so far and it’s a park we’ll be visiting with the kids for years to come!
