Granted, the food and gift shop area has expanded exponentially, but the game reserve remains timeless, and a unique experience found no where else in Ontario. It had been 25 years since I was there myself as a teenager, and I was pleasantly surprised to see how little has changed. My wife and I along with our twin 8-year old girls recently paid a visit to African Lion Safari, a first for all of them. One of the many highlights for the kids was hearing the Macaw sing a few words of O Canada! We found all staff that we interacted with throughout the day to be professional, kind, helpful and knowledgeable. However, we appreciate the balancing act this presents for park rangers. Driving through the game reserve was a highlight despite not being able to see the Baboons, which we knew ahead of time ( online and posted before we entered the reserve) Throughout most of the drive we were able to get up close views of animals as they meandered in front of our vehicle! It was somewhat disappointing having to wait in a long line of traffic for some vehicles that stopped for excessively long times to view animals ( waited 40 minutes to see giraffes and Rhinos ). The pools were pristine and mask restrictions were enforced in the washrooms / change facilities. The water park was great! Entry was smooth, well organized and numbers were being tracked for max entry. All shows started on schedule and, for the age of our grandchildren, the duration was good. The presenters were energetic, very knowledgeable and keen to educate their audience about the importance of preserving wildlife. We started with the boat tour and then attended the presentations: Parrots, Birds of Prey, Reptiles. Having a map with the layout of the park would have been helpful but as we learned once inside, maps were not provided due to COVID restrictions. We had reviewed online ahead of time all the attractions, start times, restrictions etc. We arrived shortly after 11am and left when the park shut down. Weather was perfect - sunny and warm but nothing like the humid days this past summer. We took our 6, 4 and 2 1/2 year old grandchildren and we all had a terrific day. Once again, if you found this review informative, please indicate that it was helpful so I know where to better focus my review efforts. However, do note that if you stretch your visit it will only be about a 3 hour endeavor, whereas the Toronto Zoo can be an all day thing. Makes for a decent value proposition if you spend the day there, especially given the price of admission. Overall the concept of a safari is great in design, but in reality it is no different than a large zoo. Finally, if you have kids, the waterpark looks to be a hit for the young ones especially during the hot summer months. The boat and train ride were gimmicky but good to go on if the lines are shorter. The birds and elephant exhibits are better than you’d expect as you are in closer proximity and they make for better picture-taking. The other wildlife are interesting, but with the bus ride being about an hour, it does seem faster paced. The lions themselves aren’t overly active as they sleep most of the day. The safari part of this facility is what will attract you to the park, however we were a bit underwhelmed between expectation and reality, especially given we went to the Toronto Zoo a few days earlier. The likelihood of the other animals damaging your car is substantially slimmer this way. If you are comfortable with a bit of risk, you can take your vehicle but skip the baboons as they are the most likely to mess your vehicle up. Taking photos is rather difficult due to the tint though. The rundown here is that if you are worried about your vehicle being damaged, go with the tour bus with tinted windows. The cost of tickets for two adults with online entry is just over $100, and the cost of going on their tour bus is another $11 or so. The African Lion Safari in Hamilton is a large wildlife exhibit with the draw of driving through large sections of land in your vehicle to see animals in a setting closely resembling their natural habitat. If you found this review informative, please indicate that it was helpful so I know where to better focus my review efforts.
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