Windsor Safari Park

Last updated

Windsor Safari Park
Windsor Safari Park Logo.jpg
Safari Park logo
Windsor Safari Park - geograph.org.uk - 2216434.jpg
A lion in the park, 1992
Windsor Safari Park
51°27′49″N0°39′04″W / 51.46351°N 0.65114°W / 51.46351; -0.65114
Date opened1969
Date closed1992
Location Windsor, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom

Windsor Safari Park was a safari park built on St Leonard's Hill on the outskirts of the town of Windsor in Berkshire, England; it has since been converted into the site of Legoland Windsor. Billed as "The African Adventure", the park included drive-through animal enclosures, aviaries, a dolphinarium and minor theme park rides.

Contents

The park's drive-through enclosures featured lions, tigers, bears, cheetahs and baboons. In addition, the park had a Serengeti zone (featuring camels, llamas, giraffes, zebras and buffalo), an elephant enclosure, a hippo lake, chimpanzees, birds of prey, parrots and butterflies. The park closed in 1992.

Windsor Safari Park logo (1980-1987) WindsorSafariParkLogo80s.jpg
Windsor Safari Park logo (1980–1987)
Berkshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Windsor Safari Park shown within Berkshire
(grid reference SU938747 )

History

Billy Smart Sr. bought the St.Leonard's Estate in the mid-1960s. After his death, the Royal Windsor Safari Park was founded in 1969 by his sons, the Smart brothers: Billy Smart Jr., David Smart and Ronald Smart. Built on St Leonards Hill in Windsor in Berkshire, England, the 144 acre St Leonards Estate included rolling parkland and the 110-room country house once owned by the American Horace Elgin Dodge Jr. (son of Horace Elgin Dodge of Dodge Motor Cars) and occupied by the Kennedy family during World War II, when Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. was the US ambassador to the UK.

The Safari Park attracted up to 2.5 million visitors per annum, from when it opened. It grew significantly throughout the 1970s and 1980s and was eventually sold to Themes International in 1988. Drive-through natural roaming habitats were created for lions, tigers, cheetahs and baboons. A Serengeti zone was also added (featuring camels, llamas, giraffes, zebras and buffalo), an elephant enclosure, a hippo lake, and a monkey jungle. A key attraction was Seaworld, a dolphinarium complex with dolphins, an orca, penguins and sea lions performing acrobatic displays.

The first job of the financier Robert Hanson was in the 1970s as an assistant keeper of reptiles at the Safari Park. [1]

Receivership

Themes International invested £11m developing the business but, after nine years, ran into financial difficulties. The Windsor business, in particular, had experienced dwindling visitor numbers, and the situation was exacerbated by the early 1990s recession and the cost of building an expensive new Egyptian-themed entrance courtyard and similarly themed market streets.

Themes International and the Safari Park entered receivership in January 1992, with debts of £40m and closed shortly afterwards; the expensive new developments were left largely unused.

The park was purchased soon afterwards by the Lego Group, whose ambition was to create a Legoland theme park similar to the existing Legoland in Billund, Denmark. The resulting Legoland Windsor opened in 1996.

The dolphins were relocated to Dolfinarium Harderwijk in the Netherlands.

The only attraction that remains from the Safari Park days (aside from the mansion) is the 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge funicular railway, now known as the Hill Train, which links The Beginning area of the park to the centre of the park between NINJAGO World and Kingdom of the Pharaohs.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whipsnade Zoo</span> Zoo near Dunstable in Bedfordshire, England

Whipsnade Zoo, formerly known as ZSL Whipsnade Zoo and Whipsnade Wild Animal Park, is a zoo and safari park located at Whipsnade, near Dunstable in Bedfordshire, England. It is one of two zoos that are owned by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African Lion Safari</span> Safari park in Ontario, Canada

African Lion Safari is a family-owned safari park in Southern Ontario, Canada, straddling the cities of Hamilton and Cambridge, located 100 kilometres (62 mi) west of Toronto. Guests may tour seven game reserves, with a total area of about 740 acres, on tour buses or in visitors' own vehicles, where animals roam freely in contained areas. Accompanying the game reserves is a walking section where exotic birds and primates, as well as the park's herd of Asian elephants, are on display.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Midland Safari Park</span> Safari park in Worcestershire, England

West Midland Safari and Leisure Park is a safari park located in Bewdley in Worcestershire, England. It was opened under the name of West Midland Safari Park in Spring 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Werribee Open Range Zoo</span> Zoo in Victoria, Australia

Werribee Open Range Zoo is an African themed zoo in Werribee, about 32 kilometres (20 mi) south-west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is part of the Zoological Parks and Gardens Board or Zoos Victoria, which also includes Melbourne Zoo and Healesville Sanctuary. It is situated on approximately 225 hectares and is located on the Werribee River in Werribee Park, adjacent to the Werribee Mansion. It was originally agistment land to the Melbourne Zoo. Werribee Open Range Zoo is home to 360 animals of 40 species as of 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flamingo Land Resort</span> Theme park, zoo, and resort in North Yorkshire, England

Flamingo Land is a theme park, zoo, and resort located in Kirby Misperton, North Yorkshire, England. Opened in 1959, it has been owned and operated by The Gibb Family since 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knowsley Safari Park</span> Zoo in Merseyside, England

Knowsley Safari is a safari park and tourist attraction near Prescot, England. It is a member of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) and the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA). It contributes to conservation and research through links with conservation projects and its links with universities in nearby Liverpool, as well as Chester and Manchester.

Six Flags Wild Safari Drive-Thru Adventure, formerly known as the Six Flags Wild Safari, is a drive-through safari park adjacent to Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey. The park originally opened on July 4, 1974 and closed on September 30, 2012, to become its own standalone ride experience called the Safari Off Road Adventure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attica Zoological Park</span> Zoo in Spata, Greece

Attica Park, officially Attica Zoological Park (AZP), is a private zoo located in the suburb of Spata, approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of Athens, Greece. It is the only zoo in Greece. The zoo is home to more than 1,500 animals representing 220 species, in an area of 20-hectares. It is open 365 days a year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Safari park</span> Zoo-like tourist attraction

A safari park, sometimes known as a wildlife park, is a zoo-like commercial drive-in tourist attraction where visitors can drive their own vehicles or ride in vehicles provided by the facility to observe freely roaming animals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warner Bros. Jungle Habitat</span> Former theme park

Warner Bros. Jungle Habitat, which was in West Milford, in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States, was a Warner Bros.-owned theme park that opened in the summer of 1972, and closed in October 1976. By November 1972, the park had 500,000 paid visitors. The park contained over 1,500 animals; it consisted of a drive-through section and a walk-through section. The drive-through section was an animal safari park and the walk-through area was called Jungle Junction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woburn Safari Park</span> Safari park in Bedfordshire, England

Woburn Safari Park is a safari park located in Woburn, Bedfordshire, England. Visitors to the park can drive through exhibits, which contain species such as southern white rhino, elephants, tigers and black bears. It is part of the estates of the Duke of Bedford that also includes Woburn Abbey and its 3,000-acre (1,200 ha) deer park. The Safari Park itself covers 360 acres (150 ha).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serengeti Park</span> Zoo

The Serengeti-Park in Hodenhagen, Lower Saxony, is a zoo and leisure park in North Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shanghai Zoo</span> Zoo in Changning District, Shanghai

Shanghai Zoological Park, or commonly Shanghai Zoo in short, is the main zoological garden in Shanghai. It is located near the township of Hongqiao and is administratively in Changning District. Shanghai Zoo was formerly known as " Xijiao Park", which is still a common name used locally for the zoo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parc Safari</span> Zoo in Quebec, Canada

Parc Safari is a zoo in Hemmingford, Quebec, Canada, and is one of the region's major tourist attractions; Parc Safari, an animal and amusement park was founded in 1972. It currently holds 500 animals of 50 different species. It is located close to the United States and draws many American visitors. It contains many African animals, including zebra, giraffe, dromedary camels, elands, rhinos, wildebeest, ostriches, lions, Ankole-Watusi cattle, and greater kudu. It also has many Asian animals, including Asiatic water buffalo, gaur, tigers, a Bactrian camel, yaks, and many different types of deer. Other animals include bison, llamas, wallabies, guanaco, elk, and wolves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kolmården Wildlife Park</span> Zoo in Norrköping, Sweden

Kolmården Wildlife Park is a zoo that opened in 1965 overlooking Bråviken bay in Sweden. It is the largest zoo in Scandinavia, includes the first dolphinarium in Scandinavia, which opened in 1969 and has daily shows, and the world's first cable car safari. The wildlife park also has a birds of prey display and a seal show. In the Marine World area is a roller coaster called "The Dolphin Express". Another, larger, roller coaster in the park is Wildfire.

Metro Richmond Zoo is a privately owned, for-profit zoo in Chesterfield County, Virginia. It is located in the central Virginia area, off of U.S. Route 360, about 20 miles southwest of Richmond. Metro Richmond Zoo encompasses about 70 acres (28 ha) and houses around 2,000 animals representing over 190 species, including reticulated giraffe, white rhinoceros, snow leopard, cheetah and Grant's zebra.

The Ikorongo Game Reserve is a game reserve in Tanzania. The reserve was established in 1993. The site has an area of 602 square kilometres (232 sq mi). It is located along the left side of the northern part of Serengeti National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zoosafari Fasanolandia</span> Zoo in Fasano, Italy

Zoosafari Fasanolandia is an animal attraction and theme park in Fasano in southern Italy. The park includes a drive-through safari park in the visitor's own vehicle as well as walk around animal areas, animal shows, and several rides. The park opened in 1973 and includes the only male African elephant in Italy.

References

Further reading