Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa + Wildlife Safari Animal Park or Zoo Visit

A Beastly Good Time

Temper tantrums, eye rolls and spotty table manners seem beastly enough when coming from your own sweet darlings, but Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (which opens this Friday), features a band of animals who embody admirable human traits, like fierce loyalty and toleration of differences among friends. This lusciously animated sequel to the 2005 blockbuster follows the escapades of four Zoo-raised animals who find themselves out of their urban element in the African plains. Our tribe loved revisiting their animal pals from the first film and roared throughout this rollicking tale of family and friendship. Inspired to meet some of those kingly beasts up close, we drove down to our local Wild Animal Park, and jumped into jeeps for a photo caravan through the park where the animals roamed cage-free. Our kids got close enough to lions to examine their paws (behind a special glass barrier) and were thrilled to serve lunch to a herd of giraffe. While a trip to your local Zoo is both geographically and economically more efficient, the safari let us feel like we adventured to Africa for a few hours. (Click here for our review and for more on visiting a wild animal reserve.)