After nearly two years of renovations and repairs, the Dallas Zoo’s Wilds of Africa Adventure Safari monorail re-opened on Friday.
The first train ride departed the station at 10 a.m., but the line for the monorail was already quite lengthy before it officially opened.
“We were planning on coming out anyways and yesterday the zoo said in an email the monorail would be open,” said Jason Penzel. “So we made sure to get in line and a few people had the same idea too.”
The $3 million upgrades made to the 20-minute tour included air conditioning for hot, summer days and repairs to the electrical system -- the system that failed and caused the monorail to stop working three times between 2011 and 2014.
Many of the animal exhibits seen are only visible from the monorail, meaning several animals hadn’t been seen by the public in about a year and a half.
“We were glad to see them, I hope they were glad to see us,” said Sarah Speer. “It was wonderful. I’ve been here several times and didn’t even realize it was here. So it was exciting.”
The first new tram ride was met with applause at the start and end from excited staff and the public.
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The monorail costs $5 per person.
The zoo was expecting a busy day on Friday as the overflow parking lot had already been opened by 10 a.m.
