Baby Animal Farm 
1964-1964

In 1964 a small Baby Animal Farm opened at Cedar Point on the Main Midway. The attraction featured baby animals that guests could pet. It was a very popular attraction that was operated by the Tetzlaff family. 

In 1965, the Baby Animal Farm would be replaced with the Earthquake ride. 

The Baby Animal Farm concept was expanded in 1965 The new attraction would need a lot more space. 

Jungle Larry's Safari Island
​1965-1975

In 1965, Jungle Larry's Safari Island opened at what was then the very back of the park. 

Jungle Larry's Safari Island was located on ''an island'' that was between the Western Cruise and the Scamper roller coaster. 

Jungle Larry's was run by Jungle Larry and Safarri Jane. They were animal experts who trained and protected animals. They were huge fans of animals, particularly from Africa. 

They would raise their kids, David and Tim, to work with the animals. 

When Jungle Larry signed the contract to bring the attraction to Cedar Point he brought a tiger cub with him to sign it. 

Guests were able to explore the ''isand'' and see the animals. They would perform educational shows. You were able to pet some of the animals as well. 

The opening of Jungle Larry's Safari Island in 1965 helped bring Cedar Point's attendance to over 2 million visitors for the first time. 

The park would expand around Jungle Larry's Safari Island over the years. When it opened, it was at a dead end of the park. 

After adding Jungle Larry's Safari Island in 1965 Cedar Point would expand its offerings with: Pirate Ride (1966-1996), Trabant (1966-1990), Fun House (1966-1981), Frontier Town (1967), Shoot-the-rapids (1967-1981), Sealand (1967-1998), Rotor (1967-1984), Cedar Downs Racing Derby (1967), Frontier Lift (1968-1985), Sky Slide (1968-1991), Antique Cars (1969-2021), Cedar Creek Mine Ride (1969), Cedar Point’s 100th Anniversary Celebration (1970), Frontier Trail (1971), Jumbo Jet (1972-1978), Matterhorn (1972), Giant Wheel (1972), and Cedar Point Cinema (1975-2001),

In 1975, Cedar Point announced it was going to build the Great Lake Erie Roller for the 1976 season. The ride would be renamed Corkscrew before it opened. 

Cedar Point would use the land that Jungle Larry's Safari Island was on to place the new roller coaster. The Jungle Larry attraction would be reimaged around the new roller coaster. ​

Jungle Larry's African Safari
​1976-1994

Construction on Corkscrew began in the fall of 1975. To make room for Corkscrew, the lagoon formed the island for Jungle Larry was removed on the east side. Junlge Larry would also be rebuilt around Corkscrew. 

Jungle Larry's African Safari opened in 1976 as part of the new Corkscrew Midway. The name was changed from Junge Larry's Safari Island to Jungle Larry's Affrican Safari because it really wasn't on an island anymore. 

Jungle Larry's African Safari took on a different feel than it originally was. Guests were still able to see the animals and a few shows. 

Jungle Larry's African Safari was very popular for Cedar Point's guests. They still talk about their adventures on the safari to this day! 

After updating Jungle Larry's in 1976, Cedar Point would go on to add:  Witches’ Wheel (1977-2018), Gemini (1978), Gemini Chilrden’s Area (1979-2013), Wave Swinger (1979), WildCat (1979-2011), Oceana (1980), Ocean Motion (1981), Kid Arthur’s Court (1982-1999), White Water Landing (1982-2005), Demon Drop (1983-2009), Avalanche Run (1985-1989), Berenstain Bear Country (1985-1998), Thunder Canyon (1986), Iron Dragon (1987), Soak City Water Park (1988-2016), Magnum XL-200 (1989), Disaster Transport (1990-2012), Mean Streak (1991-2016), Challenge Park (1992-2016), Snake River Falls (1993-2024), Kiddy Kingdom (1993), and Raptor (1994). All of these new attractions would give guests something new to look forward to every year. 

As the 1980's approcated, the park would grow around Jungle Larry's African Safari. The back of the park became a full loop in 1978 when Gemini opened. In 1987, Iron Dragon opened, boxing the safari between two roller coasters. 

Sandusky, Ohio, is a very cold place during the winter. The animals would be moved to the Naples Zoo each winter. 

Unfortunately, Jungle Larry passed away in 1984. His family wanted to continue to make sure his legacy lived on. They would continue to return to Cedar Point for another decade. 

The move from Ohio to Florida and back each year would become a huge process. Over the years, the Tetzlaff family would become very involved with the Naples Zoo. They decided to retire the Cedar Point attraction and move to Florida full-time after the 1994 season. 

Jungle Larry's African Safari wouldn't be replaced for a while. Some of the buildings would remain for a few more years before being removed as they were replaced with park expansion. 

In 1997, Cedar Point opened Chaos. Chaos was located between Troika and Dodgem 1. This would be the first part of the park's redevelopment plan for the area. 

In 1998, Power Tower opened as the world's tallest and fastest drop tower. The ride would use the majority of the land that was once home to Jungle Larry's. 

In 1999, Super Himmalya was moved into the area. The ride was placed between Power Tower and Corkscrew's station. 

In 2003 Cedar Point opened Top Thrill Dragster. It was the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world when it opened. The ride was placed on the left side of the midway where the lagoon once was. Top Thrill Dragster was very popular, but it had a lot of problems. 

A really bad accident on August 15, 2021 lead the ride to close permanently. It sat empty all of the 2022 season. On September 6, 2022, Cedar Point announced that Top Thrill Dragster, as we knew it, had been retired. The ride would be transformed into Top Thrill 2 during the summer of 2023. 

Top Thrill 2 would open for one week in 2024. The ride was going to close for a breif mondifation that would end up taking the rest of the year. Top Thrill 2 would reopen in May 2025, and the ride fianlly wold get to thrill riders like it was inteded to. 

With all these changes over the years, there is one thing from the Jungle Larry Days that is still at Cedar Point. 

In 2024, Cedar Point opened the CP Racing Store. Today, it is the gift shop for the Top Thrill 2 roller coaster. The gift shop was once Safari Gifts, the gift shop for Jungle Larry's. It is the last remaining Jungle Larry's building at Cedar Point. 

The magic of Jungle Larry's can still be experienced today at the Naples Zoo in Naples, Florida. 

The memories of Jungle Larry can still be talked about at the Downtown Sandusky Cedar Point Historical Museum, located inside the Merry-Go-Round Museum. There is an entire display dedicated to Jungle Larry!

Last Updated: 05/01/2026

Photos by: Cedar Point, junglelarry.com, Jake Hamons, Russ Haudan, and ​Ted Peterson.