29yrswithaGApass Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 Click here to see the wholeSpotlight! Comments and discussions welcomed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 I was shocked when I put this together just how many animals Happy Feeling had! Most petting zoos have about a dozen types of animals and a few of each, but Happy Feeling had more than a hundred! Imagine walking in first thing in the morning with food and having them all swarm! YIKES! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted January 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 Special thanks to Michael Cesarano for contributing the vintage film footage of Happy Feeling! If you have any early Great Adventure material you would like to share with us at GAH for future Spotlights and features, we would love to hear from you. Simply click HERE and let us know what you have available! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CycloneMan Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 ^^I know the feeling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Master Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 Wow I did not know there used to be a petting zoo there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Railer Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 (edited) I vaguely remember Happy Feeling, I remember petting Animals at the Park, and that's about it. I didn't know that the octagonal building is a left over from the Petting Zoo though. Good Spotlight. Edited January 14, 2009 by Railer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted January 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 I always seem to remember a couple of things just after we publish the Spotlights. If the 1978 park map was correct (and the Image Graphics maps were usually very accurate), the pond found in Happy Feeling remained at the park until 1979 when it was replaced by the Enterprise (Spin Meister). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 Interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarioSonic94 Posted January 16, 2009 Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 (edited) Great spotlight. This spotlight actually took me by surprise. Since you did Parachuter's Perch and Freefall, I was expecting the Grandstand spotlight to be next. Great way to surprise me. Edited January 19, 2009 by MarioSonic94 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted September 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2009 Here is a "new" picture of Happy Feeling which shows a little girl with her wafer cone animal feed holder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted January 6, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2010 I just read an old newspaper article from October 1973 that said Happy Feeling was suppose to contain a nursery for baby animals born at the park as well as a "bat cave". Does anyone know if these were actually part of Happy Feeling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Hill Posted January 6, 2010 Report Share Posted January 6, 2010 Baby goats and fallow deer maybe. The snake house was the only building there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted January 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2010 The Happy Feeling Snake Pit still lives on today... sort of! Yesterday we were able to view the back of the old Helena Tattoo building in the Old Country. The following images show one of the original windows used to view the snakes back in 1974 and 1975. Note the small door (to the left of the window) which was used to gain access to the snake area. Reminder: We were escorted backstage to take these photos. Never wander into unauthorized areas of the park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Csogi Posted January 28, 2010 Report Share Posted January 28, 2010 I know that in 1977 they had some problems with the llama's 'enjoying' each others company too much. I think they might have beem removed from Happy Feeling. The llama's were included in the Great Parade. Again, they started to 'enjoy' themselves in the middle of Dream Street during a parade. The clown who was walking them was not very happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted January 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2010 ^ You see a lot of that in the Safari too, especially in the Spring. Several years back I went to Disneyland Paris and saw the Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show in Festival Disney. The livestock in that show were very interesting in "performing"! But what can you expect, they were French! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted May 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2010 I was able to grab a shot of the entrance to Happy Feeling from a 1975 8mm film. The arch for Happy Feeling was probably the largest sign in the park at the time. It was located approximately where the character greeting tent is on Main Street today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted August 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2014 We recently received a couple of "new" pictures of Happy Feeling from July 1974. The first shows new staff members (in prisoner-like jumpsuits) training in the petting zoo. The second photo (below) has a little girl who was also featured in an early Great Adventure postcard (bottom). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted September 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2014 Photos of the Happy Feeling petting zoo are pretty rare especially since the attraction only lasted from 1974 to 1975. Here are some rather odd views of the area taken at the end of the 1974 season. First the entrance to Happy Feeling with its sign reminding people to finish all "Eats, Drinks, and Smokes". Although chopped off in this shot, notice how impressive the sign to the area was at the top of the photo. Here is a picture of the Animal Food stand which cost 25 cents. Guests received the animal feed in an ice cream cone which could also be fed to the animals. The Snake Pit was surrounded by fencing to protect the large glass windows during the winter months. A sign in the window of the Snake Pit lists snake species and fun facts. Around the perimeter of the petting zoo was large fencing so the anials would not wander into the park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted January 31, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 Here are two recently acquired photos of Happy Feeling, the petting zoo which operated at the park in 1974 and 1975. As you can see in the first photo, it was much more than just an open field with animals roaming about the place. It contained islands and waterways. The area is now the Old Country section of the park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted July 28, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2023 Click here to see the whole Spotlight! Samples below. Comments and discussions are welcomed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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