My kids and I have been to quite a few zoos by now, so the thrill of seeing an animal in an enclosure in and of itself isn't really that big of a deal. Been there, done that, quite literally got the t-shirt. But Out of Africa does some REALLY special stuff that I've never seen anywhere else, and my kids and I are very glad we went.
Over all the places we visited and the sights we saw on our extended Grand Canyon road trip, it is Bearizona and Out of Africa that my kids highlight as their favorite memories. Only at Out of Africa could we ever hand-feed celery sticks to a giraffe (and some folks even put the celery stick in their mouth to get a giraffe kiss!). Only at Out of Africa could we pick up a 14-foot Burmese Python in our arms. And only at Out of Africa could we watch a trio of Bengal Tigers launching themselves into the air to chase inflatable animals before splashing down into a pool. These were all very special, very unique experiences we will always treasure, and made Out of Africa worth the price of admission in itself. Everything else is extra gravy.
Speaking of extra gravy, the Safari Bus Tour is quite good. We enjoyed seeing all the animals up close and walking up right next to our bus. The tram tour at the San Diego Safari Park may be much more expansive, but you never get so close to the animals themselves.
Unfortunately, the "regular" animal enclosures weren't all that interesting. Each enclosure felt like it was 90% shrubs and bushes to the point where you couldn't actually see an animal in the vast majority of them. Perhaps it was because Out of Africa in August was about 92 degrees outside, so the animals were napping out of sight. But the open dusty walking paths around the enclosures are completely exposed to the sun and nobody really enjoyed doing it. I'd recommend anyone visiting Out of Africa completely skip attempting to walk around the enclosures on their own, and instead plan to do one of the days when the park does 3:00pm Predator Feed and do that instead (i.e. the staff throw meat into the enclosures, which certainly brings the big predators out).
All in all, we're very glad we came. And the sounds of my kids laughing and giggling as the giraffe took the celery right out of their hands will be memories I will cherish forever.