10 Fun Facts About DinoLand U.S.A.

One of the most thrilling announcements to come out of D23 this year was the news that new Encanto and Indiana Jones themed attractions would be coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. We can’t wait to see the colorful world of Encanto brought to life right before our eyes, and any adventure involving the man with the whip is sure to be an unforgettable thrill. But as is the case with most new attractions and lands, this means we will have to bid a fond farewell an old friend, in this case DinoLand U.S.A. Before we do though, let’s travel back a few million years and explore some of the history and fun facts of this prehistoric land!

 

 

1. We Found Fossils!

As the story of DinoLand U.S.A. goes, the lovable dinosaur couple Chester and Hester had a gas station that existed long before fossils were found by the staff at the Dino Institute. When the Institute began offering time-travel tours back to the Cretaceous period, Chester and Hester just had to get in on the action. They created Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama, a roadside carnival filled with amusements, corny souvenir stands, and scrumptious snack stands. They realized they needed a time-travel tour of their own, and thus was born Primeval Whirl.

 

 

2. Primeval Whirl

Primeval Whirl was a zany roller coaster that combined the mouse-coaster thrills of Space Mountain with the spinning action of the Mad Tea Party. Primeval Whirl shared the same backstory as the nearby DINOSAUR attraction. If you looked closely at the artwork throughout the attraction, you would have seen paleontologists fussing with time travel devices and dinosaurs hoping to escape the impending asteroid. 

 

 

3. Need Some Dino Souvenirs?

The gas station was transformed into Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures and featured a variety of kitschy dinosaur-themed souvenirs the pair had collected over the years. This included Sinclair Mold-A-Rama dinosaurs and even a photo of the happy couple. 

 

 

4. Step Right Up!

No roadside carnival would be complete without games, and you’ll find plenty at Chester & Hester’s to test your skill. You can try some Skee-Ball at Mammoth Marathon or show off your basketball prowess at Brontoscore. Comet Crasher, the ball toss game, is the only game of luck in Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama, but that is not to say that it’s rigged. Plenty of folks walk away with the big prize, and if you’ve won a couple of smaller prizes, you can ask the Cast Members about trading up! Fans of Whack-a-Mole can test their mallet-mashing skills at Whack-A-Pachycephalosaur. Why a Pachycephalosaur? The real Pachycephalosaur was 15 feet long, weighed 900 pounds, and boasted a 10-inch thick skull. This was useful for head-butting, though, at Chester & Hester’s, it provide excellent protection from hammer-wielding Guests!

 

 

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5. Cementosaurus

You know the tall, green dinosaur that looms over the entrance with that mischievous smirk on his face? That’s Cementosaurus! He’s a Concretodorian, and you may remember that he was yellow for several years. He was painted green when Rivers of Light opened in 2017 to help him better camouflage with the trees surrounding Dino-Rama.

 

 

6. Mr. Imagination

As you make your way toward Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures, look at the dinosaur sculpture on the side of the roadway just outside the store. The whimsical sculpture was created by the late American folk artist Gregory Warmack (aka, Mr. Imagination), who used all-natural materials to create the jagged look of the piece. Here you’ll find one of the tiniest Hidden Mickeys in Walt Disney World – you might want to get out your reading glasses. The Mickey can be found on a Cast Member pin incorporated into the sculpture.

 

 

7. Who is Sue?

Here you’ll also find a life-sized Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton…this is DinoSue! It sure looks real, but the skeleton you see in DinoLand is an exact replica of a Tyrannosaurus rex that was discovered in South Dakota and whose skeleton is on display at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. But why is she named Sue? Actually, scientists don’t know if Sue was a boy or a girl. It turns out that she wasn’t named Sue because she was a girl; she was named Sue in honor of her discoverer, Susan Hendrickson. It’s only for convenience’s sake that Sue is referred to as a “she.” Sue’s discovery actually makes for a fascinating story. Hendrickson and her team were just finishing up a dig in South Dakota, and as everyone was packing up, she decided to go for a walk with her golden retriever, Gypsy. She wanted to take one last look at a canyon wall that had piqued her interest, and was surprised to find a few bone fragments lying on the ground. Thinking they had fallen down the canyon wall, she looked up and saw more bones sticking out about eight feet above her head. She gathered the remaining members of the crew, and they started to meticulously dig out the mysterious skeleton. They soon realized that they had made a tremendous discovery, the remains of a Tyrannosaurus rex!

 

 

8. Start the Countdown!

The DINOSAUR attraction was originally called Countdown to Extinction when it opened with the park in 1998. On May 1, 2000, the name was changed to DINOSAUR to coincide with the release of the film Dinosaur. The movie told the story of a young Iguanodon named Aladar. The Animal Kingdom attraction has a large sculpture of an Iguanodon at its entrance, and a plaque was added indicating that this was indeed Aladar! The attraction had previously been more focused on your encounter with the fearsome Carnotaurus, but was revamped slightly so that now your adventure focused on retrieving an Iguanodon (before the asteroid hits!).

 

 

9. Pass the Ketchup!

If you get an opportunity to get one last ride on DINOSAUR, keep your eyes open in the queue and see if you can spot the red, white, and yellow pipes overhead. They feature the chemical formulas for ketchup, mayonnaise, and mustard and are a reference to McDonalds’ early sponsorship of the land. You could find another nod to McDonalds inside Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures. As you wandered around the store, you could have seen a McDonald’s bag!

 

 

 

10. That’s an Odd Route Number…

As you wander about Dino-Rama, check out the road sign that says DIGGS COUNTY • US 498. That’s a reference to the opening date of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, April 1998.

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