Dinosaur - OK for kids?

Grumps

Member
No, I'm not the parent, I'm the brother of a six year old girl who just hit 40". Apparently that means she can ride Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom. My question is, is the ride okay for her? I've never been on it, but from other people I've heard it's jerky, dark, and scary...

...What do you have to say about it?

Keep in mind my sister already rides a lot of roller coasters and other rides without hesitation.

My daughter was 5 when she first rode it. Scared at first, wanted to get back on it immediately afterwards.
 

mitchk

Well-Known Member
It's one of my top 5 rides, but I'm not gonna lie ... it's scary!! :eek: I love dark rides. The first time I rode Dinosaur I was 22, and I had my eyes closed almost the whole ride. Now please keep in mind, I'm a huge dark/haunted ride guy, I have been my whole life. The thing that really gets you is like the other posters have said, it's very loud (even though it's not as loud as it used to be), dark, and the dinos are very lifelike. Ride it by yourself, then you decide if it's too scary :wave:
 

bubbles1812

Well-Known Member
The first time I rode Dinosaur was when I was 10 and my brothers were 8 and 6. I'm not sure if we just knew enough that while it looked awesome, they weren't real but we didn't find it scary at all. We just found it really really fun! instead :) But we enjoy things jumping out at you...we liked that kind of thrill. If your sister likes that sort of thing, I think she should be just fine as long as you know she's capable of handling jerky motion. (I'd say ride Star Tours first. That's fairly jerky and the only thing I can think of that would compare with the jerky motion). I honestly think it would be fine but you know your sister best.

For the person with the 3 year old...I'd be slightly more wary. I'd recommend riding the ride on your own first and then making a judgement call. Some kids could handle it and others wouldn't I'm guessing at that age, more 3 year olds would be in the latter category. That being said, my youngest brother has been a dinosaur nut is whole life and I'm almost 100% positive he would have loved Dinosaur at 3. Some littles find Pirates scary too and he loved and I mean loved that ride at 3. Again, it's just about knowing your child. Does he not mind things that are loud or things that jump out at you? Then he might be able to handle it.
 

justinmb98

New Member
Original Poster
Thank you everybody for your input!

In T-Minus 2 days we will be going (Animal Kingdom next Friday) , and my sister is actually very excited to ride Dinosaur. :)
 

muse1983

Well-Known Member
I'm a 28 year old guy and I'm not ashamed...ok maybe just a little bit...to admit that the first time I rode Dinosaur it scared the heck out of me:ROFLOL: It's definitely an intense ride that would have messed me up pretty bad as a child. In my opinion I wouldn't put a child younger than 12 on it.
 

DisDadEddie

Active Member
It all depends on the kid.My daughter rode when she was 4 years old and loved it. By 5 years old she has already been on Tower of Terror,Splash Mountain,Rock N Roller Coaster,Soarin',Big Thunder Mountain and every other ride. Only leaving out Space Mountain because we don't enjoy it, she can go alone when she is older. It all depends on the kid! Some kids cry when they see characters!
 

GoofGoof

Premium Member
My son was 4 but over 40 inches so I took him on. It terrified him. He loved Thunder Mountain so it is not the motion but the darkness and the loud noises combined with the big dinosaur that pops out to eat you. I was not geting the parent of the year award that year and it took an offer of a giftfrom the gift shop to calm him down Luckily it was towards the end of the trip but he would not do any dark rides after that. If you do it on day 1 and it scares the kid too much it could ruin a vacation.
 

flynnibus

Premium Member
No, I'm not the parent, I'm the brother of a six year old girl who just hit 40". Apparently that means she can ride Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom. My question is, is the ride okay for her? I've never been on it, but from other people I've heard it's jerky, dark, and scary...

...What do you have to say about it?

Keep in mind my sister already rides a lot of roller coasters and other rides without hesitation.

Noise sensitivity - and darkness... those are the points that make Dinosaur scarey for kids. Feel those out and you'll have your answer. The entire ride is black with just some lit scenes you see very briefly.. and you're bombarded with loud noise and jerked around the rest of the time.
 

ellie-badge

Well-Known Member
My niece was about six years old when she hit 40", too. My folks and I led her onto DINOSAUR expecting her to be traumatized afterwards (she didn't mind that we were taking her on it, and we made sure she was fine with it up until they got us into the ride vehicle), but she left the ride just fine. Almost as though nothing had happened. We asked if she liked it and she said it was okay. o_O

So, it kinda depends on the kid. She might surprise you and come out okay, or she might cry for three hours afterwards. Hopefully you know your sister well enough to know how she'd react.
 

SAV

Well-Known Member
We just got back and my 7yo boy wanted to go on it again and again. He started out riding it with his eyes closed, but by the end he was riding it eyes open and loved it.

It is a bit intense, dark and jerky, but fun.
 

Mollie_Minnie

Well-Known Member
I was 24 when I first went on Dinosaur (Animal Kingdom wasn't open my previous visit when I was a kid). It was a solo trip so I was by myself but still found it fun and was scared by moment only. Last year I was there with my sister (3 years younger than me) and I don't know why but I got scared big time from start to finish. I actually closed my eyes and yelled so much! On the ride picture, I am wraped around my sister's arms and my head almost under her armpit. I knew what I was getting, but I don't why I was that scared the second time and not the first time!
 

MrsWhiffo

Tattooed Disney Geekster
Nothing amuses my husband more than getting the ride picture out of me with my hood up and eyes closed, while the little kid next to me is all smiles with his arms up....

Dinosaurs, why did there have to be Dinosaurs?
 

71dsp

Well-Known Member
Of all the things on that ride, my son hates the volume. I have to agree, it's so stinkin' loud!! Other than that, he doesn't complain. :)
 

cba

Well-Known Member
I'd say if you're 40 inches tall and is at least seven years old, you could ride Dinosaur. But if you are below the age of seven, I wouldn't recommend it.
 

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