Primeval Whirl closing for a 3 month refurbishment later in August

[ToTBellHop]

Bleh. Every time I go to WDW this ride is always closed and my upcoming trip in four weeks is no exception lol kinda annoying.

You are missing exactly nothing.

Your trip to Dinoland will be less noisy, now. Hell, you can hear this obnoxious ride from the bridge from the Oasis to Discovery Island...nothing removes me from the beauty of the Oasis and the majesty of the Tree of Life faster than this loud, obnoxious state fair ride.

I hate the wild mouse at California Adventure, too. Unfortunate that they took out crap like MaliBOOMer and Golden Whoopi but kept that.

 

[mm121]

MK has four coasters, Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, Seven Dwarves and Barnstormer.

Barnstormer doesn't really count since its a kids coaster.

but 4 definitely means AK needs MORE!!!

 

[andysol]

Barnstormer doesn't really count since its a kids coaster.

It doesn't count because it's a kid's what?

 

[Mickey5150]

I like the ride and Dinoland. Lots of other people like it, too, considering there are usually lines... But, YMMV.

I never understand the hate for Dinoland, especially if you know the story of why each thing is there.

 

[HolleBolleGijs]

Say what you will, but I've never done this and I'm a huge fan of spinning coasters, so I'm kinda bummed this'll be down for my trip.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Barnstormer doesn't really count since its a kids coaster.

...with a faster top speed than Space Mountain with all its trim brakes.

 

[marni1971]

I never understand the hate for Dinoland, especially if you know the story of why each thing is there.

Probably because it was meant to be temporary, done in a rush and looks awful compared to the rest of the park.

 

[janoimagine]

Probably because it was meant to be temporary, done in a rush and looks awful compared to the rest of the park.

I agree it looks horrible when compared to the rest ... but according to Joe Rhode's Instagram Page he is really pleased with the Asphalt.

 

[Bairstow]

Say what you will, but I've never done this and I'm a huge fan of spinning coasters, so I'm kinda bummed this'll be down for my trip.

If it makes any difference, the ride really needed this refurb. As of week before last more than half of the animated decorative elements along the track were broken and all the paint was faded. The ride itself didn't seem any rougher than usual, though that's not saying much.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Probably because it was meant to be temporary, done in a rush and looks awful compared to the rest of the park.

It really is an embarrassment compared to Africa and Asia, which for my money are the best-themed areas at all of WDW.

I agree it looks horrible when compared to the rest ... but according to Joe Rhode's Instagram Page he is really pleased with the Asphalt.
View attachment 104343

Now that is some f-in puffery if ever I saw it! Sounds like something you would write on your CV.

It's a schnitzel project that Rohde knows he didn't want for "his park."

A sculpture, indeed.

 

[Bairstow]

Now that is some f-in puffery if ever I saw it!

It's a schnitzel project that Rohde knows he didn't want for "his park."

Did he, though?
Rohde is just eccentric enough that when he gushes with pride about fake asphalt, I believe him. Besides, if you really think about it, Dinoland is no different than the Africa or Asia sections of the park, both of which are also meant to intentionally look dilapidated, previously-impoverished, and whorishly outfitted to glean what they can from passing tourists. The only difference is that Americans will be familiar with the flavor of roadside decadence on display at Dinoland whereas the equivalent aesthetic at Harambe or Anandapur comes off as "exotic" or "authentic".

 

[Brad Bishop]

The whole Dinoland area supposedly fits because there's a backstory. It amounts to:

- Some dinosaur bones were found near an old gas station (think 1950s)
- people started coming from miles around to see it so the gas station owners capitalized on it and built a little carnival area
- Dino Institute opened up nearby

There is a lot of detail to it all. That being said, it feels more like Disney said, "Let's take some off-the-shelf carnival rides and theme them well. Also: GAMES!" That seems like the real backstory to me.

 

[Prince-1]

I agree it looks horrible when compared to the rest ... but according to Joe Rhode's Instagram Page he is really pleased with the Asphalt.
View attachment 104343

Damn.....that is some nice asphalt!! I have been wrong about DinoLand all this time. I cannot believe I havent looked at the ground and thought, " That is some realistic asphalt they built!!"

 

[Zipadeelady]

I love this ride!! So fun and so painful at the same time. When ever my family rides Primeval Whirl someone always has a look of pain on their face and the rest of us are laughing so hard. I'm a little surprised by the hate. I hope they keep Dinoland as it is.

 

[Matt_Black]

I think the problem with Dinoland is that overall it's a very meta-textual theme park area. For instance, the story with Primeval Whirl is that some carnies heard about what the Dino Institute was doing with time travel and decided to make a simple roller coaster out of it.

 

[Mukta]

Damn. I guess I won't get to ride it on my Sept trip, but thankfully it will be open for my Dec trip. I think it's a lot of fun.

 

[JERiv]

Put me down on the list of folks who thought it was closing down for a 3 month demolition and was happy about it! That ride, that whole Dinoland area really, is awful. On Primeval Whirl in particular, I've been on carnival deathtraps that were much more fun, looked better, and did a much better job of fitting in with the overall park theme.

I avoid that area whenever I'm in AK. It fits in with the "animal/nature" theme as much as a loudly screaming bright colored horn honking clown fits in on a nature yoga spa retreat.

"Dinoland" is quite frankly an embarrassment for a Disney park in general, for Animal Kingdom even more so. I'm willing to bet Imagineers dream of being able to get rid of it.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Dinorama and Primeval Whirl are examples of a "look cheap" theme that wasn't executed well for a Disney park. Comparatively, the new Harambe Market area is an example of "look cheap" theme that was executed to perfection.

Fixing Dinorama doesn't require removing the entire theme. It requires removing Primeval Whirl and replacing it with a funhouse style/fantasyland style dark ride. If that was what they did originally the complaints about Dinorama would be significantly reduced.

 

[Fox&Hound]

I truly despise this area! I still hold out hope that if "The Good Dinosaur" is a hit that this area will be redone eventually. I know the backstory, but it still seems disjointed. There is the fossil area, dinosaur ride, and then cheap carnival rides. And one thing that's always bothered me: how does the Nemo show fit this area? Before that wasn't it Tarzan? How did that fit their little roadside narrative???? After seeing the rest of AK it just shows how much better Disney can do and how much more its guests deserve than Chester and Hester's.

PS- has anyone ever seen anyone playing the carnival games there? I have never seen them being played- ever.

 

[Bairstow]

Fixing Dinorama doesn't require removing the entire theme. It requires removing Primeval Whirl and replacing it with a funhouse style/fantasyland style dark ride. If that was what they did originally the complaints about Dinorama would be significantly reduced.

I want WDI to make an intentionally-bad dark ride so much.

Although I dunno. I kind of have a soft spot in my heart for the horrible, noisy thing.
Can we have both?