Countdown to Extinction: Dinoland USA Appreciation

[WorldExplorer]

As the meteor draws nearer, I thought we could have a thread for the land. I go in every day I can and each time I just really want to talk to someone about it, so here it is. For Dinoland details you like, memories or stories you have, favorites parts, things you wish they did, whatever you would like to talk about.

It's a great land and I think there are a lot of things that go unnoticed but die hard theme park fans would appreciate, so I would like to highlight them here.

To kick it off with something simple you've probably at least heard of, here's one of my favorite things in the land; every O'saurus I could find! For those of you who don't know the story, "Restaurant O'saurus" started out as just Restaurant. Then one of the paleontology students put "O'saurus" at the end of it. Everyone thought it was so funny that it became a running gag and now you can see "O'saurus" added at the end of everything. Even their bar is called Lounge O'saurus!

I'm currently in Dino-Rama on my phone as I type this so I'll adjust the size later and put them under a spoiler for now;

Spoiler: O'saurus

(From the Boneyard)

This little scavenger hunt mainly takes place in Restaurant O'saurus (and the noted Boneyard one), but Chester and Hester's Dino Treasures used to have its own; a crate labeled Coke Cola O'saurus. It disappeared for reasons I don't know.

And of course; Cementosaurus and the Chimpmunkosauruses are the same thing but not technically part of the joke.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

Thanks for documenting all of the -osaurus! That's a cool detail I never knew about or noticed.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

Dinoland was always one of my favorite areas in the park growing up, especially before Everest was built. I remember playing in the Boneyard while my older brothers were riding Dinosaur. I also have a soft-spot for Dino-Rama, despite it's cheapness. As a kid, I loved Primeval Whirl, especially as it neared dusk and the lights were on.

But there's nothing to compare with Dinosaur. I remember my absolute horror the first time I rode it. And my absolute glee every subsequent time. It's definitely the ride I have watched the most POVs of on YouTube, keeping tabs on the animatronics, but also just to feel the excitement of Seeker's narration! If I'm lucky enough for it to still be open when I visit next summer, I will cherish my final memory of it! It's truly a one-of-a-kind experience all-around, and I will miss it dearly.

 

[Nottamus]

I will always remember my wife and I- on our first Disney trip 10 years ago.

We had a fast pass for dinosaur - it was like 4th day in the trip- as as we approached, we were greeted by the “do not ride if you have this condition” sign.

And even though we didn’t have those conditions - we chickened out! Went home without riding it

We booked our second trip for 6 months later when we got home, and rode dinosaur the first day - and loved it! Haha

Can’t believe we let a warning sign scare us off!

 

[Worldlover71]

I had the privilege of meeting the great Miss Phylicia Rashad many years ago and shortly after that meeting, visited Animal Kingdom for the first time. Much to my surprise, when I got to Dinosaur, there was my new "friend" up on the screen as Dr. Helen Marsh! I'm looking forward to the Indy ride, but I'll miss my small connection to Dr. Marsh.

 

[JIMINYCR]

During our early trip years my DS was at the young age when Dinosaurs were fascinating to him. All he talked about was Dinos. So DinoLand was a priority for our first AK visits. He was thrilled, although somewhat frightened by viewing the Dino who wanted to eat him on the ride through. We went on repeated rides until he had his fill of the Dinosaur ride. We still have great photos of him with the Dino statues at the front of the land. It has remained one of our fav rides even now that he is an adult.
Another great memory was being able to be on the trip when Lucky the dinosaur walked the property.
So sad to see it go but looking forward to having a great Indy ride.

 

[WorldExplorer]

Thanks for documenting all of the -osaurus! That's a cool detail I never knew about or noticed.

There are more, at least three (plus three more that are on the DVC booth and not part of the joke), I've taken the pictures so far apart they get lost. I'll need to put them in some kind of album link since the forum only allows ten pictures per post.

I'm also hoping there's a photo of Coke Cola O'saurus somewhere in this phone.