Dinoland Characters of Yore

[Blue8eetle]

With it being incredibly unlikely that Dinoland will survive in it's current form for too much longer. I'm trying to collect as much old information about the place as I can while I still can (I'm that kind of nerd). It has actually gone through a lot more change over the years than people think.

One resource that is invaluable to this kind of nerdiness is old vacation videos that random people have uploaded to youtube. And while watching one such video (looking for something else) I see this! I had no idea this character costume ever existed in the parks! Yet here it is! Does anybody remember these? The video from 16 years ago so far is the only evidence I can find that they ever existed.

While we're at it, if you happen to have any other weird, forgotten or esoteric Dinoland knowledge/footage. I'm all ears!

 

[Brer Panther]

Ah, yes, I remember seeing photos of this character online. She also had a male counterpart, a blue dinosaur creatively named T-Rex.

There were also two Carnotaurus walk-arounds.

 

[JIMINYCR]

The one that stands out for me was Lucky the Dinosaur that had a short appearance in DinoLand. He was a walking animatronic that would interact with guests. He pulled a flower cart behind him and had CM ‘s that strolled with him along the tarred street. At the time it was the most innovative animatronic that Disney had.
Because his run at AK was short lived we were fortunate to go on trips when he was out among guests.

 

[WondersOfLife]

Roxie and T-Rex... Looks like they were last see circa 2007 from what I can tell, but I could be wrong...

 

[VicariousCorpse]

Well there was Lucky the Dinosaur:

He was there from June 2005 to August 2005.

Then there was Carnotaurus and Conniesaurus:

Not sure on dates for them. Maybe 2004-2006?

Don't forget the Dinosaur Jubilee which stood where the Dino-Rama is now. Across from the boneyard you can find this display which shows a map of the original layout.

The entrance:

Which led to a giant tent structure with fossils and displays like a mammoth or smiledon which I believe had minor movements. It opened with the park and closed December 2000.

Also there's the countless DJs and dance parties over the years, but I'm not so much interested in those.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

Wish they could've used Henson's Dinosaurs..From the way they looked they would have fit perfectly...

 

[WorldExplorer]

I'm also a big Dinoland fan. I'm working on taking pictures of all of Dinoland's small details; I hope to get everything up on a website eventually so even when it's gone people can see how much stuff was packed into the place.

While we're at it, if you happen to have any other weird, forgotten or esoteric Dinoland knowledge/footage. I'm all ears!

Did you know Dinoland has three characters you can see repeatedly referenced and learn about from the papers and props around the land? There's Jenny (she made the map posted above), Animal (presumably a weird dude; most notable for a large plastic container in Restaurant-o-saurus that says "Animal's lunch"), and Dr. Dunn (a professor who clashes with the students).

There's also a Dr. Shirley Woo, but I need to go look again to see if she's mentioned in more than one spot.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

Well there was Lucky the Dinosaur:
View attachment 781180
He was there from June 2005 to August 2005.

Then there was Carnotaurus and Conniesaurus:
View attachment 781181
Not sure on dates for them. Maybe 2004-2006?

Don't forget the Dinosaur Jubilee which stood where the Dino-Rama is now. Across from the boneyard you can find this display which shows a map of the original layout.
View attachment 781183

The entrance:
View attachment 781184

Which led to a giant tent structure with fossils and displays like a mammoth or smiledon which I believe had minor movements. It opened with the park and closed December 2000.
View attachment 781185

View attachment 781186

View attachment 781187

Also there's the countless DJs and dance parties over the years, but I'm not so much interested in those.

That exhibit tent is actually pretty cool. Seems they should have kept something like that around(covered area too!). lucky is cool but the other characters look like terrible Barney ripoffs.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

Ah, but let's not forget an Honorable Mention..In the attempts to compete against the Raptor Encounter at IOA..Disney had. A "Free Roaming" Raptor named "V" The Velociraptor...

 

[Brer Panther]

And now we're gonna have Mirabel and Bruno doing meet-and-greets in this part of the park instead. Because Disney thinks people don't like dinosaurs anymore.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

And now we're gonna have Mirabel and Bruno doing meet-and-greets in this part of the park instead. Because Disney thinks people don't like dinosaurs anymore.

We don't talk about Dino No No No's

 

[KDM31091]

And now we're gonna have Mirabel and Bruno doing meet-and-greets in this part of the park instead. Because Disney thinks people don't like dinosaurs anymore.

People definitely still like dinosaurs, and I'd venture to say this is one of the dumbest moves Disney has/will have made.

 

[FigmentJedi]

They used to have Dino Institute students/interns as streetmosphere wandering the land. That guy that used to host the Disney Parks Blog livestreams and that Galactic Starcruiser safety video actually started his Disney career as one of them.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

They used to have Dino Institute students/interns as streetmosphere wandering the land. That guy that used to host the Disney Parks Blog livestreams and that Galactic Starcruiser safety video actually started his Disney career as one of them.

Ah, that would be Mark Daniel and his.....Secrets! He still does a bunch of factoids and such on tiktok.

 

[𝕴𝖒𝖆𝖌𝖎𝖓𝖊𝖊𝖗97]

Ah, but let's not forget an Honorable Mention..In the attempts to compete against the Raptor Encounter at IOA..Disney had. A "Free Roaming" Raptor named "V" The Velociraptor...

Wow, that thing looks terrible. The fabric is folding up on the neck, and the movement is nowhere near as convincing as Universal's version. What a blatant and inferior ripoff!

 

[mkt]

Then there was Carnotaurus and Conniesaurus:
View attachment 781181
Not sure on dates for them. Maybe 2004-2006?

2002.

They were super fun shifts, since the costume was effectively air conditioned and extremely lightweight.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

Wow, that thing looks terrible. The fabric is folding up on the neck, and the movement is nowhere near as convincing as Universal's version. What a blatant and inferior ripoff!

They basically used a 1st Gen raptor outfit and not have it in a paddock and repainted it..

 

[Coaster Lover]

Wish they could've used Henson's Dinosaurs..From the way they looked they would have fit perfectly...

That brings back memories! I remember that! And the accompanying double decker parade float/bus type cavalcade they had that played Was (Was Not)'s "Walk the Dinosaur" on repeat! Ahh, the early 90s were quite the time... (and the ending of that TV show... wow, depressing)

 

[VicariousCorpse]

Wow, that thing looks terrible. The fabric is folding up on the neck, and the movement is nowhere near as convincing as Universal's version. What a blatant and inferior ripoff!

Not to give this thing any credit, but I'm pretty sure at least the head sculpt was done third party since its the exact same used in the old Raptor Encounter at Islands of Adventure. Plus it's hard to be a blatant ripoff since this was a year before their raptor debut. "V's" test run was April 19, 2014- May 3, 2014 while the Raptor Encounter soft opened on May 22, 2015.

 

[VicariousCorpse]

That brings back memories! I remember that! And the accompanying double decker parade float/bus type cavalcade they had that played Was (Was Not)'s "Walk the Dinosaur" on repeat! Ahh, the early 90s were quite the time... (and the ending of that TV show... wow, depressing)