Description And Comments

DINOSAUR is a combination track ride and motion simulator. In addition to moving along a cleverly hidden track, the ride vehicle also bucks and pitches (the simulator part) in sync with the visuals and special effects encountered. The plot has you traveling back in time on a mission of rescue and conservation. Your objective, believe it or not, is to haul back a living dinosaur before the species becomes extinct. Whoever is operating the clock, however, cuts it a little close, and you arrive on the prehistoric scene just as a giant asteroid is hurling toward Earth. General mayhem ensues as you evade carnivorous predators, catch Barney, and make your escape before the asteroid hits.

DINOSAUR is a technological clone of the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland in California. A good effort, though not quite as visually interesting as Indiana Jones, DINOSAUR serves up nonstop action from beginning to end with brilliant visual effects. Elaborate even by Disney standards, the attraction provides a tense, frenetic ride that's embellished by the entire Imagineering arsenal of high-tech gimmickry. The ride is jerky, it's not too rough for seniors. The menacing dinosaurs, however, along with the intensity of the experience, make DINOSAUR a no-go for younger children.

To their credit, Disney is not afraid to keep Dinosaur a dark, fast ride. A mother from Kansasville, Wisconsin, liked it a lot, commenting:

DINOSAUR is the best ride at WDW. Our group of ten, ranging in age from 65 (grandma) to 8 (grandson), immediately-and unanimously!-got back in line immediately after finishing.

A 20-something guy from Muncie, Indiana, however, wasn't so sure:

The DINOSAUR attraction was the scariest ride I have ever been on. I'm 24 and love thrill rides, but I didn't open my eyes for half of the ride. I can't believe younger children are permitted to ride.

And speaking of younger children, we got plenty of feedback about their reactions. First, from a Michigan family:

Beware DINOSAUR. My 7-year-old son withstood every ride Disney threw at him, from Space Mountain to Tower of Terror. DINOSAUR, however, did him in. By the end of the ride, he was riding with his head down, scared to look around. It's intense, combining scary visual dinosaur effects with some demanding roller coaster-like simulation.

Touring Tips

Disney situated DINOSAUR in such a remote corner of the park that guests have to poke around to find it. This, in conjunction with the overwhelming popularity of Kilimanjaro Safaris and Expedition Everest, makes DINOSAUR the easiest super-headliner attraction at Disney World to get on. We recommend, nonetheless, that you ride early after obtaining Fastpasses for Expedition Everest.

DINOSAUR Wait Times

This chart shows you roughly how long you'll wait for DINOSAUR when you visit on a day with a given Animal Kingdom Crowd Level. The blue bars represent the average "peak" wait time (that is, how long the line will at its busiest). The bottom and top black lines represent the range of peak wait times to expect (for you fellow nerds out there: it's the 5th percentile and 95th percentile of peak wait times). Please note that these are estimates, and for a better forecast for your travel dates, see DINOSAUR Wait Times.

Attraction Photos

Special Comments

40" minimum height requirement. Switching off option provided

Special Needs

Disney Dish with Jim Hill

BUT CAN HE CHECK YOUR PC FOR VIRUSES?

Disney is looking to offer park guests all sorts of high-tech gewgaws as it rolls out its next-generation radio-frequency-identification (RFID) technology. One of the weirder ideas is an Aladar avatar—a computer-generated version of the iguanodon protagonist from the 2000 Disney Animation Studios release Dinosaur—that guests can “capture” via RFID in their wristbands as they roll through DINOSAUR. Apparently, the Imagineers are looking to repurpose some of the animation created for the film in such a way that guests will be able to download an interactive iguanodon when they get home.

Other Attractions in DinoLand U.S.A.

Touring Plans with DINOSAUR

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