Dinoland U.S.A.
Where can you find the oldest things at Walt Disney World? At Dinoland U.S.A. no doubt, where dinosaurs have come back to life after their 65 million year sleep. Of course, all the "living" dinosaurs are Audio-Animatronic, but guests can see bones of real dinosaurs and even dig for them themselves! The attractions in Dinoland U.S.A. include Dinosaur, a thrilling ride back in time to save the last iguanodon; the Boneyard, a fun playground where you can slide through bones and dig them up; and Tarzan Rocks!, a lively show based on the recent Disney hit. The shops in this land include Chester and Hester's Dinosaur Treasures, which sells a large variety of dinosaur-themed merchandise. The restaurants in Dinoland U.S.A. include Restaurantosaurus and Dino Diner; they serve hamburgers, hot dogs, salads, snacks, pastries, smoked turkey legs, etc.
Which attraction would you like to learn about?
Dinosaur
Taking guests back 65 million years, Dinosaur is a thrilling race against time through a dinosaur-filled jungle, partly based on the popular recent Disney movie of the same name. The attraction is housed in the Dino Institute, a fictitious museum, through which the line courses past several dinosaur skeletons. In the preshow, guests see a short film in which the Institute director (played by Phylicia Rashad from "Cosby") tells guests of a new time travel technology which will be used to take guests on tours of the early cretaceous period. A scientist named Dr. Seeker then comes on and tells you of a secret mission of his, unknown to the museum director, to save the last of the iguanodons. He intends to send you back in time to get the dinosaur, but it's at a time just before the giant asteroid was believed to have hit the earth, so you have to hurry! Guests board large time-rover vehicles and are jolted back in time. Emerging in a dark cretaceous forest, you are surrounded by dinosaurs. They are beautifully-created life-like Audio-Animatronics. As guests bump and lurch through the forest, the car's computer tracks an iguanodon and also states repeatedly that the large meteor is about to strike making it clear that this ain't no Sunday drive! Guests encounter the large, ferocious, T-rex-like, Carnotaurus and then zoom off as small meteors blast around them. The Carnotaurus doesn't give up so easily though, and guests encounter it throughout the ride. With ten seconds left before the comet hits, guests finally find an iguanodon, but it's too late. The Carnotaurus makes one more final, shocking attack as the comet strikes in a blast of light and wind. Fortunately, guests transport back to the present just in the nick of time, with a surprise guest.
Interesting and little known facts
-the track layout for this ride is exactly the same as the layout at the Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland, and both rides use the same technology!
The Boneyard
Disguised as a paleontogolical dig site, The Boneyard is an ingeniously-themed playground which is perfect for letting kids burn off energy. As guests enter the area, they find themselves on a metal structure fun to climb and functional as a lookout to view the many dinosaur skeletons sticking out from the surrounding rocks. The ground is strewn with dinosaur footprints, and if guests step in one, a large roar will sound. Some of the other activities in this area include slides and caves, but by far the biggest and most popular attraction in The Boneyard lies across the Olden Gate bridge, which passes under a huge dinosaur skeleton. There guests will find a large sandpit just right for digging. As the sand is pushed aside, ancient bones begin to appear, and as digging continues, a full skeleton begins to materialize in the sand. Digging for bones turns out to be rather fun, and if you spend enough time, you might recognize the skeleton as a wooly mammoth.
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