Last weekend we said bye Felicia, found our Dino and saw the chemical make up of mustard, ketchup and mayo for the last time. You may be scratching your head on what any of that means! Well it means we took our last ride on Dinosaur in Animal Kingdom. I am so excited for what’s to come for this area but so sad to see Dinoland USA go. Let’s talk about our old friend Dinosaur a little bit!
The Dino Institute
The Dino Institute is your host for this ride. The fictional Dino Institute was founded in 1949 as a paleontological research facility. Exploration, excavation and exultation are the Pilars of the Dino Institutes mission! The program is run by Dr. Helen Marsh or Felicia Rashad as we know her. With the assistance of a very mischievous Dr Grant Seeker who has a mission of his own. Inside the Dino Institute which doubles as the queue line for Dinosaur you will see fossils, learn about the different dinosaurs, plant life and make up of the earth during the cretaceous period and beyond. Bill Nye the Science Guy even comes over the PA system and talks about the fossils in the main area.
The Mission
We are told this is just a trip back in time to see the dinosaurs and come back. But Dr Seeker has other plans! Instead he changes our course to hunt for an Iguanodon to bring back with us before the meteors hit that wiped the dinosaurs out. What could go wrong? Well we could be eaten by a Carnotaurus or blasted off the earth by a meteor but that’s ok! We go on the hunt and throughout the trip Dr Seeker says “not our Dino” as we encounter different dinosaurs. Then just as he’s saying “we’re not gonna make it” the Iguanodon shows up, saves the day AND comes back home with us! So, mission accomplished I guess!
The History
Dinosaur was an opening day attraction in Animal Kingdom back in 1998. No doubt a fan favorite from the beginning. It was originally called Countdown to Extinction since were going in to save the Iguanodon before the meteors took all the Dinos out! It was renamed Dinosaur in 2000. The Dino Institute is what founded and created all of Dinoland USA according to the lore. Some interns made the shop and opened Chester and Hesters carnival. All of that has been closed for a while now, you can read more about that here!
Conclusion
I can’t believe last weekend was our last ride on Dinosaur. Animal Kingdom is the only park that my husband and I both experienced for the first time together. So Dinosaur is one of the only rides we rode for the first time together. He came to Disney World with my family in 2000. That was the first time we had been since Animal Kingdom opened. We had a character breakfast in Restaurantosaurus and did all there was to do in Dinoland USA. It was his favorite! Fast forward a lot of years later and we have a dinosaur obsessed son who wasn’t quite tall enough for the ride but we made it happen. Spoiler, he had his eyes closed the entire time and was terrified! But now loves the ride.
I know I said I would explain all the little things I said in the opening and we’ve done two out of three! As far as those chemical make ups of mustard, ketchup and mayo, you can find those in the queue line too. When you go down into the loading area just look around. There are red, yellow and white pipes running throughout and they all have a chemical equation on them and if you google them you’ll find all your favorite condiments. Such a weird and funny thing.
This is also the only ride I have ever lost my bag on. Had to come back at park close so the maintenance people could get it, felt so stupid! We have taken our last ride on Dinosaur. That’s hard to say even though I am super excited for Indiana Jones going in here. I hope you’re gonna make it before it goes extinct. Thank you for reading along and have a magical day!
