Monster dinosaurs ferociously stalk “time-traveling” guests on a prehistoric mission to save the last gentle iguanodon from extinction in DINOSAUR, a heart-pounding, high-speed ride adventure at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Walt Disney World guests in 12-passenger time-rover vehicles zip back in time 65 million years to careen through a vast primeval forest filled with moving, lifelike dinosaurs as a fiery asteroid threatens to wipe out life on Earth. Along the way, passengers narrowly avoid the wrath of a gigantic swooping pterodactyl, watch a hungry alioramus swallow its giant-lizard dinner and try to evade the nightmarish horned carnotaurus that pursues their lost-in-Time Rover.

Located in the park’s DinoLand U.S.A., DINOSAUR combines new ride technology with special effects and Disney Audio-Animatronics® to evoke the realism and excitement of an out-of-control journey on the fast track to prehistoric doom. Air and smoke cannons, large strobes and other special effects ratchet up the thrill level as riders blast into the past for the ultimate dinosaur encounter.

The experience begins in the rotunda of The Dino Institute, a research facility built to serve as a discovery center and laboratory dedicated to uncovering the mysteries of the past. Here, guests view an array of artifacts, including fossils from the prehistoric era. A dramatic multi-media show explains that scientists now believe a fiery asteroid six miles across and traveling 60,000 miles per hour slammed into Earth, creating a “nuclear winter” that devastated plant life and, ultimately, wiped out the dinosaurs.

Moving into the institute’s Orientation Room, guests meet Institute Director Dr. Helen Marsh (portrayed by actress Phylicia Rashad) via a “live” video conference. Dr. Marsh explains that the institute has developed the amazing new Time Rover vehicle to transport curious visitors on a tranquil journey back to the Age of the Dinosaurs long before their extinction.

But renegade scientist Dr. Seeker (portrayed by actor Wallace Langham) has a different, more dangerous plan in mind. He plans to send guests on a perilous mission to the end of the Cretaceous period so they can rescue the herbivorous iguanodon just before the fiery asteroid devastates Earth.

After boarding the Time Rover, guests lurch forward into the time tunnel, where their vehicle rocks from side to side as lights flash and smoke thickens. The Time Rover emerges 65 million years earlier in a dark prehistoric forest.

As the vehicle careens through the darkened surroundings, Dr. Seeker relays instructions to his passengers via a “time-linked” radio. Cretaceous creatures honk and shriek from within the forest, and an angry pteradactyl with a wingspan like a bi-plane swoops over the Time Rover. As an approaching asteroid lights the horizon, the vehicle continues its quest to find the threatened iguanodon.

Further accelerating into the darkness, the rover twists and turns across rocky terrain as a mammoth carnotaurus -- a carnivorous, horned dinosaur with teeth larger than steak knives -- pursues the vehicle through the primeval terrain. The rover bounces and bumps through the darkness, narrowly escaping the angry dinosaur several times.

As the rover’s power levels begin to fall, the lightning and meteor showers intensify. Suddenly, a massive meteor destroys the rocky trail. In a final, desperate burst of speed, the Time Rover and its passengers find and snag their iguanodon before crashing back through time to The Dino Institute.

Type - indoor ride

Location - Dinoland

When to go - Visit before 10am or just before park closes.

Where to sit - The back row offers the wildest ride. The front rows are calmer.

Fastpass

Duration - 3.5 mins

Restrictions
Must be at least 40 inches tall to ride.
Guests should be in good health and free from motion sickness, back or neck problems, heart problems, or other conditions that could be aggravated by this adventure; expectant mothers should not ride.
Guests must be able to transfer from wheelchairs to board the attraction.
The special effects of this attraction may be too intense for some Guests.

Facts/History
Formerly called Countdown to Extinction
There are 19 dinosaurs on the ride.
DINOSAUR utilizes a motion-based simulator on a moving ride vehicle. The hybrid ride system -- known as an Enhanced Motion Vehicle (EMV) -- is modeled after the "Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye" attraction at Disneyland Resort in California.
Each Time Rover car has 12 seats.
DINOSAUR cast: styracosaurus, alioramus, parasaurolophus, raptor, carnotaurus, pterodactyl, saltasaurus, cearadactylus, compsognather, iguanodon.

Hidden Mickeys
At the entrance, examine the wall mural depicting Florida's cretateous-era wildlife. Look on the bark of the painted tree in the far left background.
Under the wall mural look for three "floating" water lilies.
At the photo-imaging pick-up, don't miss the Carnotaurus wall mural. Look closely at the shadow under a fold in the dinosaur's lower jaw.

Tips
Not suitable for kids scared of dinosaurs or the dark.
A photo taken of you on the ride is available for purchase at the end.
Baby swap available.

Reviews

"Me and my family went on the ride to get out of the rain- it poured our day at Animal Kingdom. Anyway, we arived just in time because in just fourty-two seconds, we wouldn't have gotton under the onning. Anyway, I didn't have a watch, but the wait was long and mind-numbing. I was terrified of thrill rides then (and am) but my Mom told me to go on it anyway! And what a ride! I needed four arms- two to cover my ears to protect my poor eardrums from the loud sound, and another pair to hold onto the safety bar so I wouldn't be flung out of the car. I was so scared I screamed as loud as I could (right in Mom's ear- sorry, Mom) and when we got off, I was in tears. By the time I saw the photo taken of me (right before you leave the building), I was perky again. I actually wanted to go on it again, but I didn't want to wait or FASTPASS for fear of chickening out. Anyway, I would fully reccomend this ride to teenagers, but not younger children. I loved it (it ranks #3 on my Top Ten List) It's a popular ride, so don't expect to get on it just to get out of the rain- talk about a nightmare, you might not even make it. If you're serious about it, I would FASTPASS it and check out the Primevil whirl while you wait. The line may not be too terribly long." Allison

"What a waste of good resources. When I think of what this could have been, it actually makes me angry. The Kilamanjaro Safari clearly shows what Disney can do when they put their minds to it. Well, everyone with a working brain must have taken a long, well-deserved vacation after they finished the safari and left the apes from the Gorilla Falls Trail to come up with this one. It pretty much comes down to this, they put you in a cart, stick you down a dark hole, shake the cart like it's in a blender, then have animatronic dinos (very realistic ones, I must admit) jump out at you as the lights flash on and off. Not as scary as it sounds-just plain stupid. Oh, and did I mention the ceaseless "thanks to McDonald's for funding" messages you have to listen to in the walk-up? We had virtually no line and I was ready to scream by the time we boarded. If I'd had to listen to them for an hour or so, I'd be a vegetarian today (or in jail for throttling he nearest Ronald). If you're the least bit sensitive to being jostled around and banging into things, stay away!" (7/02) Jim Jordan

"Out of all of Animal Kingdom's rides, dinosaur is definitely the best! It wasn't that long of a wait, but i went on it early in the morning. The ride had an interesting plot. You were going back in time to get a dinosaur that u take back to the future with you. however, you're sent back minutes before the asteroid hit that killed off the dinosaurs. There is also a carnotaur which you see periodically throughout the ride.
tips: go early in the morning
All in all, out of the animal kingdom rides, Dinosaur was the best!" Elizabeth

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