Changes are around the corner at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. As the park readies to ramp up construction on its new Tropical America’s land it’s a good time to take a look at Dinosaur and its legacy. So let’s take a deep dive into Animal Kingdom’s Dinosaur ride.
The Current State of Animal Kingdom and Dinosaur
Animal Kingdom is one of the most immersive and cohesive parks at Walt Disney World. While EPCOT and Hollywood Studios are a bit of a mess thematically, Animal Kingdom manages to retain its original vision. Obviously there are some minor problems, and you can certainly argue that Avatar does not fit. However, I find that everything fits together pretty well.
However, the parks’ biggest problem is a lack of attractions. Animal Kingdom has suffered from a lack of attractions since the day it opened. Despite several additions over the years, it still feels like a half-day park. Even worse, the extreme Florida heat in the summer makes Animal Kingdom unbearable.
A few dark rides to escape the heat for a little while go a long way. Dinosaur is one of the few attractions that is indoors and has an air-conditioned queue. Of course, this will soon close to make way for an Indiana Jones attraction.
Animal Kingdom’s Dinosaur: A Product of its Time
Dinosaur was a groundbreaking attraction when it opened, and it was still holding up pretty well when I first visited the park in 2012. However, time has the ability to change our perception. Today, Dinosaur is in pretty rough shape from years of neglect. Additionally, the ride is not as impressive as it was all those years ago.
Most people are aware that Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom is based on the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland. That ride has received numerous enhancements and upgrades over the years to keep it fresh for guests. It also employs a lot more special effects and comes off as an overall more impressive ride. Dinosaur on the other hand feels like a ride through the T-Rex restaurant at Disney Springs.
Several effects no longer work properly and the dinosaurs just don’t look impressive. The skin on many of the dinos is also looking pretty loose and flabby. In the end, there is not much to see inside the ride. The tension is almost entirely added by the narrator in your ear. With that in mind, the Dino Insititute’s theming is great, as is the preshow. However, it no longer stacks up to Disney’s latest additions.
Animal Kingdom Without Dinosaurs
Animal Kingdom was designed to have dinosaurs and mythical creatures alongside real animals from around the world. The mythical creatures never materialized in the way they were intended to, but Avatar was a pretty good tradeoff. However, the removal of the dino theming may signal the beginning of the end of the few parks that have rather cohesive theming.
Ideally, the Tropical America’s land will complement both Africa and Asia. It is certainly a better fit than Zootopia or Moana, which were originally rumored to replace Dinoland. But the removal of Dinosaur could signal that dramatic changes are around the corner. Disney has already torn apart both EPCOT and Hollywood Studios and the two parks (for better or worse) are radically different than they were just a decade ago.
The replacement of Dinoland with rides based on Indiana Jones and Encanto may mean that Animal Kingdom will soon be riddled with IP. I really don’t mind the addition of Disney characters in the park, but it is clearly a hot-button issue. The reality is the average parkgoer expects to see Disney characters when they visit the parks. People often say “That should go in Hollywood Studios” when discussing new rides. This is true of every topic from Cars to Indiana Jones. The reality is that the other parks also need new attractions and not IP can just get thrown into Hollywood Studios.
The Best Way Forward
Dinosaur is a great ride and it has served the park well for 25 years, but it is time to move on. Looking down the street, Universal Orlando replaces its rides after about 20 years. At Disney World, there is an innate nostalgia that comes with many attractions. Unfortunately, that leaves many of us looking at things with rose-colored glasses.
It is rare for fans to be happy about a ride closure. Ellen’s Energy Adventure is one of the few examples of a ride everyone was ready to bid goodbye to. Looking back at it, there were years of neglect that left riders feeling indifferent or even disliking the 45-minute experience. In the end, I feel that it is a good move to take Dinosaur out of Animal Kingdom now that its popularity is declining, but before it turns into a rotting corpse.
