Saying Goodbye to Dinoland USA

I wrote so much in an article about D23 about this particular subject that it needed its own standalone article. As it is closing down for Indiana Jones and Encanto to move in. 

Growing up, Animal Kingdom was my favorite theme park. Better than Magic Kingdom, better than Universal, better than Cedar Point, and better than all the other ones I went to. Animal Kingdom was home to some of my favorite rides and these rides were big in overcoming some fears. I used to hate roller coasters and scary dark rides, I was so scared of them that, typically, I would skip them. For the scary dark rides, I would close my eyes during them if I did go on them. 

Eventually, by middle school, the peer pressure was too much and I couldn’t get away with closing my eyes and skipping roller coasters. I would have had a rough time at school if I did. Also, another large reason of the sudden toughness is when I went on a math team trip with two of my middle school crushes and rode Dinosaur right in between them, I knew I couldn’t show weakness! After the ride through, where I finally opened my eyes, it quickly became one of my favorites. On the same middle school trip, I went on Expedition Everest twelve times in a row. Nowadays, I’m not sure I could do it, but back in middle school, it was no problem. That trip made some incredible memories and I have loved Dinosaur ever since then. 

When I heard the announcement that DINOLAND USA was closing I couldn’t help but get a bit sad. The replacements are fun and will probably help the park’s capacity but I am still sad to see it go. I was even sad when Primeval Whirl left and that attraction was not very good. It still reminded me of good memories on it, and as a kid, it was goofy enough to be fun. 

This land has some of the best out-of-sight theming possible. Most people didn’t know the backstory and were quick to say it was a cheap land. Maybe there was some truth to that, but I loved the backstory. It was a great way to introduce carnival games that most theme parks like having. The backstory was that two people opened a side road carnival to profit off of the Dino Institute right next door. They transformed shacks into gift shops and restaurants, and it was all to profit off of the Dino Institute. It was funny and stupid but a great theming for a land. It reminds me of the stupid and funny theming of the Disney water parks. 

Dinosaur is a very unique attraction. An experience that you can really only get from that attraction. It has a distinct smell in the loading area that smacks you right when you walk in. It has a great queue once inside the Dino Institute, it is like walking through a museum and it is great. It is also such a fun attraction, thrilling, and just a little bit scary. It has unfortunately begun to show its age, and typically the Disney way is once it begins to show its age, and they are doing NOTHING to maintain it or refurbish anything, the chances are high that it is next to leave. I have seen the writing on the wall for some time. Also, the intellectual property is the animated movie “Dinosaur”, which isn’t exactly popular, and I am willing to guess that it doesn’t sell much merch. 

The replacements are the Tropical Americas and let’s start with Encanto. This attraction would have been a great addition to the new direction of IP Epcot bringing the country of Colombia as a new country in the showcase. Instead, it’s replacing Dinosaur. It is more popular than Dinosaur by a wide margin and will sell more merchandise. It can also tie LOOSELY to Indiana Jones much easier than Dinosaur, so Dinosaur was going to get the boot. This new land is still going to be more fragmented than the cohesive theme of Dinoland. Adding two popular attractions will help the capacity of the park, so I can understand both sides. Dinosaur was one attraction, and the rest of the land was withering away beside it. It also doesn’t attract long waits, which signed its death certificate quicker. With an outdated IP, small merch sales, and low wait times on a withering attraction, I knew it was going to happen. 

Indiana Jones is a bizarre addition to Animal Kingdom, and the tie to Animal Kingdom is as small as Encanto’s tie to Animal Kingdom. The story is that Indy is searching for a mythical creature. What a tie-in. It was just an easy way to use the same ride vehicle as the Indiana Jones attraction which is loved out in Disneyland. These two attractions will decrease wait times in Animal Kingdom and the two attractions can add to the “half-day park” that most people believe Animal Kingdom is. I just feel like maybe Indy could fit in Hollywood Studios better and Encanto could fit at Epcot better. They also are in a similar shape as Animal Kingdom being in desperate need of attractions. 

I love new attractions, I’m excited about the Encanto attraction, I enjoyed the movie a lot. One of the few quality movies out of Disney animation in some time. 

I’m still sad to see Dinosaur go. It was an attraction I grew up on. Where I conquered my fears of animatronic dinosaurs. I read about it in the Kingdom Keepers book series where the dinosaurs came to life. It was a fun attraction. Intense attractions at Disney are in short supply, they are going down the path where everything has to be happy stories with no conflict. I wish it was given the love it deserved. Before Pandora opened this attraction was my second favorite at Animal Kingdom, I loved it. My two favorite movies are Back to the Future and Jurassic Park, you smash those together and you get Dinosaur, time travel and dinosaurs. A lot of great memories tied to that attraction, and I will miss it. Also, it makes me sad that I miss the opportunity of taking my kid on it and buying the picture because the photo spot on the ride is hilarious.