Dinosaur to scary for 5 year old?
I can safely say, yes, in the case of many young guests.
It is very, VERY scary!
It's specifically DESIGNED to be SCARY.
I suggest that an adult, who knows the child well,
ride the attraction first... just to see what it's like.
Dinosaur is, by far, the ROUGHEST indoor ride at WDW.
(Space Mtn. is right in there, but not for ENTIRE ride!)
Its certainly "tied" for the absolute LOUDEST
bellowing sound effects.
And there is nothing that comes close in the category of
"Pitch-blackness...
then FULL-BRIGHT LIGHTS illuminating
GIANT DINOS with razor-sharp spiked teeth
LUNGING out straight AT YOU
with DEAFENING-ROAR sound effects."
Then,
more VIOLENT shaking,
jack-rabbit ACCELERATION,
sudden hard BRAKING...
and REPEAT.
All that said, I really ENJOY riding this attraction, and do so every trip.
(Dinosaur is based on the same ride technology that is used on the Indiana Jones ride at
Disneyland.)