Dino - Land

[Mrs Mouse]

What is it with Dino-Land ???
Is it me or is Dino-Land a waste of time and space???
It is just like a mini local theme park!!!
It is allways very hot and humid there!!
I don't see the point of it being there!!!
Is it only me or does anyone else not like it????

 

[Minniespal]

Personally I think it is a rather tacky part of AK.

 

[CleveRocks]

I REALLY don't like it, either. I also find it tacky and a waste of space.

Disney wants it to look tacky, they want it to look like a traveling carnival, even down to the faded parking lot lines painted on the blacktop. I just think it's dumb theming.

 

[Mrs Mouse]

I think that it rewins disney because it has no disney characters!! That makes it seem like it's not in disney. It doesn't have the Disney atmosphere.

 

[4chitlins]

I think that it rewins disney because it has no disney characters!! That makes it seem like it's not in disney. It doesn't have the Disney atmosphere.

Hello people it is for the kids! They love it!

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Amen! DH and I say it's like a parking lot with rides! No shade and all pavement. It is not fun for the kids when they are melting into the pavement!

 

[pixie dust 112]

I hate it . My teenage daughter loves it.

Our family rule is if the kids want to play the carnival games, they have to use their own money.

 

[MeandMyBoys]

I'm not a fan of Dinoland either, simply because it is really hot there with no shade. We picked one of the hottest days of the summer to visit AK last August and we were dying!! The boys loved Primeval Whirl and Triceratops Spin, so I'm sure that we'll be there again this August, probably on one of the hottest days of the summer again!!

 

[AngienLuLu]

I am not a big fan of Dinoland. The only reason we went there during our trip was to get on the Primevil Whirl.

~LuLu

 

[Binkrin]

That's what it's supposed to be! Kitchy Carnival. They totally did it on purpose because they wanted it to have and "Americana" feel. I realize it's not for everyone, but kids love it. Kids like dinosaurs, they threw some in...

Don't take things so seriously!

 

[kerry34]

As the above poster stated it was made that way purposely. The kids love it and that to me is what matters most. If the kids are having fun then I will put up with the tackiness.

 

[TinkInPink]

I don't like it mainly because of the high priced carnival games! If they took those out I may be able to live with it, but those games are what I don't like going to carnivals for and don't IMO belong in Disney. Take out the games and it would be just ok.

Those games to me are the most unDisney thing in all the parks.

 

[vascubaguy]

We don't care too much for that area either. We only go over there to ride Primevial Whirl, then we make our way over to the Dinosaur ride... that's about all we experience over there. I guess they were trying to come up with a way to tie the dinasour concept into the park... can't really have a safari ride of dinosaurs, so throw in a "carnival" that is dino-themed. Perhaps over time that might be revisited? - but when we go over there it does appear that the kids enjoy it... I might be more inclined to participate in some of the carnival games if the "prizes" were more Disney related...

But they have the "games" type theming at Disneyland over at DCA... but it never seemed that popular there too where it looks like a much more upscale carnival...

 

[CleveRocks]

That's what it's supposed to be! Kitchy Carnival. They totally did it on purpose because they wanted it to have and "Americana" feel. I realize it's not for everyone, but kids love it. Kids like dinosaurs, they threw some in...

Don't take things so seriously!

An excerpt from my May 2005 Trip Report:

I was really disappointed with Chester and Hester’s Dino-Rama. In a word, it looked “junky” to me. I know it’s supposed to look like a kiddie-carnival area (complete with midway/boardwalk-style games), but it came off looking like a parody of a carnival rather than a re-creation of one. Disney is so successful because it takes itself very seriously and does everything to the Nth degree; IMHO, Chester and Hester’s area is kitschy, and Disney doesn’t do kitsch well.

 

[LizzySwan1022]

I hate it . My teenage daughter loves it.

Our family rule is if the kids want to play the carnival games, they have to use their own money.

I agree with your teenager! It's fun, this one tome I won a giant green dinosaur named Binky!

 

[tarheelmjfan]

IMHO, Disney had 2 reasons for this concept. They wanted to add to a park that was in desperate need of attractions & wanted to figure out a way to make money on it. After all, they are in the business of making money. So, the Imagineers sit down & put their thinking caps on. "I know, we'll create a carnival theme with a couple cheap rides, & add some revenue making games. We'll tell people it's supposed to look cheap & tacky, because that's part of the theme. They'll buy into it, because Disney Execs. said so & because the parks are all about theming." Problem solved!!! Very little money spent & games to replinish what was. "Now, people can quit complaining that AK needs more attractions." The concept doesn't seem to be working that great in DCA & it doesn't even look as tacky there. You can find that type of ride & carnival games in any carnival or theme park you go to. There's nothing unique about it, which goes against what makes WDW the special place it is. I'm starting to think they need to bring some of the older Imagineers out of retirement. Stitch is yet another example in lack of creativity.

 

[4theloveofdisney]

Our kids liked it. To each his own!

 

[Sue88]

I don't mind the look of this area but I would like it better if Disney didn't do the midway games. The games are the worst part of a carnival so I am suprised Disney wanted to recreate that.

 

[yanners]

My son did but I'm with the others who say that the carnival games should have been taken out. I also don't think that it "fit in" with the park. The atmosphere seemed off to me.

It was probably the only place we visited that us adults did not have as much fun as the kids.

 

[mking624]

I really don't like it. First, I'm not a big fan of the carnival theme. If that was all it was, I'd be ok with it. After all, it does have appeal to some people (particularly kids). But what I really hate is the carnival atmosphere. I hate walking by the games and the CMs trying to convince us to play them. I don't come to WDW to be pressured into playing/doing anything. That's what I really like about WDW as compared to our local Six Flags park, for example. That's the part that makes me really dislike that area.