Dinosaur- how scary??

[MLBelle41]

I love Dinosaur! Yes, it's jerky and dark and loud, but it's awesome! My friends and I went on it twice in a row on my last trip and we loved it. I've always been fascinated by dinosaurs and paleontology, so I found this ride and the setup before it to be really good. If you are easily scared or chicken, I highly recommend sitting in the middle of the car and make sure you aren't on the right side (especially towards the end- that's the only part that consistently made me jump). Otherwise, it's no big deal.

 

[huskies90]

I love Dinosaur, too. And it is my favorite attraction at WDW. My favorite attractions are ones that are so well done they seem real. The only videos I have seen have been very dark and hard to see anything. There is a clip on the wdw site you can check out:
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/parks/attractionDetail?id=DINOSAURAttractionPage

As for scary, have you or your son seen Jurasic Park? If yes, do you consider the scene where the TRex is attacking the kids in the car scary? Well, if you look at the video link above where the carnotaur is towering over the car, that is what it is like except that it seems very realistic and very scary.

I hope that helps...

 

[iliketoby]

If you're a scaredy-cat, you're probably better off avoiding Dinosaur.

A friend of mine went on Haunted Mansion when she was 5 and says she remembers clearly how terrified she was. She still teases her mom about how it was child abuse taking her on that.

 

[Minky]

Im sorry but this ride is the hands down scariest ride there...it TERRIFIES ME, I have YET to leave my eyes open at the very end, I just cant!!!! And Ive been on at least 20 times, you think Id realize by know that they havent eaten me yet, but nooooooooooo, EVERY TIME Im hysterical on it.....
That being said, it is an AWESOME ride though!

 

[disneydreamerinny]

I've ridden it twice. The first time it was OK. The second time, it freaked me out big time. I dont know if something was different, or if I am getting whimpy in my older age. (35)
My 14 year old DD WILL NOT go on it. She doesnt even want to walk through the que with us. She has passed this fear on to my 11 year old DD and she wont try it either.
That being said, I may try it again this trip. Depends on the mood I'm in, and if DH wants to go on.

 

[patsal]

Im sorry but this ride is the hands down scariest ride there...it TERRIFIES ME, I have YET to leave my eyes open at the very end, I just cant!!!! And Ive been on at least 20 times, you think Id realize by know that they havent eaten me yet, but nooooooooooo, EVERY TIME Im hysterical on it.....
That being said, it is an AWESOME ride though!

I am in the same boat, the kids want to ride but I am terrified, and as a 38 yo I should know better than to be afraid of animatronic dinosaurs! I have never managed to keep my eyes open past the first section! As for the jerkiness, I guess it depends on your tolerance. The bumpiest ride I've ever been on as far as simulators go.

 

[bdcp]

It's not the least bit scary and my DH and DS 12 and DS 14 (1998) loved it too. I'm not sure why people are scared by a fake dinosaur, but it's well done.

 

[bytheblood]

I found the ride to be shaky/jerky at times. It's very loud and dark most of the time.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[jwfla422]

I'm with "scarey"!! Yipes, this ride scared ME!!! It's very dark and realistic (which Disney is very good at). You can't get any closer to reality of dinosaurs than this ride. The car rocks you back and forth and up and down the whole time as you ride thru the dark and eerrie land of the dinosaur. The lights strobe the whole time which gives it a lightening/dark atmosphere. And a BIG dinosaur pops out randomly dropping down from above!! Not to mention how loud it is when it does this. It's a creepy ride-it's like being in the middle of Jurrasic Park at night with that T-Rex. If you like this thing it should be enjoyable but any apprehension about being scared on a ride, this IS ONE TO AVOID!! You can't pay me enough, (ok I am a chicken) to ride this one again! Just for the record, I love the Haunted Mansion. This ride is definitely in it's own category of scarey.

 

[#1 Pocahontas]

I am one of the biggest chickens in the world when it comes to rides. I freaked out on Goofy's Barnstormer and won't ride it again I also freak out on Dumbo if we go to high.

That being said, Dinosaur is my absolute favorite ride in WDW. Its not like a roller coaster. There are no big hills or drops. Its just a lot of bumpiness and jerking. You are supposed to feel like you are in a land rover driving over untouched land. DH and I purposely don't hold on so that we jerk around more. We LOVE it!! We get there first thing in the morning so we can ride it over and over again until a line forms.

The Dinosaurs themselves don't scare me but to be honest we are usually laughing to hard to even notice them. I do think they would scare young children. They are very loud in there and if I remember right there is one that has another one hanging out of its mouth. YUCK! There is another scene where its dark and then suddenly there is a light shone on the T-rex right beside your car and its loud!

My opinion would be to not take a young child.

 

[huskies90]

It's not the least bit scary and my DH and DS 12 and DS 14 (1998) loved it too. I'm not sure why people are scared by a fake dinosaur, but it's well done.

Obviously everyone knows the dinos are fake. Letting yourself get absorbed in the attraction makes it real. Do you get scared watching a good horror movie? It is the same concept. We know everything on screen is fake but it scares us anyway.

 

[jann1033]

i did think the ride was rough, side to side shaking that hurt my already painful back( i know my own fault) but didn't find this scary in the least...maybe it grows on you or wasn't working right when we were there as i don't remember much dinosaur movement( which i figured was the point going in)

 

[Loves Disney]

I don't do well around large dinosaurs. LOL However, after my whole family went on and came out saying "That was so scary! That was so good!" I finally went on it. I have been on Dinosaur three times now, I have never seen the ride. LOL I always find myself holding my head down or closing my eyes. The first time I went on it I kept my eyes closed the whole time, then my sister taps my shoulder and whispers "Its ok now the ride is just about over and the dinosaurs are no longer around." so, I opened my eyes and just then the VERY large and scary head of that bigger dinosaur stares right into the car and it looked as if he was looking straight at me!!!! (Disney does a WAY too good a job at making things look real!!) I screamed and closed my eyes again. My sister did that on purpose lol. This was a long time ago (when they called it "Countdown to Extinction) and I was like in third grade. (I am now a junior). The ride is very shaky and I plan to go on it next summer, this time watching it because I don't think it should be that scary anymore (I hope!! LOL) Anyway, I'm probably the biggest scardy cat ever lol. I never got a chance to go on Alien Encounter (this makes me said because I was little then and felt it would be too scary, now it is gone and I can't ride it ever!) I also rode on TOT once and haven't been on since. I go to WDW every year and each time I chicken out on the so called "scary" rides. Next summer I plan to make different! Yet, I can do RNR (My favorite ride ever!!!!) I love roller coasters, they don't scare me at all. Funny how fear works lol.

 

[mill4023]

It's a great ride, but very intense.
My DD7 loved it, but nothing scares her. My DS10 liked it, but screamed and closed his eyes at times.
It is definitely 100 times more scary than Haunted Mansion.

 

[Mysteria]

I personally don't find dinosaur scary but I do find it a little rough on the body. From your description of yourself and your son though I think it may be a little too intense for the both of you.

Myst

 

[PrincessKitty]

Much, much scarier than the Haunted Mansion! But, for me, that's because there were periods of complete darkness which I absolutely HATE. I did not find the jerkiness or the dinosaurs scary, but I do think your son will be afraid if he is afraid of the HM.

 

[Tigger2252]

I am not a scaredy cat. I have ridden every one of the major rides and love them all. But---Dinosaur scares me, and I am 43. The first time I rode it my husband bought the picture because of the look on my face (I have never screamed so hard in my life). We still pull it out for a laugh. Last year's picture was just as bad, even when I knew what to expect. I just keep my eyes closed now. If a child is afraid of HM, I would not take them on Dinosaur.

 

[rabyoga]

Dinosaur scared me to death! I love thrill rides(TOT, RR, etc.) The part at the end, maded me scream and then some. My 8yr old daughter was smart enough to close her eyes the whole way thru. The ride itself is very violent-shaking you around- (My daughter and I actually liked that!) The Dinosaurs are very realistic and LOUD!! I think the ride really taps into that primal fear of not getting eaten.
It's one of only 2 rides I won't ride on our next trip to the World next year. (I don't ride Mission Space cause it makes me whoozy.)
Robin

 

[VSL]

I would say that if your DS finds HM to scary then he probably isn't ready for Dinosaur.

 

[AnaheimGirl]

If your son thinks Haunted Mansion is too scary, I'd think he'd find Dinosaur to be too scary, too. My 8yo dd was by far more scared on Dinosaur than any other ride in the parks, including ToT, RnRC and HM, which she considers funny. Although she said she loved Dinosaur, it was the only ride that she didn't go on again.

There are no drops of any sort. The vehicle moves very slowly, but they blow a lot of air on you, so it feels faster. It is extremely bumpy. It's dark and the dinosaurs come out and roar at you like you come with a side of fries.

This is probably the only ride I screamed on, as well.

If you want to see a ride video, go to http://www.bigfloridacountry.com/ridevideos.shtml. For $2.50, you can get 30 days access to ride videos. The quality of the indoor ride videos are not very good. I.e., it's nothing official, just someone videotaping as they're riding, so there isn't enough light to get a good video. There's a lot you can't see, but it gives you some idea.

Good luck!