Chester and Hester’s Dino-Rama

When Disney announced and built Chester and Hester’s Dino-Rama, I was annoyed. I realized that the Animal Kingdom desperately needed more rides and attractions, but I felt that the bean-counters tried to remedy this situation by the cheapest means possible. They bought “off-the-shelf” rides and had the Imagineers spruce them up the best they could. I also did not like the “carnival” atmosphere they created with the games on the midway. After all, Walt built Disneyland in an effort to get away from this sort of cheap amusement park. So the first time I visited Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama, I had a chip on my shoulder and didn’t like what I saw.

After some time had passed, it finally sunk into my thick head that Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama wasn’t going away. It was here to stay. So I decided to climb down from my high-horse and take another look at this section of Dinoland U.S.A., only this time, I’d try to be objective. Once I did this, and embraced the storyline, I found that the Imagineers actually built a pleasant and engaging area. And like everything else they do, it’s full of details.

The story of Dinoland U.S.A. goes something like this. In the early 1940’s, Diggs County contained little more than ranch and farmland. This is evident by the barn seen on the property.

Barn and ATM

An elderly married couple, Chester and Hester, owned a rundown gas station and a few acres of land along the highway. This allowed them to eek out a meager living.

Gas Station

They sold Sinclair gasoline. The irony of this would become evident in the years to come.

Sinclair Gas

In 1947, amateur fossil-hunters found some dinosaur bones in the area. Once their authenticity could be verified, scientist and grad students swarmed the area, eager to discover their own finds. An old fishing lodge (Restaurantosaurus) became their gathering place and soon after, the Dino Institute was founded. When time travel was invented in the early 70’s, the Institute erected a modern building to facilitate research. To help subsidize costs, tours were offered to non-professionals.

Dino Institute

Meanwhile, Chester and Hester could see others getting rich while their profits had only risen mildly with the influx of tourists. Determined to cash in on the area’s new found wealth, they started selling souvenirs as well as gas. It wasn’t long before their tacky merchandise was raking in more money than the gas they sold, so they converted the entire service station into a large shop called “Chester and Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures.”

Chester and Hester's Dinosaur Treasures

Chester and Hester's Dinosaur Treasures

Chester and Hester's Dinosaur Treasures

While in the store, see if you can find a picture of Chester and Hester and the framed “first dollar” they made.

Chester-and-Hester-01.jpg

First Dollar

Out back and behind their store they created a photo op where their customers could pose with a whimsical dinosaur.

Whimsical Dinosaur Photo Op

Take a look at some of the corny signs and slogans they erected to attract passing motorists. If you look carefully at the last sign, you can see how they painted over an old GAS sign with a souvenir ad.

Going out of existence sale

Ice Age

Prehistoric Prices

Dirt Cheap

Reused Gas Sign

Another “attention getter” was a dinosaur (if you can call it that) that they created out of plaster, rocks, bottles, and broken glass and mirrors. I’ve read that there is a Steamboat Willie pin embedded somewhere on this dinosaur, but I have not verified this.

Plaster Dinosaur

Ever frugal, the team used old tires as planters.

Planters made out of Tires

On the roof top you can see a number of homemade dinosaur weathervanes.

Dinosaur Weathervane

As profits started to grow, Chester and Hester decided to build a small amusement park across the street from their souvenir shop. Since their land bordered the main highway, this would be the perfect spot to attract passing tourist aiming for the Dino Institute.

Diggs County Highway

Diggs County Highway

Diggs County Highway

Diggs County Highway

Diggs County Highway

Soon after, Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama was born.

Chester & Hester's Dino-Rama Main Entrance

Like all roadside attractions of the day, numerous signs, advertising the approaching venue, were placed along the highway for miles in both directions.

Roadside Signs

Also found in the vicinity are billboards advertising the Dino Institute and Diggs County.

Dino Institute Billboard

Diggs County Billboard

Near the entrance to Chester & Hester’s, the word DINO-RAMA is spelled out with plants. Upon closer inspection, you can see that the ever thrifty couple used old license plates to form the outline of the letters.

DINO-RAMA spelled with Plants

DINO-RAMA spelled with Plants

At one time, there was parking for Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama next to the souvenir shop, but this area has been turned into a picnic area.

Parking Lot

Picnic Area

Typical of the era, “novelty architecture” was brought into play with the creation of a large yellow dinosaur (concreteasaurus) to entice motorists to stop.

Concreteasaurus

Concreteasaurus

The midway, Fossil Fun Games, contains six different challenges.

Dino Whamma!

In this game you use a mallet and lever to try to ring the bell. Some of the “levels of expertise” you can achieve are: Wimposaur, Biceptoraptor, Brawnosaurus, and Triceps-A-Tops

Dino Whamma!

Fossil Fueler

Here you use a water pistol to fill your fuel tank before the other players can achieve the same goal.

Fossil Fueler

Mammoth Marathon

At this game, you roll baseballs into a number of holes with different point designations. With each point, your mammoth advances toward the finish line.

Mammoth Marathon

Comet Crasher

With this contest, you toss comets (balls) into a sea of goblets. The color of the goblet your comet lands in, determines the prize you win.

Comet Crasher

Bronto-Score

This is a basketball toss game.

Bronto-Score

Whac-A-Packycephalosaur

As dinosaurs pop up, you whack ’em with your mallet.

Whac-A-Packycephalosaur

The games each cost $2.50 to play; however, the booths do not accept cash. You must purchase coupons at either the nearby souvenir stand, a strolling vendor, or at Chester and Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures. The prizes awarded are brightly colored plushes resembling everything from fanciful dinosaurs to snakes. None are Disney characters.

Souvenir Stand

There are other midway attractions besides the games. You can see a “deformed” image of yourself in a wavy mirror.

Wavy Mirror

Have four automatic pictures taken of you and your friends as you cram yourselves into this small picture booth. (Cost, $5).

Photo Booth

Or you can pose for a picture behind a dinosaur cut-out.

Cut-out Picture Op

Chester and Hester took their old vacation trailer and converted it into a concessions stand. Hot dogs, popcorn, and frozen and liquid drinks are for sale at Dino Diner.

Dino Diner

If you look at the pavement, you can tell that Chester and Hester were tight on money when creating their little park. As it expanded, they just built on top of their former parking lot. Also notice the flowerbeds are lined with the old tires that they accumulated over the years running their service station.

Pavement

Tire Boarder

There are two rides at Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama, TriceraTop Spin and Primeval Whirl. Let’s start with TriceraTop Spin.

In case you didn’t notice, the second “T” in TriceraTop is capitalized. That’s because the ride resembles a giant top – the kind you had as a kid and would pump and watch spin.

TriceraTop Spin Sign

The vehicles you ride in are, of course, fanciful triceratops. Each has two seats. The front seat has a lever that controls the pitch and the back seat has a lever that controls the height.

TriceraTop Spin

While spinning, a comet orbits in the opposite direction around the top of the top.

Spinning Comet

The views while riding are also a lot of fun.

View from TriceraTop Spin

View from TriceraTop Spin

If you owned one of these tops as a kid, you might remember that they were cheaply made and usually constructed out of tin. The triceratopses on this ride look like “tin toys” and even have the flaps that were used to fasten them together.

Tin Toy

Another example of the thriftiness of Chester and Hester can be found on a number of signs scattered around the attractions. Once again, they recycled old license plates.

License Plate Exit Sign

The big draw in Diggs County is the time machine over at the Dino Institute. But Chester and Hester didn’t want to be left out of the action so they created their own time machine and named it Primeval Whirl. Of course, you don’t really go back in time on Primeval Whirl like you do at the Institute. But it is a lot of fun and a little zany.

Rimeval Whirl

There is a height restriction for this ride. Children must be 48″ to ride.

Height Restriction Sign

Close observers will notice a striking similarity between these three dinosaurs found near the top of Primeval Whirl and the hitchhiking ghosts of the Haunted Mansion.

Hitchhiking Dinosaurs

Before boarding your time traveling vehicle, you walk past the machinery that makes your journey possible. Trained scientists will notice the sophisticated components Chester and Hester used when creating their time machine like discarded hubcaps and whisks from a Hobart mixer.

Queue and Time Machine

Hub Caps

Whisk from Mixer

You also pass by the technicians, readying your craft.

Technicians and Time Machine

Technicians and Time Machine

Eventually, it’s time to board your time machine for a fanciful blast to the past. For those of you who have never ridden, I’ve created a short video to give you an idea of what it’s like to travel through time with Chester and Hester.

My one complaint about this attraction is the seat size. The time machines are designed to hold four people in two seats. However, these seats are extremely small and even two average sized adults would feel cramped squeezing together under one lap bar. If you’re a person of size, request a seat to yourself.

My family took many vacations by car during the 1950’s and early 1960’s, traveling throughout much of the western United States. During our journeys, we encountered a lot of tourist traps. Although none were quite like Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama, I think this area is a good compilation of the mom and pop enterprises that once populated the highways, long before the Interstates (and Disneyland) put them out of business. If you’re old enough to remember Burma Shave signs, then you should be able to glean a certain amount of nostalgia from this area and appreciate it as a part of our history.

Burma Shave Sign

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28 Replies to “Chester and Hester’s Dino-Rama”

  1. Thanks a lot! All these people that used to bypass this area of the park made for short lines at the two rides as well as the games. Now, more people will spend more time there making the lines unbearably long. However the games might be more interesting with more people since most of the time you’re competing against yourself. Side note-your blogs which I just recently came upon, are great, keep up the good work.

  2. My family and I are planning a trip to Disney. Your blog is done very well – thanks for the nice background story. I never even knew that this part of Animal Kindgom was even there.

    However, as cute as the background story is, (it seems as if very few people know about it anyway), cheap carnival games and rides are still cheap carnival carnival games and rides whether or not Disney slaps a cute story behind it.

    Being a former cast member, I know the extremes that Disney goes to in order to create a magical world for guests. This Dino-Rama is not like Disney in any way, shape or form. It’s just sad! I can’t help but wonder what on Earth posessed Disney to build such an atrosity.

    I can get these same rides at our local amusement park at 1/3 of the cost. People spend a small fortune bringing their families to Disney and deserve better attractions than this.

  3. Wow… I can’t believe there are so many others who felt the same way my family and I have felt about Dinoland… We would barely spend any time there and have been known to bypass that area completely. However, after reading the story behind the attractions, that section of AK now makes much more sense and somehow, magically, Chester and Hester’s is already more enjoyable. We are going back to Disney World in November and I plan to spend more time there and take in some of the details I have never noticed before. Thanks so much for the insight.

  4. Hi Jack!

    I was reading your blog and was really interested in what you had to say. I’m a CPer working at Dino-Rama! so it’s always neat to see what other people think about the area. The back story stuff is completely true; all of us cast members working at Dino-Rama! are technically cousins of Chester and Hester themselves : D If you go into DinoTreasures, up in the rafters towards right of the store after you walk in (if you’re entering from the doors facing Primeval Whirl) you’ll see a picture of them together. Look closely and you might notice that they actually look very similar to one another… Oh! And the hidden steamboat willy is there; you’re just going to have to look very closely (I had to have someone point it out to me). You may also be interested to know that we have a new addition to the area! Across from TriceraTop Spin and next to the barn with the atm, we have a new “Souvenir Photo” area. It looks a little like an old gas station, with two gas pumps in front… it also features a new billboard that looks like an old fashioned postcard with the words “Greetings from Dinoland U.S.A” on it… it’s the new character greet spot for Pluto and Goofy : )

  5. I was just at WDW (8/9/2009 to 8/17/2009) and we made the visit to Chester and Hester’s Dino-Rama. I have to say that I was still entirely unimpressed.

    I get the themeing, a 1950/60’s roadside with a dino bent. I’m sure the theming makes sense to some, but I think it was a dated concept before it started. I’m in my 40’s and I remember these kind of things. I remember them being crappy and expensive. But I would argue that I’m on the tail end of this, and the theming brings nothing for the under 35/40 crowd. The rides are so obviously off the shelf with the tacked on theming. And to fill the area with midway games that you end up having to shell out more cash for arguing kids to play (for the record, we did not shell it out) just smacks of cheap. We couldn’t wait to get out of the area as fast as we could, even though it meant a long nothing walk past the Nemo theatre to get to Everest.

    Add to all that the black parking lot tarmac making the area a blast furnace of monumental proportions, and you have a very dissapointing portion of the park. We pretty much avoid Dinoland as much as we can, and make the Animal Kingdom a part day park at the best.

    This is the sort of thing that has allowed Universal to become such a powerhouse in the area. Disney, if you’re going to go cheap, throw up a thrill ride, slap a dinosaur on the front and watch the lineups.

    CHester and Hester should pack up their sideshow and move along to the next epoch.

  6. I had exactly the same reaction when we first went into Dinoland, but my daughter absolutely LOVES all of the rides and we find we spend a considerable amount of our day there when we’re at the Animal Kingdom.

    We’re headed to our 2009 trip this coming Monday, so I really appreciate how the entire story comes together, I’d never heard any of it before and this makes a lot of what I’ve seen make sense! Thanks for all of the investigation!

  7. I attended the International Travel Agent Summit in 2003, and we were brought to DAK after it was closed one night…we had a buffet dinner in Restaurantosaurus, and then we had all the games and rides open for us, as well as snacks, and I vividly remember MEETING Chester and Hester, who were our hosts for the evening (there was even a fireworks display off of Primeval Whirl!) They were definitely a husband-wife team, and they were hilarious! I will see if I have any photos from that night to send you…

    Great blogs, as always!!!

  8. Jack,

    Once again you have enlightened me to an area that we seldom stop at. In fact, I think the first time that we went to Animal Kingdom, we completely bypassed Din-O-Rama. At least I don’t remember doing much there. Our last visit (in Dec) we holed up in the souvenir shop while the rain came down,down,down. While there I read a little bit more about the whole concept and made a mental note to spend more time in the Animal Kingdom on our next visit. Your last two blogs have helped me realize all the interesting aspects of what I usually consider a “half-day” park. Now I know better. 🙂

    Thanks!

  9. So is this connected to Pixar’s Dinoco gas used in Cars, Toy Story, etc?

    Jack’s Answer:

    To my knowledge, there is no connection. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t so — it just means I don’t know. There is a gas pump at Chester & Hester’s that says Dino Gasoline, but that is different than Dinoco Gas.

    Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.

  10. Jack,
    Yet again another awesome blog!! You could have taken the words right out of my mouth regarding the annoyance you first felt when finding out about Chester and Hester’s. I felt exactly the same and I’m sure I spoke the exact phrase “After all, Walt built Disneyland in an effort to get away from this sort of cheap amusement park.” Like you I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Was Disney actualy falling backwards rather than going forward? Where they this desperate and grasping at straws? That was until a cast member told me it was supposed be reminiscent of the nostalgic road sides tourist traps, “novelty architecture”, found in the West and a tribute to Rt. 66. With that stars aligned, the tumblers fell into place, and I “Got it”! After that and only after was I able to relax a bit and enjoy it. Its still not my favorite part of the park but I now get it and I’m OK with it. Unfortunately thought I don’t think the story jumps out at people and it isn’t all that too apparent. I wish it was a little more obvious so that people would get it a bit more and be able to enjoy it better.

    Part of the problem is that the area is “built” a little back wards. Chester and Hester’s gas station turned Dinosaur Treasures gift shop is at the very back of the land so unless you wonder back there you don’t even know its there. It would work better if the gift shop was toward the front of the land but I’m guessing the reason it is not is because I believe Chester and Hester’s Dino-Rama was an after thought for the park. The focus originally was the Dinosaur ride and Chester and Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures gift shop (Now I know your going to be surprised by this but:) was strategically placed at the exit to the Dinosaur attraction.
    Thanks Jack for another awesome Blog. Disney is fun and Rocks no matter what way you look at it but it makes it all that more enjoyable when you know and understand the stories behind the attractions and lands. Thanks for helping people to learn about these back stories!

    Rob

  11. Jack,

    I giggled to myself when I read the beginning of this blog because I had the exact same reaction to Dino-Rama as you did! I can be a bit of a Disney snob I suppose. I’m glad that you came along to fill in the details of the storyline that is so blatantly lacking in this area of DAK. It’s a shame, because without the story, the carnival atmosphere is perplexing.

    I’m still not a fan of the area as a whole, and I’m afraid I never will be, but I still give Disney props for at least having a backstory (unlike other “themeparks” I can think of…).

    Thanks again for a most enjoyable and detailed journey into the Disney parks! You do a great job.

  12. Jack,

    Loved this blog! My husband and I were never really fond of Animal Kingdom, until our Sept 2008 trip. We decided to do the Wild By Design tour. That tour totally changed our minds. The Dino-Rama area is part of the tour. We learned so much about how they created the area and the story behind it. You are spot on with what they said. If we hadn’t taken that tour and learned to appreciate Animal Kingdom then, we would have done that with your blog. We will be making our next trip to WDW in Oct 2010. I’m looking forward to seeing it again with “new” eyes.

    If you haven’t taken the Wild By Design tour, we highly recommend it. It was awesome to see the tour guide point out the small details throughout the park that we used to walk over or past and not give them any thought.

    Thanks again for another great blog!

  13. 2 things:

    you mention this in your blog:

    “Near the entrance to Chester & Hester’s, the word DINO-RAMA is spelled out with plants. Upon closer inspection, you can see that the ever thrifty brothers used old license plates to form the outline of the letters.”

    Chester and Hester are actually a male and female husband and wife and not brothers. There are pictures of them in the store. I will have to search my archives for the pictures…

    also you have this:

    Another “attention getter” was the dinosaur (if you can call it that) that they created out of plaster, rocks, bottles, and broken glass and mirrors. I’ve read that there is a Steamboat Willie pin embedded somewhere on this dinosaur, but I have not verified this.

    This is verified as being on there at least it used to be, i would again have to search for pics of it but have it somewhere. it was also created by the person that did the some work outside of house of blues.

    From http://www.resourcefulschools.org/activities.html

    “According to Joan Manangu of Executive Offices at Walt Disney World Resort, this piece was created by the artist known as Mr. Imagination. He is also the same person who created the outdoor patio at the House of Blues in Downtown Disney. There is one Hidden Mickey on this sculpture. It is located on the first spike, running down the back of the creature, you will find a one year anniversary pin.”

    Jack’s Comment:

    Thanks for writing and thank you for pointing this out to me.

    Someone else wrote to tell me that Chester and Hester were husband and wife — which makes sense since Hester is a woman’s name. But I found several references that said they were brothers. I thought I corrected my blog, but I didn’t catch all of my references.

    Now my blog makes no reference to their relationship. This avoids any confusion.

    If you find the picture of Hester & Chester in the shop, feel free to send it to me, but I’ll be back to the Animal Kingdom probably sometime this week and will look for myself – and check for this pin in the dinosaur.

    Thank you again for keeping me on my toes. I hate it when I post incorrect information. That’s how some of these silly Disney rumors get started.

  14. Another great blog post- like you & most of the other commenters, I’ve always snubbed Dino-Rama, being too sophisticated for such nonsense… 😉

    Now, it’s on our list of things to do on our upcoming trip! Thanks!

  15. My family has always enjoyed this area. We used to always do the Breakfastasaurus (before it moved across the park) character meal before park opening, and then when were done eating, it was just time for the park to open and we’d do all of Dinoland lickety split!! Of course that was before Everest!!

    Several trips ago, we named the big yellow dinosaur Pineapple and now we can’t wait to see her on every trip!!

  16. Really enjoyed the blog about Chester and Hester’s Dino-Rama. Since I’ve been so busy working on the house, I really enjoy your blogs for my “Disney fix” either when I’m “powering up” or “unwinding” from the day. I really enjoyed you video clip on this one too.

    I really enjoy reading about all of the details, and the back stories behind them. This also gives me more to look for on my visits.

  17. Jack,

    Great blog AS USUAL! I always love how you give an area’s or attraction’s backstory. It really helps us (Guests) fill in the gaps.

    I guess I run opposite to popular opinion, and I’ve always LIKED this area. I thought it was clever how Disney put this section of DAK into the Park because so much of the Park isn’t something kids are naturally drawn to, but when they get to this area, it’s like it was custom made for them. It’s as if Disney remembered and knew this. (I guess I’m saying the same thing another person commented on above.)

    Anyway, here a few more tidbits of information about Dinoland, U.S.A. you may or may not know:

    (1)As you go under the gigantic dinosaur and head toward Nemo, look under the dinosaur to see if it’s male or female. Nothing gross, just the way the lights are presented tells you what it is.

    (2)Dinoland Boneyard–Behind the Jeep, you’ll see a row of fossils set into the wall. This is the so-called “xylobone.”

    (3) The highway sign in Dinoland is route 498 (park opened April 22, 1998).

    (4) The red, yellow, and white pipes above the load area at “Dinosaur” are for Ketchup, Mustard, and Mayonnaise, and the letters on each pipe are their chemical formulas.

    (5) During Dinosaur, cars bounce over a big bump in the track. The big bump is a tail of a long neck Saltosaurus, who then turns around to look at you, and if you sit on the back two rows, it throws you around a little more then the front two rows (so the rumor goes)!

  18. On our first trip to Disney, my oldest son was really into dinosaurs. So we were actually looking forward to visiting Dino-rama! I remember sitting with him at the computer seeing all the rides and attractions in the area. We have never been a fan of carnival games, so we simply passed by these attractions. We were surprised by the height restriction on the Primeval Whirl. My son rode, but my daughter was not tall enough. Oh course after riding we understood the height requirement. Overall we enjoyed the area and went back on our next trip. We didn’t give a second thought until now that Dino-rama is so different than what you expect at The World. Thanks again for a great article. Looking forward to the next one.

  19. Okay Jack, I have to ask… how the heck do you find out all this information?

    Jack’s Answer:

    First, Disney is my hobby. I make it my business to learn as much as I can about the theme parks.

    I have an extensive Disney library in my home that I use for reference.

    I know cast members.

    I scour the internet — however, I use the information found here carefully. There is a lot of untrue information touted as fact out there.

    I visit the parks regularly. I spend my time looking for details and tidbits. Even when I’m riding Everest (for example), I’m looking for information rather than enjoying the exhilaration of the attraction.

    I hope that answers your question.

  20. Another great blog post! The back story is very interesting but my question is how are you supposed to pick up on that in the park? The theme and detail of the area is really awesome once you know the story, but without knowing the story everything just seems kind of random.

    Jack’s Answer:

    When planning a land or attraction, the Imagineers come up with a complete storyline first. Then they design the attraction using that story and staying within its given parameters. When the attraction (or land) is debuted, the storyline is usually reported in press releases. After that, it’s rarely mentioned again.

    I think Chester & Hesters’ Dinorama could stand a little more story-telling publicity, but I’m not sure how this could be accomplished.

  21. An informative blog as always. Two tings. While the signs and area are cute, the carnival games and rides are extremely un-Disneylike, imho, making this area the least interesting in all of Disneyworld. Second, the backstory you give makes it somewhat more interesting. However , I have been to this area over twenty times and have heard little to none of it before.

  22. Hi Jack,
    I miss those Burma Shave signs!

    Once we drove to WDW and my kids wanted to stop at South of the Border but my husband vetoed the stop. Chester’s reminds me of South of the Border.
    BTW, I finally did get to stop at SOB because several years later my husband and I went to DW with my brother and his wife and he asked us if we wanted to stop! I sent my now grown kids a postcard from there!

    Thanks for another interesting blog and the next time we visit I’ll stay longer there and check out the fun signs.

  23. Thanks for giving me an entirely new point of view. I confess that I always cringed when I went by this part of Animal Kingdom, since I never understood why it was there. Now I know! The video was superb, Jack. What is the music you used to accompany the video? Is it from the attraction itself or some other piece you picked out? Thanks again for your fine work on this blog.

    Jack’s Answer:

    The actual music played on this attraction is varied — everything from the Beachboys to the obscure dinosaur oldies. The music I selected is from the California Screamin’ roller coaster at Disney’s California Adventure. I thought it had a “carnival” feel about it that fit with Primeval Whirl.

  24. My immediate reaction to this area was the same as yours. I simply couldn’t believe that Disney put this sort of thing into one of their parks (especially their newest one).

    Then, the reaction my kids had blew me away. They couldn’t WAIT to get in there. They loved it.

    The fact is, the things we love about Disney parks are often the very things kids do NOT enjoy – the beautiful views, park details and the like.

    Dinoland is one of the few spots in any Disney park where the kids can go from one fun thing to the next in moments, instead of hiking for awhile.

    Against my better judgement, I like it. 🙂

    Good stuff Jack.

  25. I too felt a bit annoyed by this area of the park, however I found it fun and nostalgic once I visited. Now having read your blog I have come to cherish this area all the more. Thank you!!

  26. Jack – what an awesome video….I like the music that you along with it…and I really appreciate all of your blogs, it is apparent that you always put a lot of TLC into them.

  27. I definitely share some of your original thoughts about Dinoland. But you’ve given me some good little details to check out the next time I’m there. Maybe I’ll get off my high horse. 🙂

  28. Jack,

    Another spiffy blog!

    So let’s say I’m off my diet and I’m trying to get the most out of my “free” meal plan and I happen to find myself in Dinoland –

    Where do I eat?

    Dave

    Jack’s Answer:

    Restaurantosaurus is the main eatery in Dinoland, but this isn’t one of my favorite spots. It’s too noisy and hamburgers and fries are the main attraction here. If it were me, I’d go to Flame Tree BBQ. It’s located near the entrance to Dinoland so it’s an easy walk from Chester & Hester’s.