ANIMAL
KINGDOM

TOURING
Attraction Seating
   Photo Gallery
Basic Services
Calendar of Events
Character Meet and
   Greet FAQ
Extra Magic Hour
FASTPASS
Fun Facts
Guide Map
Kennels
Operating Hours
Overlooked Attractions
Reader Tips
Rehabs and Closures
Restaurant Photo Gallery
Ride Restrictions
Smoking Policy
Special Needs Travelers
--Animal Kingdom
    in a Wheelchair
Ticket FAQ

WDW At Large

AT A GLANCE...
Animal Species by Area
Attractions
Restaurants
Characters
Shopping

THE OASIS
Place of Transition Part I
Place of Transition Part II

DISCOVERY ISLAND
The Tree of Life
It's Tough to be a Bug
Discovery Island Trails

CAMP MINNIE-MICKEY
Festival of the Lion King
Character Greeting
   Trails

AFRICA
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Pangani Forest
   Exploration Trail

RAFIKI'S PLANET WATCH

ASIA
Expedition EVEREST
Flights of Wonder
Kali River Rapids
Maharajah Jungle Trek

DINOLAND U.S.A.
Dinosaur
The Boneyard
Dino-Sue
Chester and Hester's
   Dino-Rama
   --Primeval Whirl
   --Triceratop Spin
Finding Nemo: The Musical

ENTERTAINMENT
Mickey's Jammin'
   Jungle Parade
Mickey's JINGLE Jungle Parade
DiVine
Live Entertainment

Special Reports
New Babies at AK!

African Comb Duck
Asian Tigers
Baby African Elephants
Capybara
Giraffe
Nile Hippopotamus
Okapi
West African Crownded Crane

Photo Essays
Gorillas
Faces
Hidden Mickeys
Park Details

ALL EARS®
Feature Articles
-- Animal Kingdom Turns 10
-- Animal Kingdom Turns 5
-- Kaleidoscopic Kingdoms
-- Other Side of Animal Kingdom

TOURS
-- Back Stage Safari
-- Wild by Design

ARCHIVES
Pocahontas and Her
   Forest Friends - Closed 9/27/08
Tarzan Rocks! Closed 1/06
Journey into the Jungle Book
Closed 4/99
Lucky the Dinosaur May-July 2005
March of the Artimals Closed 6/99
Radio Disney River Cruise aka
Discovery River Taxi aka
Discovery RiverBoat Ride aka
Discovery River Boats - Retired 1999
Walk Around Artimals
Pre-Opening Guide Map

OTHER THEME PARKS
Disney's Hollywood
   Studios
Epcot
Magic Kingdom

Disneyland
Disney's California
    Adventure

INTRODUCTION

The Animal Kingdom has a mini-land next to DinoLand USA. This family-friendly area adjacent to DinoLand U.S.A. features a dinosaur-themed midway and carnival with games and rides.

Those wacky dino-maniacs Chester & Hester are at it again. First, it was tables, shelves and racks spilling over with dinosaur toys, trinkets and t-shirts at Chester & Hester’s. Now, crazed by anything cretaceous, they present Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama!, a fun fair complete with wacky midway games and rides. At this corny carny, guests can play Ringosaurus, toss beanbags into dinosaur jaws or hold on tight on Triceratop Spin and Primeval Whirl.

ATTRACTIONS

Triceratop Spin is a hub-and-spoke style attraction (similar to Dumbo at the Magic Kingdom). Guests in 4-person vehicles (16) move up, down and around in a ride that magically becomes a giant spinning toy top. The top rises to reveal -- what else? -- a dinosaur!

Primeval Whirl features 13 colorful cars that whirl past flying asteroids and corny depictions of dinosaur cut-outs that spin and pop up along the track. The spinning coaster takes guests on a wacky time warp back to the prehistoric era on a twisting track of tight loops and short drops . . . with a final descent into the gaping jaws of a giant dino fossil.

Pam Cronin writes -- We got to ride the Primeval Whirl and loved it! We got a flyer at the park entrance saying that it was still being checked out & there might be periods when they had to stop it; also that the FastPass was not yet operating. Well, there were no stops in operation & the FastPass was working, but we got right on without the FastPass. It's a great ride...from time to time you feel like you're going to slide right off the edge of the ride, & then the free spinning cars throw you a loop & you don't know which direction you're really heading! We'll definitely do it again when we go in October.

Lorelei Levesque writes:The cars are "time machines" with cresent-shaped bench seating for 4 (2&2) with bars that come down from overhead for each 2. Seating would be very tight for 4 adults. It is continuous loading, like Buzz, but slow, hence the long lines. The car then ascends to the top & begins it's way down, slowly at first, apparently by gravity. The track weaves back & forth and the car is loose like Teacups so that when you make the turns you spin going faster & faster as you make your way down. About halfway down there are drops, 3 or 4 in the 2nd half of the ride. I would rate this ride as equally scary as Space Mt even though it looks like a taller Barnstormer from the outside.

Boardwalk-type games - include Dino-Whamma, a classic mallet strength game; Mammoth Marathon, a racing derby; Comet Crasher, a goblet toss game; Fossil Fueler, a water-squirt game themed to a prehistoric gas station; and Bronto-Score, a basketball game.

TOURING TIPS

Primeval Whirl is a FASTPASS attraction.

You must be 48 inches tall to ride Primeval Whirl.

Some "At Large" folks report problems with Primeval Whirl. For details visit: http://allearsnet.com/tp/ridsiAK.htm#3

For more information on Animal Kingdom Live Entertainment, Visit Steve Soares' WDW Entertainment Website.

Assistive Listening Devices from Guest Services Can Be Used Here.

Reflective Captioning Available.

KIDS AND CHARACTERS

"Just wanted to let you know my daughter and I rode TriceraTop Spin. It is almost exactly like the new Aladdin's Magic Carpet ride in MK, but I believe it is a little smaller." Patrick Carr

Chester and Hester's Dino-Rama is being designed specifically to appeal to younger audiences. It's very "kid" friendly.

A walk-around Carnotaurus Dinosaur poses for photos!

Or you may even see Chester and Hester out for a spin in their colorful jalopy! (see photo below)

Animal Kingdom Characters At A Glance 
Character Meet and Greet FAQ!

DINING

There is no dining in the immediate area of Chester and Hester's Dino-Rama. Restaurantasaurus is also in DinoLand U.S.A. and offers a character breakfast (better have a priority seating) and a McDonald's lunch.

Animal Kingdom Restaurants At A Glance
Menus From Around the World
Vegetarian and Other Special Diets

SHOPPING

The only shop in DinoLand U.S.A. is Chester and Hester's Dinosaur Treasures, themed to be a road-side tacky souvenier store. You can find logo merchandise for the Dinosaur attraction, lots and lots of soft plastic dinosaurs that your kids will probably want but they won't fit in any suitcase :), and of course lots of t-shirts, keychains, buttons, postcards, and more.

INTERESTING FACTS

"Vice president for Walt Disney Imagineering Joe Rohde said the attractions will bring a new energy to the theme park. "The idea is to create a kiddy-land carnival as you remembered it," Rohde said.

The expansion allows Disney to broaden the appeal of Animal Kingdom to younger visitors while building on the momentum of the park's April 1998 opening." Orlando Sentinel, 9/30/2000

Click here for Pre-opening Artist Rendering