Dinosaurs Alive! (attraction)

Last updated
Dinosaurs Alive!
Dinosaurs Alive! Logo.png
Canada's Wonderland
Area Planet Snoopy
StatusRemoved
Opening dateMay 6, 2012 (2012-05-06) [1]
Closing dateOctober 29, 2018
Replaced bySnoopy’s Racing Railway
Carowinds
Area Carolina RFD
StatusRemoved
Opening dateMarch 29, 2013 (2013-03-29) [2]
Closing dateAugust 18, 2019 [3]
ReplacedJoe Cool's Driving School
Cedar Point
AreaAdventure Island
Camp Snoopy
StatusRemoved
Cost$1 million [4]
Opening dateMay 12, 2012 (2012-05-12) [5]
Closing dateSeptember 3, 2018
ReplacedPaddlewheel Excursions
Replaced byForbidden Frontier (2019-2022)
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
StatusRemoved
Opening dateApril 28, 2012 (2012-04-28)
Closing dateOctober 28, 2018
Kings Dominion
Area Old Virginia
StatusRemoved
Soft opening dateApril 5, 2012 (2012-04-05)
Opening dateApril 6, 2012 (2012-04-06) [6]
Closing dateOctober 28, 2018 [7]
Replaced byGrimmWoods (2021-Present)
Kings Island
Area Coney Mall
StatusRemoved
Opening dateMay 26, 2011 (2011-05-26) [8]
Closing dateOctober 29, 2017 (2017-10-29) [9]
Replaced by Orion, Kings Mills Antique Autos
Valleyfair
StatusRemoved
Cost$3.5 million [10]
Opening dateMay 11, 2013 (2013-05-11)
Closing dateOctober 27, 2019 (2019-10-27) [11]
Replaced byMonster Jam (2022-2023)
Worlds of Fun
Area Africa
StatusRemoved
Opening dateApril 20, 2013 (2013-04-20)
Closing dateOctober 27, 2019 (2019-10-27) [12]
Replaced byZambezi Zinger
Ride statistics
Attraction typeWalkthrough exhibit
Theme Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs Alive! was an animatronic dinosaur themed area which formerly operated at several amusement parks, but has since been closed.

Contents

The exhibits were created by Dinosaurs Unearthed. Some markets, like Toronto, previously staged their touring exhibit at other venues. [13] Some reviewers noted that seeing a roller coaster in the background was an "incongruity". [13] A sand pit allowed children to "dig" for dinosaurs at an area near the end of the attraction. [14]

Dinosaurs

The exhibits featured dinosaurs that were built to scale and depicted various habitats they would have likely encountered. Among the variety of species present throughout the attraction, the dinosaurs themselves could range from several feet in height and length to the much larger Ruyangosaurus, which stood more than 30 feet (9.1 m) tall. [15] Each amusement park configuration was unique, with some featuring exhibits not present at the others:

ParkDinosaurs
Brookfield Zoo
2009 Ruyangosaurus, Protoceratops, Yangchuanosaurus, Dilophosaurus, Metriacanthosaurus, Omeisaurus, Stegosaurus, Apatosaurus, Allosaurus, Baryonyx, Deinonychus, Parasaurolophus, Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus
2013 Shantungosaurus, Styracosaurus, Kosmoceratops, Olorotitan, Gigantoraptor, Alxasaurus, Sinosauropteryx, Velociraptor, Microraptor, Stegosaurus, Amargasaurus, Spinosaurus, Omeisaurus, Triceratops, Parasaurolophus, Dyoplosaurus, Tuojiangosaurus, Carnotaurus, Pachycephalosaurus, Dilophosaurus and Tyrannosaurus
Calgary Zoo [16] Tyrannosaurus rex
Canada's Wonderland [17] Albertosaurus, Allosaurus, Baryonyx, Carnotaurus, Chasmosaurus, Deinonychus, Dyoplosaurus, Eotyrannus, Herrerasaurus, Huayangosaurus, Hypacrosaurus, Irritator, Kosmoceratops, Maiasaura, Mamenchisaurus, Mojoceratops, Monoclonius, Monolophosaurus, Ouranosaurus, Pachycephalosaurus, Pachyrhinosaurus, Parasaurolophus, Ruyangosaurus, Spinosaurus, Stegosaurus, Tenontosaurus, Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus and Yangchuanosaurus
Carowinds Tsintaosaurus, Dilophosaurus, Triceratops, and more
Cedar Point [18] Albertosaurus, Allosaurus, Amargasaurus, Angustinaripterus, Anhanguera, Apatosaurus, Baryonyx, Carnotaurus, Chasmosaurus, Deinonychus, Dilophosaurus, Eotyrannus, Herrerasaurus, Hypacrosaurus, Irritator, Kosmoceratops, Mamenchisaurus, Mojoceratops, Monoclonius, Monolophosaurus, Olorotitan, Omeisaurus, Ouranosaurus, Pachycephalosaurus, Pachyrhinosaurus, Parasaurolophus, Ruyangosaurus, Saltasaurus, Spinosaurus, Stegosaurus, Tenontosaurus, Torosaurus, Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus and Yangchuanosaurus
Dorney Park [19] Albertosaurus, Allosaurus, Amargasaurus, Angustinaripterus, Apatosaurus, Baryonyx, Carnotaurus, Chasmosaurus, Deinonychus, Dyoplosaurus, Eotyrannus, Herrerasaurus, Irritator, Kosmoceratops, Mamenchisaurus, Mojoceratops, Monoclonius, Monolophosaurus, Ouranosaurus, Pachycephalosaurus, Pachyrhinosaurus, Parasaurolophus, Ruyangosaurus, Spinosaurus, Stegosaurus, Tenontosaurus, Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus and Yangchuanosaurus
Kings Dominion [20] Albertosaurus, Allosaurus, Amargasaurus, Angustinaripterus, Apatosaurus, Baryonyx, Carnotaurus, Chasmosaurus, Deinonychus, Dyoplosaurus, Eotyrannus, Herrerasaurus, Irritator, Kosmoceratops, Mamenchisaurus, Mojoceratops, Monoclonius, Monolophosaurus, Ouranosaurus, Pachycephalosaurus, Pachyrhinosaurus, Parasaurolophus, Ruyangosaurus, Spinosaurus, Stegosaurus, Tenontosaurus, Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus and Yangchuanosaurus
Kings Island [21] Albertosaurus, Allosaurus, Amargasaurus, Angustinaripterus, Apatosaurus, Baryonyx, Carnotaurus, Chasmosaurus, Deinonychus, Dilophosaurus, Dyoplosaurus, Eotyrannus, Herrerasaurus, Hypacrosaurus, Irritator, Kosmoceratops, Mamenchisaurus, Metriacanthosaurus, Mojoceratops, Monoclonius, Monolophosaurus, Olorotitan, Omeisaurus, Ouranosaurus, Pachycephalosaurus, Pachyrhinosaurus, Parasaurolophus, Pinacosaurus, Psittacosaurus, Ruyangosaurus, Saltasaurus, Sauroposeidon, Spinosaurus, Stegosaurus, Styracosaurus, Tenontosaurus, Torosaurus, Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus and Yangchuanosaurus
Toronto Zoo [22] Stegosaurus, Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus rex
Valleyfair [23] Allosaurus, Apatosaurus, Baryonyx, Dilophosaurus, Huayangosaurus, Mamenchisaurus, Omeisaurus, Pachycephalosaurus, Parasaurolophus, Spinosaurus, Stegosaurus, Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus rex, and Yangchuanosaurus
Woodbine Fantasy Fair Spinosaurus
Worlds of Fun Allosaurus, Baryonyx, Carnotaurus, Chasmosaurus, Dacentrurus, Deinonychus, Herrerasaurus, Irritator, Kosmoceratops, Mamenchisaurus, Mojoceratops, Olorotitan, Pachycephalosaurus, Pachyrhinosaurus, Parasaurolophus, Ruyangosaurus, Saichania, Saltasaurus, Spinosaurus, Stegosaurus, Tenontosaurus, Triceratops, and Tyrannosaurus rex

In addition to being life-sized, many of the dinosaurs were animatronic. Models featured moving skin, with no visible joints or seams. [13] Some were interactive, that allowed visitors to press buttons on the exhibit's sign to control the movement of various body parts depending on where the button was located (e.g., button on snout opens jaws, button on throat thrashes neck and button on rear makes the tail sway). The non-interactive animatronic dinosaurs were activated when motion sensors detect movement by guests walking by. Sound effects from hidden speakers also accompanied the various movements including roaring, bellowing and/or shrieking. [14] [13] [24]

Size

Dinosaurs Alive! exhibit entrance at Canada's Wonderland Dinosaurs Alive entrance at Canada's Wonderland.jpg
Dinosaurs Alive! exhibit entrance at Canada's Wonderland
LocationParkDinosaursTrail lengthArea
Calgary, AlbertaCalgary Zoo20
Vaughan, OntarioCanada's Wonderland40 [1] Unknown7 acres (2.8 ha)
Fort Mill, South CarolinaCarowinds321,000 yd (910 m) [25] 5 acres (2.0 ha)
Sandusky, OhioCedar Point501,900 ft (580 m)4 acres (1.6 ha)
Allentown, PennsylvaniaDorney Park372,100 ft (640 m)3.3 acres (1.3 ha)
Doswell, VirginiaKings Dominion363,000 ft (910 m)6 acres (2.4 ha)
Mason, OhioKings Island604,000 ft (1,200 m)12.5 acres (5.1 ha)
Scarborough, OntarioToronto Zoo16
Shakopee, MinnesotaValleyfairUnknown2,837 ft (865 m)5 acres (2.0 ha)
Kansas City, MissouriWorlds of Fun351,900 ft (580 m)2 acres (0.81 ha)

Movie

A dinosaur-related 3D movie was shown at Carowinds in their respective Action Theater with the motion seats removed. It was also shown at King Dominion and Canada's Wonderland as well. The film was included with park admission at most parks, [26] [27] [28] while admission to both the attraction and film costed $6 at Canada's Wonderland. [13] At Wonderland, the film shown in the theater is the 11-minute Monsters of the Deep, [29] while Dinosaurs: Monsters of Patagonia was shown at Carowinds and Kings Island. [28]

Kings Island, Cedar Point and Carowinds charged an additional $5 admission per person over the age of 2. However, Carowinds did offer special Dinosaurs Alive! endorsement stickers that could be attached to season passes for $15, granting the passholder unlimited trips through the exhibit for that season.

Reception

The added admission fee was the target of criticism. Cedar Point representatives have stated that the fee is to avoid overcrowding in the section. [25] A writer for Wired.com suggested that, given the cost of admission, parking and food at Canada's Wonderland, the added cost of Dinosaurs Alive! was trivial. [13] Some theme park enthusiasts suggested in advance of opening that the attraction would not be "repeatable", in advance of its Cedar Point opening. [25]

Many dinosaurs in the Canada's Wonderland attraction were juveniles, causing one reviewer to speculate this was "a cost-saving measure." [13] The reviewer also noted that in some instances, the info panels didn't match the depiction in the exhibit. For example, the Canada's Wonderland Eotyrannus lacked feathers despite the nearby illustration suggesting otherwise. [13]

See also

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References

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