Credit: DisneyDisney’s Animal Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort is one of its most unique parks. A mix of a zoo, educational habitat, and amusement park, Animal Kingdom features several different animals around its property. From Africa to Asia to DinoLand U.S.A., all the way to the fictional world of Pandora, Animal Kingdom celebrates nature conservation and an understanding and respect for animals.
While enjoying a visit, guests can encounter gorillas, alligators, flamingos, and several native African animals, like elephants, rhinos, and cheetahs. Upon its initial conception, Animal Kingdom was also expected to feature an area called Beastly Kingdom, which would have featured fictional and mythical animals like dragons. Although that portion of the park was never realized, the latest addition of Pandora – the World of Avatar in 2017 eventually rounded out the park’s offerings.
The area of the park called DinoLand U.S.A. is an area dedicated to the study of dinosaurs. Unfortunately, the area has been controversial for quite some time, with a hodgepodge assortment of offerings for guests to enjoy, which would eventually lead to most of the the area’s closure. The park used to feature a variety of carnival-style games and attractions in Chester and Hester’s Dino-Rama, including the TriceraTop Spin and the Primeval Whirl. Although most of the area was closed down in 2020, DinoLand does still feature a bone dig site as well as the iconic DINOSAUR ride.
“A paleontologist recruits you for a secret mission to bring a 3.5-ton Iguanadon back to the present. There’s just one problem—the giant meteor that wiped out life on Earth is on the way!” describes the Walt Disney World website. “Board a rugged Time Rover vehicle and set off on a thrilling adventure through a primeval forest filled with life-like dinosaurs. Careen through unpredictable hairpin turns. Dart around a fearsome Velociraptor hunting for prey. Avoid the clutches of a Cearadactylus soaring overhead!”
Despite being a quiet favorite for Disney World guests, the attraction does have a warning for small children, saying “DINOSAUR includes loud sounds in the dark and menacing dinosaurs that may scare some children.” One recent visitor to the attraction shared their experience on Reddit where they described a traumatic incident involving another young guest.
“Thank you for saving that poor child from a traumatic experience.
For context, we were waiting a family or two behind a large family with a probably 7/8 year old child who was very very scared to go on the Dinosaur ride. Overheard the person who seemed to be her mother tell her that if they got out of line, the whole family would have to leave the ride. (Manipulating a scared child is horrible.) Also I would like to note the wait was only 15 minutes or so in Standby at the time.) We weren’t sure/afraid to say something, the family seemed like they’d be combative.
As we rounded the queue and the family went onto the car, they had to literally peel the frightened little girl from the metal queue dividers to even get her onto the ride. She was shaking and crying.
They got her onto the car, and as we were waiting to get on ours we saw that their car did not mov, .we buckled in, and we saw that the little girl was being escorted off by the person whom I assumed was their mother previously.
Thank you CMs who waited for them to take the poor little girl off. 3 minutes of ride is not worth a potential lifetime of trauma.
(I also tossed a compliment for the crew there!)”
To the cast members at Dinosaur today…
byu/LunaMadison inWaltDisneyWorld
Although the poster states that they felt uncomfortable stepping in, they were relieved to know that a cast member apparently did eventually step in and ask a parent to wait with the girl rather than ride the attraction. DINOSAUR is scary even for younger kid that want to experience the attraction. For a young girl who absolutely did not want to ride, it can only be imagined what the experience might have done to her.
Several of the comments agreed with the OP’s relief, with many saying that rider swap was an option that the parents could’ve utilized rather than trying to drag their child onto the ride. Rider swap is often used for families or parents with younger or shorter children who are unable to or who don’t want to ride a certain attraction. You can wait in line with your family and then at the end, one parent is taken to the ride swap area with the child while the rest of the family is able to ride the ride. Afterwards, the parents are able to swap in order to experience the ride themselves without having to re-wait in line.
Fortunately, it seems as though the situation was able to be resolved without the young guest being forced onto the ride. It is entirely possible that the family did not know about the existence of rider swap, but hopefully they now know for next time and can save their daughter from another potentially traumatizing experience.
Do you think DINOSAUR is traumatic or is it a must do? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!