What’s the Deal with Dinoland, USA?

Dolly Parton famously said, ”It takes a lot of time and money to look this cheap, honey.“ I can’t help but think of this quote whenever I visit Dinoland, USA and compare it with the rest of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Walt Disney Imagineering doesn’t cut corners, so why does this section of the park look the way it does? The answer can be found if you (pardon the pun — and brace yourself for more) dig a little deeper.

Once Upon a Time…

There once was a sleepy little town just off of US-498 in Diggs County. It had a mom-and-pop gas station, a fishing lodge, and not much else. And then the dinosaurs came. Well, more accurately, dinosaur fossils were found, and paleontologists and grad students came in droves.

Disney Imagineering legend has it that the building now known as Restaurantosaurus was a fishing lodge until 1947, when an amateur fossil hunter found an amazing cache of dinosaur bones. He and his scientist friends banded together to purchase the site. Over time, the fishing lodge served as a visitors’ center, museum, original iteration of the Dino Institute, and a clubhouse for paleontology students. The more fun-loving students delighted in adding “osaurus” to everything around them, hence the new and improved name of the restaurant. It currently serves as a commissary and dormitory in the mythology of Dinoland, USA and a quick-service restaurant and lounge for theme park visitors. The various dining areas include a Quonset hut used for vehicle maintenance and storage, a rec room, and tons of displays ranging from fossil finds to dig site equipment and visual gags.

Likewise, Chester and Hester once owned a generic, run-of-the-mill gas station. The humble proprietors watched as their small town became, well, much more “dino”mite. Rather than stick with their original business model, these two crazy kids embraced all things dinosaur and may have gone just a wee bit overboard. They joined in the excavation process and turned their gas station into a gift shop they proudly call Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures. Their newfound love of paleontology is evidenced by the elaborate collection of pop-culture dinosaur toys on display throughout.

The New Arrivals

While the fun-loving students encouraged Chester and Hester to embrace their zany side, the other new residents of Diggs County seem to take things much more seriously. As you approach the entrance to The Dino Institute, you encounter the Cretaceous Trail, a plant exhibit featuring species that existed during the reign of the dinosaurs and their modern-day relatives. This helps set the stage that things are about to become much more scientific as you make your way deeper into Dinoland, USA.

The entrance of The Dino Institute looks quite a bit more formal than Restaurantosaurus and Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures. Although the DINOSAUR attraction is housed within the building, it feels as if you are walking into an elaborate institution of higher learning.

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After experiencing the oh-so-serious exhibits, you may encounter a Dr. Grant Seeker. I’m sure whatever mission he has for you will be extra scientific and not at all scary. You’re in The Dino Institute, after all. What could possibly go wrong? 😉

After you exit — through the gift shop, of course — you will make your way back to Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures. Just in case you forgot, the proprietors have placed roadside signs to remind you that you no longer need to take paleontology quite so seriously.

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There’s Serious Work at Hand… on the Playground

The dig site first established in 1947 still has some things worth uncovering. Although in our current 2021 reality The Boneyard is closed to park Guests due to the pandemic, the mythology of Dinoland, USA has us picturing grad students and their mentors actively working the site each day. When fully operational, children can visit and explore slides, ladders, and bridges that look like the scaffolding surrounding a real-world dig site. The most adventurous will find their way to the site itself, where life-size models of triceratops, woolly mammoth, and tyrannosaurus rex bones can be unearthed. Parents will be relieved to know the “dirt” children dig through is really a fine pea gravel, so no worries about stained clothing while the kids are learning.

Back to Those Cheap-Looking Attractions

Once your quest for dinosaur knowledge is done, you will once again be in Chester and Hester’s world. This time, it’s their latest expansion. Not content with confining themselves to their gas station, they decided to create a roadside attraction area reminiscent of those from the heyday of Route 66. Quite naturally, they named it Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama. Once again, their dinosaurs are more of the pop culture variety and should never be taken to be scientifically accurate. TriceraTop Spin, their version of the Dumbo ride, features friendly cartoonish dinosaurs that children can pilot up and down. Carnival games invite you to test your strength and skill to win cute dinosaur prizes. And a large yellow-orange “Cementosaurus” welcomes you to this theme park land-within-a-land. Sure, it might not appear to be up to Disney’s usual standards, but Chester and Hester are certainly doing the best they can to embrace the industry that turned their sleepy little town upside down. Who could ever blame them for capitalizing on it, even if their ideas are a little less than elegant?

I hope the story behind Dinoland, USA gives you a newfound appreciation for why it looks the way it does. Take some time on your next visit to explore and seek out the hidden puns and gags. It will surely be worth your while. And Chester and Hester hope to see y’all real soon!

(Many thanks to The Imagineering Field Guide to Disney’s Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World. It’s a great read!)