Dinosaur (Disney's Animal Kingdom)

Dinosaur, formerly known as Countdown to Extinction, is a dark ride EMV attraction at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The ride features a turbulent journey through the late Cretaceous period, featuring prehistoric scenes populated with dinosaur audio-animatronics. Originally named Countdown to Extinction when the park opened in 1998. In 2000, the ride's name was later changed to Dinosaur to promote the Disney animated film of the same name. However, the two dinosaurs most prominently featured in the ride have always been an Iguanodon and Carnotaurus, which were both featured prominently in the film. Scenes from the movie also appear in the pre-show, to help the guests identify the Iguanodon as the film's protagonist, Aladar.

Dinosaur
Attraction's marquee at the entrance
Disney's Animal Kingdom
AreaDinoLand U.S.A.
Coordinates28°21′18.71″N 81°35′17.96″W
StatusOperating
Opening dateApril 22, 1998
ReplacedCountdown to Extinction
General statistics
Attraction typeEMV dark ride
DesignerWalt Disney Imagineering
ThemeDinosaur
MusicRichard Bellis[1]
Length1,856 ft (566 m)
Speed12 mph (19 km/h)
Vehicle typeTime Rover (Enhanced motion vehicle)
Riders per vehicle12
Rows3
Riders per row4
Duration3:05
Height restriction40 in (102 cm)
Audio-Animatronics11[lower-alpha 1]
SponsorMcDonald's (1998–2008)
Queue hostBill Nye (voice)
Pre-show hostsDr. Marsh
Dr. Grant Seeker
Ride hostDr. Grant Seeker (voice)
Fastpass+ available
Must transfer from wheelchair
Assistive listening available
Closed captioning available

Ride experience

Queue

If the ride is busy, then guests will first wind though an outdoor line before entering the first section of the indoor queue. Once inside the first section, guests will see several small exhibits including a display of small fossils, modern animals that can be traced back to the dinosaur ages, and evidence for the several theories of mass extinction.

The second section of the indoor queue is an eight-sided room, with the upper parts of the walls displaying some artist renderings of what the age of the dinosaurs might have looked like and some fossils. The lower sections of the walls are a simulation of sedimentary rock that contain fossils. some sections of the lower walls have windows that display some more fossils. Hanging from the ceiling is a large globe with Pangaea, and a rod connected to the globe with measurements of hundreds of thousands of miles to show how far the theoretical asteroid that impacted with earth to cause mass extinction had to travel. The defining feature of the second room is its centerpiece: a Carnotaurus fossil. In the second room, at regular time intervals, the lights dim, and Bill Nye the Science Guy shares some facts and theories about the age of dinosaurs, using the globe, the paintings, and the fossil to help out with his small lectures. After weaving through the second room, guests then enter one of two pre-show theaters.

Preshow

Guests enter a small standup theatre and a short movie comes on a projection screen. The first part of the movie is a small presentation by the fictional director of the Dino Institute, Dr. Marsh (played by Phylicia Rashad). She claims that the "bare bones" approach of displaying research of prehistory is "about to become extinct." She says that the Dino Institute has created a "time rover" that has the ability to take guests to the age of the dinosaurs. She says that the rover is intended to take guests to a "breathtaking world where you will witness the most fantastic creatures to ever walk the earth." Marsh then transfers to a "live" feed of the control center for a comprehensive safety briefing. You are greeted in the second section of the movie by the controller Dr. Grant Seeker (played by actor Wallace Langham). Seeker decides to skip most of the safety notes and get to talking about what his intentions are. He intends to use the time rover and the guests that were supposed to take a tour to go on a mission to save an Iguanodon from extinction and bring it back to the Dino Institute. He says that he tagged him with a locator during a previous "unauthorized" field trip. He then goes on to say that the Iguanodon is at the very end of the Cretaceous period. However, Dr. Marsh comes into the control center to "correct a little misstatement." She says that the tours are intended for the Early Cretaceous, and that the rovers are locked on those coordinates. Dr. Seeker then continues his "safety briefing" by talking about flash photos and seatbelts. Dr. Marsh leaves the room during that small section of the video, and Seeker unlocks the time coordinates behind her back. Automatic doors on the opposite side of the theatre open up to the entrance of the loading area.

Ride experience

Guests enter an underground research facility where the time rover will pick them up. Once the riders get on, they pull up forward for a seatbelt check. They then proceed to a testing zone, where they are transported to prehistoric times. When they land, guests can smell the forest and trees around them while they come across a Styracosaurus, an Alioramus, a Parasaurolophus (identified only as "hadrosaur"), and a Velociraptor. Seeker, their driver, then locks onto the signal of the tracker on and the ride becomes much bumpier. The scanner built into the rover picks up a big dinosaur, and Seeker thinks that it is the Iguanodon. He pulls the rover to a full stop, but find out that the dinosaur is a Carnotaurus. The rover takes off away from the Carnotaurus, and finds another big dinosaur with the scanner. The dinosaur is a Apatosaurus (identified only as "sauropod"). The rover starts to pull away again. The timer that counts down to the asteroid that causes the mass extinction claims that the asteroid is going to strike in 90 seconds, and the rover starts to pick up the pace. The scanner finds a ornithocheirus (identified only as "pterodactyl") that is flying directly towards them. The rover drives down a small hill and dodges the pterosaur. Now in almost complete darkness, the rover speeds through the forest and picks up a pack of Compsognathus on the scanner that is running through the forest with them. The rover falls down another small hill and loses traction. The Carnotaurus the riders saw before appears in front of them, and walks towards the Time Rover. Seeker turns on the four-wheel drive system and successfully gets the rover away just before the Carnotaurus gets the rover. The rover performs evasive maneuvers to dodge the meteors in the darkness. After dodging the meteors successfully, the rover then stumbles upon the Carnotaurus once again, which tries to lunge at them. This is where the ride takes the rider's photo. The rover takes off again into a small section of the forest where some of the trees are falling down. The scanner finds the Iguanodon, but Seeker decides to abort the mission and bring the rover back, as the asteroid is about to strike. A tree was about to fall on the rover, but the Iguanodon catches the tree and the rover proceeds. The asteroid strikes the ground and creates a flash of light, and the Carnotaurus is seen giving one last lunge. However, at the last second, the rover transports back to the institute, and somehow, the Iguanodon came with them. The rover then proceeds to the loading station. The riders then get off and proceed to some stairs, which leads to the gift shop.

As guests leave, they can see Dr. Marsh and the Dino Institute employees attempting to chase down the Iguanodon and Dr. Seeker on overhead TV monitors. They can also hear radio chatter indicating what's going on.

Incidents
Main article: Incidents at Walt Disney World
  • On April 30, 2005, a 30-year-old man from Mooresville, Indiana, lost consciousness shortly after exiting the ride and died from a heart attack moments later. An investigation showed the ride was operating correctly and was not the cause of his death; he had an artificial pacemaker.[2]
  • On May 29, 2013, a woman found a loaded pistol in a Dinosaur ride vehicle. The gun was reported to the ride attendant, who in turn reported the incident to authorities. The owner of the gun stated that he was unaware of Disney's policy against weapons and had a concealed weapons permit.[3]

Notes
  1. A twelfth animatronic exists in the attraction, an additional Carnotaurus, as an alternate in the on-ride photo scene if the main animatronic is not functional.

See also

References
  1. ASCAP Countdown to Extinction http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=COUNTDOWN%20TO%20EXTINCTION&search_in=a&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=30&start=1
  2. "Report notes another death after Disney ride". Associated Press. July 23, 2005. Archived from the original on January 21, 2008. Retrieved July 26, 2006.
  3. "Disney World patron finds gun on ride". Associated Press. May 30, 2013. Archived from the original on May 30, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
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