Do you enjoy Disneyland and dinosaurs? If so, you’ll be interested to know that there are three different prehistoric shoutouts inside the park. Stay tuned while I put my Disney dino hat on.
1) Primeval World
This is by far the best and largest dinosaur feature in the park. Guests traveling aboard the Disneyland Railroad between Tomorrowland and Main Street, U.S.A. stations will be greeted (immediately after the Grand Canyon attraction) with an amazing dinosaur diorama featuring 46 animated dinosaurs featuring Apatosaurus, Pterodactyl, Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Stegosaurus and more. The attraction is based on a segment of the 1940 Disney film Fantasia, in particular, the Rite Of Spring segment and is accompanied by the theme music for the 1961 film The Mysterious Island.
Now, I do have to say that as a dinosaur enthusiast, there are several paleontological errors that can be found, however, this was created in the 1960s and based on a cartoon from the 1940s so miles of slack must be given. The most glaring of which for me is that the Tyrannosaurus Rex has three fingers on each hand instead of two.
Photo credit Paul Hiffmeyer
2) Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
This attraction takes visitors on a wild ride on a speeding train through an old abandoned and haunted gold mine. The ride itself is spectacular, but what makes it even better is the huge half unearthed dinosaur skeleton that you zoom past on your left just before the end of the ride. It appears to be the skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
3) Toy Story Midway Mania
So ok, this one isn’t technically inside Disneyland, it’s actually in California Adventure, and it’s only a cartoon, but it’s the last on the list so just take it easy, ok? These dinos can be found in line for and during the Toy Story Midway Mania 4D attraction. While waiting in line for the ride you’ll see some posters featuring Rex from the Toy Story movies and some of his friends while inside the attraction one whole segment is dinosaur themed.
Fun Fact
There actually used to be one other dinosaur in California Adventure. It was a 33ft Apatosaurus (Brontosaurus for you baby boomers) that was the exterior of a store called Dinosaur Jack’s Sunglass Shack and was there when the park first opened in 2001 and actually had a hidden Mickey on it made up from one of its spots. It changed color from pink to green in 2006 and then went away completely in 2009.
