I, like many of you, have driven past Dinosaur World many times and have always said, “I should go there.” I finally did and I had the best time! I have loved dinosaurs since before I can remember. I’ve visited many, many dinosaur parks and museums across the United States. I loved Dinosaur World! I went with two other adults and no kids. If you have any dinosaur loving little ones, they will have a blast. We were told it would take about an hour and a half to go through. We were there for three hours and I still wasn’t ready to leave.

I’ll be sharing many photos with you. This is only about a third of what I took. There are so many cool dinosaurs to see.

When you enter, you are in the 7,000 square foot gift shop where you will purchase your admission. Sorry, I didn’t take pictures of it. They have fossils, t-shirts, toys, and a bevy of other really cool merchandise. All quite reasonably priced. I’m guessing you can rent a dinosaur wagon, but I didn’t actually look for pricing or information on them.

They do have some add-ons you can purchase like fish food to feed the fishes in a pond out in the park and a train ride. A helpful hint is that you can buy bags of food in the gift shop before entering the park. There is a coin-operated fish food dispenser, like a bubble gum machine, located near the pond. The train ride goes around the park and looks like a neat way to view the dinosaurs. I’m going to have to give it a go next time I’m there.

There is a pretty neat little museum just after you enter. You will find real and replica fossils here.

At the end of the museum walk-through, you will encounter animatronic dinosaurs. They are rawr-some!

The Exploration Cave was pretty neat. There is a paleontologist there on weekends. You can see Jeanette in the photos sharing some great information. She was a real hoot! Something interesting she told us was that the velociraptors in the Jurassic Park movie are actually Utah Raptors. The real velociraptors were much smaller, so the Utah was more ominous for the movies. Both likenesses are in the park so you can compare for yourself.

Aside from all the super cool photos you can take with the dinosaur displays, they also have some other neat ones. I am too broken to get into the egg, but I really wanted to.

Dinosaur World has a lot of hands-on activities for kids. Some of them have an add-on cost, sorry forgot to take photos of prices. Most are included with admission. The splash pad is new, but it wasn’t operational while I was there.

We saw a putt-putt course, but didn’t see any information on it. There wasn’t anyone playing, so I am not sure if it’s operational.

On the map, this building is listed as the Triviasaurus Rex Game Show. The path to the front entrance is blocked off. I was very disappointed we couldn’t experience this.

Here is a very small sample of the hundreds of dinosaurs you’ll see at Dinosaur World. I was giddy!

The harsh realities of living a dinosaur’s life are depicted in the park.

Here are a few more things you should know about Dinosaur World before planning your visit.

• Parking is FREE
• Dinosaur World is a dog friendly attraction for those well behaved, leash-trained puppies you want to bring along for the ride. Water stations provided! Dogs are allowed everywhere except the indoor museum with the animatronics.
• Dinosaur World is “Autism Friendly!” The Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD) at the University of South Florida has created the “Autism Friendly” initiative. Please visit CARD‘s website for more information.
• Field Trip rates for school trips Monday through Friday.

While they have vending machines, Dinosaur World doesn’t have a restaurant or food kiosks. You are encouraged to bring your coolers. There are many covered picnic tables in the park.

Are you ready to experience this super fun dinosaur heaven? You can get your Dinosaur World tickets here or when you arrive.

Dinosaur World is located at 5145 Harvey Tew Rd., Plant City, FL 33565. They are off I-4 at exit 17. Which for many of us central Floridians is on our way to Busch Gardens Tampa! So make it a point to stop in. I happened to be in a restaurant and found that the Dinosaur World brochure has a $2 coupon on the back that works for up to 4 people! So even if you don’t want to, stop into a place with tourist brochures to pick one up. LOL

Don’t feel left out if you’re not visiting or living in Florida. They also have locations in Kentucky and Texas!