(Disclosure: I received complimentary tickets to go to Dinosaur World. All opinions shared are my own.)
We have gone to Dinosaur World a few times when the boys were younger. There have been so many renovations that it was like we have never been!
Dinosaur World has three locations: Florida, Texas and Kentucky. We live in Florida so we obviously chose to go to the Plant City location. This actually happens to be just 10 mins away from my home. Parking is free and there are plenty of parking spots. We showed up on a Saturday about 11 in the morning and while the parking lot was pretty full, there were still spaces left. When you enter the park, you go through the gift shop. The gift shop has everything from toys to t-shirts and everything in between. They offer a variety of products to make your trip a memory. The prices are very reasonable too. We saw toy dinosaurs as low as .50 There is also a side of the gift shop that is full of the gems and more expensive decorative items.
One of the fun things that Dinosaur World offers for you to do is the Dino Gem Excavation. My children were given this activity as part of their complimentary ticket. You can purchase the gem bags there at extra cost. They come in different sizes. This activity was fun for our children. You are given a bag of what looks like tiny pebbles and a sifter board. You pour some of the pebbles into your sifter and put it in their water trough that has water constantly running through it. The water washes away the pebbles leaving behind lots of beautiful gems for you to take home. My kids were amazed at all of the different gems that were in their bags.
Another activity that my children were able to participate in was the fossil dig. The Fossil dig is included in the child admission price. If you have a child under 3 or over 12 there is an additional cost of $2. This is a fun activity as well. There is a u-shaped raised sand box that has tons of fossils covered in sand. You are given a little sifter and a cup. This area gets a little crowded due to the fact that this is a scheduled activity. So finding a spot to dig is a little tough but it isn't a worry because there are plenty of fossils available for everyone. Each child doing this gets to keep 3 fossils that they find of their choice. This was the hard part for my children. They wanted to keep all of the shark teeth they found.
After doing the different activities you can enjoy a leisurely walk and enjoy all the dinosaur facts that Dinosaur World has to offer. Each type of dinosaur statue has a sign that gives you a little bit of history about the dinosaur and where bones of them have been found. There is a Carnivore Boardwalk that includes graphic statues of the predator/prey scenes. Some of these might be a bit much for littler children. There is a koi pond that has some pretty large fish that you can feed. You can purchase a bag of fish food for $1 in the gift shop and there is a little fish food dispense that you can purchase some from as well. There are 2 inside museum like buildings that display fossils from various animals. There is an indoor cave show that has a guide who walks you through what a paleontologist does as they search for dinosaur bones.
There are plenty of picnic tables available throughout the park and at the entrance. There is a big playground for the children to play on while mom and dad take a break. You can have your child's birthday party here for a discounted price. There are restrooms in two different locations throughout the park with water fountains. There is no restaurant on site but you are allowed to bring your own picnic lunch or leave to go to a local restaurant and come back and finish your visit.
We have gone to Dinosaur World a few times when the boys were younger. There have been so many renovations that it was like we have never been!
Dinosaur World has three locations: Florida, Texas and Kentucky. We live in Florida so we obviously chose to go to the Plant City location. This actually happens to be just 10 mins away from my home. Parking is free and there are plenty of parking spots. We showed up on a Saturday about 11 in the morning and while the parking lot was pretty full, there were still spaces left. When you enter the park, you go through the gift shop. The gift shop has everything from toys to t-shirts and everything in between. They offer a variety of products to make your trip a memory. The prices are very reasonable too. We saw toy dinosaurs as low as .50 There is also a side of the gift shop that is full of the gems and more expensive decorative items.
One of the fun things that Dinosaur World offers for you to do is the Dino Gem Excavation. My children were given this activity as part of their complimentary ticket. You can purchase the gem bags there at extra cost. They come in different sizes. This activity was fun for our children. You are given a bag of what looks like tiny pebbles and a sifter board. You pour some of the pebbles into your sifter and put it in their water trough that has water constantly running through it. The water washes away the pebbles leaving behind lots of beautiful gems for you to take home. My kids were amazed at all of the different gems that were in their bags.
Another activity that my children were able to participate in was the fossil dig. The Fossil dig is included in the child admission price. If you have a child under 3 or over 12 there is an additional cost of $2. This is a fun activity as well. There is a u-shaped raised sand box that has tons of fossils covered in sand. You are given a little sifter and a cup. This area gets a little crowded due to the fact that this is a scheduled activity. So finding a spot to dig is a little tough but it isn't a worry because there are plenty of fossils available for everyone. Each child doing this gets to keep 3 fossils that they find of their choice. This was the hard part for my children. They wanted to keep all of the shark teeth they found.
After doing the different activities you can enjoy a leisurely walk and enjoy all the dinosaur facts that Dinosaur World has to offer. Each type of dinosaur statue has a sign that gives you a little bit of history about the dinosaur and where bones of them have been found. There is a Carnivore Boardwalk that includes graphic statues of the predator/prey scenes. Some of these might be a bit much for littler children. There is a koi pond that has some pretty large fish that you can feed. You can purchase a bag of fish food for $1 in the gift shop and there is a little fish food dispense that you can purchase some from as well. There are 2 inside museum like buildings that display fossils from various animals. There is an indoor cave show that has a guide who walks you through what a paleontologist does as they search for dinosaur bones.
There are plenty of picnic tables available throughout the park and at the entrance. There is a big playground for the children to play on while mom and dad take a break. You can have your child's birthday party here for a discounted price. There are restrooms in two different locations throughout the park with water fountains. There is no restaurant on site but you are allowed to bring your own picnic lunch or leave to go to a local restaurant and come back and finish your visit.
Admission prices:
Adult- $14.95 plus tax
Seniors (60+)- $12.95 plus tax
Children (3-12)- $11.95 plus tax
Children under 3 are always FREE!
You can purchase the Excavation Pass which includes admission, a bag of fish food, and the Lucky Strike Bag at the Dino Gem Excavation
Adult- $20.75 plus tax
Children- $18.95 plus tax