Dinosaurs Alive

My friends and I were talking about the spatial limitations of CP yesterday, and how it must be tough from a planning perspective of finding space for new attractions. It seems like DA has been around for quite some time, and although I coughed up the cash to see it once a long time ago, and I was not impressed. Have they made improvements I was unaware of? Does it hold value as a "family attraction" for those of you with kids?

I'm sure CF likes having attractions that cost an additional fee, but I can't help but think that the space could be put to better use. I don't remember exactly how big it is, but it would have to be big enough for a dark ride (or Disaster Transport 2?!), right?

I heard from a Cedar Point fella, one that I consider to be a reliable source, that DA has but a season left before things expire contractually. He says that the Sky Coaster is there temporarily and we should look for something nice to occupy both spaces. Didn't say what, naturally.
I for one hope it's not a dark ride, (and especially not DTII.). I'd like to see the area remain open, and by that I mean not encumbered by a building, and I might hope against hope that the plans include the return of a boat ride. Currently, the lagoon waterway seems like a waste of a beautiful, natural resource.
The best idea I've seen by far is that guy's NL version of a GCI woodie to occupy that space. He even threw the boats back in there.

It sucks... i think it was on a five year contract. It should be out soon. I'm hoping for a shoot the rapids 3.0 or WWL flume type ride. A boat ride would be welcome as well. Just not another fricking roller coaster.

Au Contraire, I'm personally hoping for a GCI similar to Mystic Timbers combined with Wodan at europa Park, along with a return of the boats. I can't see much else making use of the area, considering it would have to interact with Millennium Force.

Anyone know if the park kept the old boats from the old boat ride? Maybe relocated to avother CF park ?
If they'd have to buy new boats it not sure there'd be that much of a chance of it returning...

It would be a nice family attraction if it returns.

I don't know of another CF park that has a boat ride like that. And if it did return, why not justify whatever expense? Boats, tubs, coaster trains, are all a part of building a new ride.
In Europe I saw some awesome tow rides, that were high capacity, relaxing, and enjoyable. CP's Western Cruise/Paddlewheel boats were fuel and pilot driven and had no track, and that was part of the charm of course, but another option might be less costly and easier to maintain for the future.

I would be sad to see DA go away. It is a nice, relaxing, and shady place to take a walk and is not as crowded as the midways or Frontier Trail. But I would welcome back something like the paddlewheel boats.

When Dinosaurs Alive first opened it was actually pretty cool. We all enjoyed it once per trip. But the past couple years the dinosaurs look awful. The eyes are whited out or completely glazed over by the sun, the dinos' skin is all baked spark brown, some of the dinos have big chunks missing out of them exposing the foam underneath the skin, there are heavy cobwebs everywhere and the Brachiosaurus poop is gone... They weren't maintained at all and went downhill fast. My wife and my son kept begging me to go through last month when we were there and I kept telling them the dinos looked pretty bad. Finally they went and I wandered off to Maverick. They were both disappointed, even with it being included with our Platinum Passes. My wife said she would've been upset if they had to buy a ticket to walk through. So anyway, if they can't make the dinosaurs look good and realistic again, get rid of Dinosaurs Alive!

It's been several years since I've been back through the DA, so it's hard for me to grasp exactly how much space is back there, which is why I mentioned a dark ride as a possibility. I think a GCI woodie would be great, if the space works. A nice boat ride also sounds very appealing.

The footprint of DA is large enough for a nice sized GCI. I agree about the lack of maintenance on the Dinosaurs, they get worse each year to the point where my 8 year old daughter (who loves dinos btw) won't even go through it anymore. Whatever they do there next, whether it be a GCI or a darkride, will probably line up with their 150th season.

Shane Denmark said:
They weren't maintained at all and went downhill fast.

That's usually a hallmark for 'end of life' for anything at CP. Sandcastle Suites seems to be getting the 'minimal maintenance treatment' as well.

I also think there's plenty of space back there for a GCI and believe it'd be a waste of great location for a dark ride.

I've been through the dinos twice- once at CP, which we paid for, and once at KI after the Platinum deal was in place. The KI attraction was on a gawd awful long path and was hilly. I wanted out so bad, but the only way was to go all the way around. The good thing about CP's is that you get up close and personal with MF and get some never-seen-before views. But, as luck would have it, the coaster was down for some reason and we never saw it go by. We waited a while, too, but finally zoned out. I suppose I could take one of my "not do much" visits and go again, it is free, but I never even think about it.

I'm not surprised if they look really bad now. I never thought the rubber things were all that great even when they were new. Please tell me they don't leave em out all winter.

RCMAC, I'll tell you they don't leave them out all winter--but they do!

Instead of completely getting rid of DA, it would be kind of cool if they upgraded it and made it into a ride similar to Dinosaur at WDW. They could get better animatronics and take riders through a vehicle of some type with narration.

I still want to make it a Go Kart track :)

Since I'm a bit of a prehistoric life enthusiast in addition to being a coaster enthusiast, I always kind of liked Dinosaurs Alive. It was always fun for me to see the different kinds of dinosaurs on the trail and figure out which ones I recognized and which ones I didn't. Getting up close and personal with MF was also an added bonus.

That being said, I wouldn't mind at all to see it removed in favor of a new coaster (preferably a GCI or Gravity Group woodie; although since CP is more of a steel coaster park, I have no qualms about them adding another steel coaster there). I just wonder how much space is even available on that island, since it's already practically dominated by MF.

The amazing views of Millennium Force are the best part of DA! in my opinion.

Whatever they put into the DA and STR locations, I hope it is anything but a coaster. With Mean Streak 2.0 coming online, they have a terrific coaster lineup and don't need a new one for awhile. I'd like to see some diversity in the ride lineup with large scale attractions that are not coasters. Boat ride, log flume, dark ride, something cool not seen before, anything.

Assuming they cut off the dead end of the Mean Streak plaza, and extend it to the Gemini midway, there should be plenty of space for a dark ride and/or a few flats.

Went through DA with my 4 year old niece for the first time. She was scared of them, but thoroughly impressed with the sand box. She did ask to seem them again the next day, but I think she really just wanted to go play in the sand again. It was a nice time out for her to just play in the shade for awhile. There was maybe only 1 or 2 other groups of people in the whole attraction that we saw. I hope it is on the way out for something better, although the play area was nice for her, especially since they don't really have any other walk up-play anymore like the old King Arthur's Court or the Berenstain Bears area for little ones who just need a chill out play time break.