Having a Magical Time- Primeval Whirl

Different than most Having a Magical Time entries, Primeval Whirl is essentially all about time.  Chester and Hester designed the roller coaster in jest.  They intend to tease the stereotypical personalities of the paleontologists over at The Dino Institute.  They are obsessed with time travel and getting that next dinosaur.

Watch out for this ride.  Being an outside rollercoaster, it tends to have a lot more weather restrictions.

Retro Reminders- The Boneyard

The Boneyard Fossil Fun Site

Est. 1947

According to the Dinoland USA back story, dinosaur bones were first found in 1947.  In this Retro Reminder, 1947 was significant because of a lot of cartoon releases, but one of its largest was Fun and Fancy Free. Some of the shorts are sold separately now, such as Mickey and the Beanstalk, but in the original Fun and Fancy Free, Jiminy Cricket hosts numerous shorts that include Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy.

Sue the Dinosaur

Sue the T. rex

On your travels to the Dino Institute in Dinoland USA.  Try not to miss Sue the dinosaur on your right.  Although this is just a cast of the original bones found in South Dakota, the replica still stands the impressive 13 feet tall at the hip, and is 42 feet long.  This dinosaur is believed to be from the late Cretaceous period over 67 million years ago.

Sue is the largest, most complete, T. rex fossil yet found and its her discovery that brought about her name.  In 1990, Sue Hendrickson was working with her team in South Dakota, and after searching for bones with no success, the team decided to leave.  As they were about to leave, they discovered that their car had a flat tire.  While the rest of the team went to get help, Sue stayed around and began examining some intriguing hills.  After a while she noticed very large bones and told her team that they needed to stay to excavate the fossils.  In honor of her discovery, the newly found T. rex was named Sue.

The original cast can be found in The Field Museum in Chicago.

The Worst Kept Disney Secret

It has recently become a hobby of mine to capture images of similar things throughout the parks.  I don’t plan on starting a new series yet, but I do find the branding of the Disney Vacation Club kiosks to be pretty spot on.  These locations blend in very well with their surroundings and are functional for their purpose of getting Guests to go to an Open House at a preview center on property.

This kiosk in Disney’s Animal Kingdom caught my eye because it is not a DVC kiosk at all.  It follows the standard shed shape, tables meant for display, and Castmembers.  But this location in Dinoland, U.S.A has been taken over by an activity area for children.  The only evidence for what once inhabited this location is a crate to the left of the building saying “Ship to Disney’s Old Key West Resort-RUSH”.