That’s what I thought – I used to love riding it. The first time I didn’t like it was two years ago, and the first time I hated it was during the Halloween overlay. Of course I’m getting older, but other “jolty” rides like Dinosaur or even DLR’s Matterhorn (also called Batterhorn) don’t get to me like SM.
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For those that said DINOSAUR— tell me why! Going for the first time this May with my 2 boys (4 & 7) and thought it would be a good Fast Pass contender. Should I choose something else?
It’s the only ride my son didn’t like, both when he was 4 and when he was 7. It’s super loud, super jerky and you don’t really see the dinosaurs well.
Personally, I don’t think we’ll ever do it again. For us, the only interest is all the dinosaur skeletons in the waiting area. Since you never did it, I think you will probably want to try it but maybe a day-of FP ?
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I didn’t find Dinosaur scary at all, buy my wife and at least one of my kids did…so much so that my wife vows she’ll never ride it again.
So, I just think it is a matter of how much you are able to stop pretending it is real. For me, if it might otherwise seem scary, I find myself instead thinking about it from an engineering perspective. I can enjoy it, but from an admiration standpoint.
I was like that with Kong at IOA. I think my wife would be scared out of her mind had she tried it. I thought it was amazing, partially due to the technology involved.
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It is my favorite ride at AK besides FOP. It is dark and loud with intense theming. Perhaps YouTube it to see if your 4 yo can handle it. It is a really really rough, jolting ride but I find that to be really fun–of course I know when to brace myself as I’ve ridden it more than a few times. My kids love it too. Even my just turned 6 year old last trip thought it was great fun.
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we did this too! big mistake, landed early and we were ready for lunch but the rest of the world wasn’t.
My 6 and 9 year olds like it but some kids find it scary.
Sorry if someone already said this, the thread for long and i skipped some. …
Has anyone ridden standby and fpp on space mountain one after another? Doesn’t each go to a separate track? I think it did when i was there at least. I only rode with fpp and didn’t think it was too bad. Maybe the standby side is rougher?
Standby goes on the Alpha side, which I prefer (not for roughness, just because the layout is more fun). FPP goes on the Omega side. I rode DLR’s and MK’s within the last 2 years and didn’t have any problems with either. Both were great in their own rights. We had a blast on MK’s this past December riding both sides multiple times and never even thought about smoothness.
As for Dinosaur, it’s dark, loud, and things jump out at you. If the things were monsters instead of dinosaurs, it would be a pretty grown-up haunted house type thing. What’s weird is I HATE haunted houses where things jump out at you, but I actually had no problem with Dinosaur.
Layouts are identical, except just a mirror image. I’m curious why you find it “more fun”.
Last time we were there, they only had one side open, so both FP and Standby were riding the same coaster,
I love IASW. Totally for nostalgia.
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It’s a lot like riding in a jeep over super bumpy trails, hills, and turns. It’s also really loud and dark inside and the dinosaurs look pretty real in the dark – some of them appear out of nowhere and can be freaky to the little ones. One hint is to put the smaller people on the inside of the row - it feels a little safer and isn’t quite as close to the dinos.
My then-8-year-old found it absolutely terrifying and kept his eyes closed the entire time. The dinosaurs kind of pop out of nowhere and roar/lunge at you. And the vehicle is pretty jerky. I’d recommend watching some YouTube videos of it first. If they can handle it, it’s not too bad, but it kind of traumatized him for the rest of the day.
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Are you sure? I could swear that the descent down the lift area was visibly different between the two sides. If they are the same, it may have just been the car/train or just a trick of the mind.
We’ve ridden both and the left side when walking in to the queues, seems much smoother to me. My DH is more sensitive to roller coasters and he noticed it as well.
Yeah. They are identical, other than “handedness”.
But sometimes the directional differences does trick the brain. I’d guess due to one’s personal hand dominance or something. Maybe the two sides would only feel identical to someone who is ambidextrous? 
My sister wouldn’t let my 4 & 7yo nieces do even the mildest of thrill rides but she was fine with them doing Dinosaur, I tried to put her off but she was having none of it. She had ridden it before and they were her kids so… Anyway they came off hysterical. The 7yo was the worst. But my 7yo son rode everything (he was tall enough for every ride) and nothing phased him at all.
You know your own kids, don’t be put off if you think they will enjoy it, but it’s not worth ruining your day over.
We’ve ridden on both sides with FP.
They definitely feel different. The left side is better imo but last time we were there DH was in a wheelchair so when he rode we had to go to the right.
I don’t like it. It’s loud, dark and scary. But the jerkiness is what keeps me off of it. A video ride-through doesn’t really convey the full effect, but you might want to look at that first if you can’t do a personal preview for them.
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