Dinosaur World, Plant City, Florida : What You Should Know Before You Pay to Get In

Looking for something new to due with the family. If so you might have pondered the idea of taking a trip to Dinosaur World in Plant City Floirda. After seeing the large dinosaurs from the interstate my kids begged me to take them there, so I did a little online research. Online Dinosaur World seemed like an amazing educational adventure. And the prices seemed reasonable enough at just $12.75 for adults and $9.55 for kids under 12. As a family we were all very excited, and couldn't wait to get there.

Located in Plant City Florida, Dinosaur World was easy to find, located just off the interstate. Upon arriving we noticed the entire property is fenced in where you couldn't get a sneak peek. There was an abundant parking area, and a large boardwalk that winded through a wooded area to the gift shop. Once inside the shop you purchased your tickets at the register, and then walked through another set of doors which lead to the adventure of a life time.

From the moment we walked through the gates we all new what the big secret was. There brochure claims to have over one hundred and fifty life sized dinosaurs on the property. I didn't keep a count, but I'm sure there is at least a hundred and fifty of them. However, the majority of them were older, some in need or repair, and most of them didn't look anywhere near realistic. Needless to say the main attraction was a winding boardwalk though an overgrown wooded area where fiberglass dinosaurs stood behind with descriptive plaques in front of them. The kids got a laugh out of it, but that was about all.

Thinking not all was lost we waited around until it was time for the fossil dig. With each paying child you receive one coupon for the fossil dig. Additional coupons for adults can be bought for $2.00 each. The cashier came out to the fossil dig site which was a long table with 12" sides filled with sand, and collected the tickets. Each child received a small container, and a sifter, with instructions on what to do with the fossils. You were allowed fifteen minutes to look for fossils, but you could only keep three. When you had the three you wanted the host / cashier collected your plastic container, sifter, and put your three fossils in a small bag. The fossils consisted of broken shells, and broken sharks teeth.

The museum consisted of a small building with less then fifteen or so small artifacts such as broken teeth fragments. Honestly, they had better quality stuff in the gift shop then in the museum. The skeleton garden consisted of a few assembled dinosaur skeleton replicas. The bone yard which looked awesome from the brochure was just a large concrete dinosaur skeleton covered in an inch or two of sand. They did have brushes for the kids to use, to uncover it.

The best features Dinosaur World offered was the playground area, and the gift shop. The playground area had several nice pieces of play equipment for the kids to use, and places for adults to set. The gift shop was pricey, but what gift shop isn't? However they did offer items from .50 cents and up. The price of admission wasn't worth it to us. However, if you have kids under 4 they might enjoy it.

Dinosaur World is located at 5145 Harvey Tew Road, Plant City Florida, 33565. They are open 7 days a week from 9 AM until 6 PM (with the exception of December & January they close at 5 PM) You can reach them by phone at 813-717-9865 or visit their website at www.dinoworld.net