What Makes Dinosaur Better Than Indiana Jones?

Indiana Jones has a high level of mystique and fantasy. Its based on a fan favorite franchise that features a much more “fictional” setting. This gives the impression that there are strange paranormal forces at hand along with an odd sense of unpredictable surprise as you visually witness the various practical effects and experience the dozens of lines of dialogue spoken by Mara and Indy. then the actual setting itself exposes the rider to a cornucopia of different themes as they travel through the temple and are charmed by Indiana Jones many appearances, including reference to one of the most famous scenes in all of movie-dom (the falling rock scene). Dinosaur features time travel, however aside from that, it’s much less fantastically themed (in that it’s based on real life and actual science. Unlike Indiana jones which is based in fiction and mystique) , we all know dinosaurs existed and we’ve seen them at other attractions like universals Jurassic park, and even your own standard run of the mill museums, which will sometimes feature life sized Dino’s and skeletons/somewhat immersive experiences like imax. The comparison isn’t really fair because Indiana Jones is such a compelling setting to set a ride/attraction in, ESPECIALLY for a dark ride that takes its time vs something like a rollercoaster. Dinosaurs aren’t particularly special, and although the DINOSAUR ride is one of my all time favorites, it’s reliance on aging dinosaur animatronics is certainly notable to anyone older than 12. Meanwhile Indiana Jones is much more of a timeless experience because of its varied setting/theming, reliance on visual AND physical effects (like the gusts of wind and hot fire), and it’s distinct lack of animatronics save for the excellent and briefly featured snake room and the charming exposures to Indiana Jones. I’m more willing to forgive his animatronic shortcomings because they come with dialogue and signature momentum (closing the door and scolding us, barely escaping the boulder, witty remark as we barely survived) Definitely a bold stance for this video and I commend the points you made/laughed at your dejection of anecdotal “my kid thought it was too scary” criticisms. Again I find myself not completely agreeing with you and yet I enjoyed the video and found it to be thought provoking! (Written on my phone please forgive the grammar mistakes)

I always hoped disney would knock down the rest of this land and keep dinosaur as a launch point to “the past”, and take guests to the age of the dinosaurs in an extremely immersive land. By making the worlds best dinosaur themed land , animal kingdom will really be cemented as one of the worlds best parks

My favorite part of this video Karen: My kid was scared Narrator: shut up, don't ride it then. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

for me, the darkness is exactly what makes dinosaur stand out more and more immersive. with indy you can clearly see the flat surface your vehicle is riding on for the entire duration of the ride

People can feel when corners have been cut, even if they can't explain it. The theming of Dino Land wasn't a result of the storytelling, but a result of cost cutting and having to fit a story to it. Joe rohde didn't think to himself "hey let's make a roadside Attraction that was set up because of the institute." He was forced to try to come up with a story based around a cheaply themed land, due to cost cutting. The same goes for dinosaur. The darkness was a way to cut cost, making them have to fit a story to it. Luckily, Joe rohde can tell a cohesive story with sticks and a rock if he had to.

I love Dinosaur, first rode it as a kid shortly after they switched from the Countdown to Extinction theming (I remember at the time you could still buy CTX merchandise at the gift store) and I've never understood why it isn't a more highly regarded attraction. Then again, Disney doesn't do it many favors letting so many effects fall apart

Also worth mentioning I believe is the fact that dinosaur kind of changed its intensity. People kept complaining about the scariness of the ride and thus I noticed between my trips in 2009 and 2012 that the volume was brought down on the carnotaurus and that in a couple of scenes the carnotaurus was pulled back physically from how close it would get to the ride vehicle. Dinosaur represents one of the best thrill rides not just in animal Kingdom but in the entire theme park and it's kind of sad that they pulled it back to a point where for those who have written at both times, it actually feels a bit boring now.

I always preferred Dinosaur bc of the whole sci-fi/race against time aspect of the story so it just comes across as more exciting. I like how Dinosaur uses complete darkness more to its advantage specifically during the chase scene where a lot is left to your imagination and how the ride becomes darker and more intense as it progresses. It's also one of the rare Disney attractions along with Alien Encounter that is complete nightmare fuel and intentionally scary.

Both are good in my opinion. They both are rides that I wish Disney would work to build instead of screen based rides. They both have so many practical sets, my only grip being the skeleton blow dart scene in Indy is kinda lack luster. Reminds me of small time carnivals or amusement parks. Otherwise both shine as some of the best rides at the parks.

Dinosaur is always a must do for me. The darkness enhances the experience and without having one big showroom, it helps keep the surprises in store, whereas when you see the riders in front of you in Indy, it makes your experience feel less special since in Dinosaur, the narrative implies the people in front of you are doing the standard tour in the Early Cretaceous and YOU and YOUR GROUP are going on this secret mission whereas in Indy, everyone is going through the exact same adventure you are. It’s the Verisimilitude of the attractions that Dinosaur keeps intact MOSTLY depending on the spacing of the vehicles, whereas Indy compromises right out of the gate. Dinosaur is narrative driven, I agree. But it works in the same way Jaws works. You don’t see the shark 90% of the time but when it shows up, it’s surprising. Same with Dinosaur, you don’t see a lot but that adds to the atmosphere where you don’t know what’s gonna happen next, at any moment a dinosaur can show up from the darkness, you can take a turn you didn’t expect to take, or the ultimate horror when the bumpiness knocks your phone out of your pocket in the middle of the ride and the Dino Institute amounts a mission to retrieve it due to not being able to contact family who could be anywhere in the whole resort without it. (Kudos to those cast members btw). Indy is still a great ride but it works in completely different ways than Dinosaur does.

For me, Dinosaur is one of the top 15 attractions at WDW. I have no idea why it gets overlooked. I prefer it over Space Mountain, Soarin, Mission:Space, Test Track, and Toy Story Mania, to name a few. I’m not sure if I like it better than Indy but good video.

Having grown up on Temple and finally gotten out to Disneyworld to try Dino, I was extremely disappointed in how lacking I found the attraction. I think this video does a great job at showing Dino's strengths, but I also think it overplays their significance in the overall experience of the ride. I'd like to break down the rides into a few categories and compare them. Queue / outside theming Indy has one of the best queues and themes in the Disneyland park, and it is extended into Adventureland in a general way - the entire land is themed to the same era, the jungle cruise boats and queue building have the same weathered look, etc. Dino takes it a step further, as noted in the video, by being a key part of the overall land's story. While ambitious, this effort fails to achieve its goals. The average guest, unfamiliar with the land's story and theme, fails to pick up on it. Thus the queue for Dino, while fitting well into the overall land, does not show and tell enough of the land's story to carry the day. Also, the immersiveness of Indy's queue far surpasses the immersiveness of Dino - when I walk into the temple, I feel like I'm in a temple, not a 3/4 mile walk to the edge of the park where the ride building is. Dino does makes me feel like I'm in a museum, so it's arguably equally successful there, but that is a lot less special of an experience. Storytelling The story of Indy is told through a fun pre-show video. Dino's pre-show was not as engaging for me; the characters were more flat and there was no aura of mystery that dealing with a magical deity granting gifts naturally generates. Right from the pre-show, Indy makes you wonder what gift you will get and if you will look into the eye or not. Dino just tells you you're going to be going to get a dinosaur and doesn't set up much mystery or anticipation there, aside from going along with breaking some rules. Once you get on the ride, Indy's story is rather easy to follow - you looked into the eye, you are doomed, Indy saves you, and you have to escape the temple. It's not the most involved story, but it's easy to follow in a fast-paced and generally overwhelming ride. Dino sets you out to find a specific dinosaur with very little information given on how you are going to capture it or even locate it. You drive around for a bit and see some dinosaurs, get into some danger, suddenly find what you're looking for and the ride is over. In terms of plot points, Indy gives us premise, anticipation, twist, new objective, climax, and return to a station where an oblivious Sala "celebrates our arrival". Dino gives us a premise, a twist, some threat, and very quickly the resolution and ending. The plot pacing is front-loaded for Indy, but rear-loaded for Dino, which doesn't give the guests time to process what's going on during the ride. Ride theming Indy makes you feel like you're in an old temple. Dino makes you feel like you're in a prehistoric forest. Both themes are executed as well as they can be, but Indy is the more compelling theme. I've been in a forest a lot, but I've been in a temple ruins never. I agree with the video's point about the darkness being a tool used in the ride, but I think they could have added more light - even just headlights for the ride vehicle - to really help sell the forest a bit better. Both rides hit the theme they aim for, but I find Indy's theme more interesting. Effects Indy just has better effects. Projection effects on the doors and Mara statue, as well as the chamber of destiny changing for each of Mara's gifts. In the bridge room, Mara's laser eye hits various pieces of the temple and sets off small explosions. And last, the very best effect in any of the American parks, the boulder scene that is still 100% convincing even though I know everything about it. Dino competes with some animatronic dinosaurs and not much else. Dino had no moment where I was awed by what I was seeing - nothing made me wonder how they did an effect. I can see Dino getting a major refurb that really plusses the attraction - which is what Indy has gotten over the years - but as it currently is, there's just no competition. The unique use of the ride vehicles should probably also go in this section. While the programming for the vehicles across both rides is basically the same, I argue that Indy uses the capabilities of the vehicles to a greater degree. Specifically, the section where you turn into the bridge room after being saved by Indy, the sudden reveal and pitch forward allows all passengers to have a few seconds to take in the room, and then the vehicle simulates bumping down some stairs (which Indy had previously warned about). And the boulder scene is aided by the vehicle tilting back and shaking as the boulder rolls forward, heightening the feeling of trying to reverse away. Dino's vehicle doesn't have either of these movements, and only simulates the general offroad and overbank turning, as far as I could tell. Sound Indy has a ride score that is based on the film scores. You hear classic refrains and the music is dynamic and builds tension, and is also specific to various parts of the ride. I don't specifically remember the music on Dino, but I assume there was some. I'm sure it did help set the mood and amplify parts of the ride, but I don't think it can compare to a score that draws from 3 action-adventure movies composed by John Williams. So when you put that all together, from my view at least, there isn't a single thing that Dino does better than Indy aside from generally fitting into the land's theme better, and since the land's story is not well displayed, that can be hard to pick up on. I don't think Dino is a bad ride, but I also don't think it's anywhere near the same tier as Indy, a ride that is still holding its own against newer attractions like Rise of the Resistance.

I went to animal kingdom for the first time earlier this year and loved Dinosaur. It felt much more thrilling than indiana Jones and was actually kind of scary.

Even though Dinosaur tells a much better story, and the end of the day, Indy is more fun for a lot of people. I think that’s why they can’t explain it, because you’re 100% right with this video essay. Indy’s theme, I think, is more chaotic danger. There’s no depth to it. Dinosaur has character development with Dr. Seeker, and uses darkness to tell a linear story. But Indy is more fun lolol (to me, at least)

Dinosaur is an amazing ride. Definitely one of my favorites. I love Dinoland USA, but I do think it needs a revamp. As a geologist, I must say that the land should be replaced as an entire paleontology land. Paleontology isn’t just dinosaurs. We have Millions upon millions of years of complex life they could cover. Lots of animals that could receive the spotlight!

I definitely think the dark part of the Indie ride should be renewed to something better, and change the dart skeletons into physical objects, or at least screens

I absolutely get what you're saying about the idea of using darkness to give feelings of chaos, but I also feel you may be giving the original design a little too much credit. I think much of the darkness was more a result of tight budgets to get the project to completion. In addition, I think the Dinosaur story has degraded a bit over the years due to elements being permanently shut off. While efforts have certainly been made to upgrade or replace those broken elements, there are still just awkward moments of narrative pause. Now, Indy has those too, especially the rat scene. There are a lot of very subtle hidden details in Dinosaur that honestly make it a great story, but like Indy nowadays, Guests have even less time to pick up on them to put together the narrative story. I think overall Dinosaur is great, it's fun, its exhilarating, but as a narrative it just feels a bit disjointed and the excess of dark moments with nothing to see are just a tad bit unnecessary. It's clear that in the world we travel to in Dinosaur there is light, you can see it in the vistas near the beginning of the ride, yet near the end there's just pure darkness, which isn't realistic at all, there should be at least something visible to give the eye something to reference. A few pieces of foliage here and there would do wonders. I've had the opportunity to walk the Dinosaur track with lights on, there's just nothing there in so much of the building. Indy always has something to see, and in the moments it doesn't, it makes sense. It also combines elements of a cherished movie franchise which instantly will rate it higher for riders purely out of nostalgia. Everyone wants to be a part of an Indiana Jones adventure, not everyone could picture themselves time traveling to the end of the Dinosaurs for...reasons? That subconscious by-in surely plays a role as well. Overall, I think Indy has a stronger narrative, even if it's hard to pick up on it with the lack of queue time, it also has a stronger visual presence, and for me (not necessarily everyone will think this way) it looks more complete. Dinosaur is fun, but to me it looks like the victim of slashed budgets, not necessarily a psychological mind trip.

Good points! I've only ridden Dinosaur once, but I think you might be right to say it is a better thematic dark ride/narrative attraction than Indy for the reasons you covered in your video. I would argue that Indy is a better ride for the "wow-factor", because it seems like it has more successful (EDIT: and creative) practical effects in the boulder scene and the chamber opening scene that just make you wonder "how did they do that?!" Those two alone, especially after the projection mapping update, are standouts that I believe elevate it ever so slightly above Dinosaur for most folks. I have only ridden it once, but I can't really recall any real effects that weren't clever positioning/delayed reveals of animatronics which don't have the same "woah" factor as say the boulder tunnel from Indy. Great video! Really enjoying your efforts and video essays! EDIT: Oh, and I forgot the "big giant temple room reveal" as another "wow-factor" moment; you really feel like you're in a mysterious temple from the movies. I don't recall Dinosaur having anything like that huge room reveal, so it feels much closer to one of the classic Fantasyland dark rides but with the EMV's dynamic movements to move your between set pieces, which may be why I don't feel as "impressed" by Dinosaur after riding it.

The Indians Jones Ride cast members still give out the cards with the encryption keys on them.

Another opinion I fully stand by! I absolutely LOVE Dinosaur, and it definitely doesn’t get as much credit as it should sadly, but I’m glad your shining a light on it with your vid :) Btw, will we be expecting a Galactic Starcruiser video essay soon? Or closer to when it opens?