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TriceraTop Spin at Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2024 |
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Elephants and carpets don’t fly in real life, but they do at Magic Kingdom Park. Triceratops dinosaurs didn’t fly in real life either, but they do at Yester Animal Kingdom. |
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Triceratops lived during the late Cretaceous period, around 69 to 66 million years ago. Intricately designed tin spinning tops, with metal center plungers to make them spin, were popular toys in the early 20th century. Put triceratops and spinning tops together. You get TriceraTop Spin. |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2024 The amusement park in DinoLand U.S.A. |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2024 Chester & Hester’s dinosaur characters riding TriceraTop Spin |
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Chester and his wife Hester operate Dino-Rama, a nice little roadside amusement park on Diggs County U.S. Route 498. At first glance, it looks like a collection of off-the-shelf carnival rides and games. If you look more closely, it’s actually jam-packed with one-of-a-kind creative touches. |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2012 Sitting on a cracked asphalt parking lot |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2024 Ready to take a spin? |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2020 20-minute wait for a 90-second ride |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2020 No dancing at your seat? |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2020 Waiting |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2020 Almost your turn |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2024 Triceratops seating |
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Have a seat in a sea foam green triceratops. A gruff male voice announces, “Hey spinners! It’s Chester here, reminding you for your safety to stay seated with that seat belt fastened good and tight as you spin. While you’re spinning, keep your hands, arms, feet, and legs inside — and be sure to watch your children.” A Spanish translation follows. Chester continues, “Riders in the front row can use their lever to tilt forward or backward. Riders in the back row can use their lever to fly higher or lower. Ready? Then let’s go for a spin!” The ride begins to move. The levers work exactly as Chester said. Have fun going up and down and back and forth, as you enjoy views of Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama and other parts of DinoLand, U.S.A. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2024 Elevation and tilt under rider control |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2016 Empty triceratops |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2020 Trap doors |
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Trap doors open on the top of the spinning top, revealing triceratops balancing beach balls. Comets race around the perimeter of the top, moving in the opposite direction from how you’re moving. A bouncy music track accompanies the ride. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2020 Who knew triceratops had such balancing skills? |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2020 Flying past Primeval Whirl |
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Soon, you hear a cheerful Southern female voice of Chester’s wife, Hester: “Looks like our little dinosaurs are landing, so please stay seated. When they come to a complete stop, make sure you have all your belongings and then walk to the exit gate. Bye-bye!” Ninety seconds after it began moving, the ride has come to a complete stop. |
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TriceroTop Spin opened at Disney’s Animal Kingdom on November 18, 2001. For six months, it was the only ride at Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama. A second ride, Primeval Whirl, opened on April 18, 2002. Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama and its rides were widely reviled by Disney park fans. In a way, it’s because Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) did such a good job. Disney park fans love it when WDI creates original IP, specific to a Disney park, instead of just using IP from Disney and Pixar movies. Also, they want storytelling, where an easily understood backstory permeates every element. Next, they admire when an attraction or area is executed to create a cohesive, believable sense of place. Finally, they appreciate environments and attractions that are not cloned at multiple parks. Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama excelled in these four regards. It was based on original characters with a story unique to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It felt like a real roadside attraction, where two local entrepreneurs had done everything they could to attract customers. It appeared to be set on a weathered asphalt parking lot, even though the ground was actually skillfully textured concrete. And it was never cloned. Unfortunately, Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama seemed too much like an real carnival with off-the-shelf rides and games on an actual parking lot. Never mind that TriceroTop Spin was a WDI masterpiece. Its giant toy top design with playful triceratops dinos poking through trap doors was arguably the most complex and detailed Zamperla Aero Top Jet ride at any Disney park, and probably anywhere in the world. It was not off-the-shelf; only its mechanism was. (Dumbo the Flying Elephant and The Magic Carpets of Aladdin are also Zamperla Aero Top Jet rides.) |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2020 Demolition in February 2025 |
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TriceroTop Spin and the rest of Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama had their final day on January 12, 2025. Construction walls went up. Primeval Whirl had already had its final day five years earlier, on January 4, 2020. |
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Artist Concept Only © Disney Artist concept for the Madrigal Family Home |
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Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama is being replaced by an attraction themed to Encanto (2021) from Disney Feature Animation. According to the official Disney Parks Blog, “Inside the Casita, Antonio has just received his special gift — the ability to communicate with animals — and his room has transformed into a rainforest. It’s time to go explore alongside him, and you never know what member of the family you might bump into…” The new ride is likely to use trackless vehicles and innovative special effects, in the tradition of Mystic Manor at Hong Kong Disneyland. If that’s the case, nobody will mistake it for a carnival. (Mystic Manor is amazing.) |
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© 2025 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks Updated July 25, 2025 |
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