Dinosaur World, Cave City, Kentucky – Review

As you are planning your travels and occasionally stopping by here for travel inspiration and attractions; I couldn’t help but share and review one of the best parks that we have experienced.As I have said before, I’m cheap (but, savvy) and travel mostly during off-peak seasons. During off-peak season, the crowds have died down, I am less irritated, and we can actually enjoy ourselves at attractions while not waiting (forever) in long lines. In addition to all of that, I can usually find better deals.

Location

In September, we spent several days in Cave City, KY. During our time there, we visited Dinosaur World, conveniently located right off of I-65 at Exit 53 (711 Old Mammoth Cave Rd).

Arrival

Upon arrival, we were immediately excited by the enormous Tyrannosaurus Rex that sits off to the side of the road. We later noticed that you can actually take a photo with him while on your excursion through the park!

Once we parked (for free), we were greeted by the huge Dinosaur World Welcome sign. I loved it and just happened to catch the perfect photo to save for the boys!

Admission

All visitors must enter through the Gift Shop, where you choose and pay for what attractions you will participate in. For myself, I chose the daily admission, adult ticket which was $12.75 (plus tax). However, I chose the Excavation Pass for the boys which was $16.95 (plus tax). Included in the Excavation Pass is the Fossil Dig and the Dino Gem Excavation.  

We received our orange wristbands and tickets, a map of the park, the scheduled times for the Fossil Dig, and tips for exploring the park. We were encouraged to visit the Prehistoric Museum as we waited for the Fossil Dig, which we did.

Prehistoric Museum

Upon entering the museum, it was intentionally dim, but brightened by exhibit boxes of interesting dinosaur facts; dinosaur facts I had never thought of or even knew existed. As we made our way around through the museum, reading and checking out the various artifacts and replicas such as eggs, claws, and teeth, we hit a large, roped-off area that had a gigantic, half dug up fossil! I can’t tell you how authentic it was, but it was definitely something interesting to see!

As we concluded our tour through the museum, we exited out a back door that took us right outside where there were wooden boxes with hidden dinosaur facts. My boys truly loved lifting the boxes to figure out if they had guessed the correct dinosaur!

Fossil Dig

By the time we were done with the museum and outdoor Guess and Tell boxes, it was time for the Fossil Dig. As we made our way over to the Fossil Dig, our tickets were taken, and we were given a bag and instructions on how the Fossil Dig worked.

Although, there were other families there, there was no long line and long waiting because it was off-peak season. Most of us adults, just had a seat on the benches and took pictures of the children rambling and digging in the sand, trying their hardest to find random, historic-like teeth. As their time ended, they were able to bag up and keep three  of their findings.

Bone Yard

Once the Fossil Dig had ended, the boys were pretty stoked and ready for another activity. As we followed the map, we hit the Bone Yard. Both  of my boys were really into digging in the Bone Yard like paleontologists, equipped with a brush and shovel, digging and brushing away. While, we were there, another family came in with their young son, and altogether, they had so much fun digging and brushing around in the large Bone Yard.


Dino Gem Excavation
The final interactive activity, aside from the Playground and Movie Theater, was the Dino Gem Excavation. We spent a considerable amount of time there because they were mining for “gems”. This was the first time any of us had experienced this type of activity; so, we thought it was pretty interesting. In addition, we talk a lot about the healing properties of energy stones at home, so they were fascinated by their “gem” findings.

During the Gem Excavation, each of the boys were given a bag that contained sand and rock-like matter with “gems” and began panning. The most excited part of them panning was that, like the Fossil Dig, they were able to take home whatever they found. So, they each left with a pretty, nice size bag of gems that we later discussed with the Gem Identification Card that  was also given to us.

Life Size Dinosaurs




Finally, we finally began our excursion following the map to learn about the many dinosaurs. Dinosaur World features over 150 life size dinosaurs! Imagine that!As we continued on our excursion, we learned about so many different ones because they were all label with a metal plaque with information regarding that particular dinosaur.
 

As we moved on, we continued to be surprised by how humongous they actually were! They were so life-size that we wanted to take pictures with them, which you can, but, you must stay behind the ropes as the signs clearly state.However, there is a mammoth in the mammoth area and the HUGE Tyrannosaurus Rex that is seen from the road that you can actually take photos with! Check it out!

Movie Theater

After taking photos with the Tyrannosaurus Rex and finishing up with the path, we stopped into the Movie Theater which played information regarding dinosaurs. The Movie Theater looks like a huge rock-like cave with a dinosaur on top of it and is filled with an accommodating amount of bleacher-style, metal seats.

Playground

Finally, we finished our excursion with the playground and later exited back through the Gift Shop where we took some time to browse around before finally leaving.

Recommendation

Even during off-peak season, we still had an amazing time and everything that was normally offered during peak-season was still offered during the off-peak season! With affordable admission prices, friendly staff, interactive exhibits, and free parking, Dinosaur World is definitely a win of a trip!

Hip Hip Hooray for Dinosaur World!

??Disclosure: This post was updated 5/22/17.


		
		
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1 Comment

  1. Frans Erkelens
    April 3, 2017 / 9:03 AM

    Hello!
    We are a music production company and we have written and produced a vast
    amount of children’s songs, e.g. for THE SMURFS, PADDINGTON BEAR, RUPERT
    BEAR, BABAR, SPOT, TROLLS, DINOSAURS, etc. etc. I’ve attached some info on
    our company, Sunroof Music.
    A few weeks ago, we started our own YouTube channel, KIDZMIXFLIX
    (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOibz8_iVyxgcxi45ikvTew), as we wanted
    to share our first music videos to the world. We are now uploading
    DINOMIX, 12 clips about the history of the dinosaurs with in between each
    song a semi-educational explanation about the dinosaur in the next song.
    Also attached some DINOMIX info.
    Once DINOMIX is completely uploadied, we’ll start releasing ANIMAL MIX,
    part 1, A JUNGLE PARTY, 13 episodes, with lots more to follow!
    I know that we need hundreds of thousands of subscribers (by the way, my
    congratulations to you for doing so incredibly well!!) and I understand
    that we have to look for sites, blogs, channels, mums, dads, grandparents
    and kids that are interested to share our content.
    I sincerely hope that you will let everybody know about KIDZMIXFLIX and
    that you all become subscribers to our channel. IT’S FREE!!
    Looking forward to hearing from you.
    With best wishes,
    SUNROOF Music
    Frans Erkelens
    P.S., I’m sure you’ll understand that I need loads and loads of viewers
    and subscribers and as you can see that this channel is totally harmless
    and on the other hand educational and funny, I sincerely hope that you’ll
    be able to help me! Thanks a lot in advance!!
    P.S.2 I’m sure you’ll (and your kids) will like these dinosaur videos

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