Imagine you own a past-its-prime alligator attraction on I-4 near Plant City. Now imagine that a family from Sweden buys the property with the intention of turning it into a modest tourist stop called Dinosaur World. You'd at least chuckle, wouldn't you? But not before you signed the papers.
Well, it looks as if the Svensson family is having the last laugh. Opened in late '98, Dinosaur World, though humble compared to the mega-attractions in O-Town, is a success — so much so that a second one is slated to open in Kentucky around Memorial Day.
Dinosaur World's unwillingness to THINK BIG, to compete with Disney, Universal et al., is precisely what makes it charming. You won't have to endure endless lines here; you can stroll and relax, take deep breaths, loll around while the kids cavort in a mammoth playground. Keep your plastic in your wallet.
Maybe you've seen the dinosaur peeking through the foliage on the west side of I-4. (Maybe you, too, have chuckled.) What you probably didn't know is that acres of boardwalks wind through woods and ponds and are peppered with scores of prehistoric animal models. These dinos are light fiberglass replicas that any adult could knock over if they weren't anchored down. They're fun, though, and they look fierce or docile as needed. T. Rex is a big, bad-looking mofo. The raptors'll make you wanna take off running.
Dinosaur World is probably best suited for children under 10. Once a kid gets past that, this place is going to seem a bit rinky-dink. But the little ones — their eyes get wide, they ooh and ahh. The kiddies can also take a trip to The Boneyard, a sandpit with plastic sifters and buckets filled with little fossils just waiting to be discovered.
Part of the reason Dinosaur World has succeeded is its low overhead. The Svenssons — a married couple and two daughters — live nearby and are involved in every aspect of the place. The family even designs and builds the dinosaurs and other fiberglass structures themselves. They employ only two full-time staffers.
The facility is a big field-trip destination, even in the summer, where day care programs can take their charges on low-maintenance getaways. So as the summer doldrums set in — if you've got some tykes beset with cabin fever, you could do worse than head out to this homey attraction.
Take I-4 East to exit 10 (Plant City). 813-717-9865. Open 9 a.m. to dusk every day. $9.75 adults, $8.95 seniors (60+), $7.75 for kids 3-12, free for tots under 3.
This article appears in May 14-20, 2003.