Dinosaur World — Attraction in Cave City

Took a field trip today to Dinosaur World. Myself the misses and our 4 children and our 2 nephews. It was a real blast! Very informative and unique. The dinos were all life size and the kids just loved it. The weather was the only thing that wasn't fun. It was 100°F + ! Tough day for an outdoor adventure. But the troop carried on with few complaints that weren't heat related. Overall the park staff were super friendly and very helpful. The park itself was well kempt and very clean. We arrived around 1130 am so the park had had many visitors before us and the grounds and restrooms were all spotless and very sanitary. One thing worth mentioning is the only bathrooms are located just before the trail. Not a deal breaker but worth noting if you have a weak bladder. We took our time and started with the museum which houses various fossils and the likes of paleontology. It was a good way to warm up so to speak. From there we hit the dino trail. I read aloud each placard in front of the dinos as to provide relevance and substantiation. I must have been a good reader, as several other groups would stick around and listen in as well with their children. One lady even went as far as to scold her children for bickering while I was reading. Much appreciated, you know who you are if you're reading this Mom😆 The trail took about 45min or so when reading. After the dino trail we did the gem "mining". This was definitely the kids favorite part. They loved finding the treasures of the rocks and immediately wanted to show off who had the most unique find. Turns out our middle boy was the only one who found any "fool's gold" in his gem collection, so by default he felt he won! Each box of mining material came with a place card that showed the various minerals which could be found . It was fun and informative. Great educational experience for all ages! I found the pricing to be in line with what I would have expected to pay for such an outing. All 8 of us got in for $120. This included a large bag of mining material for each child as well as a small bag of 3 fossils for each child( of which each contained a shark tooth so they were all super excited about). Great family outing if you're in the neighborhood. For us it was a day trip just to get out and break the monotony. (We live almost 2 hrs drive from there). Money and time well spent if you ask our family! Definitely would recommend if you've never been there and have children who like dinos. Here's to all the future paleontologists ! Go...

Having driven by Dinosaur World countless time between Louisville and Nashville, we finally decided to visit on my wife's birthday. As if the 34-foot dinosaur an I-65 didn't get your attention, it's literally right off of the expressway.

The Visitor's Center / Gift Shop is your point of entry. If you bought your ticket ahead of time (recommended) they'll scan it and give you a wrist band. you can also buy your ticket there. A visit to Dinosaur World won't break the bank. There are some add-ons (fossil dig and sifting through sand) that you can add on and that kids might dig.

Once you get your wristband you're on your own to roam and explore. There are over 150 (as I recall) life-size dinosaurs on exhibit, all well-crafted and maintained. There's an informational plaque for every exhibit giving the name, pronunciation guide, location information, and a few other facts about each particular dinosaur. It doesn't go into great detail (and doesn't really need to, to be honest). I was surprised how small the Velociraptors were (they're based on actual skeletons)..then again, Jurassic Park set a rather fictionalized standard.

In your travels you can go out to the large 34-foot dino that lives along I-65. The information said that that dinosaur is a fictional dinosaur and not based on an actual one. It may seem like it's quite a hike to the that one, but it's really not.

In the center of the park is an amazing exhibit that showcases several types of dinosaurs in what may have been an open area, milling about and doing dinosaur things.

It took us about an hour to visit all the dinosaurs. The park is kept amazingly clean and during that hour we saw 3 different park personnel keeping it that way.

There's an informational dinosaur museum that's got a number of fossils and replicas. Again, the information designed to make you a paleontologist but to give you an overview and a little knowledge. At the end is an animated T-Rex that is 100% AWESOME.

The wife and I decided we'd have to visit again when our grandkids get a little older. I...

I really enjoyed my time at Dinosaur World. I didn't realize this, but it is associated with several Other Dinosaur Worlds, like the one in Orlando Florida. I haven't been to any of the others, so I don't know how this one compares, but it was still a good time. You enter/exit through the gift shop area, which it actually pretty large and has a big selection of items for sale. Once you get your tickets, you head back outside to an open courtyard. From the courtyard, you can visit the museum (probably not the right world for it. It is really a display of some fossils, mostly reproduction ones.), a dino-themed kids playground, the dig site, a cave to watch a "documentary" video on the life of a dinosaur, and the trail of dinosaurs. The trail is pretty cool, it is well marked and stroller friendly. There are a lot of dinosaurs along the trails on both sides. The actual dinosaurs aren't movie quality props, but they are still pretty decent, and my kids loved seeing them. The "documentary" video was pretty interesting for the parts that at we watched. It is probably a little too long to really keep kids attention the entire time, especially in the little cave. The cave was a bit hot, only being cooled by a small fan, and the seating is hard benches. So, we didn't watch the entire video. The biggest problem I have with Dinosaur World is how close it is to the highway. The sound of cars driving by takes away from the atmosphere of being immersed in a world of Dinosaurs. I didn't find the prices to be too expensive. They seemed pretty appropriate. I would make sure to bring drinks with you. They have soda machines, but they are pretty expensive. I would be willing to go back, although I would probably check out the other locations to see how they compare first, but I am probably not going to make a trip to just see this one multiple times. It doesn't seem like too many thing change. But if you haven't ever been there, there are definitely worse ways to spend...