Billings Productions, Inc. — Local services in Allen

We came for a 1 hour tour with an 8 year old dinosaur crazy boy and his 5 year old sister. (Had planned to visit Heard Museum but were informed the dinos had returned to their summer shelter at Billings Production). The 8 year old and 2 adults thoroughly enjoyed the tour, however it’s a bit long for the 5 year old. The 30 minute tour would have been fine for her, so if you are planning to come with younger children, consider that. Tristan was our guide, and has a thorough knowledge of the construction facility, the process, and of course the dozens of dinosaur species on display. He had no difficulty answering any of our questions, and was comfortable engaging in conversations with both the children and the adults. Photos are allowed everywhere except the actual manufacturing area, and the models can be touched and in some cases ridden. This is a fascinating place where the true scale of these animals can be appreciated. The science is very up to date, including incorporation of recent findings about skin texture, life cycle from eggs through juvenile, feathers, posture and gait. At $20 for adults, it’s well worth the effort of driving the hour that we did. Note, be sure to tell your GPS the exact address—we just asked Siri for “Billings Production" and were first directed to the old manufacturing warehouse...

This was so fun! We came for their free monthly storytime. When we arrived, there were several tables set up with activities and crafts. After a few minutes, storytime started. It was hard to understand the readers, so my early reader just got up closer to be able to read the book himself as they held up the pages. After the story time, we got to have extra time at the activity and craft tables.

They were filming for a promotion when I went, so we got to have a free tour in exchange for getting filmed (no faces). It was amazing. HUGE dinosaurs and other animatronic creatures. Many didn't move. It was hard to understand the tour guide, especially since it's set in a warehouse and I was following behind the group with a stroller. My kids loved it so much and all the kids in the group would climb on the dinosaurs, large insects, etc. So many photo ops. It was incredible to see some behind-the-scenes aspects of making these huge and artful creatures.

There was a fun dinosaur dig at the end of the tour and a well-stocked gift shop when you enter the building. I paid for the Creature Corral (minimal pricing) for after the storytime, but I'm not sure which part was the Creature Corral vs the tour. It was a ton of fun and hope to go...

We have been interested in visiting this since the boys are interested in Robotics and Coding as well as dinosaurs. My nephews are 7 and 10 and we did the hour tour with Livy. First of all, there were 2 ladies at the front desk when we walked in and they were both full of energy and excitement which was a great tone to start the day off with.

Livy was great with the kids and she was so full of light and knowledge and seemed to have a genuine love for dinosaurs and with giving the tour. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from the time there but we learned so much about dinosaurs and also how they make the the animatronics. While we only got the tip of the iceberg when it came to their process, it was very interesting and way above my non-science brain.

Livy never lost her enthusiasm, interacted wonderfully with the boys and kept them engaged. When we left after the tour, the older boy stated that he had a lot of fun and asked when he thought we could go back for another tour. I call that a win for time and...