Dino-Rama’s Fossil Fun Games in DinoLand USA at Disney’s Animal Kingdom had its final day of operation on January 12, 2025. The games of skill and chance will be demolished to make room for an all-new Encanto-themed attraction within the upcoming Tropical Americas-themed land set to open in 2027. In this article, we’ll say our final farewell to Fossil Fun Games in DinoLand USA.
Dino-Rama Fossil Fun Games Farewell
DinoLand USA is essentially split up into two or three parts. The Dino Institute is at the back of the land, and the Boneyard/Restaurantosaurus is in the front of the land. However, the middle of the land contained a section that was so unique it was polarizing – Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama. Inside this roadside carnival, guests could enjoy a spinner ride called TriceraTop Spin and a wild mouse-style attraction called Primeval Whirl. Primeval Whirl closed permanently in 2020 and was demolished from September 2021 through November 2021.
Local entrepreneurs Chester & Hester decided to take advantage of the popularity of the nearby Dino Institute and lure tourists into their roadside carnival to make a quick buck. In addition to the attractions and shopping, guests could also pay to play carnival-style games for prizes. The games were called the Fossil Fun Games, and we wanted to take a closer look!
Located beyond the Dino-Rama sign were five games. While a nearby sign advertised games of chance, there was really only one game of chance, one game of skill, and three competitive games.
Buying Your Game Voucher Ticket
In order to play any of the games, you would need to purchase a game voucher. The game voucher ticket counter was located within Dino-Rama, near the Comet Crasher game. One game voucher was $6 and with that voucher, you could play any of the games one time. If you won the game, you’d be able to pick out a plush prize, with the size of the prize determined by how well you did at the game, or how many guests were playing.
The game vouchers were reused by Disney, but not something that you’d be able to keep once redeemed at a game location. Of course, you could also keep the game voucher if you weren’t going to play a game.
Bronto Score
The first game we’ll take a look at is Bronto Score, a game of pure skill. Of course, there is some luck involved, but you’re certainly at an advantage here if you are good at basketball. The game is simple, make one out of three shots and you’re a winner of a small prize. Want bigger plush prizes? Make more shots for larger prizes.
Unlike other games, you are not playing against anyone else here. Simply make a shot and win a prize.
Whac-A-Packycephalosaur
Man, my spellchecker is not happy. Google tells me the correct spelling of the dinosaur’s name is probably Pachycephalosaur, but even that doesn’t seem right. Either way, the Pachycephalosauria are a group of thick-skulled dinosaurs that are not shy to a little bit of headbutting combat. That’s what makes them the perfect representatives for this game of prehistoric whack-a-mole.
Whac-A-Packycephalosaur is one of two games located in the middle of the Dino-Rama area, with the other games set along the perimeter of the faux parking lot. This is a competition game, with multiple players required. The first player to reach 150 points wins a prize. Each whack earns you 10 points. The size of the prize is determined by the number of guests participating.
Fossil Fueler
If I had to guess, Fossil Fueler would’ve been the favorite game of gas station owners turned carnival operators Chester & Hester. In Fossil Fueler, players shoot a water gun at a target to “fill up” their tanks.
Like Whac-A-Packycephalosaur, this is a competition game, requiring guests to play against each other and only one winner is declared at the end of the game. The size of the prize is determined by the number of guests playing at a time.
Mammoth Marathon
Mammoth Marathon is somewhat unique in that it is both a game of skill and competition. Yes, Fossil Fueler takes some amount of skill, but Mammoth Marathon is probably the most lopsided game at Fossil Fun Games.
In order to win, guests must race their mammoth from one side of the game kiosk to the other. In order to make their mammoth move, guests roll a ball into a hole, sort of like Skee-Ball. Where the skill comes into play is the fact that there are three levels that correspond to making your mammoth travel faster or slower. If you’re good at the game, you can hit the upper “run” target more often than not, making your way across the game board quicker. If you struggle to hit the upper targets of “run” or “trot”, your ball defaults to a “walk” pace.
Similar to other games of competition, your prize size depends on the number of guests playing. Here’s a look at Mammoth Marathon!
Comet Crasher
The last game that we’ll take a look at in Dino-Rama Fossil Fun Games is the only game of chance – Comet Crasher. Of course, just like Bronto Score isn’t pure skill, Comet Crasher isn’t pure chance either. Some people claim to have a better technique than simply tossing the ball and hoping for the best, but I’d imagine that most guests look at this game as pure luck, so that’s what we’ll go with.
Comet Crasher is one of the more popular games because of the luck factor. Of the two ball-tossing games, Comet Crasher offers you four throws instead of the three offered at Bronto Score. Comet Crasher is also one of the most kid-friendly games, with young kids allowed to sit on the counter to throw a ball.
Comet Crasher asks guests to throw a wiffle ball into one of a few prize holes. Of course, the prize holes are surrounded by no-prize holes, so if you miss, your ball falls through the table and you don’t win. If your ball finishes in a prize-winning spot, you’ll win a plush prize that corresponds to the color of the prize hole that your ball is resting on top of. Here’s a look!
Fossil Fun Games Prizes
Fossil Fun Games ended on a whimper, with all themed prizes sold out for its final day of operation. That said, there have been various prizes over the years, and unthemed prizes were actually the norm! It wasn’t until 2020 that Walt Disney World implemented themed DinoLand USA prizes at Dino-Rama.
As you can see below, there were a number of different plush sizes to correspond with the level of prize that you’d win. The themed prizes were based on characters represented in DinoLand USA. For a more detailed look at some of the prizes, check out our earlier article!
We’ll wrap up this article with a look at the photo booth (which has been out of order), the merchandise cart, and the outdoor vending kiosk – all within the Dino-Rama section that is now permanently closed at DinoLand USA.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!
