Easter here in the UK, we were blessed with some beautiful sunshine – so what better time to check out some fantastic Jurassic Park inspired Dinosaur attractions? We were delighted when our friends over at Paradise Wildlife Park invited us to revisit their park, and look at the newest additions to the ‘World of Dinosaurs’.
Before we jump in – make sure to check out the breakdown of our last visit, which you can find here.
So, what is new at this dinosaur inhabited paradise in Hertfordshire? Well, quite a bit! For starters – when you first walk into the land, through the gates, you now have a ‘Dinosaur Day-care Centre’ on the left-hand side of the path. This small building was not here previously – and it provides a fun additional hands-on activity for children who are looking to explore the park. When you enter the small building, you are greeted with three distinct sections. Penned-off baby Tyrannosaurs coming out of their eggs, a central dinosaur-excrement table where children can put their hands into rubber gloves and feel dinosaur poo (exciting I know!) and then a final section which features small-scale baby dinosaurs on all fours running around on the floor. These cute new additions to the World of Dinosaurs were clearly inspired by something akin to the Jurassic Park Discovery Center at Universal’s Islands of Adventure – and I think this could be the start of a fun additional part of the park which the PWL team can expand upon in the future.
Once you leave the day-care centre you are then also greeted by a couple of new aerial animatronics which use elevation and clever wiring to make them appear as though they are flying. These new Pteranodon animatronics are much larger than the pre-existing one which is perched on a nest – providing a wonderful and encompassing aerial feature which really helps to break up the skyline of the forested area the dinosaurs are set within. I really like the addition of these Pteranodons as PWL have paid clear attention to the way these models are mounted – allowing for certain angles to really make them appear as though they are flying. The animatronics here are nicely done - providing a fun addition to the pre-existing roster of animals which already exist throughout this section of the park.
However, these new Pteranodons are not the only brand new additions to the park. You may remember that last time I visited, I was overwhelmed by the scale and scope of the Brachiosaurus animatronic which PWL featured. It truly is a massive model and a real and impressive feature which captures one of the largest Sauropods believed to exist in all its glory. So, you can imagine by delight when I learned that one of the new additions is a Juvenile Brachiosaurus – joining the rear flank of the adult who has been at the park from the beginning. This dinosaur is another fantastic new addition to the line-up – and is a great way of PWL doubling down on the scale of their Brachiosaurus – by placing a younger model next to it which clearly emphasises the impressive size and scale of the fully grown adult.
Now – these additions are already fantastic, but the piece-de-resistance is the introduction of a brand new Black Abomination – one which has very deliberately been made to mimic the Indoraptor which we see in Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom. Now, whilst I don’t want to dive into the potential trove of copyright issues and rights that this creature may cause, it is very cool seeing our first animatronic representation of an Indoraptor in the flesh. This is something which the Jurassic World revamp of Islands of Adventure would really benefit from – so it is great to see PWL getting ahead of the trend. Now, on the day I visited the animatronic was unfortunately experiencing some issues, but the movements I captured were very advanced – suggesting that the quality of these animatronics will hopefully continue to grow and improve over time. Where PWL can take these animals next we will have to wait and see – but for now this Indoraptor-inspired concoction is a nice addition to the Dinosaur roster on show here.
However, that wasn’t all on show this bank-holiday weekend! To coincide with the debut of the new World of Dinosaur features, PWL had also invited the team from Jurassic Park Jeep 20 to come and join in the fun! Dan and Nat were both incredible – allowing me to get up close with the first ever Jurassic Park Jeep Wrangler replica I have seen in person! They were more than happy for me to take a ton of photos – and Dan even let me hop behind the driver’s seat, something which was a special experience. Having JP20 there was a fantastic idea – as not only did the Jeep and the ACU-uniform clad Dan encourage lots of people to get photographs and ask about the jeep, but it also perfectly captured the core inspiration behind the World of Dinosaurs – the fantastic Jurassic Park saga.
Dan and Nat do an absolute ton of events with JP20 – so make sure to follow them here on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JeepJP20/
So – that has been a look at the recent updates at Paradise Wildlife Park here in the UK! For us UK Jurassic Park fans we don’t have a Universal Studios – so PWL really does fill that void, and offer a wonderful Universal-esque dinosaur experience. Another element PWL have started including is live ‘Meet the Dinosaurs’ – introducing their own version of Blue which children can meet. This really goes even further to create an immersive experience which children will love – really exploring the crucial concepts which UK theme parks have not tackled up until this point.
I really think the new additions to the attraction will prove popular – and I really hope that PWL continue to work with people like Dan and Nat in the future to put on fantastic events.
For now, enjoy the photo gallery and the video below, and look out for a special Podcast Episode on the park dropping soon!
Written by:
Tom Fishenden