|
DinoLand U.S.A. Presented by McDonald’s  From the McDon of Time |
||
|
|
|||
Photo by Werner Weiss, 2007 “Over 3 Billion Unearthed”— |
|||
|
Plenty of theme park attractions are sponsored by corporations — but here’s an entire theme park land under the banner of one corporation — but only from 1998 to 2008. Let’s take a walk around DinoLand U.S.A., the land of Golden Arches logos. |
|||
|
|
|||
Photo by Allen Huffman, 2007 Bridge into DinoLand U.S.A. with the recognizable logo |
|||
Photo by Werner Weiss, 2007 Dinosaur playground for single-digit-aged kids |
|||
|
Here at Yester-DinoLand U.S.A., attractions are not simply “presented” by the sponsor. They’re “funded by a generous grant from McDonald’s” or “made possible by a generous grant from McDonald’s Corporation.” The language about grants is consistent with the backstory of DinoLand U.S.A.. The Boneyard is where fossil hunters found dinosaur bones in 1947. This led to the establishment of the Dino Institute, where PhDs and grad students performed scientifically rigorous paleontology, as well as educating tourists about dinosaurs. A corporation might “present” a ride at a theme park for the advertising value, but it would selflessly award “grants” to scientific endeavors. That explains the wording of the signs. |
|||
Photo by Werner Weiss, 2007 DINOSAUR, the attraction originally known as Countdown to Extinction |
|||
|
In 1978, the Dino Institute moved into an edifice that offered 1970s-style dinosaur exhibits. McDonald’s Corporation once again provided the funds. By the 1990s, the exhibits came across as dated. Dr. Helen Marsh, the new head of the Dino Institute at the time, brought in breakthrough technology, The Time Rover, allowing dinosaur research and education using time travel. A grant from McDonald’s made this possible. Dr. Marsh probably assigned the task of seeking the grant to her subordinate, Dr. Grant Seeker. |
|||
Photo by Werner Weiss, 2007 Banner for “The Time Rover,” made possible by a grant from you-know-who |
|||
Photo by Allen Huffman, 2006 April 22, 1978 dedication plaque, with a newer plaque above for The Time Rover |
|||
Photo by Werner Weiss, 2007 Replica of Sue, the biggest, most complete T-Rex |
|||
|
In 1990, fossil hunter Sue Hendrickson discovered an unusually large and complete Tyrannosaurus rex specimen near Faith, South Dakota. The fate of the fossil, named after the woman who discovered it, was determined by a public auction in 1997. The winner, with an $8.4 million bid, was the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. This bid was only possible with support from McDonald’s Corporation, the Walt Disney World Resort, and private donors. Yes, in this case, there really was a generous grant from McDonald’s to an educational institution. The original Sue is displayed at the Field Museum. |
|||
Photo by Werner Weiss, 2007 “Aided by a generous grant from The McDonald’s Corporation” |
|||
Photo by Werner Weiss, 2004 Movie billboard near Chester & Hester’s Dinorama |
|||
|
There are also references to McDonald’s at DinoLand that don’t involve grants. Posters near DINOSAUR are just clever advertising. They include words that reference McDonald’s advertising slogans of the 1990s. |
|||
Photo by Werner Weiss, 2007 A play on “Did Somebody Say McDonald’s?” |
|||
Photo by Werner Weiss, 2007 A play on “Food, Folks and Fun.” |
|||
Photo by Werner Weiss, 2007 A play on “Have You Had Your Break Today?” (follow-up to “You Deserve a Break Today.”) |
|||
Photo by Werner Weiss, 2007 Sponsored theater |
|||
|
The theater where Finding Nemo, The Musical plays is “presented,” not “made possible,” by McDonald’s. That makes sense. It’s not part of the DinoLand U.S.A. backstory. There’s something else you’ll find at DinoLand U.S.A.: McDonald’s food! The menu is not the same as at your neighborhood McDonald’s, but you can get popular items such as Double Cheeseburgers, Chicken McNuggets, and McDonald’s French Fries. In fact, one eatery, Petrifries, only sells Fries and beverages. The other much larger eatery, Restaurantosaurus, has a larger menu. |
|||
Photo by Werner Weiss, 2007 Petrifries for McDonald’s French Fries |
|||
Photo by Werner Weiss, 2007 Petrifries menu |
|||
Photo by Allen Huffman, 2007 Restaurantosaurus |
|||
Photo by Allen Huffman, 2007 The roof of the Restaurantosaurus porch |
|||
Photo by Allen Huffman, 2007 Restaurantosaurus menu |
|||
Photo by Allen Huffman, 2007 A shelf inside Restaurantosaurus with a permanent fast food bag |
|||
|
You just saw a lot of McDonald’s logos in this land — but at least it’s called DinoLand U.S.A., not McDonaldland. Otherwise, guests would be looking for Grimace, the Hamburglar, and Mayor McCheese. |
|||
|
|
|||
|
Disney’s Animal Kingdom opened April 22, 1998, slightly less than two years after McDonald’s Corporation and The Walt Disney Company announced their 10-year global marketing alliance. (For more about the alliance, see McDonald’s Food at Walt Disney World). Thanks to the alliance, McDonald’s was the sole corporate sponsor of DinoLand U.S.A. for the first decade of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. When the marketing alliance ended, Disney and McDonald’s didn’t work out a new sponsorship deal. The McDonald’s logos disappeared from DinoLand U.S.A. That didn’t mean that the land shut down. It only meant that The Walt Disney Company would no longer get the sponsorship revenue from McDonald’s. The shutdown of all of DinoLand U.S.A. would come much later — February 2, 2026 (with February 1, 2026 as the last day of operation). DINOSAUR and Restaurantosaurus operated until the bitter end, after much of the rest of the land had already closed a year or more earlier. Tropical Americas is replacing DinoLand U.S.A. |
|||
|
Click here to post comments at MiceChat about this article.
© 2026 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks Updated January 16, 2026 |
|||
