It’s still kind of hazy, but I remember when I was a kid I went to a park somewhere in Florida where there was a single steel and concrete dinosaur on display. I don’t remember much of anything else for the next 45 years.

But that early dinosaur memory came back to me when I learned about Florida's Dinosaur World in Plant City (between Orlando and Tampa).

I haven’t been there yet, but you can bet I’ll go. One, it looks neat. Two, it looks really neat. Kids, obviously, who have a natural fascination with dinosaurs, should get an absolute kick out of it and when you see the detail the aritsts put into these life-sized dinosaurs, it seems it’d be fascinating for adults as well.

In the museum they feature authentic fossils (real dinosaur eggs, raptor claws, mammoth teeth) and the gift shop is like a Harrod’s for children. Kids also have the advantage of playgrounds and the Fossil Dig and the sight of moving animatronic dinosaur scenes featuring a Brachiosaurus, Triceratops, Pterodactyl, Stegosaurus and, of course, a T-Rex. Incredibly, these models (there are about 150 of them) are as large as 80 feet long and clusters of them are placed in a variety of settings within lush, native vegetation.

A lot of Old Florida attractions have disappeared.

Florida's Dinosaur World seems like it’s one that’s come back.

When you go...
Dinosaur World
5145 Harvey Tew Rd, Plant City, FL 33565
(813) 717-9865


places to remember