The Dino Institute is a fictional paleontological research group that serves a central role at DinoLand U.S.A. at Disney's Animal Kingdom.
History[]
Background[]
Dinosaur fossils were first found in Diggs County, Florida in 1947 with the discovery of a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton at the dig-site now known as The Boneyard. The Institute would be officially established two years later in 1949.
The original headquarters for the Dino Institute was an old fishing lodge. The lodge functioned as museum, student quarters, and restaurant for visitors and when a new museum opened on April 22, 1978, the lodge became "Restaurantosaurus".
In the 1990s, the Dino Institute sought out new leadership to better usher them into the 21st century. After a year-long search, they hired Dr. Helen Marsh, who had gained a reputation for saving museums and scientific institutions in bad financial states. Among her first actions would be to buy out Chrono-Tech, a scientific start-up company that was researching time travel, but failed in its efforts to get a government grant. With additional funding from corporate partners, this gamble would pay off with the invention of the CTX Time Rover.
While there were many concerned about moving right into time travel tourism quickly with minimal testing, Marsh wanted time travel open to the general public to drive attendance to the Institute and keep their ongoing research into prehistory well-funded.
Appearances[]
DinoLand, U.S.A.[]
The Boneyard[]
This attraction is themed to being an excavation-site run by the Dino Institute, namely by senior professor and dig-team leader Dr. Bernard Dunn.
Dinosaur[]
This attraction has you enter the Dino Institute's headquarters for a time-travel journey only for your journey to be hijacked by Dr. Grant Seeker behind Dr. Marsh's back as he wants you to go back in time and save an Iguanadon specimen for study. The ride is you in the late Cretaceous within a CTX time-rover trying to find the dinosaur while avoiding others as Dr. Seeker guides you from the future. Eventually you are brought back to the present to avoid the K-T extinction event and you bring the iguanodon with you.
Lucky the Dinosaur[]
Lucky the Dinosaur was a live (audio-animatronic) dinosaur who would walk around DinoLand and interact with guests. It pulled a cart which in later years would be given the Dino Institute's logo, implying they played a part in the animal coming to modern day.
Restaurantosaurus[]
This restaurant is themed around being a repurposed Dino Institute headquarters which has since been dressed up similarly to a tourist-trap and which is filled with fossil replicas, dinosaur paraphernalia and outdated pop-culture depictions of the extinct animals.
Wilderness Explorers[]
The Institute is referenced in relation to the DinoLand, U.S.A. oriented missions of this attraction.
Disney Springs[]
Decor for the Disney Springs Christmas Tree Trail includes posters for the Dino Institute; Disney Springs being set in a Central Floridian similarly to DinoLand, U.S.A.. On the poster is a sign by Dr. Seeker with a crayon illustration of Aladar asking for the dinosaur's wherabouts, indicating it might have escaped to the Disney Springs area. The poster further mentions not wanting those who read the poster to bring it up with Dr. Marsh.
Trivia[]
- The institute's logo features a styracosaurus, this being imagineer Joe Rohde's favourite dinosaur.
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