Since my husband Austin is the editor of Blue Ribbon News in Rockwall, I sometimes get to tag along with him on media day adventures. Last weekend, he was invited to preview Jurassic Quest — a drive thru dinosaur experience touring the United States — and I knew I couldn’t miss out on the fun. So, we hopped in the car and arrived at Fair Park ready to relive one of our favorite movies in real time.
What to Expect at Jurassic Quest in 2020
Normally the Jurassic Quest exhibition is set up indoors, like a museum. It features life-sized animatronic dinosaurs that nibble on leaves or roar at passerby. Due to COVID-19 safety concerns, the Jurassic Quest team had to get a little extra creative this year. And thus, the drive thru museum experience was born!
While I’m sure getting closer to the dinos has its own appeal, I actually enjoyed the fact that we were riding through the exhibits in our car like Jeff Goldblum and his comrades.
What really ties the experience together is the audio tour available online narrated by the Jurassic Quest team. Since the guides can’t physically sit beside you in the car to share interesting facts about each dino, I think providing a pre-recorded audio tour was a really creative solution. It’s packed full of fascinating information (which is a total bonus learning experience if you’re bringing kids) and it also includes a funny anecdote about a pack of escaped T-Rexes that builds excitement as you travel to the end of the exhibits.
When we visited, we were able to drive through at a nice slow pace that allowed us to spend some time taking pictures and videos of the dinosaurs and actually listen to all of the audio tour. We did try to be mindful of the other cars behind us and keep moving, so the whole ride through Jurassic Quest lasted about 30-40 minutes.
Social Safety Solutions
Since so many of the summer experiences we all normally enjoy are limited or canceled this year due to COVID-19, it was refreshing to do something fun without having to worry about any germs. Guests are required to stay inside their vehicles at all times and may not jump out to take pictures or touch the dinosaurs.
This ensures that you never have any contact with fellow guests or staff throughout the ride, and it means you get to enjoy an “outdoor” activity from the comfort of your air-conditioned car. When you exit the drive thru museum, the Jurassic Quest staff will take a picture of the whole family in your car with some dinos for free. You’ll receive the link to your photo and can share it on social media.
How to Visit Jurassic Quest in Dallas
If you want to live out your Jurassic Park dreams this summer too, grab your tickets ASAP. Jurassic Quest is only visiting Fair Park until July 12, 2020. The cost is $50 per vehicle. You can purchase tickets here and find the free audio tour here.
Since Austin and I visited as guests of Blue Ribbon News, you can find my article about Jurassic Quest on their website here.
Since Austin and I are goofballs, we made a TikTok video of our “Jurassic Park-esque” experience. You can watch that (and make fun of us) here.
Here’s a gallery of pictures I snapped from the car. You can click on each image to expand it.
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