China Dinosaur Park, Jiangsu, China

4bearfamily777 5:00 PM May 29, 2012

You'll have a great time with the right preparation and expectations
Public attractions in China have the reputation for being chaotic, crowded and confusing. Dinosaur Park is certainly all these things, but I was surprised by how much my family and I enjoyed it. We have three young kids, we've been living in China for a few years now and speak some passable Chinese- so the fact that despite all these things, I'm still giving this place 4 stars I think says something. First off, I'll say that the vast majority of rides are geared towards teens and above. There are some impressive roller coasters, even by Western standards (Dinoconda was recently reviewed on CNN as "the most terrifying 2 minutes of your life"- google search the article). But even for our children (oldest 4 1/2) they were mesmerized by the dinosaur exhibits, statues and the few rides they were able to go on. Let me break it down: The good: Overall, as of this writing, the park is new and clean (something you don't find everywhere in China). The rides are impressive (unlike say Happy Valley in Shanghai), there are an abundance of free shows (magic, elephant show, seal show, etc), plenty of the signs are bilingual Chinese and English. Even though the rides for younger kids are scant, there was enough in the rest of the park and museum to fascinate my children for the whole day. Changzhou is also out of the way enough so that during off peak days and hours, it is not a packed, mobbed place with long lines- so if you have a combination of good planning and a bit of luck- you may have a pretty good experience from the line-waiting, crowd control point of view. Bathrooms also western and clean but still bring your own TP just in case. The fair: food is passable, there are even hamburger places and a TCBY ice-cream store. But no Western chains (KFC can you hear me?). The food is a bit unevenly clustered so plan well, some areas (the park is divided into 5-6 themed areas like Disney) have 6-7 places to eat, others only 1. No GI issues, the food and stand hygiene seemed OK. But don't come expecting too much. The museum is also passable, the English translations are acceptable- better than most other places I've been to, but don't expect to learn too much and while it does have more exhibits than most other places in China- this is not the NY Museum of Natural History, so be realistic. But all the same, it was enough to have my kids running around looking at the various exhibits. Check out the DIY area on the second floor for some fun art projects. The bad: There is almost NO shade, so if you come on a hot sunny day- you've been warned. Bring lots of shade, hats and sunscreen for the kids (and yourself). Expect to drink a lot of juice and soda (no water fountains- not that you would drink from them anyway). While I went during a slow season and lines were pretty good I have heard from MANY people, that during weekends and holidays that the park is a MADHOUSE. Absolutely do NOT, under any circumstances, go to the park during crowded days- you will hate it. Finally (and I debated whether to include this in the 'bad' section) there are relatively fewer rides for kids under 8, but again my kids were at an age that they still loved just seeing the displays and museums and getting some toys from the gift shop and had a good time- but just so that this review is accurate, I will include this fact. Also, English maps are like gold, but (we don't read Chinese) the Chinese version is somewhat self explanatory. Final tips: -There are some really strange and bizarre things here- I'm not sure what a seal show has to do with dinosaurs, and the parade really does have to be experienced to be believed- but this is part of the fun of living in China and so I'd personally recommend, that other than dinoconda, that you spend the majority of your trip experiencing these uniquely Chinese things about the part. Definitely see the parade and the shows. Check out the museum, try the "odd" (by Western standards) foods and snacks. Be adventurous. Unlike say, Happy Valley in Shanghai (see my review)- there is a lot more quirky Chinese character to this park which makes for a memorable experience. This isn't just a Chinese attempt to "copy" a Western amusement park, they really have put their own stamp of culture on it. -If being adventurous with you food is not your strength, then bring you're own lunch. There are no restrictions. -Again, avoid crowded times and days at all costs. Watch out for the sun and lack of shade. -The distance between the themed areas can be pretty far for the very young and very old. -I didn't go to the waterpark areas, so I cannot comment on them. -Although you do want to go during off-peak times, beware that during REALLY off-peak times (dead of winter), some areas or attractions might be closed. If you're taking a special trip just for the park, you may want to have a Chinese speaking friend call to confirm what will be up a running during your visit.

4inglesito 5:00 PM Sep 30, 2016

Surprisingly clean and well-run
As others have mentioned, China Dinosaur Park is a well-themed, well-run and really clean park about 40-60 minutes by high speed train and a taxi ride from Shanghai Hongqiao station. The taxi from Changzhou North Station to the park will cost around 30 RMB, although they are hard to find at the end of the day and we walked a few blocks along the main road before finding one to take us back. My friend and I basically went in order to ride Dinoconda and, for thrill-seekers, there isn't a lot else here. But there are some fun rides and lots of photo opportunities with plastic dinosaurs. There are some parades/dances which are also brilliantly cheesy and some attractions using live animals which I chose to turn a blind eye to (basically, don't come to China looking for animal welfare!) Queues were bearable for a Sunday in September - the longest we waited was about 50 minutes for the log flume - but loading and unloading is incredibly inefficient, something I also saw at Fuji-Q Highland in Japan. They claim it's for 'safety' but in reality it's a way to spend less on park operating costs. Here are my thoughts on the rides we rode or at least looked at: Dinoconda - a 4D coaster, of which there are very few in the world. Similar to Eejanaika at Fuji-Q and the best way to know how it feels to be the ball in a pinball machine. Fantastic roller coaster, if a bit rough in places. Whirling Dinosaur Car - small spinning coaster, looked very tame so we didn't bother Jet Tower - pretty good tower drop, shoots up first followed by drop from the top. Made more fun if you are sat next to hysterical Chinese teenagers Fire & Water Power - slow 'hang-you'upside-down' kind of ride. My friend rode it and said it was OK Fly Chaser - Pterodactyl-themed suspended carousel - didn't ride King Kong - wins the award for best photo opportunity while being a completely pointless ride. King Kong picks up a car full of disinterested Chinese tourists, looks at it for a bit and then puts it down gently. Hilarious in its world-beating level of nothingness! Dinosaur Mountain - dark roller coaster on motorbike-style cars - really not worth the wait at all Crossing Jurassic - really fun log flume ride with a big splashdown at the end. The middle section is a journey through the age of the dinosaurs and reminded this reviewer of the original log flume at Alton Towers in the UK. Nice for nostalgia and a long, cooling boat ride. Crazy Firedrake Drill - large rotating swing ride. I passed as these ones make me feel quite ill but the screams indicate it's quite a good one And that's about it for 'big' rides - really not much at all, but I still had a lot of fun for just over 200 RMB. In summary, if you are looking for something different in the roller coaster world then it's only Dinoconda that can provide that - but it is definitely worth it!