The stories told at Disney's Animal Kingdom don't happen "Once upon a time." They are all set in the here and now, but that's not to say these stories don't come with their own history. Dinoland, U.S.A., for example, dates back to the 1930s and 40s, when the area was home to nothing more than a fishing lodge (the current Restaurant-osaurus) and a service station (now Chester & Hester's Dinosaur Treasures). This corner of Diggs County started to change forever once the first dinosaur fossils were discovered back in 1947.
Venture into The Boneyard, and you'll discover a tribute to that first fossil set among the continuing excavation work still going on today. The very first bones unearthed were those of a Tyrannosaurus rex:
Nearby is a sign marking the spot. The text of the sign reads:
The Mighty Tyrannosaurus rex
This is the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex, the first animal
excavated on this site. These vast monsters once
lumbered across the primeval landscape of America.
A cold-blooded creature of this bulk could not possibly
have hunted and must have been a scavenger.
Lacking strong arm, Tyrannosaurus used its tail
to help support its huge mass.
Clearly predating the other graphics in the area, this period sign demonstrates one of the primary themes of Dinoland: that our knowledge of these creatures is incomplete and constantly evolving. The image and text on the sign portray T-rex in a way paleontologists no longer believe is correct. Current thinking is that T-rex was a skilled hunter that moved swiftly on strong legs, using its tail for balance.
In the 62 years since this T-rex fossil was discovered, quite a lot has changed in Dinoland. The area has drawn the interest of scientists and the grad students working with them, not to mention scads of dinosaur enthusiasts and entrepreneurs looking to cash in on the tourist trade, but it all started quite humbly - when someone back in '47 stumbled upon a relic of the past.
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