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Dinosaurs come alive Thursday at Kings Island

Photos: 2011 Kings Island season

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By Justin McClelland, Staff Writer Updated 7:49 AM Wednesday, May 25, 2011

MASON — Visitors to Kings Island will find the newest thrills coming not from the 80-foot drop of a roller coaster but from 65 million years in the past.

Kings Island will open Dinosaurs Alive!, the world’s largest collection of animatronic (i.e. moving) dinosaurs on Thursday.

For an extra $5, visitors will be able to witness more than 60 dinosaurs, modeled off of real-life, long extinct counterparts, that will stomp, snarl and roar at passersby along the 4,000-foot-long path spread over 12½ wooded acres in the park’s Coney Mall area.

“This is a new kind of experience at Kings Island we feel will appeal to guests of all ages,” said park spokesman Don Helbig.

A few of the dinos will even be able to be controlled by guests wishing to devour a loved one or put the kibosh on a screaming baby.

Among the highlights of this Thunder (Lizard) Road is the Ruyang Yellow River dinosaur. While not as famous as the T-Rex or triceratops, the Ruyang Yellow River will soon make his presence felt to visitors as the single largest animatronic dinosaur ever built. This dinosaur will measure 72 feet long, 12 feet wide and 40 feet high.

“We plan to present the dinosaurs in such a way that it will be like going back in time,” Helbig said.

Dinosaurs Alive! is part of the park’s plan to present a different kind of thrill for those who want to shy away from triple digit drops, Helbig said.

“This is an attraction that could stand on its own,” he said.

The exhibit will be educational and present the dinosaurs in ways that scientists believe they moved, ate and lived.

Dinosaurs Alive! will work hand-in-hand (or hand-in-claw) with the Dinosaurs Alive 3-D experience at the Kings Island Action Theater. Visitors will experience a 10-minute 3-D film exploring dinosaur life. Cost to see the film is $4 or guests can get a combo of film and visit to Dinosaurs Alive for $7.