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Primeval Whirl is Now Being Demolished at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Credit: Disney

Primeval Whirl over in DinoLand U.S.A. in Disney’s Animal Kingdom closed with the rest of the Walt Disney World Resort on March 15, 2020 when non-essential activities were put on hold across the country in response to COVID-19. Well over a year later the ride has remained closed, and today we learned that crews are at work demolishing the DinoLand attraction.

Credit: Brittany DiCologero / Disney Fanatic

While most of DinoLand U.S.A. opened in 1998, the same year Disney’s Animal Kingdom opened, Primeval Whirl was a later addition brought to the park in 2002. For a number of years it was prominently featured in advertisements for Walt Disney World (which was kind of an odd choice if you ask us) but the attraction received mixed reviews from fans throughout its entire lifespan and it rarely drew a wait time longer than about 25 minutes.

Primeval Whirl, in case you are unfamiliar, basically told the same story as the DINOSAUR ride does in a much more cartoony, less scientific way. The ride vehicles were designed to look like time machines and the artwork featured throughout the roller coaster was really a comedic take on the Dino Institute’s more serious attempts at time travel close to the time when the meteor struck the dinosaurs.

Credit: Disney

The ride was a steel wild mouse style roller coaster, which sat four Guests per time machine bringing them up and down hills and around sharp turns giving the illusion that they were about to fall over the edge. The final portion of the attraction let the ride vehicles spin as it whipped around turns and endured a few short hills downward back to the station, creating a sensation that some Guests loved and others…not so much.

Credit: Brittany DiCologero / Disney Fanatic

We’re sad to see Primeval Whirl close, and while we’ve known it was a permanent closure for some time now it’s still a corner of DinoLand that now has a bit of uncertainty surrounding it. DinoLand is underrated in my opinion, (and I may be biased on that one because I worked there during my Disney College Program), but we just hope something new and exciting takes over Primeval Whirl’s old spot and it isn’t left empty for too long!

About Brittany DiCologero

Brittany is a New England-based writer focused on the history of the Walt Disney World Resort. She is the author of "Red, White, and Disney: The Myths and Reality of American History at the Walt Disney World Resort," and "Brittany Earns Her Ears."

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