Jurassic Quest is the ultimate stop for the dinosaur lovers in your life.
Dinosaurs have been my son’s obsession since before he could talk. Even from a young age, he’s always been VERY into learning their names and identifying them.
For example, here’s a video from when he was barely 3yrs old:
So last year when I heard about Jurassic Quest, an event filled with animatronic dinosaurs and lots of fun activities for kids, I knew we HAD to go.
This year I’d been stalking their website when FINALLY they released the dates they’d be here in Springfield, IL. And this year I was lucky enough to work with their marketing team to have them sponsor this post, though their sponsorship in no way impacts my thoughts or feelings toward Jurassic Quest.
What is Jurassic Quest?
Jurassic Quest is as close to the dinos as you’ll ever get (barring time travel, but let’s be real – you probably wouldn’t want to see a T-Rex in the flesh…)
They have true-to-life size dinosaurs, ranging from the small Compsognathus – Remember Jurassic Park 2? They were the ones who attacked in the beginning… – to GIGANTIC dinosaurs that you’ll almost certainly see from the parking lot. They have over 100 dinosaurs that truly couldn’t look more real. Even as an adult who’s never really been all that into dinosaurs, Jurassic Quest is a thing of beauty.
Not only that, but they have so many fun interactive events, including BABY dinosaurs. I mean oh my goodness, these things are absolutely adorable (even when they try to steal your child’s paci!)
How Much Does Jurassic Quest Cost?
Okay, my thrifty friends, here’s where you might get a small bit of sticker shock…I know I did when I first saw the prices.
A child’s VIP ticket is $34, a regular one is $20 (which is also what the adult tickets cost). So for a family of four, you’re looking at spending around $110 + taxes and fees.
Now I know that seems like a lot of money, but trust me when I say it’s worth it. You need to just go ahead and invest the extra $14/child in the VIP because otherwise you’ll end up either A) missing out on a lot of fun or B) have to fork out the money for said fun at the event and end up spending more than you would have otherwise.
This is one of those events in which you have to evaluate the ROI in terms of family fun. Yes, $110+ is a lot of money, but you can spend an entire day there and goodness knows you can’t put a price on happy children in need of an earlier bedtime. Not to mention, you’d probably spend 6x that spending a day at Disney World or the like.
Jurassic Quest Review
What Activities Does Jurassic Quest Have?
The activities are what factor into deciding whether or not to invest in the VIP tickets. The regular tickets ($20/child) include the exhibit and the arts/craft station. The VIP include unlimited dinosaur rides, fossil digs, dino scooters, bounce houses, bungee pull, and basically anything and everything at Jurassic Park – save for face painting, souvenirs, and candy. Each of these things on their own without VIP is $5/each.
Allow me to show you in pictures all the fun things we had going on:
There was an egg behind him that was meant to be used as a photo op…but instead he pretended like the babies were going to eat him…
His first time with a motorized kid’s jeep! Fortunately these ones didn’t break down like they did in Jurassic Park…
Riding a dino!
Digging for fossils
Playing on the bounce house! They also have another one for kids under 3.
Jurassic Quest 2017 – arts and crafts table
Fun fossils and lots to learn here!
Free character drawing!
They could’ve spent the entire day just bouncing…
Different times to meet those baby dinos!
Review of Jurassic Quest Gift Shop
Now just like any other amusement park or the like, Jurassic Quest does have a gift shop….a HUGE gift shop that is pretty much impossible for your kids to miss. Luckily, most of the things are fairly priced…save for the Good Dinosaur DVDS, I kinda had to laugh at that one…
I wouldn’t pay $36 for ANY movie…
In 2017, we bought a huge dino playset that included a playmat that my child still uses well over a year later. This year, each child wanted another playset, but they were very reasonably priced at about $20 each.
One of those is *supposed* to be for his sister…
I really REALLY wanted to buy this one!!
Overall, while Jurassic Quest can seem a bit pricey, it truly is fun for the whole family and something I wholeheartedly recommend checking out the next time they’re in your area. Let’s face it, these days you can’t even go to the movie theater as a family without spending $60+, why not pay a bit more to have an experience that your children will remember for years to come?
Have you ever been to Jurassic Quest?
I’d love for you to comment below and let me know what you most enjoyed there!
Thank you for this review, it was very helpful.
We are going to Jurassic Quest and we have a 2 year old (he loves dinosaurs!). We have 2 questions:
Is the VIP ticket worth it for a 27 month old?
Do the adults need the VIP ticket as well or can we get by with just the regular ticket?
Thanks!
I’d say yes to the VIP – they have inflatables specially for little ones, plus other activities that are great for under 3 (excavation activity, scooter ride, fossil dig, etc.) Adult tickets are just one price. 🙂
Thank you, that is very helpful!
Seems like a great opportunity to combine fun with education. How much actual info do we get (e.g. how, when, why they became extinct; how long the extinction event lasted; how the event was related to the rise of mammals and…us)?
There’s plenty of info cards, stands, etc. around that share information on the dinosaurs. There was also video in one section that plays on loop. I don’t recall any actual presentations by people, though.
I am considering taking an 8 and 6 year old to this in Chicago area. Is it worth them? Should we go for the rides?
Absolutely! My kids were younger the first time we went and they still loved it. I’d say your kids are the perfect age for it.
Don’t waste your money. This is a pure money grab. The “rides” are a joke. The kids sit on an anamontronic dinosaur that barely moves it’s head. The souvenir prices are outrageous. I’m guessing some of these reviews are planted by the company. Again, don’t waste your money.
Definitely not a plant, I didn’t get paid for this review whatsoever. I’m sorry your experience was different than mine.
This was the biggest rip off of my life. 170$ for my children to go to this “attraction” with “rides” for their birthday. Then they wanted you to spend more money after you got your tickets. I wasted my childrens birthday money on your bull crap “attraction” I’m disgusted by your misleading and schemes.
I’m sorry you had a poor experience, but I have literally no affiliation with Jurassic Quest. I’m simply sharing my own opinion and experience.
I took my grandson and his wife and their 3 and 5 y.o. to JQ in WI. We had an awesome time. We will go again.
I love that!!
I’ve been with my grandkids and was less than impressed. It looked old and cheesy. Will not go back.
Absolutely correct this whole Jurassic Quest experience was pure garbage! I paid almost $130 for nothing but lines to all attractions that aren’t worth any money. Inflatables deflating on top of children. Two measley food trucks. Everything was overpriced and poorly organized. They say prepare for 2 hours to enjoy the event and one hour is spent standing in line for the kids to spend one min on a floaties with bitter 50 and up blowing whistles like they’re organizing herds of animals not excited children with paying parents. Just pathetic NEVER AGAIN
This place is a dump….like going to a cheap carnival…..just a bunch of inflatable bounce houses held together with duct tape along with some plastic dinos….
If your expecting more for 36 per ticket go someplace else
The ads made this out to be like a Jurassic Park experience with rides, etc. I drove my daughter 2 hours to Cleveland to see it. It cost nearly $100. for tickets for 3 of us with the “unlimited rides” option for my daughter. I guess that’s the “VIP ticket” you’re referring to? Lo, and behold, there were no actual “rides” whatsoever. Just a bunch of inflatable bouncy houses with dinosaur themes on them. Each one of these so-called “rides” had a line a mile long. We waited in line for an hour just so she could go in and bounce around for 5 minutes. We went on to the face painting and other activities, and were told that they cost extra– around $20 per person. The dinos that were there were mostly unfamiliar ones, and most of them didn’t even move. They were just statues with rubber skin. They didn’t even have a T-Rex. Come on! This place seemed to me like just a big money grab, and total false advertising. My daughter was not happy with the experience, and neither was I.
Purchased 2 adult tickets and 3 children unlimited and cost $188. Spent 1hour and 40 minutes in line and still had an additional wait time of 2hrs.and 10 minutes to get to the gate! We ended up leaving without entry due to the fact of being handicapped in braces for me to walk and could no longer stand in line for the additional time it would take just to get to the gate. They sell tickets in time slots supposedly for convenience so not the case in Bristol Tn. March 19 . On top of that I mentioned it to my son and wife and they ended up purchasing 2 adult and 2 children unlimited tickets for their niece and nephew that were here visiting from out of state and they also ended up leaving so they profited over 300$ from us and I will never think twice about purchasing anything in the future and would never give a positive recommendation, wish I would have reviewed more because it sounds like we definitely didn’t miss much except out of pocket was a big hit for nothing in return. There response was we put a lot of time and effort to put on the exhibit and sorry you had a bad experience but as we state before purchasing your ticket we offer no refund forget the fact you purchase a time slot and have to wait 3 hours after to get in !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
See if you can receive a refund that is totally unacceptable
My family & I went to jurrrasic quest last weekend in Amarillo. We’re all adults and knew it was a kiddie attraction but was also hoping to see scientific information as well…like names of each species, where & when found, plant or meat eater, etc There were 2 signs ‘ The replicas were nice, just didn’t know what they were. Disappointing for adults.
It was pricey $124 for 2 adults and 2 kids with a discount. Parking was 10 . The food was extremely over priced I can recall a hot dog 🌭 being 6 dollars. Didn’t even want to check the price of the merchandise that was being sold. I expected more for the price. Unfortunately, I would have to pass if they returned next year.
We are at the Winnipeg event, the lines are ridiculous. Our time started at 115, its 214 and we are leaving. We got to do 1 pic and one bouncy castle climb and thats it. It took 25 mins to get a lemonade.
This is GREAT for kids 6 and under. The value and function decreases exponentially as they go up from there. DO NOT buy the ride pass. Lineups are ridiculous for kids to sit on top of a dinosaur that rocks a little bit. They have a lineup of them but you can wait half an hour to 45 minutes or longer for the kids to have the privilege. There’s a few bouncy castles, some tiny Jeeps, an activity or two – all are underwhelming even for the kids unless they are under 6. We called the company directly to help make a decision, and they said the rides were good for kids up to the age of 12… my nine-year-old was completely bored with them. The add-on adventure pack is not worth it, again more likely to have some value if you’ve got kids in that six year range. Otherwise it’s very expensive for what you get.
It’s worth going to the show to have a look at what they have – the semi animatronic dinosaurs offer some scale. Otherwise there is far more hype than delivery. Save your money.
In Oregon for Lane county it has always been a delight. Well decorated and a lot of effort in making it memorable event. Attention to detail and accessable exhibits.
However the Salem fairgrounds event was a disappointment. Poorly laid out exhibits. VERY long lines. Waited 45 minutes to get in, waited 45 minutes for the robotic walking dinosaur rides for the kids. Add that to an hour drive to participate. An entire day for two rides. I would recommend AVOIDING the Salem fairgrounds Jurassic Quest event.
Went to Jurassic Quest in Abbotsford today. Pricey event for what is there. Advertisement for rides were not worth the extra $$, mostly bouncy castles and extremely long lineups. All in all not worth the money. Quite disappointing for entire family.
I don’t know when you attended this event as I couldn’t find the date, but this is not at all what we saw or experienced! Our event was in fact Jurassic Quest but nothing you posted was at our location. Even the signs alone in your pics weren’t at ours. There surely was no on drawing pictures, clothing for sale, etc.
We had:
4 dig bins for fossils
3 motorized cars driving around a triangle
2 bounce houses
A handful of dinosaurs with saddles to “ride”
Art tables with broken crayons and a paper plate dinosaur craft
A “souvenir” shop if you could call it that
3 inflatable games for older kids (football, soccer, basketball)
Then they got a rub on tattoo when leaving as a prize!
The tickets were 22.00 regular and 36.00 unlimited. The add ins were 15 and 25 for the surprise goodie bags. ALL the tickets were an added 6.00 in service fees and taxes.
There were no baby dinosaurs or puppets. There wasn’t even a Raptor training show the day I went. It was a huge disappointment and complete scam. They shouldn’t be in business if each venue isn’t going to have the same quality materials and displays. Your event looked professional and chalked full of activities.
Oh wow, that’s wild! Are you sure it was put on by the legit Jurassic Quest company? I’ve never known them to be that different, regardless of location.
I didn’t like it very much, because by mistake I made a purchase wrongly and they couldn’t cancel the purchase or change the date of the event to attend another day. That’s theft, and I didn’t like it!
Ooph! That’s super unfortunate, I’m so sorry that happened to you. 🙁
This was not worth the price lines for rides were ridiculous and rides are nothing amazing the walking dinosaur show you can’t even get close enough to see it and the souvenirs were so expensive. We basically paid to walk around a building very dissatisfied.
DO NOT GO. This is likely a scam. Ads like this and reviews are most likely planted based on our experience at the Jurassic Quest in Vegas. We spent over $200 on an experience that was worse than an indoor jump house. Our Unlimited tickets gave us no additional help and we spent over half an hour in a line to jump for 3 minutes in a jumper we could have rented for our own backyard.
This isn’t an ad (heh I wish they’d paid me!!) But I do appreciate the comments being left, negative or otherwise. There’s not been an opportunity to visit Jurassic Quest locally since pre-pandemic, so I’m curious as to how things have shifted seemingly so poorly. Will be looking into it for sure!
There is Jurassic quest (good reviews) and dinosaur adventure (bad reviews) so this is the first I’m hearing at how awful it was. I’m wondering if the event names got mixed and people are thinking this is for dinosaur adventure.
I’m wondering the same! I’ve gone a few times and we’ve never had an experience anywhere close to what’s being said in many of these comments. Eeks!
Please update this post, as now the experience is terrible!!!!!
My family attended Jurassic Quest at the Glass city Center in Toledo Ohio April of 2023.
We spent $140 to spend 40 minutes in the most chaotic, obnoxious and poorly kept experience I have ever participated in.
The dinosaur sounds were too loud and the lights were too dark in the entry space with all of the educational information making it impossible to read and spend time there…
The bouncy houses were in terrible condition and severely disappointing…
The big ones were at best medium in size, and way too chaotic for smaller kids. The smaller ones were restricted to 3 year olds and they were so poorly designed that you couldn’t see your kid to ensure their safety…
The ride on dinosaurs had obvious damage with missing teeth, missing eyes and one of them had an entire jaw ripped apart…
The fossil dig was too difficult for kids to reach majority of the fossils because the sandboxes were square shaped and the middle was unreachable for most kids as their arms are too short.
Who designed all of this and who is in charge of maintaining your equipment, rides, etc?
Also, we bought popcorn at the concession stand, and it was cold and soggy….