Jurassic Kingdom dinosaurs at Osterley Park
If you’d asked me five years ago what my favourite dinosaur was, I’d probably have looked at you blankly. And a bit suspiciously. Now, with a small daughter, I not only have a favourite (ankylosaurus), I can even give you reasons (spiky back, club like tail, enough said).
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I don’t quite know why we grow out of that childhood love of dinosaurs which seems to fascinate all small kids: frankly, learning more about them as an adult, they’re even more intriguing than I remember.
So while we’ve seen a few models and plenty of fossils and recreated skeletons, not least Dippy the diplodocus at the Natural History Museum, the chance to see them come to life was hugely tempting – in the shape of the Jurassic Kingdom dinosaurs, a series of animatronic and model dinos starting their UK tour this month in London.
Even better, they were just down the road from us at Osterley House and Park, roaring, shrieking and fighting among the woods and grounds of the historic mansion.
Delayed slightly by our holiday in Cape Verde, our first opportunity to visit came today although there’s still time to see Jurassic Kingdom there until April 17 when it moves on around the country, stopping in Birmingham, Manchester, Blackpool. Glasgow, Newcastle and Leeds over the next six months.
More than 30 animated dinosaurs, plus static models, mean you can spot brachiosaurus grazing on the trees overhead or Tyrannosaurus Rex roaring, threatening and outright munching on other less fortunate creatures.
And the effects are pretty impressive: swaying tails, moving heads, even blinking eyes, not to mention those roars, shrieks, grunts and one which sounded uncannily like an elephant.
Each dino has an information board with facts, figures, background and trivia, so there’s plenty for all levels of interest, whether you’re more focused on the ones with 50 banana-sized razor sharp teeth or the palaeontologists who first discovered them.
Jurassic Kingdom is also upfront about any liberties taken with historic periods, including dinosaurs which wouldn’t actually have lived at the same time (small children can be very particular about these things, including one small boy I overheard today!)
There are as many ferocious meat-eaters as huge plodding herbivores, tiny vicious raptors and even a baby emerging from an egg, not to mention the pterosaurs flapping overhead.
Nothing is sugar-coated: more than one dinosaur comes to a painful end which left my daughter completely unfazed and was a great way to bring them even more immediately to life.
With a single loop to follow, and dinosaurs at regular intervals, it was easy to keep kids moving through the bluebell-lined paths as well. In the centre, by the den building, was a play area – ride the dino (for £2 extra) or more excitingly, excavate your own fossil with ‘bones’ buried in the sandpit.
I was impressed at the detail, as my daughter burrowed down, we found teeth as well as the skeleton. Helpfully there are also food stalls and toilets here, as well as at the entrance.
The rest of the models are less interactive with signs saying ‘don’t touch’ – sadly something which more than a few people ignored. When a few unexpectedly sprang to life, it was very satisying to see them jump as a result…
About the only section which didn’t work quite so well was the documentary in the education tent. It seemed interesting but with the buzz of excited chatter and the only seats left towards the back, I couldn’t really make out what was going on in any detail (let’s just say it ended badly for one dinosaur, more happily for a lot more hungry carnivores).
Minnie seemed fascinated, even if she didn’t have much more idea what was going on so if you can get a better seat or a quieter day, do…
You can also hire virtual reality headsets in another area, although we skipped that as even 3D leaves Minnie a bit baffled: great for older kids though.
Because when the reality is so tempting, with triceratops and ankylosaurus (hurrah!) plus some less common dinosaurs tucked among the trees, a walk in the woods has never been so much fun.
Need to know: Dinosaurs at Osterley Park
Tickets for the Osterley show cost £13.50 for adults if pre-booked, £11.50 for children (aged three to 16). Prices for the other six cities are £11.50 and £9.50. Prices on the gate are higher for all locations. Family tickets are also available.
Jurassic Kingdom is open daily from 10am to 6pm, with the last entry at 5pm, and you’re asked to select one of the hourly time slots. Once you’re inside you can stay as long as you want – we spent around two hours. Even on a busy day during the school holidays I saw a few people paying the higher price on the gate, although prebooking the earlier slots in the day would be ideal.
Each location in the six cities is different, including parks and botanical gardens, but it will only be closed for major weather issues so there are no refunds for rainy days unless it’s cancelled entirely.
We weren’t the only family to bring our own dinosaur along (Jamie the T-Rex…) resulting in various envious looks. There is also a merchandise stall by the entrance/exit if you don’t.
To see what else there is to discover at Osterley Park, check out my posts on the natural play area and looking inside the house itself.
PIN FOR LATER: JURASSIC KINGDOM DINOSAURS
Disclosure: We received free tickets for the purpose of review. All opinions and blood-thirsty four-year-olds are my own. This post contains affiliate links – any purchases you make are unaffected but I may receive a small commission
Images and video copyright MummyTravels
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I love the sound of this and so would my daughter. Shame I’m going to miss it in London – especially as its down the road from me but perhaps we could catch it in Leeds when it arrives there.
there.
Definitely worth arranging a visit up there for when the dinosaurs arrive
What a wonderful idea to make this a touring show, though I wouldn’t want to be the one stuck behind the moving convoy on the motorway as it relocates! Looks like you choose a wonderful day to go and visit and the models do look very impressive, even if you couldn’t go up and touch them all. Osterley Park looks like a perfect dinosaur kingdom, I’m sure it will make many young enthusiasts who visit even more in love with these ancient creatures.
Thank you for sharing with me on #CountryKids
Yes, it’s a lovely idea to have it in so many cities – it’s a big bonus living in London, but glad not people outside the capital are going to get to discover them as well. I do have a rather fun image of a gigantic T-Rex on a trailer roaring up the motorway now too.
Gosh, what fun. I can imagine there woudl be so many youngsters who woud absolutely love this. Mich x #CountryKids
Absolutely – a lot of very thrilled small people when we visited alone.
We visited on Good Friday! We had a lovely day out. I was really impressed with the detail on the dinosaurs.
I’d also love to visit the Park again the grounds are amazing. Stopping by from #CountryKids.
It was really impressive, wasn’t it – and Osterley is lovely. When there aren’t dinosaurs around they’ve got a natural play area in the woods as well as lots of gardens.
What a great day out. We’ve got a similar park, Dinosaur Adventure, 5 minutes up the road from us and when we had season tickets we were often there 3 or 4 times a week! #countrykids
Oh I’ve read about that but never been – should add it to my list
This looks way cool for any kid! Even I would have liked it as a kid! #CityTripping
Definitely brought out the big kid in me too.
This looks like great fun #citytripping
Very!
Sebby is dinosaur mad and I really wanted to take him to see this but I am fast running out of time
They’ve moved on from London now unfortunately but it was great, so if you’re heading north over the summer or later this year, definitely worth keeping a eye on the dates,
It’s a shame this moves on before we are back in London – I am envious of photos I have seen of runners at Osterley parkrun with a dinosaur backdrop! #citytripping
Now that would be a fun run – definitely worth seeing if you can make a day trip to Birmingham to see them.
Anything to do with dinosaurs is definitely a winner with kids! This reminds me of the recent Dye-nosaur Gardens and Zoo-rassic Park we had here in Singapore and my boys loved them. I’m sure they would wish they were in UK for this. #CityTripping
They sound really fun – dinosaurs are always a winner.
They sound really fun – dinosaurs are always a winner.
Ooooh! I’d seen lots of pictures of this but I didn’t realise they were animated! My boys would totally love it! I will have to check out the up coming dates. #CityTripping
Do – they were really impressive.
I think I’d love this too:) #citytripping
🙂
We love dinosaurs! Reminds me of a dinosaur show we saw at a botanical gardens in FL – it was the coolest ever. Amazing how much they look like real dinosaurs! #citytripping
That sounds very fun – and they were distinctly convincing, especially if you’re little.
Looks fantastic. Shame it’s not coming as far north as Aberdeen. Touring shows often stop at Glasgow and/or Edinburgh which isn’t that far north at all, but I always assume it’s down to population size. My boys would love this. Triceratops is my favourite. #citytripping
If you can get to Glasgow, I’d definitely recommend it – it must be tricky to find the space for something like this, but the closest to the South West would have been Birmingham or London too so definitely think it’d be popular if they kept going beyond the half dozen cities planned.
What an awesome park! My son would love this! He has been dying to go to London and was disappointed I went without him this past February. Now I can add this to our itinerary for when we go! #citytripping
It is fantastic there – the dinosaurs have moved on now I’m afraid (as of yesterday) but it’s a lovely place to visit regardless.
It seems like this is a well thought out traveling exhibit with something for everyone. I chuckled at how some people who ignored the Don’t Touch signs were surprised by the dinosaurs “coming to life”. That would have been a fun bonus while visiting 🙂 #citytripping
This looks cool! I don’t think we have anything like this in the US, but I’m going to keep my eye out! How fun to see the “dinosaurs” in the forest, I’m sure giving them a much more real feel! #citytripping
I was obsessed with dinosaurs when I was a kid – I would have loved this!
I hope my future kids will be as obsessed with dinosaurs as I have always been, so I can use them as an excuse to visit a place like this!! 😉
This looks like a lot of fun. I love the fact there were some that unexpected sprang to life (happen to me once in madam Tussad – biggest fright ever!) #citytripping
Defintely – quite a few startled faces!
This looks like so much fun. My boys would love digging for the dinosaur bones! #CityTripping
It’s a lovely addition, brushing the sand away to reveal the skeleton
That sounds fabulous – I knew it was on but we didn’t try to see it as the girls don’t seem all that interested in dinosaurs. I wish we’d taken them anyway now having read this – it sounds like there was plenty to see, and I know my girls would have loved digging for fossils. Sounds like you all enjoyed it 🙂 #countrykids
I think even if they’re not hugely into dinosaurs, most kids would have fun here. Perhaps you’ll meet them another time somewhere else? 🙂
I do like the idea that these are all lurking in the great outdoors rather than in an indoor museum. My kids went through the obligatory dinosaur phase – they’re not as obsessive as they used to be but I’m sure they’d love this. #citytripping
It’s definitely more fun – for a while as a toddler, my daughter had it in her head that there were dinosaurs which ‘lived’ in museums, and ones which lived in the jungle. She was in two minds about whether these might be real before we turned up too 🙂
I am sad that we have missed this as I don’t think any of the other venues are near to us. Monkey loves dinosaurs and his favourite is the same as yours! #CountryKids
Excellent taste! That’s a shame – if you’re thinking of another city break later in the year, might be worth trying to co-ordinate with the tour?
I want to see!!!!
The dinos looks so awesome. A nice way to see them as oppose to them being always displayed inside.
#countrykids
It was really fun spotting them in the trees – made it all a bit more real.
This looks like an amazing experience! They look so real! We love going to the dinosaur park at Knebworth House but how amazing to see them move too. #CountryKids
It was great – I hadn’t realised Knebworth had dinosaurs too, we might have to try a day out there.
I have lost touch with the latest Jurassic Park series. I think the last Jurassic movie I watched was with Sam Neill as the lead actor, lol! How much have I lost touch with these dinosaurs? Well, the only dinosaur I know is T-Rex. If you mention other species of dinosaur, I’d probably give you a blank look! #CityTripping
P.S. Glad that you and the family had fun at Jurassic Kingdom 🙂
Funnily, I’ve never actually seen a Jurassic Park movie! Maybe I should catch up, although it’s one of those things where I feel I know half the story anyway.
Loving the look of this attraction. They are very realistic. #CountryKids
Very – especially with the noises too.
My son would have so loved this when he was a little boy. Looks like a fun place. #citytripping
Very much – perfect for young kids.
We have a similar park in Romania, it’s a lot of fun for kids of all ages 😉 #citytripping
Kids love dinosaurs the world over, I think 😀
Very cool you get to touch some of them. And excavate too!
I loved the excavation sandpit – rather fun to uncover a dinosaur even if it’s not genuine.
Lovely post! My boyfriend and I went along to Osterley to blow some cobwebs away after his 40th birthday celebrations – we saw the dinosaur exhibition and were very excited but decided not to go in as we didn’t have any kids in tow… We tried to peek around the bushes but didn’t get to see much – shame, it looked like fun! Our trips are decidedly adult (wine tours mainly!), it would have been nice to embrace our inner child! #citytripping
Thanks! It was very fun – the bonus of having a small child that you can go and stare at dinosaurs 🙂