A Review of JURASSIC QUEST: Social Distancing Family Fun!

This review is NOT sponsored.  I am in NO WAY affiliated with Jurassic Quest.

Hey Mommas, Hey!

Thank you for stopping by to chat this week!  As I’ve recovered from maternal burn out (see details here), I’ve been reminding myself to focus on the things that I can control and the many joyful aspects of parenting.  This led me to memories of a recent trip to Jurassic Quest and encouraged me to share an honest review. 

Jurassic Quest proclaims itself as the largest and most realistic traveling dinosaur event in North America. This was our second year going and funnily our little guy enjoyed this drive-thru version even more than last year’s indoor one!

LAST YEAR (2019): Indoor

Last year we took the little guy to the indoor Jurassic Quest event in Oklahoma City to celebrate his 2^nd birthday.  We invited his best friend and his parents to join in on the fun!

Upon entry you receive a wrist band that gives you access to certain events based on your ticket level purchase.  There were multiple stations to keep the little ones busy to include: life-size dinosaur exhibits, dinosaur ride-ons, bouncy castles galore, a dinosaur puppet show, food vendors, and a large souvenir shop. 

I have to be honest, the little guy was completely terrified of the life-sized dinos at first, which is evident in the pic above where he’s literally jumping out of his wagon! (Ya’ll, I was laughing so hard!) After some time he warmed up to them, but only if we held him. The bouncy castles were unfortunately too big for him and the ride-ons were a hit with the older kids, but again too much for a two-year-old to handle. 

The highlights of our trip were the stagnant displays and the interactive dinosaur puppet show.  The little guy and his bestie were glued to the puppets, and asking for an encore!

THIS YEAR (2020): Outdoor Drive- Thru

This year we were happy to learn that Jurassic Quest would be visiting our area with new social distancing updates: drive-thru exhibits.  The little guy and I were joined by our own personal park ranger driver (a.k.a my hubby), and sat in the back while we enjoyed the exploration!  

Ya’ll, even my hub enjoyed this and kept making comments about scenes from The Land Before Time!

There were 23 exhibits total in a large parking lot at the Oklahoma City Fair Grounds with markers as a guide for driving.  To add to the adventure, the event provides a Jurassic Quest Guided Audio Tour to listen to along the way.  (I recommend having this prepared and setup on your car speakers through blue tooth before entry.) 

Each exhibit is numbered and as you listen to the Guided Audio Tour there are prompt to pause as you move between displays. There are also speakers at each exhibit with dinosaur noises for an added level of prehistoric drama!  The drive-thru took us about 30 minutes due to the 5 mph speed limit, but could take longer depending on how many guests are in the park. 

FINAL THOUGHTS:

This trip helped our family reconnect and bond in a way that we hadn’t in a while due to the stagnant tempo of life in the pandemic.  Who knew dinosaurs would be so therapeutic and uplifting?!  

We laughed we smiled, and enjoyed the opportunity to be in a public place with no fears of COVID-19.  This was more than just a dinosaur exhibit, it was a trip that brought back some missing joy, missing peace, and rekindled our familial unity.  

Overall, I would absolutely recommend the event for a fun family outing.

THIS WEEK’S CHALLENGE: 

This week, let’s challenge ourselves to seek a new adventure with family in the local area around us.  See the challenge on the post entitled A Search for PEACE: Finding Solace in Nature for more encouragement in undertaking this venture. 

This can be a small outing such as a visit to a local park or anything that will break the mundaneness of the current cycle of pandemic funk.  I pray it refreshes you and your family as it did mine!

APPLICABLE BIBLE VERSE: 

Romans 15:13

If you’re like my family, you are still looking for social distancing activities to do with the little ones.  Most things are closed, or if you’re in a state like Oklahoma, things are opened, but you don’t feel safe exposing your family to large crowds.  So, I was excited to learn about this drive-thru event by Jurassic Quest! This week they’ll be in Boston, MA & Philadelphia, PA check out their website for future dates at https://www.jurassicquest.com

I hope that your family is able to catch the next event or enjoy some other nearby adventure soon!  Thank you for allowing me to share REAL LIFE, FROM ONE MOM TO ANOTHER.