Fans of the DINOSAUR attraction at Disney’s Animal Kingdom were shocked this week by the news that the ride’s scheduled refurbishment has been delayed “indefinitely.” Our sources are reporting that this is due to a salary dispute involving the Iguanodon and the Carnotaurus.
The DINOSAUR attraction features a Time Rover -led tour to the late Cretaceous Period in hopes of bringing back a live Iguanodon for research purposes. The seemingly routine trip is made more difficult by constant run-ins with the deadly Carnotaurus, a dinosaur that dwarfs the well-known T-Rex in size.
DINOSAUR closed in July for routine maintenance that was originally scheduled to be only two months. As of this morning, the ride has yet to come back online. This week Disney alerted FastPass+ holders that the ride is scheduled to be closed beyond their initial estimate and that no re-opening date has been set. Speculation has been running rampant about the cause for the delay.
“Disney’s official answer is that they have encountered ‘unforeseen mechanical problems’ to any guests who inquire about the closure,” Zack Cyron, a park guest who had FastPass+ reservations for his vacation next week said. “They seemed frazzled when I pressed a little harder for the truth. I knew then that something was up.”
Our source inside the attraction shed light on what may be the real cause for the delay.
“It’s most definitely a contract dispute,” said Thomas Jefferson Geronimo III, who is a part of the Mechanical Engineering team that services and maintains the Time Rovers. “We took that ride offline in July and the Carnotaurus used that time off to request a raise.”
Geronimo went on to tell us that the Carnotaurus’ request was denied, so he made good on his threats to not show up until his demands were met.
The Carnotaurus has been taking to Twitter to get the word out about his struggles to get equal pay. He started the hashtag #EqualPayForDinosaurs, which has been in the top 5 trending hashtags on Twitter since the news broke.
“It makes me sick that Carno does all the hard work and isn’t compensated fairly,” tweeted Sexisaurus. “Shame on you, @Disney! #EqualPayForDinosaurs”
We contacted the Carnotaurus to get his thoughts on the salary dispute.
“This is pterodactyl crap, man!” the Carnotaurus told us. “I’m what makes this a thrill ride. I am the one that scares everyone, not the Iguanodon. I should be making AT LEAST what he’s making.”
The reasons why Disney refuses to match the Carnotaurus’ salary with the Iguanodon are unclear. We reached out to the Iguanodon for comment, but his publicist responded with this statement:
“Mr. Iguanodon is deeply troubled about the attraction’s prolonged closure due to Mr. Carnotaurus’ salary demands. He is saddened that this petty dispute is causing thousands of families to miss their chance at seeing Mr. Iguanodon perform at this beloved attraction. We hope for a quick and decisive resolution very soon.”
For now, Disney doesn’t seem to be caving in on the Carnotaurus’ demands and are hoping he will cave first. Mr. Carnotaurus appears to be digging his heels in for the long haul.
“I wouldn’t expect this attraction to re-open anytime soon,” Carnotaurus warned us. “I’ve been saving my money since the ride opened in ’98. I can wait this one out for awhile.”
