Allllll-

righty, friends, we’re back at it on another trip to Chester and Hester’s Dino-Rama to visit Dino Diner!

Our most recent stop at this wacky and colorful carnival in Animal Kingdom’s Dinoland, U.S.A. was to sip a new drink: the Carnival Cocktail at Corn-Ivores Popcorn Cart, which features Cotton Candy among its ingredients (along with a nice kick of rum). But if you prefer your carnival treats served up in a more traditional fashion, then it’s Dino Diner all the way!

Offering cinnamon-glazed almonds and pecans, cotton candy (naturally!) and frozen beverages (lemonade or Coke), our visit today is focused on an old-fashioned county carnival staple: the Snow Cone!

Atmosphere

Dino Diner is tucked into the very back corner of Chester and Hester’s Dino-Rama, and this teardrop trailer would be easy to miss if not for the enormous dinosaur head sticking out of the right side.

I took these photos after Dino Diner was closed (Dino Diner typically closes about one hour before the park closes, though it can vary). During operating hours, if you’re among the lucky few who can snag one of the umbrella-topped tables, then you’ve definitely scored.

There aren’t too many of them, and since Dino Diner is the only spot serving up icy treats in the immediate vicinity (the nearest cold-snack stop is Dino-Bites Snacks, featuring ice cream), these seats fill up fast with folks trying to escape the sun and heat with a cold snack.

Beyond that, the atmosphere just consists of your primo view of Dino-Rama!

Love it or hate it (it took a while to grow on me), you gotta admit, it certainly is eye-catching… 🙂

Eats

Dino Diner’s menu

is actually a decent size for being such a small place.

Since we’ve already sampled the Cinnamon-glazed Pecans (similar to those you’ll find in each Disney World park) and refreshing Frozen Bacardi Raspberry Rum Lemonade (who says Dinoland is just for kids? 😉 ), it’s high time that we go in for that old classic, the Snow Cone.

Flavor choices are Blue Raspberry, Grape, or Cherry. And for this classic snack, I went with the most classic flavor: Cherry.

The cherry syrup (poured directly over the shaved ice), immediately seeps through the whole cup, so when you start to dig in, every bite is full of the sweet, bright flavor.

Inevitably, I ran into a solid chunk of ice. This might bother some, but I liked how I still had an icy cold treat that stayed icy even as I walked through other sections of the park.

In 95 degrees, most cold treats keep their form for about a minute ;), so I didn’t mind having a big ol’ ice chunk to work through. Plus, I grew up in a southern state, and we do like our ice! It completely befuddled me when I moved to the midwest, and no one seemed to share my same enthusiasm for it…

Anyway, yeah, it’s your basic snow cone. And when’s the last time you saw anyone in a bad mood chomping on a snow cone?

Overall

Dino Diner is a simple stop for a couple of kid-friendly favorites… and, hey, it might be just the stop for the kid in you 🙂 !

Have you tried a Dino Diner Snow Cone? Please let us know with a comment!