With the closure of several locations in Dinoland U.S.A., we wanted to take a final look at a few of the many hidden details present throughout the land. We have already taken a long final look at Chester and Hester’s Dino-Rama. Now it is time to say goodbye to Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures.
The Details of Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures
Meant to look like a tourist trap one finds on the side of a highway, part of the charming appeal of Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures was its colorful lack of organization.
According to the land’s lore, Cester and Hester created this shop out of their old gas station, capitalizing on recent dinosaur discoveries in their hometown. As an example of the millions of little details we are about to find, the ground around the building had old tire tracks and cracked pavement.
Many of the outdoor signs lining the roof featured cheesy puns, and even this weather vane had a swimming dinosaur on one end. If you want a longer breakdown of all the tourist signs lining the roof and buildings surrounding Dinoland U.S.A., our Dino-Rama article has an exhaustive list.
Before you even enter the shop, items belonging to Chester and Hester could already be spotted outside. This bicycle was hanging upside down, and the ladder behind it seemed to be used more often as a shelf for a rock collection.
There were some fossils (real or fake) mounted on the walls around the doors.
A dinosaur statue was also stuck to the wall.
Now let’s open that squeaky red door one last time and take a look around the best store in Diggs County.
The inside of the store was almost overwhelming with how many knick-knacks and dinosaur memorabilia were on display. A large dinosaur figure was in the center of the shop, drawing attention. A miniature train track encircled this dino and the entire center room of the store.
Sticking with their gas station history, this sign for “Dino Gasoline” was likely how the couple renamed their business after making the whole area dinosaur-themed.
All of the shelves holding merchandise in Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures were absolutely covered in fun props. Here, it appears the store owners made a diorama (or Dino-Rama?) scene using small dinosaur figurines. Notice the dinosaur peeking out from the top of the Coca-Cola cooler.
There were more fossils nailed to the shelves. And what exactly is that T-Rex doing inside the orange pot?
A lack of space was no problem for this inventive couple! A collection of fossils and rocks were placed between the beams holding the ceiling, with one industrious little Stegosaurus figure climbing up the side of a bone.
If you squint a little harder, you may have noticed tiny dinosaur keychains hanging from the beam on the roof.
Two nearby dinosaurs peeked down at guests from a shelf. Although, that green dino on the right looks suspiciously like Godzilla.
A framed poster told the “Correlated History of Earth,” from modern history back through the age of the dinosaurs.
This worn Coca-Cola thermometer had seen better days. A small plastic lizard poked out from behind the top right corner.
This “Geological Timeline and the History of Life in North America” showed different species from over the centuries, including dinosaurs.
Even the backstage areas of Dinoland U.S.A. were themed. Instead of a usual “Cast Members Only” sign, this door leading to the storage of the shop was for “Shopkeepers Only.”
We are not sure what the number “14” posted above the door could represent. Perhaps it was referencing its own demise, as October 14 of 2024 was the date this first half of Dinoland was announced to be closing.
It may be rare enough to find one fossil, but Chester and Hester had us beat. Hanging on a white wall was a skull with pointed teeth holding a second fossil in its mouth.
Several framed photos and memorabilia were in this corner of the shop.
The item on the top left is called a “Mammoth Elephant Tooth” said to be found on Venice Beach in Florida. On the bottom right, the framed $1 was supposed to be the first dollar Chester and Hester earned from their business. Zooming in a little closer, we see two framed photographs of the store’s founders, Chester and Hester.
Another photo of the couple was in a dinosaur frame on a small shelf. More fossils were mounted on the wall around them.
Below the pictures was the September 7, 1973 edition of LIFE magazine all about dinosaurs. And next to that was the Sinclair Dinosaur Stamp Album.
Other shelves in the store are used to store crates, many of which have handwritten labels. The box on the left is supposed to be for brushes and trowels.
More dioramas – sorry, Dino-Ramas – could be seen around the store. Here a horde of dinosaurs seem to be attacking a small town, not unlike a zombie movie. Are the two tall figures on the right also Godzilla?
Behind the Godzillas was a skyscraper. Dozens of silver moons and stars hung from the ceiling above.
Chester and Hester seemed eager to show off their unique dinosaur figures. The two Stegasauruses, or Stegasauri, attached to the roof were pink. Meanwhile, the orange Brontosaurus had some very pointy teeth. Oh, and two heads!
A blue ceiling beam was covered in a mixture of dinosaurs, license plates, and some half-painted nails.
Two of the license plates were for Mississippi and South Carolina, with the numbers 399-999 and A-4201 respectively.
This metal bracket was turned into the body of a green dinosaur, looking cool in some swaggy sunglasses.
It appears either Chester or Hester has a fascination with dinosaur films. This poster is for a movie “Alive with Thrills that Started a Million Years Ago!” The name is cut off but it’s the 1960 film “Dinosaurus!”
This poster is for “At the Earth’s Core” and comes courtesy of the creator of “The Land that Time Forgot.” This real sci-fi film was released in 1976.
Another poster peeks out from behind a diorama of dinosaurs on a boat. The poster’s tagline is “Like nothing you’ve ever seen before.” It seems to be for the 1961 film “Gorgo.”
Following along the roof corner, the dinosaurs also opened their own miniature gift shop.
The store was called “Dino Depot Bone-A-Fide Gifts” and advertised a big sale. Based on the line waiting to get in, it seems the sale was working.
All across the painted roof wall, dinosaurs had been glued sideways in lines and patterns. We also liked the swinging dinosaur plush in the right image.
More sideways dinosaurs crossed the large words “We’re Dealin’ ‘Em.” The green dinosaur at the right with red boxing gloves was one of the old Dino-Rama prizes.
A tiny dino Ferris wheel was atop a dino bridge.
More dinosaur figures were on a shelf in front of a poster for “The Land That Time Forgot.” Pinned around the poster were dozens of pictures and postcards featuring dinosaur illustrations.
A brave little orange dinosaur was crossing a piece of wood connecting two parts of the overhead track.
An Ankylosaurus was at the edge of a broken grate with a cactus.
Several dinosaurs were riding a train along the track. One of the train cars was branded “Chester & Hester’s.”
In one upper corner was a large Dino-Rama diorama featuring a desert scene. Dozens of dinosaurs were on a sandy hill, while more seemed to fly thanks to string.
At the top of the hill was a windmill and the entrance to a mine. The dinosaurs didn’t seem bothered by the incongruous setpieces.
In another corner, some dinosaurs were about to be overtaken by an exploding volcano. Nifty light effects made it look like real glowing lava was inside the mountain. The effect was aided by painted orange explosions on the wall.
Other dinosaur figures hanging from the ceiling included models made of pre-cut wood pieces.
A piñata Triceratops was hanging under some metal dinosaur figures. A green dino was hanging on the other side of the beam.
Some dinosaurs were suspended in the air with little canvas parachutes.
“Pick our bones” was along one wall, encouraging visitors to pick out their own bones to take home.
There were several Coca-Cola references in the form of bottles, boxes, signs, and more. Disney and Coca-Cola have a long-standing partnership.
Suspended from the rafters was this inflatable green T-Rex with a sign saying “Guard Dino.” We also enjoyed seeing the small figure of a Triceratops facing off with a lizard in the top right corner.
This red dinosaur figure appears to be a Carnotaurus, like the one featured on the nearby DINOSAUR.
It looks like a green dragon snuck into Chester & Hester’s This could be a reference to the abandoned Beastly Kingdom idea. Beastly Kingdom was one of the original lands planned for Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and a dragon is still featured on the park’s logo and signage. When budget issues hit the park, Disney decided to build DinoLand first and circle back to Beastly Kingdom. But they never did.
Some more fossils and crystals were on these shelves, surrounded by dinosaur trading cards. White, blue, and green dinosaur cutouts were pinned to the brown board below.
High up between the rafters, newspaper and magazine clippings of dinosaur artwork were paper-mâchéd to the walls. These were mostly comic strips of dinosaurs.
Tucked behind a Coca-Cola crate was an “Amazing Spider-Man” comic from long before Disney owned Marvel. Research tells us this is a 1990 “Adventures in Reading” starring the Amazing Spider-Man traveling “through time and space in the battle against illiteracy!” The cover features three dinosaurs on a book.
But don’t let Spider-Man distract you — that was a Batman comic to the right. This is issue #8 of “The Batman Chronicles” from spring 1997. In the story, Batman faces off against a robot dinosaur, and the cover reflects this with the masked crusader in the T. rex’s jaws.
A T. rex’s head had been stuck on top of a gas funnel next to more Coca-Cola crates. Behind it was a barrel marked “W 1931.”
The dinosaurs varied from relatively accurate figures to cartoonish toys with articulated limbs.
Here’s another Carnotaurus, this one wearing silver beads around its neck.
There appeared to be a third Carnotaurus hanging out with a T. rex at the end of this shelf.
Speaking of T. rex, there was framed artwork all about the king of the dinosaurs, including a look at its skeletal structure. Another framed work depicted dinosaurs from “250 Million Years of Prehistoric Life.”
An old gas pipe was converted into the neck of a green dinosaur painted on the wall. There were splotches of paint and dinosaur cutouts around the doorways.
A gas pump nozzle similarly became the neck and torso of this painted dinosaur. This is similar to the logo for Fossil Fueler, one of the Dino-Rama carnival games.
Families of dinosaurs were represented in this scientific artwork.
There were some vintage-style drinks machines. One was actually used to hold beverages for sale.
This framed piece titled “Age of the Giants” depicted several different types of dinosaurs.
A retro gas pump was next to one of the merchandise displays. It sold “Premium” gas.
It lacked a logo on its circular top. A sign on the side warned “For use as a motor fuel only” and “contains lead.”
A blue section of wall was covered in framed dinosaur comic books, black-and-white photos from films, postcards, and artwork.
There were several issues of the “Star Spangled War Stories” featuring dinosaurs and “Gorgo” comics. One of the black-and-white photos appears to be from the 1914 short film “Brute Force” a.k.a. “The Primitive Man,” directed by D. W. Griffith. This was the first live-action depiction of a dinosaur in film.
If one of the photos in the above picture looks familiar, that’s because it’s a Disney original. The Stegosaurus and T. rex facing off originated in Disney’s “Fantasia.” Animatronics of these dinosaurs then debuted at the 1964 New York World’s Fair as part of the Ford Magic Skyway attraction. The animatronics, pictured, later moved to Disneyland where they remain as part of the Primeval World diorama on the Disneyland Railroad. Similar dinosaur animatronics also appeared in Universe of Energy at EPCOT.
This shelf held “Hester’s Dino Rocks!” The dinosaur figures were arranged like a band, with music notes painted on rocks. A pair of rocks to the sides were painted like speakers.
There were some birdhouses made of license plates.
These golf clubs on the wall were all painted green with dinosaur faces.
There were a couple of dinosaurs made out of bottle caps. Also check out the extra train tracks on this shelf.
Stuck to the wall around an old payphone were more vintage dinosaur comics and postcards. You may recognize some more “Gorgo” artwork.
One of the postcards was from Lake Cumberland in Kentucky. Others were from Missouri, West Virginia, and Hawaii. One postcard was addressed to Hester and Chester in DinoLand, although it’s so faded, it’s almost impossible to read.
Numbers scrawled on the wall were for Dino Dan’s Dino Repair, Keith’s Fossil Prices (lowest in DinoLand), and Rafeal’s Auto Painting.
This sign above a doorway read “No Dinosaurs Allowed.” That should be no problem.
Another sign with colorful dinosaurs atop it read “Curb Your Dino.”
A crate placed on a shelf of honor is labeled “Chester’s Fossils ’56.” Though Chester and Hester started out as shopkeepers, they did eventually become archaeologists.
Plus, notice the painted dinosaur shapes on the underside of the shelf. They have spots like they were painted using a sponge.
Part of the shop resembled a garage, with cardboard boxes tucked into the rafters.
There were also more dinosaur figures glued to the rafters. One long-necked dinosaur had a painted face, like it was wearing makeup. An Ankylosaurus was biting its tail.
This shelf was made from a recycled car bumper and used to support more dinosaur figures and fossils.
A Quaker City Motor Oil sign was on the wall below the bumper shelf.
Jars secured under shelves and on the ceiling held little dinosaur figures and supplies like nails.
Above a shelf selling hats was a wooden dinosaur sign with “Hats” spelled out thanks to cut license plate pieces.
There were some frisbees featuring various cartoon dinosaurs.
Chester and Hester managed to sneak in a few refrences to McDonald’s, such as this hanging keychain and a plastic bag with the famous yellow “M.” McDonald’s was the original sponsor of DinoLand U.S.A.
Dinosaur Treasures was home to the only pressed-penny machine in Dinoland U.S.A.
This machine was where guests could get some unique dino-themed pennies over the years.
We decided to go ahead and pick up a final set of the last three designs, which included a cheetah as well as Aladar and the Carnotaurus from DINOSAUR.
Each of the exit signs had their own unique decor. Several dinosaurs decided the exit was the perfect place to perch and watch over guests. But, before we leave…
We need to stop and pay! Thankfully, the store had an obvious blue arrow sign as a reminder.
By the time we finished touring Chester and Hester’s wares, it was already dusk. With one last look, Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures has now faded into history.
The attractions and areas in Dinoland U.S.A. now extinct include TriceraTop Spin and the Fossil Fun Games in Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama. The entirety of Dinoland U.S.A. will become a new area themed to the Tropical Americas featuring the fictional town of Pueblo Esperanza. Disney has announced the closure of Dinoland U.S.A. will happen in phases, with these January closures being the first wave. Meanwhile, DINOSAUR has been confirmed to remain open for all of 2025 so guests will have time to say their final goodbyes to the beloved attraction.
What are some of your favorite details in Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama? Will you miss this area of Disney’s Animal Kingdom? Let us know in the comments, and share some favorite memories.
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