Dino Off Road Adventure is the new-for-2023 addition at Six Flags New England. This isn’t
an entirely new ride. Rather it is yet another re-skin and retheme of their antique car ride.
Was this a good addition? Find out in this review of Dino Off Road Adventure.
This ride originally opened back in 1962 as Route 66. This was your
typical set of Antique Cars, but the layout was placed in a shady
section of the park. Arrow Dynamics provided the original fleet of cars.
In 2015, the ride was renamed Wild Wheelz. The layout was unchanged, but there were a few
upgrades. First, the vintage style cars were replaced by jeeps from Gould that had animal
inspired paint schemes. Second, you passed a few static animal statues. Nothing earth-shattering,
but it made the ride even more popular with kids, who make up the ride’s main audience.
For the 2023 season, the attraction was once again rethemed, this time to Dino Off Road Adventure.
The African animals were removed. Instead, a series of dinosaurs were added along the course.
A large chunk of the characters are static, but a few have limited movements. They’re on par
with what you’d see at one of those Dinosaurs Alive walkthroughs at the Cedar Fair park,
and I would not be surprised if these figures were repurposed from a similar experience.
This not only boosted the on-ride experience, but it improved the off-ride experience too.
The old animals were only really visible from aboard the attraction.
The new dinosaur figures are larger. Some are also closer to the midway and have audio effects.
The ride’s aesthetic was also changed to an expedition.
The jeeps lost their animal colors and now have army/camouflage colors.
Another really nice touch is that staff members wear safari outfits. Usually you only see themed
ride outfits at the most highly themed parks, so it’s neat to see Six Flags trying that as well.
The only downside with this change is that this Antique Cars ride has always been one of
the park’s lower capacity attractions. And this has only made the ride more popular.
Each car seats a maximum of 2 riders, and there’s usually 6 or so on the course.
I would not be surprised if this ride only accommodates 150-200 riders per hour.
The physical queue space is short at least. If both switchbacks are full,
the wait is around a half hour. But it is entirely unshaded and not the most pleasant on a hot day.
This line tends to grow as the day progresses, so I would highly recommend riding this as early as
possible. The line is usually no more than 5-10 minutes if you ride it in the first hour or two.
The park currently loads two vehicles in tandem.
Riders are restrained by a shared seatbelt. Once checked, you can begin your journey.
The course spans 1850 feet or 564 meters. The course is just as woodsy as before and
it’s a scenic ride since the vehicles have a max speed of just 6 mph. The cars hug a guide rail,
but there is a steering wheel that subtly adjusts your car’s position and for kids,
makes them feel like they’re actually driving. Then you have the dinosaur figures. The ones with
movement did not seem to be triggered by sensors. Rather, their movements seemed to be on a timer.
The dinos were well-placed throughout the layout so there was always something to
look at. But the highlight is easily the giant t-rex at the far end of the layout.
Not only is it the largest animatronic by far, but it is currently accompanied by a
staff member with a microphone. There, they tell a mix of corny jokes and factoids about dinosaurs.
And I even saw them directly interacting with the t-rex as well. I do wonder if this
position is just temporary during the ride’s new phase, or if it’s a permanent addition,
since it is a cool feature adding some character. The overall experience takes roughly 3 minutes
and it’s a major step up from your usual antique car ride that doesn’t
really have any thematic elements. So what would I rate Dino Off Road
Adventure? I would give this attraction an 8 out of 10. This is a great set of antique cars now.
While the theming may not be as good as something on a dark ride, it is head and
shoulder above what you can typically expect for this type of ride. This is an addition Six
Flags New England didn’t have to do, but it will endear this attraction even more with the younger
crowd. The kids I saw getting off were having an absolute blast seeing all those dinosaurs!
I think this was a very smart addition for the park. It didn’t have the same
budget as a major thrill coaster, but it will draw in kids and families.
So those are my thoughts on Dino Off Road Adventure, the 2023 addition for Six Flags
New England. What are your thoughts on this ride? Could you see more parks updating their antique
cars in a similar manner? Let me know down in the comments. If you enjoyed this review, I’d
appreciate it if you gave this video a like and you considered subscribing since there will be a
lot more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!