Changes

DinoLand USA is set in the fictional Diggs County. In the early 1940s, the county consisted of ranch and farmland. Here, an elderly couple named Chester and Hester owned a rundown gas station along highway US Highway 498. In 1947 however, things changed in Diggs County. At this time amateur fossil hunters found dinosaur bones in the area and their discovery led scientists and graduate students to flood into Diggs. Initially, the new residents stayed at an old fishing lodge, however when time travel was invented in the 1970s, the Dino Institute was founded. The new modern building became the central location of dinosaur research and time travel.

In order to capitalize on the dinosaur craze, Chester and Hester began selling various souvenirs at their gas station. It quickly became evident that the merchandise business was more profitable than selling gasoline. Using their profits from souvenir sales, Chester and Hester decided to build a roadside amusement park, in order to capitalize on profit from the influx of tourists coming to the area to see the Dino Institute. From this idea, Chester and Hester’s Dino-Rama was born. Besides featuring midway style carnival games, the amusement park also features Chester and Hester’s own “time machine”- Primeval Whirl. Although the Dino Institute has tried to by Chester and Hester's land in order to raze the buildings, their decedents have refused to sell.