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Organisers of a Cairns-bound dinosaur-themed festival have moved to reassure it's not a sham, amid speculation over its credibility.
18 dinosaurs along with rides and activities will be part of the Dinosaur Festival Cairns, and 10,000 free tickets are on offer for local school groups.
Previous events held in other cities have received mixed reviews, ranging from 'dodgy' dinosaur displays to children being ‘suitably impressed’.
Much of the criticism has centred on changes to scheduling and concerns over refunds.
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At the Toowoomba Festival held in May, pre-booked session times were cancelled, while at the Brisbane event in November last year, time-slots were changed and VIP access cancelled.
That resulted in ticket-holders expressing their frustration on social media over refund delays and emails being ignored, fuelling rumours the event was a scam.
However, organisers say the rumours were started by a rival.
“We are the official partner of The Dino Expo, one of the biggest pre-historic travel shows in the world,” a spokesperson said.
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“The general public is now aware that rumours were created in an attempt to sabotage Dinosaur Festival Australia.”
As for the display itself, the advice from Toowoomba event attendees is to lower expectations.
“As an adult you would have expected more but my daughter was thrilled and couldn’t have asked for more,” said one attendee.
“All the dinosaurs were working properly with sound and animation.
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Another added that’s it’s not quite the ‘once-in-a lifetime event’ it’s promoted as.
“I lowered my expectations and stuck with the standard tickets – minus the activities – and it was not as bad as I anticipated,” they said.
“Our four-year-old dino-obsessed son was suitably impressed.”
Others expressed their frustration over computer-generated responses from a dedicated refund email address, or emails being ignored altogether.
“We have emailed you many times with the same f*#king response every time to the refunds email,” said one woman.
“You keep replying with your “how can we help you” bloody generated emails response.”
So far, dates for the Cairns show have already changed, from the 9-13 September to the 10-13 and most recently to the 10-12.
The preceding event in Sydney has been postponed due to COVID-19 but organisers have assured Tropic Now that all of the dinosaurs, equipment and personnel are in Queensland, so won’t require any border crosses.
They said the 18 dinosaurs coming to Cairns are all animatronic and interactive, working on motion sensors.
A 13-metre-long Tyrannosaurus Rex is among them, along with a Brachiosaurus which is 18-metres long.
As well as the dinosaur exhibit walk-through, the ticket price includes a jumping castle, a fossil excavation station and dinosaur colouring.
Further paid activities cost $5 per person and include rides such as a giant slide, a cup and saucer and access to dinosaur and egg photo opportunities.
Tickets for the activity extras must also be purchased online.
The event will also include a dinosaur toy stall and food stalls.
Vendors are now being asked to apply, while local scientists and artists have also been invited to set up exhibits at no charge.
So far, six schools have received free tickets for their students.
Main points
- Dinosaur Festival Cairns is being held 10-12th September at the Showgrounds
- The event has received mixed reviews in other Queensland cities
- Local schools can apply for free tickets
