Client: Wellington Country Park
Industry: Visitor Attraction / Family Entertainment / Outdoor Events
Location: Wellington Country Park, Berkshire, UK
Event: Dinosaur Takeover
Dates: 1st–3rd August 2026
Event type: Family Attraction / Dinosaur Event
Client relationship: Working with Wellington Country Park since 2018, with the exception of 2020 due to Covid
Attendance: 4,500 visitors across three days
Overall occupancy: 83%
Big Foot services: Dinosaur shows, animatronic dinosaur entertainment, arena performances, Ranger Training, Baby Dinosaurs, Dinosaur Hatchery installation, interactive entertainment and dinosaur photo opportunities
The Brief
Big Foot Events and our Jurassic Earth team have been working with Wellington Country Park in Berkshire since 2018, returning every year apart from 2020 when Covid put a temporary stop to the dinosaurs’ annual excursion to Welly Park!
Over the years, the event has become more and more popular and bigger and bigger, so for 2026 the client wanted to build on the success of previous years and develop the Dinosaur Takeover even further. Rather than simply repeating what we’d done before, we worked with Wellington Country Park to rethink how the dinosaur entertainment could work across the venue.
The aim was to create specific feature shows incorporating multiple dinosaurs, encourage visitors to explore different areas of the park and create an event programme that could cope with the growing number of families coming to see the dinosaurs.
And they certainly came!
The Challenge
As the popularity of Wellington Country Park’s Dinosaur Takeover has grown, so has the challenge of delivering it.
One of the biggest changes for 2026 was the way the dinosaurs performed. Rather than each dinosaur appearing in individual sets throughout the day, the client wanted feature arena performances involving multiple dinosaurs and a rolling show.
The shows needed to be substantial enough to feel like a real event within the day, but not so long that we lost the attention of our younger dinosaur fans. We therefore created two different 40-minute arena productions, each performed twice during the day. This would enable guests to watch each show then feel free to explore other areas without the worry of missing something. This was an important consideration. With so much to see, the client didn’t want everyone congregating in one area of Wellington Country Park. We needed to use the entertainment to encourage families to explore different parts of the park, spreading visitors between the Barn, Basecamp and Arena.
And then there was the weather. The event took place during a UK heatwave. Anyone who has ever worn a giant dinosaur costume will understand the sheer weight and heat involved when operating a large animatronic costume! Suffice to say you can cancel your Gym membership if you’re a Dinosaur operator!
Careful scheduling, hydration breaks and looking after our performers is always an important part of our criteria, but even more so during a three-day event in summer.
The Solution
We created a substantial three-day Jurassic Earth package and divided the activities between three different areas of Wellington Country Park.
In The Barn
The Barn became home to our Dinosaur Hatchery, creating an interactive dinosaur area families could visit throughout the day to learn about our new hatchlings and looking after young dinosaurs, including cleaning out the cages singing them lullabies.
Our original proposal included Dr Bones and the Dinosaur Hatchery, with Dr Bones performing five 20-minute sets throughout the day. Wellington Country Park ultimately decided to staff the Hatchery themselves, so Big Foot Events supplied and installed the complete Hatchery ready for their team to operate.
Our Baby Dinosaurs also appeared for five 20-minute sets throughout the day, giving younger visitors the opportunity to get up close to some rather more manageable prehistoric residents.
Basecamp
At Basecamp, it was time to find out whether Welly Park’s young recruits had what it takes to become dinosaur rangers. Here they had to learn the commands and signals so they could control our larger dinosaurs in the event of a ‘Break Out’!
Ranger Training ran for five 20-minute sessions throughout the day, creating another interactive experience away from the main Arena.
We also installed a Giant Dinosaur Egg photo opportunity, giving families another reason to visit Basecamp – and, naturally, take a few photos while they were there.
The Arena
The biggest change for 2026 was our new programme of multi-dinosaur rolling shows. Instead of individual dinosaur appearances, we created two completely different 40-minute productions.
Our Herbivore Show was performed twice each day, once in the morning and again in the afternoon, featuring:
Then things got a little more dangerous and toothy….
Our Carnivore Predator Show also performed twice each day and featured:
By combining several dinosaurs into each performance, we were able to create bigger feature moments within the event while keeping each production short enough to hold the attention of younger children.
What Big Foot Events Delivered
Across the three-day Dinosaur Takeover at Wellington Country Park, Big Foot Events and Jurassic Earth provided:
The Result
2026 became the biggest Dinosaur Takeover yet, with Wellington Country Park recording some of its busiest days in several years.
Visitor numbers were:
1st August: 1,628 visitors
2nd August: 1,760 visitors
3rd August: 1,112 visitors
That’s a total of 4,500 visitors across the three-day event and an overall occupancy rate of 83%.
The new format also enabled us to create larger feature performances while using the different activities to encourage families to explore more of Wellington Country Park.
Most importantly, the dinosaurs did what they do best – created some very excited children, plenty of memories and more than a few roars.
Client Feedback
Following the event, the team at Wellington Country Park sent us some rather lovely feedback:
“I also wanted to say a huge thank you to you, Erica, and especially the Jurassic Earth team we had on site over the weekend. They are genuinely some of the best, easiest, and most passionate people we have the pleasure of working with. Nothing is ever too much trouble, and they put on such an incredible show.”
They also told us just how successful the weekend had been:
“We had some of our busiest days in several years, and that’s partly down to how fantastic they are.”
One particularly lovely part of the feedback concerned some of Welly Park’s regular visitors:
“We have a few huge Welly Park fans, and the team, particularly Ranger Flora, always go the extra mile for them, which we absolutely love.”
And our team apparently recruited one rather important new dinosaur…
Wellington Country Park arranged for their very excited new General Manager to have a go in one of our dinosaur suits – luckily in the morning before they got too sweaty!
The client added:
“I think that really sealed the deal for him. It also showed him just how adaptable and accommodating the team are.”
Wellington Country Park is one of our Jurassic Earth team’s favourite venues. Although, as the client quite rightly pointed out, we might say that to everyone…
What The Guests Said
It wasn’t only our client who enjoyed the weekend. One visitor who had previously brought their own children to Wellington Country Park returned with the next generation:
“We used to take our children here many years ago and are now enjoying taking our Grandchildren. We thoroughly enjoyed the dino takeover yesterday, it was absolutely awesome – or should I say roarsome!”
Another family managed an impressive eight-hour day at the park:
“We had an absolutely fabulous day! I took my 2 grandsons (5 and 3) for the dinosaur takeover and we had such a blast! We arrived at 9.30am and didn’t leave again until 5.30pm.”
And for a prehistoric take on a review, another guest wrote:
“We came for the Dino take over. My two little boys had a T-rexific time!”
We’ll take that.
Key Facts
Client: Wellington Country Park
Location: Berkshire, UK
Event: Dinosaur Takeover
Dates: 1st–3rd August 2026
Client relationship: Since 2018, excluding 2020 due to Covid
Duration: Three days
2026 attendance: 4,500 visitors
Overall occupancy: 83%
Busiest day: 2nd August – 1,760 visitors
Arena shows: Four feature dinosaur shows per day
Feature productions: Herbivore Show and Carnivore Show
Dinosaurs: Triceratops, T-Rex, Raptor, Parasaurolophus, Dilophosaurus, Brontosaurus and Baby Dinosaurs
Interactive activities: Ranger Training and Dinosaur Hatchery
Photo opportunity: Giant Dinosaur Egg
Event areas: The Barn, Basecamp and Arena
Big Foot services: Dinosaur entertainment, feature shows, interactive family entertainment, dinosaur props, installation, programming and event delivery
What This Project Demonstrates
Wellington Country Park’s Dinosaur Takeover demonstrates Big Foot Events and Jurassic Earth’s ability to provide large-scale dinosaur entertainment for visitor attractions, theme parks, country parks, shopping centres, festivals and family events in Berkshire, the South East and throughout the UK.
It also demonstrates how a successful annual event can evolve rather than simply be repeated.
We’ve worked with Wellington Country Park since 2018 – missing only 2020 due to Covid – and have watched the popularity of its Dinosaur Takeover grow year after year. For 2026, we worked with the client to change the format, creating multi-dinosaur arena productions and spreading interactive entertainment across different areas of the park.
The result was the event’s largest footfall to date, with 4,500 visitors over three days and an overall occupancy rate of 83%.
It also shows the scale of entertainment Big Foot Events can physically deliver to a venue. This wasn’t simply one T-Rex turning up for a walkabout. The package incorporated six large dinosaurs, Baby Dinosaurs, two different arena productions, Ranger Training, a Dinosaur Hatchery, a Giant Dinosaur Egg photo opportunity and a full Jurassic Earth team, operating across multiple areas of Wellington Country Park for three consecutive days.
And when a heatwave decided to join us, our team adapted the programme and looked after both performers and dinosaurs – because a giant T-Rex may look terrifying, but there’s still a rather warm human being inside him!
After working together since 2018, Wellington Country Park remains a brilliant example of the long-term relationships we build with our clients and how we can continue developing an event as its audience and popularity grow.
For attractions and event organisers looking for dinosaur hire, dinosaur shows, interactive dinosaur experiences or complete dinosaur events in Berkshire, London, the South East or elsewhere throughout the UK, Big Foot Events and Jurassic Earth can create anything from individual dinosaur appearances to complete multi-day prehistoric takeovers.
