Dinosaur Land

Dinosaur Land
Type	Archipelago
Debut	Super Mario World

The Dinosaur Land is a region of the Mario world that was featured as the setting of the Super Mario World. It prominently contains Yoshi's Island, which is the only part of Dinosaur Land to be featured in later games.

General Information

Dinosaur Land is an archipelago of islands that seems to be a vacationing destination for citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom. There are seven different areas which connect in a semicircle. In the ocean at the center of the Dinosaur Land is the Valley of Bowser, which has an opening shaped like Bowser's head and extends into a deep underground cavern. The Dinosaur Land also contains five different links to the Star World which are hidden throughout the various islands. As the name suggests, Dinosaur Land contains a variety of dinosaur-like species. Many of them are hostile, but there are some benign species such as the Yoshi.

During Super Mario World, Bowser had taken over Dinosaur Land with the help of the Koopalings and captured Yoshi as well as his friends. Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach coincidentally came to Dinosuar Land on vacation at the same time, which led to Peach being discovered and captured by Bowser. After freeing Yoshi, Mario and Luigi teamed up with him to liberate Dinosaur Land. They were successful in defeating Bowser and the Koopalings.

Locations

• Yoshi's Island - This is the first area in the semicircular chain of areas and is the home of the Yoshis. In Super Mario World, its geography was a mixture of plains and mountains. A portion of one mountain notably was modeled to resemble the kappa from Japanese mythology, and the Yellow Switch Palace was found atop that mountain. Later games have expanded upon Yoshi's Island and made it a more tropical island with more diverse environments. Iggy Koopa is the boss of the castle in this area. It connects to the Donut Plains.
• Donut Plains - This area is a plateau of sorts that is located just north of Yoshi's Island. As the name suggests, there are primarily plains. There is also a giant lake and several deep caves, one of which is volcanic. It has a variety of secret areas such as the aptly-named Top Secret Area which is primarily a pit stop for power-ups and the Green Switch Palace. One Warp Pipe hidden on a side of the lake leads down to a cliffside of the Valley of Bowser which contains an icy area known as Donut Secret 2. Morton Koopa Jr. is the boss of the castle set up in this area. The Donut Plains link to the Vanilla Dome. In Super Mario Kart, there are a set of three Donut Plains racetracks with increasing difficulty.
• Vanilla Dome - The Vanilla Dome is a giant cavern with a sparkling white surface. It is entered through the Donut Plains. It contains a large lake as well as one area filled with lava. The dome contains the Red Switch Palace. It is also possible to reach the plateau atop the Vanilla Dome. That area has a more plain geography, as well as a lake where dolphins live, and the levels are simply known as Vanilla Secret. Wendy O. Koopa is the boss of the Vanilla Dome castle, while the Vanilla Secrets contain a fortress with Reznors. The Vanilla Dome leads to the Cheese Bridge, and the Vanilla Secrets lead to the Butter Bridge. There are also a pair of racetracks in Super Mario Kart known as Vanilla Lake. Both courses are frozen exterior lakes, but it is uncertain whether they are part of Vanilla Dome.
• Twin Bridges and Cookie Mountain- This area has the least levels, but nearly each level is a different area. It primarily links one half of Dinosaur Land to the other at the northern section. The two bridges in ascending order are Cheese Bridge (which connects Vanilla Dome to Cookie Mountain) and Butter Bridge (which has two levels and connects the Vanilla Secrets directly to Ludwig's fortress). The body of water underneath is Soda Lake, which can also be accessed from a hidden exit in Cheese Bridge. Cookie Mountain is a rugged part of a mountainous area at the northeastern tip of Dinosaur Land. Ludwig's Castle is located at a higher plateau, and this area overlooks the Forest of Illusion to the south.
• Forest of Illusion - This is a large and mysterious forest located on a large landmass in the eastern area of Dinsoaur Land. Matching its name, most of the forest's levels have multiple exits, and more of the forest is slowly revealed. It contains a ghost house, the Blue Switch Palace and a secret area which consists of only of a chasm that must be crossed with the aid of blue blocks. There are two exits from the forest. The western exit leads to a Reznor-inhabited fortress and a Star Road connection, and the southern exit went to Roy's Castle which connected to Chocolate Island.
• Chocolate Island - This is a large island at the southeastern corner of Dinosaur Land which has a more rugged geography with many mountains and ridges. There is also an extensive underground cavern and a Warp Pipe leading to an area at the southern portion of the Valley of Bowser known as Chocolate Secret. It was taken over by Wendy O. Koopa and also had a Reznor's fortress. There have been several race tracks based on the island: Choco Island from Super Mario Kart and Choco Mountain in Mario Kart 64.
• Valley of Bowser - This is a vast underground cavern located beneath Dinosaur Island. Its entrance, located at the center of Dinosaur Island's ocean, is shaped like a giant version of Bowser's own head. The area is prefaced by a Sunken Ghost Ship which is implied to have been a former airship. There are a series of caverns, some of which are filled with lava as well as copious amounts of dirt. At this depth, Monty Moles have grown into larger Mega Moles. The Valley of Bowser also has two disconnected plateaus connecting to Vanilla Dome and Chocolate Island, with the former being an icy habitat. This area also has a ghost house as well as a castle occupied by Larry. Bowser himself was based within a giant castle at the northern end of the Valley. It had two entrances, with the back door leading closer to Bowser.

Other Appearances

Other Media

• Dinosaur Land was featured as the primary setting for the Super Mario World cartoon, where it was known as Dinosaur World. This cartoon expanded the prehistoric motif with the addition of cavepeople characters.
• In the Super Mario Bros. movie, the setting of Dinohatten was vaguely inspired by Dinosaur Land. This was primarily reflected in the name and its citizens being shown as humans who evolved from dinosaurs.