Dinosaur park new at Shell Factory

Miami might have the swanky nightlife and Orlando of course has Mickey Mouse but none of the glitzier attractions offers the quaint appeal of a new dinosaur park in North Fort Myers. The Shell Factory just unveiled its newest attraction - a one-acre park teeming with life-size replicas of dinosaurs.

PHOTO FLORIDA WEEKLY James Henning, 6, of Battle Creek, Mich. plays in a model dinosaur egg at the Shell Factory & Nature Park in North Fort Myers. Something about the towering reptile replicas seems to draw a crowd. Recently the park filled with kids of all ages eager to examine the collection of dinosaurs including ferocious meat eaters and gentle plant eaters.

Ty Laird gaped at the dinosaurs positioned near bamboo trees and other assorted plants.

Four-year-old Ty, who sported a Tshirt with a green dinosaur on the front announced it was his birthday as he and his two-year-old sister Tatum pointed out the different types of dinosaurs to their grandparents.

Stan and Edna Laird love the idea of bringing their grandchildren to a family friendly place not far from their Cape Coral home.

"I didn't know it was here," said Edna Laird. "We always thought of the Shell Factory as shells."

And in a time when theme parks decked out with high tech rides and top dollar restaurants compete for tourists, Fort Myers business man Tom Cronin is giving the community a look into the prehistoric days for less than a movie pass.

"We're probably the most reasonable attraction in Southwest Florida," he said.

Cronin, 68, chats and flashes 100-watt smiles with guests as he strolls through the park nestled between the Shell Factory's emporium of exotic and domestic wildlife.

The 20 fiberglass reptiles and fossils made by an artist in Virginia are close to scale, according to Cronin. He paid $300,000 to fill about 25 percent of his park with the prehistoric creatures.

"Kids love dinosaurs," he said. "It's the only one in Southwest Florida."

And according to officials at VISIT FLORIDA, the official tourism marketing corporation for the state of Florida, dinosaurs are a hot attraction.

"The immensity of the creatures and their history continues to fascinate and capture the imagination of children and adults today," said Donna Ross, President of the Florida Attractions Association. "Operators of these attractions vary in presentation from the high-tech spectacles to low-tech construction."

According to officials, dinosaur attractions rate as the fourth most popular activity for Florida's 84.6 million annual visitors. There are several other dinosaur themed parks in the Sunshine state including a Jurassic-like adventure at Universal Orlando.

PHOTO FLORIDA WEEKLY A T-Rex prepares for battle at the new dinosaur park at the Shell Factory & Nature Park in North Fort Myers. And although these parks are designed with elaborate features and electronic effects, they often cost a tidy bundle to get in. According to the Universal Orlando Web Site it costs more than $60 for a one day pass to any of its parks.

Family friendly

Creating family friendly and affordable attractions are a mainstay for Cronin - a former Fort Myers business mogul who knows the value of a dollar. During the last half century Cronin helped build up a sizable portion of Fort Myers.

With several real estate developing partnerships Cronin was instrumental in building and selling over $200 million of properties in Fort Myers, including Southwest Regional Medical Center, warehouses, office buildings and all four corners of I-75 and Daniels Parkway.

But with that chapter in his life finished, Cronin and his wife Pam have spent the past 10 years renovating the Shell Factory and its habitats.

And for anyone not sure of what the Shell Factory is - think world's largest shell collection without the beach.

The 67-year-old tourism spot is also home to an average of 200 exotic and native animals.

These critters include Chico a dromedary camel, Big Bertha an 11-foot alligator and Chachi a ring-tailed lemur from Madagascar.

Each animal and dinosaur replica at the Shell Factory has a story and Cronin is bent on making sure they're told in a way that easy to understand and afford.

"That's what we're doing trying to create; a family atmosphere," Cronin said. n