The official opening for Project Dinotopia was meant to be June 6th, but the excitement of both the public and the participants was just too much to keep waiting any longer. So instead, the opening was moved up over a week to be on May 30th. Even though it was earlier than it was meant to be, that didn't mean there wasn't a big turnout for the event. After all, it wasn't every day that you get to meet live dinosaurs, even if they were actually human hybrids.
The music show was incredible to watch, and not just because of the dancers. The lighting changed brightness in color in response to some of the lyrics, such 'the sky was burning like a ball of fire'. The dancers weren't as well-choreographed as, say, a Michael Jackson music video, but they did do some pretty slick dancing. There was quite a bit of moonwalking going on as well as some Dinotopians 'walking the dinosaur'. Of course, Little Richard's version of 'Roll Back The Rock' was a great piece of music too.
Of course, the music show wasn't the only feature of the official opening. There were also several booths showing upcoming Dinotopian projects and products. Two of the biggest were the Dinotopian colonies that were being built in both Glenn Rose, Texas and on Skull Island off the coast of Florida. The one near Dinosaur Valley State Park was being built for most of the land-based Dinotopians, particularly the giants who require much bigger accommodations than other Animalians. The one being built on the island was mainly built for the members of Dinotopia Aquatica who had become prehistoric marine reptiles. There was a bit of questioning whether the pterosaurs would have their own colony, but that seemed unlikely as they didn't have particular needs like the supergiants and the sea lizards. And they were unlikely to need anything more than the other bird and bat Animalians as they were the same size. Though if someone wanted to become a Quetzalcoatlus, that may be a different matter.
The Dintopian-centered products were mostly things to accommodate a Dinotopian's larger size, such as clothing or furniture. But there were a few items that were interesting outside of Dinotopians needs. The prime example would be the new footwear that had been designed for raptor feet. In particular, they had been designed for JC and Pauline's feet. Since the flight feathers on their legs hampered their walking, Sophie though it would be easier to get around if they had roller shoes. Sophie contacted Heelys, Inc. to ask if they could design customized roller shoes for the former grey parrots. Of course, when they heard it was Sophie Albers of Animalia Ambassadoira who was calling, they leapt at the chance. Animalia was a hotbed of product placement these days and Heelys Inc. was in sore need of it. Better still to have one of the most recognizable names in Animalia requesting special footwear.
The raptor-model footwear, cleverly named Cyclaws, were built to allow quick and simple shifts from walking to skating. The wheels were kept inside the soles of the shoes, but could be extended by press the wheel until it clicked. The wheels were locked into skating mode by tabs that kept the wheel from collapsing back in. It took a while to get used to them, but soon JC and Pauline were able to move across the ground much faster than they could before. Other roller skates were designed for Animalian feet. These new skates soon sparked interest in the sports related to them. Pretty soon, there were several suggestions or requests for a Dinotopian roller derby, or a Dino Derby for short.
Another big part of the opening was the Mesozoic Gallery. It featured several displays of the dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and plesiosaurs that have already been made into Dinotopians. The informative displays showed pictures of what the original ancient reptile looked like in real life as well as several facts such as the meaning of their names, how long ago they lived, where their fossils were found, and the type of behavior they were thought to have. Of course, the Syntixisaurus rex was a different story, considering the 'species' was actually a hybrid of different theropod dinosaurs. The display showed a picture of a hypothetical Syntixisaurus rex as a normal dinosaur. It didn't talk about the natural habits and such since it was an unnatural species, but it did show the different theropods that were part of its genome and what features they contributed to the 'Fusion lizard king'. Evidently, a lot of Tyrannosaurus rex DNA had gone into giving the S. rex its body structure. As such, its closest relative was the T. rex which made it permissible for Tyra and Rex to interbreed.
Unsurprisingly, there were a lot of people who were applying to be Dinotopians. From the initial applications alone, it would look like the current population of Dinotopians would quintuple. But since there was still screening to do, it would more likely triple. But there were still a few things to be done before too many were converted, namely to build enough dinosaur-scaled houses to accommodate them all. There was also the matter of a few marriages that would be going on.