Panini Releases Jurassic Park 30th Anniversary Trading Card Set

A few weeks ago, Panini, who are known for releasing football sticker albums as well as for other licensed properties, released a trading card set dedicated to Jurassic Park’s 30th Anniversary. I usually don’t buy trading cards anymore as it feels like a never-ending task to buy boosters to complete a set. When I saw it was Jurassic Park, I couldn’t resist and ordered an album and a sealed box of 24 packets of trading cards.

What’s In The Jurassic Park Panini Set

There are 201 cards in the set with five limited edition (LE) cards outside of the core set which you can find in special packs. A single booster pack contains 6 trading cards from the base set. You can find the Starter Pack containing three boosters and the binder. There’s a Multipack containing 5 packets and a LE and a Multiset containing 8 packets and a LE. Finally, there’s a box containing 24 packets.

The Limited Edition Cards

You can find the Brachiosaurus Limited Edition in the Starter Pack that has 3 boosters and the binder. There is a Multipack containing five boosters and you can find one of three limited editions in here: Spinosaurus, Claire/Owen and Tyrannosaurus Rex. Finally, there is a 8-Pack Multiset where you can find a Claire/Indominus Limited Edition card.

The Ultra Rare Cards

Within the base set, Panini have introduced 6 Ultra Rare cards that are objects from the very first Jurassic Park. There should be one Ultra Rare card per Booster Box. I have heard rumours that you can find the Ultra Rares in the 8-Pack sets too occasionally.

Where You Can Find Panini Jurassic Park Trading Cards

The Jurassic Park trading cards can currently be found in newsagents and shops around the UK, particularly Sainsburys, Asda and WH Smiths. A booster pack containing 6 trading cards can be bought for £1.70. You can buy the 5-Pack Multipack set for £7.99.

The 8-Pack can be bought for £12.99 and the 24-Pack booster box can be bought for around £40. The Booster Box seems to be online only. If you get the single packets in the shops, they are basically from the booster box so you still stand a chance of getting an Ultra Rare. You can buy the Starter Pack, 8-Pack and Booster Boxes from Panini’s website. In addition to the UK, the cards can be found in some European countries.

I am finding it difficult to find any packets and have only seen the Multipacks in Sainsburys and they all had the Spinosaurus Limited Edition card. So I only picked up one of them as a result.

First Impressions

I will say the booklet is fairly cheap and flimsy. I would have expected a hardback binder. There’s a checklist behind the front cover and at the back so you can keep track of which cards you have. You don’t have to have the cards, back to back. There’s enough pages in there to have the cards on a page of their own.

Even though the trading cards are to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Jurassic Park, the cards cover all Jurassic Park and Jurassic World films. Each page of cards is a specific grouping. So the first page, is Welcome to Jurassic Park, moving onto Cool Moments from JP. The third page is Leading Dinosaurs with embossed dinosaur cards. Next up, Cool Moments from JP: The Lost World and after that, there is Bingo! Dinosaur DNA – holo cards about dinosaurs.

Next is Cool Moments from JP3 and Art Mood containing some lovely artwork. Moving on, Welcome to Jurassic World, T-Rex Queen, Exploring Isla Nublar and Jungle Roles contains more interesting artwork cards. More sections: Cool Moments from JW, Dinosaurs Live Here, Cool Moments from JW: Fallen Kingdom. Ready For Battle contains some nice holo poster-style cards. Cool Moments from JW Dominion. Roar!. Origins contains glow in the dark cards. Metal Dino-Pedia contains metallic-style dinosaur cards. The final pages are dedicated to the 30th Anniversary of Jurassic Park which cover various moments from the first film.

The Ultra Rares are actually fairly underwhelming given how rare they are. They’re just objects on a holo card: Egg, Amber, Aerosol, Drink, Binoculars and Footprint. The five Limited Edition cards are shots from the films and they have a golden border around them. I do prefer the base set cards to the Ultra Rares and Limited Editions.

I was surprised just how many artwork cards there are. There’s a few pages that are shots from the films but the majority are pretty unique artwork pieces which really stand out. There’s very little information on the backs of the cards. Again, I would have expected to have a little information about the film or the dinosaur but all you have is the number and logo.

In buying boosters and trading with fellow fans, I just need around 30 cards now. I know the Ultra Rares are going to be tough to get without spending an obscene amount of money but I aim to at least finish the base set. Have any of you guys started buying the Panini Jurassic Park Trading Cards? How far have you gotten?