Prowl and Bulkhead let the Dinobots loose on a far-away, uninhabited island. This could be considered a reference to one of the The Transformers (1984) episodes (Dinobot Island - part 1), in which the original Dinobots had to be released on an island where they could practice their powers without causing damage.
Megatron tries to convince the Dinobots that the Autobots are bad. Again, this is a recycled concept from the episode "War of the Dinobots" from The Transformers (1984).
The gate of Dino Drive is remarkably similar to the gate of Jurassic Park (1993) in the movie of the same name (and thus, by extension, to the gate from King Kong (1933), to which Jurassic Park's design was an homage). Music reminiscent of the Jurassic Park theme can be heard during some of the Dino Drive scenes.
This marks the first time the Dinobots have been used in a Transformers TV series since The Transformers (1984).
The Dinobots' color schemes are lifted directly from the Generation 1 cartoon, with some minor variations. This is most obvious in Swoop's torso being blue, rather then the red featured in Generation 1 Swoop's comic and toy incarnations. The Diaclone version of Generation 1 Swoop's toy likewise had a blue chest, so this is possibly an homage, but is more likely coincidence.