Phased Closure of Dinoland USA at Disney's Animal Kingdom Expected Before 2024 Holidays to Make Way for Encanto and Indiana Jones

Sep 27, 2024 in "Tropical Americas"

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Posted: Friday September 27, 2024 10:45am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Dinoland U.S.A. at Disney's Animal Kingdom is expected to begin a phased closure before the 2024 holiday season, making way for the park's upcoming Tropical Americas expansion.

Tropical Americas Concept Art

According to sources, the first section to close will be Chester & Hester's Dino-Rama, with its carnival-themed games and rides, including TriceraTop Spin. This area is slated to be transformed into a new Encanto-themed attraction, where guests will step inside the magical Casita from the popular film. The first-ever "Encanto"-themed attraction will bring casita to life as guests join the beloved Madrigal family on the day Antonio receives his special gift, the ability to communicate with animals. Guests will feel like part of the family Madrigal as they join the celebration and explore their magical home.

Dino-Rama is expected to be the first part of DinoLand to close

The phased-closure process will continue into 2025, with Dinosaur, the park's original thrill ride, closing to make way for a new Indiana Jones adventure. This attraction will differ from other Indiana Jones experiences worldwide, featuring a journey through a newly discovered Maya temple. Guests will join Indiana Jones on a quest to explore the temple and uncover the mysteries of a rumored mythical creature lurking deep inside.

Dinosaur is expected to remain open into 2025

Disney has not yet announced a precise timeline for the closures, but we expect more details, including specific closing dates, to be revealed soon. Construction on the new attractions is set to begin later this year, with the entire Tropical Americas land projected to open in 2027. Visitors who want to experience Dino-Rama or Dinosaur before they close should plan their trips accordingly as Disney prepares for these major changes to Disney's Animal Kingdom.

Tropical Americas Concept Model

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Nickm20221 day ago

I find the mayan playground area so interesting because 1. That sounds so cool and well positioned I don't know why Disney hasn't released concept art for it and 2. It could be food carts or something else like show. Personally I've been saying move the UP bird show here

Disstevefan11 day ago

Oh good. You had me worried.

lentesta1 day ago

It is. But Disney drew it differently in the two separate SFWMD filings, so I think it's going to be fully covered.

lentesta1 day ago

Upper left corner. :P

Trueblood1 day ago

I'm a little disappointed that there are no featured animals, and "Tropical Americas" ecology will likely only be represented in the attraction queues, if at all. At least you could squint really hard and see the conservation message in Pandora, this... they have some work to do.

Disstevefan11 day ago

Its about time since Primeval Whirl has been closed since 2019....

Gusey1 day ago

I think that the part labelled "New Indy Covered/Indoor Queue" is the Dinosaur extended queue? It just hasn't been used much in the past

MisterPenguin1 day ago

Where's the DVC kiosk?

lentesta1 day ago

I did a blog post that looked at the SFWMD filings for Tropical Americas, and then made some educated guesses about where and what everything is. Here's the end result map:

Starship8241 day ago

They aren't wasting any time with this project I guess.

Fox&Hound1 day ago

Yay!! Let’s get this thing started :)

sedati2 days ago

Exciting, though the sample more resembles the rock-work at Everest than anything we're expecting at Tropical Americas. In fact, the only new rock-work shown so far is some lush mountain backdrops on top of the Encanto show-building. Could this just be for training, or something else entirely? The mock ups done previously were never so large but did accurately reflect what was coming.

gerarar2 days ago

Trailers/offices now on site and a theme test wall in progress. Source and more:

GoofGoof9 days ago

I feel the same. I was at DLR shortly after Galaxy’s Edge opened (without Rise). I was still happy to see the new land and ride MF but it was disappointing that the headliner wasn’t open. I do think that if part of the land is ready by the start of the Summer and the rest won’t be done until Fall it will probably open in phases. If it’s a few months difference in off times maybe all at once. Disney also probably wouldn’t want people delaying a trip to wait for the land to open. That happened some with Star Wars and was a bigger deal for Universal in the year before each Harry Potter land opened. Maybe this is too minor an addition to move the needle. The Potter lands and SW were much more anticipated.