As Walt Disney World fans prepare to take farewell trips for attractions & areas that are closing in Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom, readers have been asking about closure dates for DINOSAUR, Dinoland, and Dino-Rama. If you’re wondering when the rides, restaurants, shops, and entertainment in this land will go extinct, this explains what we know.
Some of this was already covered Construction & Openings Timelines for New Lands, Rides & Additions at Walt Disney World. That gave a rundown of all projects on the horizon, and our expectations as to when closures would occur and when the reimagined replacements or new attractions would open. This post elaborates on that, offering corroboration and new rumors about the demise of dinosaurs at Animal Kingdom.
What this post does not offer is an official announcement or confirmation of anything. These are credible rumors that are reinforced but what Walt Disney World has already shared in terms of construction timelines and opening dates, but specific closure dates have not been revealed. If that’s all you care about, this post isn’t for you. Consider instead subscribing to our free Walt Disney World newsletter, where we’ll share instant updates as soon as they’re announced.
What we know so far is that Tropical Americas is the next big expansion (or redevelopment, if you’d prefer) on the horizon at Walt Disney World. Walt Disney World has already revealed that Tropical Americas will consist of three somewhat distinct areas.
The first is Pueblo Esperanza, the hub in heart of the rainforest that’s name translates to “Village of Hope.” (Some fans have started referring to this whole Tropical Americas project as Pueblo Esperanza–it’s our understanding this name is just for the core community up front. It’s kinda like the new EPCOT, which has a bunch of needless neighborhood names.)
The Pueblo Esperanza community will feature a large hacienda, which will be one of the largest quick-service restaurants at Walt Disney World Resort. It’ll also offer a critter carousel as an attraction. Pueblo Esperanza will replace the Boneyard, TriceraTops Spin, Restaurantosaurus, Dino-Bite Snacks, and (presumably) Trilo-Bites.
After leaving the Pueblo Esperanza, guests can venture deeper into the rainforest to find not one but two signature attractions. To the left is the Encanto magical Madrigal Casita dark ride, which is likely to be a family-friendly Omnimover–perhaps like an Encanto-ized version of Mystic Manor.
The Encanto attraction will replace all of Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama, including all of its carnival games, that big roadside dinosaur, Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures, Donald’s Dino-Bash, and TriceraTop Spin (again–it straddles the Pueblo Esperanza and Encanto areas).
Finally, there’s the new Indiana Jones Adventure attraction, which will replace DINOSAUR.
I guess there’s also Dino-Sue and some winding pathways with statues back here, but for the most part, this area is simply being reimagined from DINOSAUR to the third incarnation of Indiana Jones Adventure.
Against the backdrop of these three mostly-distinct areas of Tropical Americas, let’s turn to when everything is going to close…
Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro already revealed that work on this new 11-acre section of the park is underway, with construction set to begin later this year. More specifically, Walt Disney World stated the following: “Construction on the land is set to begin this fall and will open in 2027 — but don’t worry, you’ll still have plenty of time to experience Dinosaur again (and get that dino).”
It’s important to draw a distinction between work and construction, as Disney itself has done this. Work is already underway on a lot of these projects or will start soon. That’s a nebulous term, and could mean anything from the filing of permits to installation of trailers to backstage prep to clear the way for actual construction.
By contrast, construction does (or should) mean that guests are going to see closures, walls go up, and stuff happening on the substance of the additions. At least, to the extent this is possible–several of these projects are proper expansions or will occur near or beyond the berm. We probably won’t see much in the way of Villains Land work due to its location.
Anyway, so we already knew that construction on Tropical Americas is slated to begin in Fall 2024 and that guests “still have plenty of time to experience Dinosaur again.” From that, we previously inferred that this would be a multi-phase project with Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama closing this year and DINOSAUR closing in 2025.
Since DINOSAUR is not closing ASAP, it’s safe to assume that Indiana Jones Adventure ride reimagining is not being fast-tracked, and also that Tropical Americas will not open in phases. That’s probably a smart move, as the approach did not go well for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. We suspect Walt Disney World wouldn’t make the same mistake twice, even if there’s an urgent desire to give Animal Kingdom a needed/overdue shot in the arm.
If the Tropical Americas land is opening all at once instead of in phases, there’s more work to be done on the Encanto–a brand new build–than there is on Indiana Jones Adventure, which will reuse the existing ride system from Dinosaur. All of these were our fairly-confident assumptions based on Disney’s public statements.
Well, now wdwmagic has corroborated this, reporting on a rumor that the first closure will occur “before the 2024 holiday season” when Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama, its carnival-themed games and rides, and TriceraTop Spin all close. We view this rumor as highly credible based both on the source reporting it and the reality that logic pretty much dictates it being true.
I hesitate to predict a precise closure date for Dino-Rama because I doubt it’s being given strategic thought. Meaning they won’t necessarily wait until after Columbus Day or Veterans Day or whatever–they’ll just close it when Imagineering is ready to get started on the Encanto expansion.
If anything, I’m slightly surprised that Dino-Rama hasn’t closed already. It would’ve been a powerful statement for Josh D’Amaro to get up on stage at D23 and announce that walls were going up overnight and construction would begin immediately back in August. There’s nothing of value being lost in Dino-Rama, it doesn’t meaningfully add to Animal Kingdom’s capacity or cachet, and it’s been the off-season. Closing it last month made sense, whereas walling it off right at the start of the holiday season is less logical. I guess the best thing to come from this corroboration is that the closure, thankfully, has not been pushed off into January 2025.
With regard to Dino-Rama, I think the biggest question is whether the main gift shop–Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures–will close along with the rest of the miniland. This shop is technically on the other side of the “road” (which is staying) and the gift shop itself is staying. There’s no need to close it so early, unless Walt Disney World views it as unnecessary during construction and the operating expenses exceed the revenue generated. Frankly, I could see that going either way–but I’d lean slightly in favor of the gift shop remaining open.
In any case, the much bigger question is when everything else will close. Even though Pueblo Esperanza and Indiana Jones Adventure are two distinct areas, I’m going to lump them together for the purposes of construction. The reason for that is purely practical–once the front section closes, it’s game over for DINOSAUR. That attraction becomes inaccessible.
Similarly, once DINOSAUR goes down, there’s not much to draw people back to this corner of the park. It’ll all close around the same time unless management feels like Restaurantosaurus is needed as dining capacity for a bit longer. I doubt that, though.
It also just makes sense. Everything aside from the critter carousel is a reskinning or reimagining, and it’s not like a carousel is the pinnacle of attraction complexity. When it comes to these two areas, the time needed to convert DINOSAUR to Indiana Jones Adventure will likely dictate the closure date, as it’s the most complex component of this half (give or take) of Tropical Americas.
When trying to reverse engineer DINOSAUR’s closure date from the planned 2027 opening of Tropical Americas, we have some recent precedent to work with: Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and Frozen Ever After. These two projects both took around 18-20 months.
Obviously, those are not perfect comparisons since both are slow-moving boat rides whereas Indiana Jones Adventure is a thrilling high-speed attraction. Splash Mountain and Maelstrom also had work that needed to be done that is likely irrelevant here. Nevertheless, I’d call them “good enough” proxies.
If we assume that Walt Disney World wants Tropical Americas open by Spring Break in 2027, we can conclude that the latest likely closing for DINOSAUR is after Summer 2025. If that opening shifts to Summer 2027, so too does the closing of DINOSAUR. There’s a scenario where Walt Disney World might be able to push off the extinction date until January 2026.
In a different timeline, I could see DINOSAUR surviving until then…but I view that as exceeding unlikely. About the only thing that could cause that much delay is Walt Disney World needing to refurbish other attractions in Animal Kingdom first (so there aren’t multiple simultaneous closures in 2025-2026) or the company anticipating a blockbuster 2025 due to the debut of a drone show.
That also seems very unlikely. Even if Walt Disney World rolls out excellent entertainment next year for DAK, it’s only going to do so much and for so long. It’s much more likely that the company realizes Animal Kingdom is going to be the park hit hardest by Epic Universe, and fast tracks the Tropical Americas project to the greatest extent possible.
Given all of that, I could see an internal push to have Tropical Americas done by early December 2026. (The Encanto ride remains the limiting factor there–there’s only so early Tropical Americas can debut since that dark ride will take at least 2 years to build.)
Between the possibility of an aggressive opening date for Tropical Americas and the likelihood that Animal Kingdom is going to be slower for the foreseeable future (both much more likely than the alternatives), my bet is that DINOSAUR goes extinct shortly after Spring Break 2025. That’s probably the last big season when Walt Disney World will “need” the ride capacity, and it gives guests ample time to say their goodbyes.
The good news for those of you who have procrastinated and haven’t taken farewell trips is that Easter falls a few weeks later next year–on April 20, 2025. My bet would be that DINOSAUR survives Easter and Earth Day, and doesn’t close until April 28, 2025 at the earliest. If there is a drone show next summer and it is projected to move the needle on demand, I’d revise this date to August 11, 2025.
While I obviously know nothing and am simply speculating, I’d pencil in those two dates as the most likely closure possibilities for DINOSAUR. Whenever that attraction closures, you can expect the rest of the land to close and be walled-off, too. (Even without having any inside info, my gut says that a late April 2025 closing for DINOSAUR is the most likely scenario–above 50%.)
Honestly, I would love to be wrong and for DINOSAUR to close in mid-January 2025. I really don’t think that’ll happen, but it’s my hope. The longer DINOSAUR is closed, the more time Imagineering has to do justice to an ambitious reimagining. Everything I’ve heard about this version of Indiana Jones Adventure has me optimistic, including insiders suggesting it has the potential to be the best of the trio.
But that only happens if Imagineering is given the time, resources, and money to make it so. Their ideas and ambition are obviously important, but that only matters so much if they’re hamstrung by tight timelines or limited funding. I’m honestly not worried about the latter–Burbank is opening the money spigot at the start of the upcoming fiscal year.
What’s the bigger concern is Walt Disney World management looking at Animal Kingdom’s already limited ride roster and demanding a faster turnaround for fear of hemorrhaging (even more) attendance. That’s going to happen regardless with Epic Universe, and DINOSAUR is not the outcome-determinative factor. Hopefully lessons were learned with that mentality from Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, and Imagineering will have two years or so to transform DINOSAUR into Indiana Jones Adventure.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
When do you expect DINOSAUR, Dinoland, and Dino-Rama at Animal Kingdom to close? Think DINOSAUR will go extinct in April 2025–or close earlier or later? Think the Tropical Americas opening will be moved forward or delayed? Think our speculation is wrong, and this entire land closes all at once? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
