Disney Tips Your Guide To A Great Disney Vacation
A corner of Walt Disney World Resort is in its final days, and soon it will look nothing like the place Disney Parks fans remember. The change marks the end of an era for Disney’s Animal Kingdom as its original roadside theme park within a theme park is dismantled to make way for something entirely new.
At D23 Expo 2024, Disney confirmed that DinoLand U.S.A. would be replaced by Pueblo Esperanza, a new land inspired by the Tropical Americas. The project promises to deliver two Encanto (2021)-inspired attractions and an Indiana Jones reimagining of DINOSAUR. Walt Disney Imagineers also confirmed that the retheme will not replicate the Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland Park.
Credit: Disney
The closure process for DinoLand U.S.A. began in early 2025, when Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures, TriceraTop Spin, and Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama all went extinct. The Boneyard play area followed in September. Just days after the closures, construction walls rose around the land, and crews began clearing away the familiar structures. Bulldozers and heavy equipment quickly reduced DinoLand U.S.A. to rubble.
Guests who pass through this part of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park today face a very different experience. The path between Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama and the Dino Institute is now nothing more than a narrow walkway surrounded by construction barriers. Long gone are the whimsical dinosaur statues and roadside carnival theming.
Credit: Inside the Magic
The sweeping scope of this change has been documented by theme park photographer @bioreconstruct on X (formerly Twitter), whose overhead shots give fans a bird’s-eye view of the project’s progress. The photos reveal a flattened landscape, cleared of almost all traces of the land’s past identity.
Aerial photos of construction of Tropical Americas in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Including the demolition of The Boneyard. A play area in the former Dinoland U.S.A.
Aerial photos of construction of Tropical Americas in Disney's Animal Kingdom.
Including the demolition of The Boneyard. A play area in the former Dinoland U.S.A. pic.twitter.com/YN74ryxVrb— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) September 21, 2025
Crews are now working on the foundation for Pueblo Esperanza’s star Encanto attraction:
Aerial photo of the development of Tropical Americas in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Show building construction at top, for an Encanto ride.
Aerial photo of the development of Tropical Americas in Disney's Animal Kingdom.
Show building construction at top, for an Encanto ride. pic.twitter.com/DweBNAXJGK— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) September 21, 2025
This week, Disney Park guests spotted Imagineers assembling a massive crane to support the upcoming vertical construction. From @DrewDisneyDude:
BREAKING: Crews are assembling a massive crane at the Tropical Americas project site at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
This marks the biggest milestone so far for the Encanto attraction as Walt Disney Imagineering begins major construction.
📸: @imderekbell
BREAKING: Crews are assembling a massive crane at the Tropical Americas project site at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
This marks the biggest milestone so far for the Encanto attraction as Walt Disney Imagineering begins major construction.
📸: @imderekbell pic.twitter.com/rfzqU4yE1z
— Drew Smith (@DrewDisneyDude) September 22, 2025
Guests have until February 1, 2026, to enjoy DINOSAUR, Restaurantosaurus, and Trilo-Bites before they close permanently. On February 2, DinoLand U.S.A. will vanish for good. Pueblo Esperanza is expected to debut in 2027, but Walt Disney World Resort hasn’t announced an exact grand opening date.
Do you agree with Walt Disney World Resort’s decision to replace DinoLand U.S.A. with Pueblo Esperanza? Disney Tips would love to hear your opinion in the comments!
