Tropical Americas land at Animal Kingdom continues to speed along as vertical construction has begun on the Encanto dark ride. Parts of DinoLand, U.S.A. have been demolished for a new carousel, but work on the Indiana Jones ride cannot begin until Dinosaur closes on February 2nd. Plus, the Zootopia 3D show has opened, reusing many of the former effects from It’s Tough to Be a Bug.

Let’s check in on the work site for Tropical Americas and more in today’s news update. See the video version of this story below for additional visuals.

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Walt Disney World is actively building new lands in three of its four theme parks, with a Monsters, Inc. land coming to Hollywood Studios, a Cars-themed area and Villains land for Magic Kingdom, and the Tropical Americas land at Animal Kingdom.

Set to open in 2027, this new section of Animal Kingdom is replacing DinoLand, U.S.A., and will include an all-new Encanto dark ride, an Indiana Jones dark ride replacing Dinosaur, an outdoor carousel, and new dining and retail replacing the existing locations.

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Encanto Ride Construction

The first pieces of steel went vertical for the Encanto ride this month, with Walt Disney Imagineering sharing footage of the milestone on social media.

In the couple weeks since then, steel continues to rise around the site for the ride building, which will be set behind the magical Casita house for the new attraction.

Much of DinoLand, U.S.A. is still hidden behind work walls, with a long pathway dividing the Encanto area at the back from the future entry courtyard of the upcoming Pueblo Esperanza village of Tropical Americas in the front.

Aerial views from Bioreconstruct show how work looked right before vertical construction began on the Encanto ride building.

We can see a section of construction at the back of the ride building that is littered with immense amount of conduit.

This possible power room is attached to what may be the maintenance bay for the new ride, tucked away and out of the way at the back of the building.

This area near the back of the ride building is where the first pieces of steel were erected during the start of vertical construction.

In just two weeks a whole wall of steel supports have now gone up along this section of the structure.

Prior to vertical construction beginning, most work that could be seen here was happening below the attraction’s future ground level, set below the track level for the dark ride.

We can see where ground level will be here in the power station room in the back, where it has been filled with dirt to this level higher than the rest of the ride building so far.

Some weatherproofing material appears to be added to the wall here within the ride area as well, so perhaps sections of the basement level will be filled in with dirt after conduit and other pipes have been placed.

Beside the Encanto ride area, and set between here and the Dinosaur ride, are a set of buildings which have been leftover from Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama.

This former retail space and bathroom structure is being retained and will be rethemed for the new land.

Construction fencing can be spotted around this tree, so it will likely be retained as well. Near the tree some work is happening below ground, with a large trench dug out behind it.

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Pueblo Esperanza Construction

Looking to the area on the other side of the work wall-lined pathway splitting the land, it’s clear that every last remnant of the former Boneyard play area has been demolished and removed from DinoLand, U.S.A..

This is where a new carousel will be build for the Tropical Americas land.

Trenches have been dug directly below where the carousel will sit, and it appears as though pipes and conduit have arrived to be placed underground to serve this upcoming attraction.

The location of the former animal habitat within this area has been smoothed over, preparing for the new land’s future central courtyard area.

A fountain in the middle of the village is planned for this area, directly in front of the rethemed Restaurantosaurus dining location.

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DinoLand Dining Updates

Restaurantosaurus will be transformed into a large hacienda, with additional seating added, making it one of the largest quick service locations at Walt Disney World.

Restaurantosaurus will officially close on February 2, 2026, the same date as the Dinosaur ride. The final day to experience the ride and dining will be February 1st.

Currently, you can find Santa Clause meeting in the area, on the back porch of Restaurantosaurus.

They are also serving holiday snacks and beverages in this area.

This will be our final holiday season in DinoLand, U.S.A., and even with a large portion of the land already gone, we can still enjoy some decorations and Christmas lights hung up in the areas that do remain.

The two smaller dining locations for the area have closed permanently.

The Buffalo Chicken Chips and Dole Whip Floats that were available at Trilo-Bites, near the entrance to land, can now be found at Eight Spoons Cafe in Discovery Island.

Hand-scooped ice cream that was available at Dino-Bite Snacks will find a new home elsewhere in the park in February.

Harambe Market in the Africa section of the park is currently closed for a kitchen refurbishment.

When it reopens in a few weeks it will offer new menu items, including chicken tenders and burgers. This will coincide with the closure of Restaurantosaurus, to ensure those theme park staples will continue to remain available even after DinoLand, U.S.A. is being transformed into Tropical Americas.

Some of the more popular items that were served at Harambe Market, like the bowls and wrap, are currently being offered at the Kusafiri Bakery window in Africa, near the entrance to Kilimanjaro Safaris.

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Zootopia: Better Zoogether Open

The new show that replaced It’s Tough to Be a Bug at the Tree of Life Theater has officially opened. Zootopia: Better Zoogether debuted on November 7, 2025.

The show is presented in “Carrot-Vision 3-D,” which just means the 3D glasses are orange.

Set up as a celebration of Zoogether Day, the story involves Judy and Nick trying to solve another case while the residents of Zootopia celebrate the annual holiday.

It features many of the theater effects originally utilized in the prior show, including water spray gags, the movement felt at the bottom of the seats, and a fog spray effect.

The show has also brought some new theater effects with it, including snow, bubbles, and a windy tornado-like effect that fills the theater with swirling wind and fog.

Just like it’s predecessor, the new show features an animatronic at the front-right of the screen, but this time he is present for most of the show and not just once scene.

Outside of the theater, new nets have been installed over much of the exterior queue.

The supports and nets are located in areas where guests walk under the Tree of Life, but it’s unclear at this time if they are permanent or temporary.

As part of the theming around the area, the new show brought decor and posters outside and within the holding area guests wait in before entering the theater.

The posters outside tell the story of the origin of Zoogether Day.

One of these posters feature the residents of Zootopia building the Tree of Life, including one who was designed as a tribute to Imagineer Joe Rohde.

In the holding area a new sign for the theater can be found.

The former ball of poop from the Bugs show has now been rethemed as what is descibed as a sphere composed of soils from each of the biomes of Zootopia.

A bulletin board in the holding area is filled with plenty of Easter eggs, including jokes, like this reference to real life Gazelle’s Shakira, an advert for one of the shorts found on Disney+, and a nod to something important that happens in Zootopia 2.

A new display spoofing Pandora Jewelry was added to this area, featuring Pawdora Jewelry.

The Pawdora display was built atop the prior host stand from It’s Tough to Be a Bug.

The stairs leading up to this former host stand can still be found around back.

Judy Hopps and Nick Wild can now be found meeting with guests in front of the Tree of Life, located just to the left of the entrance to the 3D show. This was an area where Russel and Dug from Pixar’s UP had been meeting previously, but it has been redressed for the new characters.

The exterior of the Tree of Life itself remains unchanged, including the tribute to Jane Goodall.

To honor her lifelong work, and her contributions to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the likeness of the chimpanzee she called David Greybeard was carved here.

Jane Goodall passed away in October of this year, so it’s good to see this tribute has remained unaffected by the arrival of the new attraction.

See the video version of this story for additional visuals. Be sure to subscribe to the news feed or enter your email below for updates on the Tropical Americas land, as well as the Monsters, Inc. land being built and Hollywood Studios, and don’t miss our latest deep dive into all of the new attractions coming to Universal Orlando including expansions for Epic Universe.

Subscribe to the news feed or enter your email address below to never miss an update. Original Photos: Alicia Stella | Aerial Photos: Bioreconstruct | Official Images: Disney | Other Images as Captioned

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