News 'Encanto' and 'Indiana Jones'-themed experiences at Animal Kingdom

EagleScout610

These cats can PLAAAAAYYYYY
Premium Member
I would assume they can close a lot without much hoopla, but I'm curious how much notice they'll give the public for something like Triceratop Spin before it closes
For DINOSAUR I can see them putting a closing announcement out at least two months out so people have time to say their goodbyes. With Chester Hester, Triceratops, ect... I wouldn't be shocked if it's like a week ahead
 

ToTBellHop

Well-Known Member
So are they going to replace the triceratops head on the ticket booth with a giant Mirabel head?
I’d go with the Indy beast. Or, the most-feared monster of all, Karen the Childless Disney Adult!!!
1727350553257.gif
 

Purduevian

Well-Known Member
I could've sworn I saw some relatively reputable "end of 2025" posts, with ITTBAB and maybe the other elements of Dinoland leaving earlier.

Splash to Tiana took 522 days. I expect Dino to Indy to take a similar amount of time.

For Dino to open on December 31st, 2027 (to meet the promise of the whole land being open in 2027) it would have to close on July 27th, 2026.

I can't see Encanto opening in 23 months even if they start building today, but maybe I am wrong.

I think more likely is Zootopia and Dino are both open for Christmas/ new years 2025, then Dino goes down.
Not an insider, but I would expect Dinosaur to close ~18 months before the land is ready to open. For a 2027 opening you are looking between a June 2025-July 2026 close to make that happen depending on when in 2027 it would be opening.

However, maybe this is more ambitious and needs more time than splash>tiana
 

co10064

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
Not an insider, but I would expect Dinosaur to close ~18 months before the land is ready to open. For a 2027 opening you are looking between a June 2025-July 2026 close to make that happen depending on when in 2027 it would be opening.

However, maybe this is more ambitious and needs more time than splash>tiana
This may be a hot take, but I HOPE they take longer than that. I genuinely want this re-theme to be an upgrade, and I would rather close Dinosaur early to get a better Indy.
 

Gusey

Well-Known Member
Not an insider, but I would expect Dinosaur to close ~18 months before the land is ready to open. For a 2027 opening you are looking between a June 2025-July 2026 close to make that happen depending on when in 2027 it would be opening.

However, maybe this is more ambitious and needs more time than splash>tiana
I know it was joked about at the D23 panel, but it seems that 2027 is still quite a quick turnaround if they begin closing Dinoland this Fall. Dinosaur will probably close January (that's a popular month for attractions to close as its after the Xmas crowds). Unlike Tiana's, Tropical Americas has a lot more components to it so I can see them trying to close down that whole area of the park as soon as possible. Zootopia will be open for the Xmas 2025 crowds so that capacity will at least be back again by then
 

Purduevian

Well-Known Member
I know it was joked about at the D23 panel, but it seems that 2027 is still quite a quick turnaround if they begin closing Dinoland this Fall. Dinosaur will probably close January (that's a popular month for attractions to close as its after the Xmas crowds). Unlike Tiana's, Tropical Americas has a lot more components to it so I can see them trying to close down that whole area of the park as soon as possible. Zootopia will be open for the Xmas 2025 crowds so that capacity will at least be back again by then
I expect most of Dinoland to go down in the next 3 months, but AK management will probably be pushing to keep Dinosaur and restaurantosaurus open as long as possible.

This should be possible as both are getting an overlay and Dinosaur is presumably keeping the same ride system and track layout

Splash to tiana took ~1.5 years and re-used the ride layout and tracks
Malestorm to Frozen took ~1.75 years and only made slight alterations to the ride path
GMR to MMRR took ~2.5 years but was a completely new ride system/path
 

djlaosc

Well-Known Member
I've read that previous conversions have taken around 16 months (I think that was referencing Tiana WDW and GOTG: MB in DCA, but not sure if that timeline is accurate).

If that is the case, they could close Chester & Hester's somewhere between 6 weeks and January 2025 (after the holiday crowds have left), and you could technically keep Dinosaur until January 2026 (after the holiday crowds have left, and potentially Zootopia has opened in the Tree of Life), opening Indiana Jones/Tropical Americas Memorial Day weekend May 2026.
 

djlaosc

Well-Known Member
I would not plan on it being open in May.
That's a shame... we were hoping for a "Hello EU, Goodbye RoA/Dinosaur trip" at some point next year, but Disney (and Universal) need to start issuing information/rough "seasons" of opening/closing dates - the secrecy is making it difficult to try to plan a trip for next year and I would rather be disappointed/rearrange now, rather than plan on something being open, and receive an announcement after booking - you would at least know when you wouldn't have a chance at seeing something, even if you couldn't guarantee it.

If you think about it:
  • in the UK, 2025 packages have already been on sale for 5 months now (and the extras/free dining probably only have around 1-1.5 months remaining).
  • 2/3 of the year is already available for booking by renting DVC points 11 months out.
  • 1/3 of the year is already available for booking by renting DVC points 7 months out
 

EagleScout610

These cats can PLAAAAAYYYYY
Premium Member
For reference, here are the conversion times for both versions of Tiana’s:

WDW- 522 Days (1/23/23 - 6/28/24)
DL -
535 days (5/31/23 -11/15/24)

And because it's brought up frequentlywhenever a retheme happens:

Frozen - 625 days (10/4/14 6/21/16)

So realistically it's safe to assume a 18ish month turnaround for Dinosaur to Indy is what we'll get
 
Last edited:

Mr. Sullivan

Well-Known Member
There will be pathetic shills on this board defending it.
I might regret asking this question but at this point what even is a shill to you? Everyone who enjoys something you don't? The word gets thrown around so much now I genuinely don't even know what you're trying to say anymore.

Also like...why constantly bring this up? You're saying this in a quote of post that in no way shape form or fashion prompted this kind of response.
 

Mr. Sullivan

Well-Known Member
I mean, what other reason could it be? I've heard they are a nightmare to maintain from a friend that worked on them.
Honestly on this one I think the reasoning is as simple as they have watched the two versions of this attraction have a large disparity in popularity for years. I would actually go even further to say that they could have placed almost anything else in this attraction as a retheme and it would boost the ride's popularity. Indiana Jones is just a proven solid marriage to this ride system.

All that to say, I don't think that this has anything to do with the animatronic upkeep. I think it's got everything to do with the ride just hasn't been much of a people pleaser for a long time now, and it's semi-twin across the country has been for years. That does sort of suggest that DINOSAUR's theme and content brought with it some obstacles that Indiana Jones does not. People clearly are not turned off by the thrill level and ride style, or else Indiana Jones Adventure wouldn't be as popular as it is.

I really, really like DINOSAUR, but of all the decisions for stuff they announced at D23, this decision seems to be the most straightforward and easy to explain.
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom