Walt Disney Imagineering has filed a new construction permit for installation of new set elements on DINOSAUR. This filing is a bit perplexing, as the Animal Kingdom attraction is a few months away from its extinction level event. This post tries to make sense of the permit, reconciling it with what we already know about the ride’s closing.
As basic background, Tropical Americas at Animal Kingdom is the next new land coming to Walt Disney World with a 2027 opening target. Imagineering is already in the process of transforming Dinoland into this new Tropical Americas area. The work is currently focused on the former Dino-Rama, which bit the dust back in January.
Imagineering announced has three areas of Tropical Americas. First is Pueblo Esperanza, the hub in heart of the rainforest that’s name translates to “Village of Hope.” This will be home to a large quick-service restaurant and will also offer a critter carousel as an attraction. To the left is the Encanto magical Madrigal Casita dark ride, which is likely to be a family-friendly Omnimover. To the right of that is the new Indiana Jones Adventure attraction, which will reimagine and replace DINOSAUR.
Tropical Americas will feature “authentic experiences” from this area of the world, with placemaking and storytelling you’d expect from Animal Kingdom. “It’s a beautiful region to explore and has been the inspiration for so many magical stories over the years,” added Vaughn. We can only assume this means that Tropical Americas will feature capybara and chupacabra, both of which are definitely real animals and not at all made up freaks of nature.
For a more detailed look at Tropical Americas and how the new land will replace Dinoland, check out our up-close look at Walt Disney Imagineering’s Tropical Americas Model. Since the new land will feature distinct subsections and construction is occurring in phases, we also wouldn’t be surprised if the new land debuted in two or three phases.
In any case, here’s what we know about the new DINOSAUR and/or Indiana Jones Adventure construction permit…
DINOSAUR Construction Permit Details
The new construction permit is assigned to Mecca Productions, Inc. as the contractor and lists “Install Set Elements” as the scope of the work. The description is pretty straightforward, suggesting updates to show scenes. Set pieces or props being added, refreshed, or replaced outright. This could be as a routine refurbishment or part of the upcoming reimagining.
Mecca Productions is a Central Florida firm specializing in themed props, scenery, and set pieces. The company has large-scale themed entertainment projects in its portfolio, and has collaborated with Walt Disney World in the past. The most recent record we could find in the DTB Archives was for Toy Story Roundup Rodeo BBQ. Here’s hoping this project is a tad more ambitious.
The filing is assigned to the address of the DINOSAUR show building. The permit was filed on August 6, 2025 and has the default one-year expiration. This alone is notable, as we’d expect a longer time period for Indiana Jones Adventure, which won’t open until sometime in 2027 at the earliest. Our expectation is that it debuts in the second half of the year, if not 2028.
Also notable is that the bulk of the interior work transforming DINOSAUR into Indiana Jones Adventure will be removing and installing set elements. The show scenes are changing, but the track layout–which is already almost identical to IJA–is not. We’d also expect fairly significant changes to the queue and, in all likelihood, ditching the dedicated pre-show room.
Our Commentary
What’s most interesting about this construction permit is that it’s being filed at least 5 months before the closure of DINOSAUR. As a reminder, DINOSAUR is currently open and fully operational. Walt Disney World has previously confirmed that the attraction will close sometime in 2026, but no specific closing date has been announced (although we have a good guess–see below).
It’s not uncommon for construction permits for work that’s going to happen in the future to be filed in the present. Technically, that’s how they work, period. Work cannot commence until permits are pulled. But normally, the filing of permits occurs a few days to a few weeks before work gets started. Maybe a little over a month. I cannot think of an instance of permits being filed 5+ months in advance, like this.
In all likelihood, the filing of this permit means the work is going to start this calendar year. That means one of a few things.
The first is that Walt Disney World wants to send DINOSAUR out on a high note.
The new permit pertains to continued upkeep or enhancements to maintain high standards of show quality as DINOSAUR approaches its extinction event. A lot of work has been done at DINOSAUR over the last few years to fix perpetually-broken effects, and this could be an extension of that. I’ve seen DINOSAUR looking good and noticed a few fixed effects on some ride-throughs either late last year or early this year. (Either way, post-Tropical Americas announcement.)
I am nevertheless skeptical of a concerted effort to enhance show scenes to a degree that would trigger permitting. It’s not standard practice for Walt Disney World to improve attractions before they permanently close. Usually, the opposite occurs. Disney sends out attractions on a low note as opposed to a high one. A great recent example of this was Splash Mountain, which was in sorry shape for months–if not over a year–prior to its closure for reimagining into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
Some might argue that this was to lower expectations, make fans more accepting of the reimagining, or whatever. But it’s really standard practice for Walt Disney World, which has let routine maintenance lapse on attractions slated for replacement repeatedly. Maelstrom, Great Movie Ride, Tom Sawyer Island, and Country Bear Jamboree all come to mind. Heck, Universe of Energy was in such poor shape that it broke down in its final hours–those dinos went extinct with a whimper, instead of a bang. There are a few examples of attractions going out on a high note, but they’re the exception.
The second possibility is that one hand doesn’t know what the other is doing.
I’ve lost count of how many times Walt Disney World’s Facility Asset Management (FAM) group has undertaken one of their routine maintenance projects at an attraction that was slated for reimagining or replacement. This has been the genesis of just as many rumors that a particular attraction was actually “safe” or that a project had been cancelled. In actuality, it was utterly meaningless. FAM undertakes certain projects (theater seat replacements being a good example) pursuant to its own timetables, and seemingly without regard for whatever else is happening.
This almost certainly is not what’s happening with DINOSAUR. This is a construction permit via Walt Disney Imagineering, and it’s assigned to a third party contractor with specialized expertise. It’s not seats in a theater, it’s show scenes. In all likelihood, something more material is happening here.
The third possibility is that work on Indiana Jones Adventure is going to start while DINOSAUR is still operational.
This strikes me as both the most plausible and the “everyone wins” scenario. DINOSAUR is largely an attraction in the dark. There’s no reason that work couldn’t start after hours on the show scenes that don’t really exist to begin with while DINOSAUR is still operational. Start prepping the attraction for what’s to come in ways that aren’t invasive to the guest experience.
There’s precedent for this. Over at Disney California Adventure, the creation of Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout took less than a year in total, with most of the exterior transformation occurring while Tower of Terror was still operational. Once the Hollywood Tower Hotel went vacant, the Collector took up residence in only 5 months. Without question, that was the fastest turnaround time for Imagineering in recent memory–and the results were shockingly good.
The changes to this attraction are going to be much more involved and elaborate, but Imagineering could pull from that same playbook when transforming DINOSAUR into Indiana Jones Adventure. Although we haven’t seen permits for it yet, I wouldn’t be surprised if they started work on the facade while DINOSAUR is operational. Maybe even portions of the queue.
There’s also an incentive to do this, as Animal Kingdom can’t really “afford” to lose attractions like the other parks. DINOSAUR staying open as long as possible and this being a phased closure is a notable contrast to what’s happening at Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but the reason for that is Animal Kingdom needs all the ride capacity it can get. The value proposition of DAK is already borderline (at best) to the average guest, and closing another ride before Zootopia: Better Zoogether opens would be challenging.
Honestly, even once it does open, it’s tough to lose a ride while “only” gaining a show. I really wonder what Animal Kingdom is going to do in 2026 to offset DINOSAUR. Maybe Kali River Rapids won’t go down for its seasonal closure? Perhaps more entertainment or a special celebration will be added? No matter what, the already anemic ride roster is going to be down by one for the bulk of the year.
The final possibility is that DINOSAUR is closing earlier than previously announced.
This strikes me as unlikely (see above), but not completely off the table. On the one hand, the Boneyard recently had its closing date moved forward by a few months, so the precedent exists. On the other hand, Walt Disney World announced that with several months’ notice, and the Boneyard is smaller-scale than DINOSAUR. Frankly, I’m expecting an official 2026 closing date for DINOSAUR at the 2025 Destination D23 event, so an earlier closure than that presumably would’ve been announced by now.
Nevertheless, it’s my wishful thinking that the extinction of DINOSAUR has been fast-tracked and Walt Disney World is going to drop a press release soon. Some fans probably still haven’t said their goodbyes to DINOSAUR, but what’s the hold-up? We’ve known since the 2023 Destination D23–nearly two full years–that DINOSAUR was going to be replaced “soon.” Even longer than that if you count the kinda-sorta announcement at the 2022 D23 Expo. Rumors have been flying for far longer.
More recently, the real surprise wasn’t that DINOSAUR is closing. It’s that DINOSAUR is not going to close until 2026. The prevailing assumption prior to that announcement was that DINOSAUR would close sometime this year, and probably in the first half.
I have conflicted feelings about this whole project. I’ve danced on the grave of Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama, the removal of which was addition by subtraction. I love those construction walls; they have a great but misunderstood backstory that most guests miss.
Tropical Americas is going to be a huge win for Animal Kingdom, and is far superior to the Moana and Zootopia pitch that preceded it. At the same time, I lament the loss of dinosaurs in Animal Kingdom. These are the awesomest animals ever and deserve representation at DAK. I can only hope that happens with new expansion down the road, but Dino-Rama and Dinoland just weren’t it.
As for DINOSAUR, I have nostalgia for the attraction and think it gets a lot right, especially the campy setup. But I also think Indiana Jones Adventure is the unequivocally superior attraction, and if the Animal Kingdom incarnation is 75% as good as the two existing versions, it will far exceed DINOSAUR. However, it’s only that good if Imagineering has sufficient time to do the reimagining justice. If it’s rushed to meet a hard 2027 deadline, it could suffer from precisely the same problems as DINOSAUR.
Basically, my bottom line is that I am more than happy to lose DINOSAUR a few months early if it means the project team has more time to nail the execution of Indiana Jones Adventure. As a fan playing the long game, I’m much more concerned with the few decades we’ll have Indiana Jones Adventure than the few remaining months of DINOSAUR. It should’ve been closed already. I’d be more than fine with not getting to say a “proper” goodbye if it meant maximizing the reimagining time.
While I would be surprised to see DINOSAUR close outright before 2026, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the remainder of Dinoland close ahead of schedule. Decreased demand for Restaurantosaurus (etc.) is already playing out, and that’ll be even more true once the off-season starts and the Boneyard closes.
Maybe everything else will close with DINOSAUR in early 2026. Personally, I’m skeptical. As we just saw with Muppets Courtyard, there’s an irresistible temptation for operational cost-savings of “underutilized capacity.” If Restaurantosaurus is deemed unnecessary, it could close before 2026. Just walking around Animal Kingdom after 2 pm in July, it was very obvious that the park had excess dining capacity. I can’t imagine that they actually need to have Restaurantosaurus open on the vast majority of days.
I could also see a scenario where Restaurantosaurus goes seasonal in the next couple of months, before reopening in November and December for a final farewell at Christmas. Then again, Walt Disney World still hasn’t confirmed a 76th Annual Dino Institute Holiday Party on the back porch, which could mean that the decision has yet to be made.
Regardless of this new construction permit and everything else, we still believe that the most likely closure date for DINOSAUR is January 13, 2026.
This is our prediction, and not anything officially announced by Walt Disney World–or even rumored. That’s one year after Dino-Rama closed, adjusted for a comparable Monday extinction event. There’s a reason for this–and why this type of major change/closure so often occurs on the second Monday in January.
That’s after the holiday season, after schools go back into session, and also after the 2026 Walt Disney World Marathon wraps up. It’s the end of the peak season, and start of the winter season. It’s also possible Imagineering waits until after Spring Break 2026, but I really doubt it–and hope not.
Ultimately, 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.
Between the belated closing of DINOSAUR and the progress to date on Encanto, Tropical Americas seems like it’s going to have a tough time hitting its 2027 target date. While I’d love to have the new land ASAP to make Animal Kingdom a full-day park, I’m also fine waiting if it means these rides are done right. I’d prefer Monstropolis opening first and Tropical Americas slipping into 2028, if that’s what it takes.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Surprised by Imagineering filing a new construction permit for DINOSAUR in early August 2025? Think this is for Indiana Jones Adventure or DINOSAUR? Hopeful that the extinction event is being accelerated, or do you still want to say your goodbyes? When do you expect DINOSAUR and Dinoland at Animal Kingdom to close completely? Think DINOSAUR will go extinct on January 13, 2026? Think our theories are wrong? 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!
