Tropical Americas construction update | ‘Encanto,’ Indiana Jones rides at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
This latest batch of construction photos show the latest progress of the Tropical Americas at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, including future new rides themed to “Encanto” and Indiana Jones.
The Tropical Americas themed area of Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Fla., will welcome guests to the fictional village of Puebla Esperanza in 2027, replacing DinoLand, U.S.A.
Coming to the new land are three new attractions. Replacing Dinosaur will be an “Indiana Jones” themed ride repurposing the existing ride system, while “Encanto” will take over the former Dino-Rama area. The project will also include a new carousel.
See construction over time below with aerial photography by @bioreconstruct.
Tropical Americas is one of several huge construction projects ongoing at Walt Disney World. Make sure to also check out our coverage of Piston Peak and Villains Land at Magic Kingdom plus Monstropolis at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Late April 2026:
From the angle of the photo below, you can see catch a glance of each portion of the Tropical Americas project. The first-ever Encanto attraction, Pueblo Esperanza carousel, Restaurantosaurus’ replacement, and the Indiana Jones retheme of ‘Dinosaur‘ are all coming together quite nicely, but there’s a lot more to see.
Let’s take a closer look.
A trailer that was attached to Restaurantosaurus for additional seating has been removed, which you can see in the top left of the image. Leaving a gaping hole in the building, it has been covered with a plastic tarp
The carousel’s steel frame has gone vertical. Extra steel beams have also been erected surrounding the carousel, presumably for the attraction’s queue.
If you’ve been following along with the construction over the last few months, this steel frame extending from the Encanto ride show building for the attraction’s entrance is not new. What is new is the smaller steel frame in the bottom right of the image below. This is most likely where guests will exit the Madrigals’ home.
Work continues covering up the Encanto show building. About one quarter of the back side had been covered at the time these pictures were taken.
Demolition surrounding the former Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures store is ongoing, with the stripping of theming also underway. The giant “SOUVENIRS” written atop the building is somehow the last remaining piece (or souvenir) of theming from Dinoland USA, which seems appropriate and a bit meta.
Chip and Dale’s former meet & greet spots have been reduced to dirt leading up to the entrance of the future Indiana Jones attraction.
A see-through tarp has replaced the once boarded-up windows of the Dino Institute from our last update. The extended queue coverings have been stripped to just their frame.
Previous updates below
Late March 2026: Entrance to Encanto attraction
The entrance to the home of the family Madrigal has taken shape, with Casita set to rest at the far end of the photo below.
There’s a lot of site prep happening across the Tropical Americas project, with lots of construction staging all throughout the plot.
They wasted no time gutting Restaurantosaurus, as you can see through the transparent roof on the left side of the building in the photo below. Most of the exterior theming remains, with the trailer that was used for seating still attached to the building on the right underneath the green canopy.
Concrete has been poured on the foundation for the land’s carousel. There’s a new concrete form to the bottom left of the carousel’s foundation.
The Dinosaur attraction sign has been removed, but some theming referencing The Dino Institute remains. The building itself remains the same, for now. Currently, the most noticeable changes are the excavation happening at the base of where Aladar once stood, and concrete being poured for the foundation of the temple that will welcome guests into the new Indiana Jones attraction.
Tropical Americas is coming along quite nicely as it becomes easier to tell what will soon become of the different parts of the construction project.
Mid-February 2026: Aladar gone, carousel takes shape
If you think progress on the Tropical Americas project is moving at an inexplicably fast pace, it’s not your imagination. Maybe it’s the Madrigals’ magic, but the ride building frame for the “Encanto” attraction is nearly complete.
Only one steel beam remains to be placed in the framework of the ride building before crews cover it all up and leave the interior to our imagination until the attraction opens.
The roof of the ride building continues be covered up, with the back portion being farther along, as it was worked on first.
Dedicated readers might notice something missing from the middle of the future Pueblo Esperanza. Following the closure of Dinosaur earlier this month, the pathway leading to that attraction has been demolished. All that remains is a pile of rubble, as both construction walls have also been taken down too, unifying the entire Tropical Americas as one large construction site.
The carousel has now taken shape, with electrical conduit work starting to be covered up. The ring in the center is where riders will board “hand-carved” recreations of some of their favorite Disney animal friends.
The pile of rubble in the top left of the image is from the guest pathway that was demolished after Dinosaur closed. The entirety of the Tropical Americas project is now fully blocked off to guests, after closing in phases over the last year.
Speaking of Dinosaur, Aladar the Iguanodon is now extinct. The fountain he sat upon has also been removed, but he’s not the only dinosaur missing from the Dino Institute.
Dino-Sue, a replica of a Tyrannosaurus rex fossil, has also been removed. Crews are wasting no time removing any trace of Dinosaur from the future home of Indiana Jones.
Late January 2026: Progress on massive show building
The multi-leveled show building for the “Encanto” attraction is at various stages of construction. The back half is already being covered up, while the front half extends the framework, with more to come.
It feels like the more progress the show building sees, the more we realize just how massive it is. It’s going to be very interesting to see how the multiple stories play out when it comes to the layout of the attraction.
The foundation for Casita has been mostly covered up since our last update as construction crews work on the base of the home of the amazing Madrigals!
Nearby, utility conduits are being placed in the framework for the carousel attraction. These will soon be covered up when work is done, before the carousel framework takes shape.
In addition to the utility conduits, the plot is seeing more foundation work. The entirety of the Tropical Americas project is now blocked off to guests as Dinosaur has since closed from the time these pictures were taken. I wouldn’t be shocked if our next few updates saw significantly more progress, as this project is already moving at a rapid pace.
January 2026: Hola, Casita!
It appears the concrete forms for what will be Casa Madrigal have taken shape, now giving us a good idea of where the entrance to the “Encanto” attraction might be!
It’s only been a few weeks since the last update and the show building for the “Encanto” attraction has seen incredible progress. The steel framing extends further into the plot, and the back portion of the show building has even progressed beyond its framing to include preliminary flooring (or possibly preliminary roofing).
The Tropical Americas carousel has also seen quite a bit of progress since the last update. The wooden frames have been covered up, and the future home of the carousel itself its being excavated.
Late December 2025: Casita goes vertical
We’ve reached the phase in construction where progress might appear vastly different in shorter periods of time. Ringing in the new year is visible foundation work for the character carousel inside of Pueblo Esperanza, as well as the home of the family Madrigal going vertical.
The area of Tropical Americas pictured below will house the character carousel, crafted by a “local woodcarver” in the likeness of some of your favorite creatures from various Disney stories. Concrete will start to form in the wooden frames seen below as the foundation for this attraction and its surroundings sees work over the coming months.
With steel beams going up on the site of the “Encanto” attraction, we can get a better idea of just how big this ride’s show building will be.
While some of the footprint is still going through various stages of concrete curing and foundation work, this is only about 1/3 of the steel that has to be raised, so expect even more work on the other 2/3 before that portion gets its frame work.
Keen-eyed readers might have noticed this deep portion in what will be a part of the “Encanto” ride. Soon to be enclosed within the show building, it leaves a lot of speculation about what role this pit could play during the ride. One thing is for sure: it’ll be nothing short of “fantastical and magical.”
Here’s what the area currently looks like from ground level. All of DinoLand will be closed off as of Feb. 2, 2026.
December 2025 construction: Foundation for Casita
The site of the future “Encanto” attraction is seeing rapid development now as construction crews build upon the foundation they’ve laid.
Concrete walls are going up in what appears to be backstage areas, as they are set toward the edge of the footprint to be occupied by the Madrigals’ Casita and the attraction inside. We can also start to see just how long this attraction’s show building might be.
You’ll notice that certain portions of the foundation work from the previous update have been covered up. Construction on this project sure is moving at a quicker pace than when Dino-Rama closed earlier this year!
The gray building adjacent to the construction site are existing facilities related to water vehicles that navigate the park’s Discovery River.
November 2025 construction: Little left of DinoLand
With The Boneyard completely out of the way, construction can finally commence on the carousel guests will find in Pueblo Esperanza, the village at the heart of the Tropical America’s project. The carousel will be built on the left side of the bottom part of the guest pathway that divides the construction, by those orange fences.
Since we last checked in on the Madrigal family’s move to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, there’s been a lot more foundation work for their Casita and its accompanying show building. Walls have grown throughout the site and large portions of concrete have been recently poured. Orange fences outline new show building footers as this site inches closer to seeing its show building go vertical.
If you’re visiting Animal Kingdom anytime soon, be prepared to go on a journey that’ll turn you into a dinosaur before you get to the ride of the same name. Since The Boneyard closed, guest traffic has been rerouted around the former children’s playground through a construction wall lined pathway to get to what remains of DinoLand, U.S.A. While half of the project is seeing swift progress, Dinosaur and Restaurantosaurus remain in tact … for now (or at least, through Feb. 1, 2026, their final operating day).
September 2025 construction: Boneyard demolished
The Boneyard has been completely demolished, marking a huge milestone in the Tropical Americas construction project. The former entrance into DinoLand, U.S.A., has been walled off, with guests directed around the construction site if they wish to experience Dinosaur before it closes in February 2026.
The base of the crane that will be used in the construction of Casita has been installed in the site of the future Encanto attraction, marked by a yellow arrow in the image directly below. Construction crews are hard at work laying the foundation for the ride. We can expect to see the attraction’s show building go vertical soon after.
July 2025 construction: Dino-Rama leveled
As of July 26, 2025, construction workers leveled the former Dino-Rama, leaving dirt piles as land prepping continues.
The wall in the middle is where the former Dino-Rama area ended. The future “Encanto” attraction will expand further than that, as land clearing is all happening behind this wall.
Looking at the construction from a back angle, you can get a real sense of the scale for the new area coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. A retaining wall has been added as notated by the yellow arrow. Retaining walls are usually used to keep dirt and soil in to create stable land.
January 2025 construction: Dino-Rama closed
On Jan. 12, 2025, Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama! went extinct. Construction crews have wasted no time removing signs and taking apart attractions to make way for Pueblo Esperanza. Roughly translating to “Village of Hope,” Pueblo Esperanza is a fictional setting for an upcoming Tropical Americas land, and is a gateway to new attractions coming soon to Animal Kingdom.
Construction walls and planters surround the old roadside attraction area of DinoLand U.S.A.
Signs that used to sit atop the Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures shop have been taken down.
Prior to their removal, these signs were perfectly themed to the kitschy souvenir shop below, advertising gifts for sale.
Construction workers began taking apart TriceraTop Spin (a hub-and-spoke ride that exists in three other fonts in Magic Kingdom) just days after the ride’s closure. Since the ride is outdoors, we have a better look at the deconstruction taking place.
The triceratops ride vehicles have been removed from the now extinct attraction, just like their ancestors 65 million years ago.
The day when the Madrigals open their Casita to the guests of Disney’s Animal Kingdom (sometime in 2027) will be here before we know it. While you’re here, be sure to check out our video of the Pueblo Esperanza model revealed at D23 2024:
Are you looking forward to this new land? Do you think Mirabel and Dr. Jones should move in to a different park? Let us know in the comments below!
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