Encanto, Indiana Jones, and Zootopia coming to Animal Kingdom

Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products Chairman Josh D’Amaro broke big Walt Disney World news during his “A Celebration of Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow” presentation for Destination D23 in Orlando, Fla., when he announced Encanto, Indiana Jones, and Zootopia are planned for Disney Animal Kingdom.

While very exciting, the news isn’t entirely unexpected. We first heard about these potential additions during D23 Expo 2022, when Josh – along with Walt Disney Animation Chief Creative Officer Jennifer Lee and Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Portfolio Executive Chris Beatty –  entertained several “blue sky” ideas for new characters and experiences that “might” be added to the park.

“At one point in my career, I was lucky enough to be leading Disney’s Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World,” Josh said in 2022. “During that time, I was involved with the planning for Pandora – World of Avatar […] but I was always thinking about the possibilities for transformation in another area of the park, and that’s DinoLand.”

DinoLand U.S.A. Reimagination

Josh (along with Walt Disney Imagineering Chief Creative Officer Bruce Vaughn) also announced that DinoLand U.S.A. in Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park will potentially be re-themed to represent the northern part of South America extending into Central America – known as the tropical Americas.

“These are the most biodiverse areas on the planet [where] people travel for adventure, exploration, and discovery,” Vaughn said. “We’re imagining a land filled with authentic experiences from this part of the world with all the placemaking and storytelling you’d expect.”

So, which Disney stories will be represented in the new land? Josh and Bruce “let slip” that guests may expect to step into the worlds of Encanto and Indiana Jones. As for details about specific experiences and attractions, unfortunately, that’s still under wraps, but the magical Madrigal casita may be making its way from Colombia to Orlando.

It’s also important to note the current Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom uses the same ride vehicle and has the same path as the Indiana Jones Adventure ride at Disneyland.

New Zootopia Show

Hot on the heels of all the exciting details revealed this week about the world’s first Zootopia-themed land at Shanghai Disney Resort, D’Amaro also announced that Zootopia will also be coming to Orlando – to the Tree of Life Theater, to be exact, replacing “It’s Tough to be a Bug.”

The new Zootopia-themed show will take guests into the different biomes from the animated film, plus a few that have yet to be seen. The show will also feature favorite characters Judy Hopps, Nick Wilde, and an audio-animatronic Officer Clawhauser like the one developed for the Zootopia attraction in Shanghai Disneyland.