‘Encanto’ ride at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 2027 | Concept art, scale model, story details
An “Encanto” ride will open at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 2027, bringing the Madrigals to Walt Disney World.
Artwork throughout courtesy of Disney
The Imagineers’ big reveal
Disney officially announced the “Encanto” ride for Animal Kingdom on Aug. 10, 2024, during D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event along with concept art for the attraction. The ride will be part of a new land called Tropical Americas, which also includes an “Indiana Jones” ride and a carousel.
Watch Bruce Vaughn, chief creative officer of Walt Disney Imagineering, reveal the “Encanto” ride to a packed arena of Disney fans at D23 2024 in our video:
‘Encanto’ ride opening date
Disney has not announced an exact opening date for the “Encanto” ride, but it will debut sometime in 2027.
Ride system
Disney hasn’t specified what kind of ride the “Encanto” attraction will utilize, whether that be a trackless ride system (like Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure at Epcot), a boat ride (like It’s a Small World), or something different. The setup of the riders in the concept art resembles a boat layout, but this has not been confirmed.
Location of ‘Encanto’ ride
The “Encanto” ride will be located at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla.
Specifically, the attraction will reside where Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama! formerly stood within DinoLand, U.S.A., at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, along with a parcel of land that was previously backstage. (The Tropical Americas project at large will completely replace DinoLand, which permanently closes on Feb. 2, 2026.)
The story
The “Encanto” ride takes place on the day within the movie when Antonio receives his gift. Each member of the Madrigal family grows into possessing a magical ability as they come of age. Antonio’s gift is the ability to speak to animals, and the room he receives on his big day is filled with all sorts of creatures and habitats.
However, at this point in the movie, most of the Madrigal family is quite frustrated with Mirabel, the protagonist of the film. As the only member of the family to never have received a gift, for reasons unknown, she feels left out and downtrodden. This point in the story is arguably Mirabel’s lowest. And yet, this is when the ride takes place. Whether the attraction will acknowledge the awkward family dynamics at play or ignore them for the sake of the ride’s tone remains to be seen.
Construction progress of ‘Encanto’ ride
Construction for the “Encanto” ride is well underway. Here’s a look as of November 2025, captured from the sky by @bioreconstruct. See more detailed construction analysis and photos of progress over time in our separate coverage.
Scale model
A scale model of the entire Tropical Americas project, including the “Encanto” ride, is on display inside Walt Disney Presents, an exhibit attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
We also saw a version of this model on display at D23 2024:
Are you looking forward to the world’s first “Encanto” ride coming to Animal Kingdom? Stay connected with AttractionsMagazine.com for daily coverage of theme park news, trip reports, and exclusive interviews from Disney, Universal, and independent attractions around the world.
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