Disney Teases 'Encanto' and 'Indiana Jones'-themed experiences for Animal Kingdom's big refresh

Sep 09, 2023 in "Disney's Animal Kingdom"

Gallery / 6 Photos
Tropical Americas Encanto land concept art at Disney's Animal Kingdom

Posted: Saturday September 9, 2023 10:37am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

New experiences inspired by "Encanto" – the Academy Award winning Walt Disney Animation Studios film – and the fan-favorite adventurer Indiana Jones are being considered for the reimagined DinoLand U.S.A. at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

New experiences inspired by “Encanto” and the fan-favorite adventurer Indiana Jones are being considered for the reimagined land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

The new land themed to the tropical Americas would replace the entire Dino-Land U.S.A. area, with Indiana Jones replacing the existing Dinosaur ride, and Encanto replacing Dino-Rama. This latest concept also suggests that Disney has abandoned the plans for Moana and Zootopia in this area of the park.

Dinosaur is replaced in this concept art with Indiana Jones

Dino-Rama is replaced with Encanto

Imagineering Boss Bruce Vaughn said, "Imagine a land filled with authentic experiences from this part of the world. With all of the placemaking and storytelling you'd expect. Look, it's a beautiful region to explore and has been the inspiration for so many magical stories over the years. We're looking forward to bringing all of that to life"

Tropical Americas Encanto land concept art at Disney's Animal Kingdom

Vaughn contninued, "Imagineering has been talking about stories from this part of the world; Encanto with Indiana Jones just rose to the top. They give us so much to play with. We have a long way to go now and a lot more to discover. But our team here in Florida is all over it."

Discuss on the Forums

Get Walt Disney World News Delivered to Your Inbox

UNCgolf33 minutes ago

I agree that using screens/projections isn't inherently bad -- Na'vi River Journey is a good example of a ride that uses them almost perfectly -- but I don't think Guardians got it right at all. Using screens/projections does make sense for a roller coaster in a dark warehouse, but the actual execution was poor. People enjoy the ride for the physical motion and the soundtrack; hardly anyone cares about the attempt at story. Shanghai Pirates is much better, although they failed in a few places there as well.

veritas552 hours ago

yeah, I never subscribed to the view that all screens are necessarily bad or cheap. There's a right place for newer technology -- and Guardians got it right. (So did Shanghai Pirates, albeit with many more practical effects, which you can do with a boat ride, but much less so on a moving coaster.)

Bocabear7 hours ago

I agree the Guardians pre-show and post show moment would have been much better with animatronics...instead of all film... It would be like the change when they finally added the 3 amigos in animatronic form to the Where is Donald ride...a HUGE change... something so small made such a big impact on the overall ride..... That would happen with Guardians too.

mattpeto7 hours ago

Besides experiencing a nightime show, I think riding Tron at night is my current favorite experience at WDW. It's something I plan around. It's an electric feeling walking up that ramp at night, with the music, coaster blitzing by you and the canopy effects. In terms of nighttime vibe, I think it's absolutely a home run for Magic Kingdom and say it's the best sensory thing since the Epcot 50th Beacons. It has some faults: it's short, could do a better job hiding the show building, and daytime experience is a massive drop in vibe. If it's a 10 at night, it's a 3 during the day. I would compare Guardians to Everest. A very thrilling reverse launch coaster with some punch. I'd say Guardians is actually safer for grandmom as Everest isn't as smooth. Guardians music gives it a a nice replay but the lack of animatronics and nobody cares about the pre and post shows at this point unless it's your first time. Even going by the neutered Yeti is still a thrill EVERY time.

ChewbaccaYourMum7 hours ago

Hypothetically, if something was being built in Epcot right now, would this have been the first time in WDW history that big construction was going on in every single park? Is this the first time big construction has been going on in 3 of the 4 parks even?

J45467 hours ago

I wish when you entered the tron building wheres theres that big blank black wall, they put a giant recognizer you fly under and its says something cool

JTEPCOT7 hours ago

Great photos!

Bocabear7 hours ago

That is exactly how I feel about Tron.... Yeah, it is something different but makes no sense in it's location, and I was hoping the pre-show would have really explained what you are doing and why... Sure parts of it are pretty...is is like 60 seconds long, and I don't think it is that engaging.....Might have been a better fir for DHS or even EPCOT.... Guardians might have been better at DHS.... but I think the ride is much more fun than the Tron experience....

TrainsOfDisney9 hours ago

It’s a dark room with lighted set pieces and physical effects (low lying fog). Vs. a dark warehouse with 1 set piece and lots of screens (anything else?) Tron feels more immersive than guardians to me. Guardians is fun - but I don’t understand the hype for it.

DCBaker10 hours ago

Photos from today: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55090365856_9be02aea5e_k.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55090363406_2703692d58_k.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55090727735_7def749ce6_k.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55090568953_b241361579_k.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55090727955_d706562369_k.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55090727845_bb1eaed96d_k.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55090569063_d6269809d6_k.jpg [url=https://flic.kr/p/2rWaAWF]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55090576083_fdad0b19fd_k.jpg [url=https://flic.kr/p/2rW9wr8]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55090365801_343ab03af4_k.jpg [url=https://flic.kr/p/2rW4YyV]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55089478157_f02bd215c8_k.jpg [url=https://flic.kr/p/2rW9vK8]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55090363481_c5dd7d31be_k.jpg [url=https://flic.kr/p/2rWaSLC]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55090629324_5c1c8d2ace_k.jpg [url=https://flic.kr/p/2rWaSeF]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55090627529_7815511bca_k.jpg [url=https://flic.kr/p/2rWaSRH]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55090629619_e63f1b148f_k.jpg [url=https://flic.kr/p/2rW4Yte]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55089477827_092e38ec40_k.jpg

Disgruntled Walt10 hours ago

Touchdown13 hours ago

A dark room with many lighted figures losing their soul. It’s not just a blank room.

Brer Panther14 hours ago

I'll give you Tron, but if an attraction is fifty percent screens and features at least one segment where the ride vehicles park in front of a giant screen, I think "cheap".

veritas5514 hours ago

Fair point on theming, especially the first half of the ride (the pre-launch sequence). But the "coaster" part of Revenge is mostly a dark room until the fake ending -- the entire coaster portion of Guardians is full of dazzling effects, screens or not. It's a completely immersive experience that sorta puts Space Mountain in a different light (and I love Space Mountain).