Disney Legend Joe Rohde Reflects on DinoLand U.S.A. Closing, Praises Tropical Americas Team

11 days ago in "Dinosaur"

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Dinosaur 2026 - Exterior, Queue and Ride

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Posted: Sunday February 1, 2026 12:!5pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Today is the final day of DinoLand U.S.A. at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Disney Legend and Imagineer Joe Rohde, the creative force behind Animal Kingdom's original design, has shared his thoughts on the closure via Instagram.

Rohde was the overall creative executive and supervising designer for Animal Kingdom when it opened in 1998. DinoLand U.S.A. was one of the park's original lands and served as the home to the park's only major thrill ride at opening.

Dinosaur 2026 - Exterior, Queue and Ride

Rohde's Thoughts on DinoLand

In his post, Rohde shared a candid and detailed reflection on what DinoLand was, what it was trying to do, and where it fell short. He wrote:

"So I guess today is the last operating day of Dinoland, USA at Disney's Animal Kingdom. I have to say that I will miss its sly and droll sense of humor, and the way in which it attempted to take a complicated subject like paleontology and turn it into a series of entertainment experiences."

Rohde described the layered storytelling built into the land, including details that most guests likely never picked up on. The land was designed around a cast of characters and factions - old school professors defending outdated theories, young students with new ideas, corporate financiers driven by profit, and roadside entrepreneurs who loved dinosaurs simply for the fun of it.

He was also open about the land's limitations. Rohde pointed out that while DINOSAUR is a thrilling ride, it was never really aimed at the core dinosaur audience - young children. The thrill component was cranked up out of necessity because DINOSAUR was the only ride at Animal Kingdom that qualified as a thrill attraction at opening day.

On the name change from "Countdown to Extinction" to "DINOSAUR" in 2000, Rohde noted that the original title better reflected the ride's tone, while the new name brought associations with the CGI animated film.

He also acknowledged that dinosaur science moved faster than Disney could keep up. Rohde wrote that the park prides itself on accuracy, but it was not practical to go back and add feathers to all the theropod dinosaurs after new research changed our understanding of what they looked like.

Dinosaur 2026 - Exterior, Queue and Ride

Looking Ahead to Pueblo Esperanza

Despite the nostalgia, Rohde ended on a positive note about what comes next. He wrote that he has been following the development of the new Tropical Americas land from afar and can assure fans that the team is doing an excellent job.

The 11-acre land is set to open in 2027 and will feature two signature attractions: a new Indiana Jones adventure and an Encanto ride featuring the Madrigal family. It will also include a carousel, a large central fountain, and one of the largest quick-service restaurants at Disney World.

Tropical Americas Scale Model

The End of an Era

DinoLand U.S.A. has been part of Animal Kingdom since the park opened on April 22, 1998. The first phase of closures began in January 2025, with Chester & Hester's Dino-Rama and The Boneyard shutting down ahead of the final closure. Today, DINOSAUR, Restaurantosaurus, and the Dino Institute Shop close for the last time.

Joe Rohde Painting in Restaurantosaurus

Rohde closed his post simply: "But for today, have fun, and take lots of pictures."

Thank You For Visiting DinoLand U.S.A.

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James Alucobond1 hour ago

Conceptually, it'd be fine there, but I also think it makes sense to not "waste" the carousel ride type on Discovery Island because it's the flat ride that you can easily sell as the most low-tech and mundane, allowing it to still fit well visually into the villages. Meanwhile, Discovery Island could actually probably handle something that looked a bit more modern and exotic. Honestly, having some flat on DI with three sets of vehicles where one set was themed to real animals, another to ancient animals, and another to imagined animals would be a good way to continue to reference all of those things even as the lands themselves change.

Brer Panther3 hours ago

Does anyone else think the carousel would fit better in Discovery Island?

DrummerxDrummer4 hours ago

I’ve had this cool idea for years where you could take the ride system for 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (the Tokyo version) and reskin it with avatar’s flora and fauna. The ride vehicles are small seating up to four per vehicle. But think it would still be a cool experience if the right people were behind it.

Timothy_Q4 hours ago

I agree that DAK needs more smaller rides as well, but my point is DAK has no E ticket dark rides for the whole family, so Navi has to carry that weight even though it wasn't designed to do so People expect it to be a headliner like POTC, HM or Rise, when in reality it's meant to be more in line with a (really gorgeous) modern Fantasyland dark ride that's short and sweet

James Alucobond5 hours ago

Maaaybe? At least two of those three are massive E-tickets that would be built with the intention of drawing even more traffic to the park. What you actually need are a few more rides that match or are just a bit below Na'vi in terms of scope and appeal (though hopefully with higher capacity) so that you balance demand with suitably variable wait times. A 60- or 80-minute wait for an E-ticket is way less offensive if you can also blast through a bunch of other things in less than 20 minutes apiece. I honestly find it kind of odd that they've never added a Discovery Island flat ride or a genuine daytime river parade (no, I'm not counting the weird COVID boat cavalcade things). Where Encanto genuinely helps is with having more things to do indoors, but it may actually worsen crowds and wait times.

Timothy_Q5 hours ago

Encanto, a Lion King flume, and a 3rd Pandora ride would fix the Navi issues of wait times and expectations

mattpeto6 hours ago

I like Navi and the East projects should help the standby.

Disney Analyst6 hours ago

Navi is gorgeous. It really just needed to be longer.

Nickm20226 hours ago

Navi river is the ying to the yang that is flight of passage. It is a needed calm in a land full of insanity. but the real issue is it is being used and treated like an e-ticket despite the fact that it's at most a b or c ticket. And the only reason this is happening is simply because it's in a park with currently only 4 other rides. If AK had tropical americas open, plus lets say rides for UP, Black Panther, Lion King, Junglebook, and a whole new land or two in the back themed around North America or the Middle East then navi river would be thought of as a nice calm break you only waited less then 20 minutes for like the people mover. So when you wait 50+ minutes for the ride and are expecting an action ride the warrants a 50 min wait ofc your disappointed. point being Navi is a great ride but is being forced to meet needs it wasn't designed to meet. However I would argue in 20+ years Navi will be considered a way better ride, and will age better w time. And AK needs more filler rides like Navi hence why I think its great Ak is getting the carousel in TA

HMF19 hours ago

I would describe Navi as being a greats setup for an attraction of a similar quality to DL's POTC, but ends suddenly at the point of DL's Pirates Grotto sequence.

UNCgolf19 hours ago

I couldn't disagree more -- I think Na'vi is one of the better rides Disney has built this century (at least at WDW). I don't think it's boring at all; it's relaxing and beautiful (and I've never seen any of the Avatar films so I have zero knowledge of or connection to the IP). Of course it would be better if it was longer and of full of amazing creature animatronics, but I think it's then a D at the very least, if not an E. While I do wish we had that version of the ride, the one that actually exists was never intended to be that. It's an immersive ride down a river in an alien jungle; it doesn't really need to be anything more than that IMO.

Disgruntled Walt20 hours ago

Na'vi River Journey needed some amazing, full-size Pandora creature animatronics. It's boring as heck until you see the dancing lady. Actually, it's still boring even then! As someone who didn't care for Avatar the film at all, Pandora needed to really draw me in, and the outdoor theming did, but the attractions (ESPECIALLY NA'VI) really disappointed me. Flight of Passage was fun, but I did not prioritize riding it on my last trip (which was my first in 8 years). In fact, I didn't set foot in Pandora at all. That's why both of these new attractions in Tropical Americas really have a lot riding on them. I'm hopeful that lots of animatronics will make up for the questionable inclusion of these rides in Animal Kingdom. (It can't really make up for it, because neither Encanto nor Indiana Jones could ever really fit, but it will be an easier pill to swallow.)

UNCgolf21 hours 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.

veritas5523 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.)