Disney's Animal Kingdom Clears Another Landmark as Dino-Rama's Cementosaurus is Demolished

Mar 06, 2025 in "Tropical Americas"

Posted: Thursday March 6, 2025 9:00am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

The large concrete dinosaur, Cementosaurus, once at the entrance to Chester & Hester's Dino-Rama at Disney's Animal Kingdom, is now gone.

Overnight, demolition crews took down the towering structure, marking another major step in the transformation of Dinoland U.S.A. into the upcoming Tropical Americas expansion.

Cementosaurus seen before work on Tropical Americas began earlier this year

Dino-Rama Overview

Dino-Rama is Now Almost Completely Cleared

With the dinosaur's removal, nearly all remnants of Dino-Rama have now been demolished. Over the past few weeks, crews have methodically taken down TriceraTop Spin, Fossil Fun Games, Dino-Rama billboards,
Queue structures and signage.

Now, with the entrance dinosaur gone, only piles of rubble and construction equipment remain in the area as Disney prepares the site for redevelopment.

What's Next?

The demolition work has rapidly progressed, meaning the next steps will likely involve:

Final debris removal and site grading to level the land.
Utility and foundation work ahead of vertical construction.
Visible signs of new development for the Tropical Americas expansion, expected to open in phases by 2027.

Dino-Rama, once a nostalgic nod to roadside attractions, is now a thing of the past. In its place, Disney will introduce a land celebrating the cultures and environments of Central and South America, featuring:

A first-ever Encanto attraction, where guests can explore the Madrigal family's casita and experience Antonio's gift of communicating with animals.
A new Indiana Jones adventure, set to replace the DINOSAUR ride when it closes in early 2026.

Tropical Americas Concept Art

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HMF36 minutes ago

They aren't cheaply done but they are certainly not worth the expense.

MisterPenguin37 minutes ago

Cosmic Rewind needs an audio-animatronic of seven-time Academy Award nominee, Irani Real.

gorillaball1 hour ago

Carpets looked good when I last went, November.

TrainsOfDisney1 hour ago

I’d argue it’s both - but theming there is no question. Crazy cool and Real pyro, real fog, a full story. And that fake ending is everything I want in a theme park attraction.

UNCgolf2 hours ago

Revenge of the Mummy is definitely a better themed coaster than Cosmic Rewind. Note that I'm not saying it's a better coaster, which is a separate discussion -- but in terms of theming it's definitely better. CR is very disappointing from that standpoint; there's not much to it and it wastes the Guardians. Hagrid's is also much better from a theme perspective.

veritas552 hours ago

We will agree to disagree, then. Cosmic Rewind feels much more than a mid-level Universal Studios ride (I'm trying to even consider with rollercoaster at Universal you think surpasses it in theming and storytelling.... the only possible candidate could be Hagrids? Velocicoaster). Guardians surpasses those and is a great, immersive, and visually stunning ride. The use of screens does not automatically or necessarily "cheapen" a ride or make it non-Disney: sometimes its just a normal technological evolution. Animatronics lining the ride would be idiotic.

999th Happy Haunt4 hours ago

That’s a shame then, guess an unfortunate side effect of it being exposed to the elements 24/7

Professortango14 hours ago

Budget was actually expanded when it was given its own budget outside of TL98. See, a ride can be both expensive and cheap.

lazyboy97o5 hours ago

Rocket Rods was cheap and subject to a significant budget cut after the project had been approved.

Professortango16 hours ago

The queue would not be IN the ride though, would it? I think I previously explained that "cheap" means that it falls short of the standards that Disney used to have as a theme park company. Cosmic Rewind is fun, but feels like a mid-level Universal Studios ride. Its all thrill with very little storytelling to take in. It reminds me of the Incredicoaster queue videos where they acknowledge how cheap and lazy these "themed coasters" are. Rocket Rods cost a chunk of money. Doesn't mean it wasn't cheaply handled by Disney. Same with Soarin. Same with Kali River Rapids. Rides can be both expensive but also have the empty experience expose how empty aspects are.

Gusey6 hours ago

The Rollercoaster in DLP has an Iron Man animatronic in the queue. Guardians should have had animatronics in the pre-show but not really needed on the rollercoaster. It's quite ironic to call the most expensive rollercoaster ever built at $500 million "cheap". Are we talking "cheap" as in money put into the attraction or "cheap" as in little effort put in?

Professortango17 hours ago

If they don't match the quality that Disney is known for, it is cheapening out. So far Disney has yet to create a Marvel attraction that has a single AA in the ride. It's just screens and that is cheapening out when it comes to Disney and their legacy. They also have a tendancy to undercook new ideas, cheapening out as well. A ride where the Guardians teach us about the history of our universe? Sounds like a fun time that fits Disney's standards for Epcot. A big box Space Mountain about trying to chase a space giant who steals gizmos and the only physical set is a static moon? Nah, that's cheap. Fun ride, but feels cheap.

Movielover9 hours ago

There you go bringing that pesky logic and reason back into the thread. How are people supposed to blindly hate everything the company does if you make logical sense like this? ;)