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

11 days ago 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

Discuss on the Forums

Get Walt Disney World News Delivered to Your Inbox

EagleScout6105 hours ago

https://www.wdwmagic.com/other/maps/news/17mar2025-disneys-animal-kingdom-guide-map-updated-with-closure-of-its-tough-to-be-a-bug-and-dinoland-u.s.a.s-final-year.htm

Gremlin Gus23 hours ago

I know this has been seen before on Bioresconstruct, but it looks like there's progress being done to remove the trees behind the former Primeval Whirl ride for the Encanto show building.

ᗩLᘿᑕ ֊ᗩζᗩᗰ1 day ago

Best we can do is rock back and forth. But we can add a strobe!

Bleed0range1 day ago

That would be cool. Like the body slithering in and out of an opening in the wall and then you turn the corner and it strikes at you. Later you see it try to eat you as you dive down instead of the boulder scene. Or maybe the boulder scene happens and lands on top of it!

Disgruntled Walt1 day ago

I’d like multiple versions of the serpent animatronic, chasing you all around the temple, like the carnotaurus did.

DisneyHead1231 day ago

I think something like a serpent - especially a mythical one - would be a great use of animatronic technology because of all the funky ways they move about. I think the thing that's tricky about that advanced technology with human characters is that you can look around the park and see fifty billion other human beings nearby, who are not imitating humans but are in fact the real live thing. I think it's harder to build in a "wow" factor with a human animatronics for that reason. But a winged mythological creature that could sidewind, swoop, coil, slither, undulate, etc. - they could do a lot with that.

DisneyHead1231 day ago

I haven't been on the Tiana ride but one of the common complaints seems to be that they took a ride full of animatronics and replaced it with a few sparse animatronics. What I was saying is that Indiana Jones would actually be a good spot for just a few well placed, elaborate animatronics. Because of the setting - an ancient temple in the middle of the jungle - there's not an expectation that you'll see tons of characters or scenes full of animatronics.

Gusey1 day ago

I'm thinking it will close a year after Dino Rama closed, as that's when the crowds die down a little, enough to remove park capacity (and Zootopia will be open by then to help with that capacity removal)

TheMaxRebo1 day ago

Definitely will be snakes and also a lot of hints leaning towards the Mayan winged serpent god which could make for a cool animatronic As to your date - my guess is it will be open for your trip but close very shortly after - like the following week. I think they keep it open through the end of holiday season and marathon weekend and then close shortly after

Moth1 day ago

Cool animatronics? Wonder what that could be.... 🐍 🪽 Anyway, over and under that Dinosaur is open for a January 4th to 9th window??? Planning a vacation with three other friends and we need to say goodbye to our beloved Dinosaur before we go crazy at EU.

Disstevefan11 day ago

I hope it’s not elaborate animatronics like we got with Tiana. We all know how that went.

radiorae1 day ago

For sure! I’m honestly more interested in what they can do outside of traditional animatronics— practical effects, moving sets, lighting, projection mapping, and the like. I’m not up to date on the most cutting edge ride technology, but with the Dinosaur building being a nearly blank canvas inside, it would be cool if they took the opportunity to do something different. A good Indy animatronic, no matter how well done, will not be enough to carry this ride.

DisneyHead1231 day ago

From Joe Rohde's Instagram. Thought it was interesting because he said this wasn't something he'd typically seek out, so maybe there's some AK specific reason for touring this particular canyon? Or maybe I'm over-reading the tea leaves! Did something today that I would not normally seek, out, but was great. We went on a tourboat trip up the Grijalva River in Sumidero canyon. A very very deep limestone canyon full of interesting formations. A certain kind of formation looks like a series of limestone umbrellas formed by seasonal waterfalls slowly depositing limestone in splash shapes for millennia. Caves with shrines to the Virgin of Guadeloupe. Cliffs with stalactites. Huge crocodiles with GOT dragon-like scutes. Jillions of birds. I'd come back in November when it's green and full of waterfalls! Like two Nepali Coastlines facing each other.

DisneyHead1231 day ago

I think something like Indiana Jones would be the perfect setting for a few elaborate animatronics. It’s not a book report type ride or one centered on scenes full of people like Pirates. A super realistic snake, moving statue, Indy escaping, etc. could be perfect there.