Disney previews model of Encanto and Indiana Jones expansion at Disney's Animal Kingdom

Gallery / 2 Photos
Dinoland U.S.A. Blue Sky Concept Art

Posted: Thursday April 4, 2024 10:42am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Walt Disney Imagineering has released a behind-the-scenes look at work underway on bringing the Encanto and Indiana Jones expansion to Disney's Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World.

In the video, we see a working model for the new lands and some details of research trips to the Yucatán Peninsula for inspiration on creating the lush landscape of the land.

Disney announced in September 2023 that new experiences inspired by "Encanto" – the Academy Award winning Walt Disney Animation Studios film – and the fan-favorite adventurer Indiana Jones were 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.

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."

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Sorcerer Mickey53 minutes ago

Good, because Encanto is the one that will actually happen.

meggo8192 hours ago

Except for “and” instead of “an” (an easy typo or autocorrect), it was fine. I followed 🤷‍♀️

Agent H5 hours ago

Thank you for clarifying I think there may have been a bit of a word jumble in your original post no offense of course I wasn’t trying to say Indiana Jones will be bad merely that I’m looking forward to the encanto ride more

TheCoasterNerd5 hours ago

I will give Indy credit in that it's a new story. Sure, it's based on the exsting DLR ride, but it's an original story not seen in any other rides/movies/tv shows/games

TheMaxRebo5 hours ago

I can try :) The ride system for Dinosaur will be reused for Indy and is the same as the Indy ride at Disneyland - which I found superior to Dinosaur and I am optimistic the Indy ride version at AK will be at least as good as the Disneyland version - meaning this will be an upgrade and a very good attraction ... but something that has been done before and similar to another existing ride Encanto will/should/could be something very unique and cool and of a very large scale and really stand out ... plus just the "unknown" of what it will actually be brings some more excitement to it. Guess the unknown is more exciting to me than a known quantity but both will be positive additions to the park

Agent H6 hours ago

I’m a little confused about what you’re saying mind clarifying?

TheMaxRebo6 hours ago

I am too - though I do think the existing Indy is a better version that what Dinosaur was so do view that as (potentially) and upgrade as well. But the Encanto ride could be really unique and "special" vs just a very good attraction

EagleScout6106 hours ago

New photos. More of the queue for Triceratop Spin has been demolished -

JackCH8 hours ago

I am too mainly because we really already know what the basic experience of Indy will be, Encanto will be completely new and therefore has a lot more "potential."

Agent H11 hours ago

I’m more excited for the encanto ride than the Indiana jones one

Stripes11 hours ago

Based on the plans, I estimated that the Encanto show building will be about 74,000 square feet. For context, the Haunted Mansion show building, another omnimover ride, is about 45,000 square feet. I’m sure Encanto will have a larger indoor queue than Haunted Mansion, but even with that in mind, this will be a fantastic addition to DAK.