Disney's Animal Kingdom Closes Dino-Rama: Walls Go Up for Tropical Americas Expansion

6 days ago in "Tropical Americas"

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Dino-Rama Walled Off - January 13, 2025

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Posted: Monday January 13, 2025 8:10am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

As of January 13, 2025, Chester & Hester's Dino-Rama at Disney's Animal Kingdom is officially closed, marking the end of its colorful, carnival-style attractions.

TriceraTop Spin, Fossil Fun Games, and Dinosaur Treasures are now permanently closed as Disney begins work on the park's upcoming Tropical Americas expansion.

Dino-Rama Walled Off - January 13, 2025

Walls and Planters Installed

Construction walls and rolling planters have been installed, blocking off the former Dino-Rama area as preparations for the new land begin. The walkway through Dinoland U.S.A. has been rerouted to guide guests alongside Restaurantosaurus and toward the entrance of the DINOSAUR attraction. The Boneyard playground remains open.

Dino-Rama Walled Off - January 13, 2025

The End of an Era

Dino-Rama's closure signals the start of a new chapter for Animal Kingdom. This section of Dinoland U.S.A. was known for its whimsical dinosaur theme and carnival games. Guests could take a spin on TriceraTop Spin, try their luck at the carnival-style midway games, and browse for prehistoric souvenirs at Dinosaur Treasures.

Dino-Rama Walled Off - January 13, 2025

What's Next: Tropical Americas Expansion

The Tropical Americas expansion will transform Dinoland U.S.A. into a land inspired by the cultures and ecosystems of Central and South America. A standout attraction will be Disney's first-ever Encanto-themed experience, where guests can step into the Madrigal family's casita and celebrate Antonio's magical ability to communicate with animals. The land will also feature an Indiana Jones adventure, replacing DINOSAUR after it closes at the end of 2025.

Tropical Americas Concept Art

Current Access and Attractions

Open: DINOSAUR, The Boneyard, Restaurantosaurus, and Dino-Bite Snacks
Closed: TriceraTop Spin, Fossil Fun Games, and Dinosaur Treasures

Dino-Rama Walled Off - January 13, 2025

A New Beginning

The closure of Dino-Rama marks the beginning of significant changes at Disney's Animal Kingdom. With construction walls now in place, the area will gradually evolve over the next few years, with the full Tropical Americas expansion expected to debut in 2027.

Tropical Americas Concept Model

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WorldExplorer30 minutes ago

Disney Guide to Running Animal Kingdom: Do you want to cut costs somewhere? Yes - Proceed to next question Of course! - Proceed to next question Can it be blamed on animals and their welfare, event if it isn't true? Yes - Do so! Aren't you so caring? No - Blame Dinoland! How could they do this?! Enjoy your money!

lazyboy97o31 minutes ago

Outside of veterinary treatment and specific needs based on care, animals are not forcibly moved around the habitats and barns at any well run zoological park. The park already ran night safaris nor was night activities something unique to Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

GhostHost10001 hour ago

$taff

FerretAfros2 hours ago

Nonsense. The park regularly operated a nighttime version of the safari from 2016 (coinciding with the Pandora opening, the nighttime lagoon shows, and push toward greater nighttime activities in the park overall) through early 2020 until the Covid shutdowns. They did so in full compliance with animal welfare regulations and best practices. Yes, there were challenges with certain species. No, not all species were present in the evening. Yes, visibility was limited with the low light levels. But they were able to operate the nighttime attraction for years, while complying with animal safety and comfort needs, without even needing to pause operations in the evening while certain animals came indoors for the evening. While the number of animals visible was lower than during the day, they were often much more active, accounting for some of the more interesting sightings I’ve had on the attraction (including a rhino running alongside our ride vehicle and lions getting frisky after dark). They don’t run it any more because they’re too cheap to operate the park with any meaningful nighttime activities. And curiously, when there’s barely anything to do after dark and all of the animal viewing opportunities close early, park guests also leave early, reinforcing their self-fulfilling claim that nobody wants to be in the park after dark. It has nothing to do with animal welfare, and everything to do with being cheap. How quickly we (willfully?) forget our history!

Mr. Sullivan6 hours ago

They stop the safaris earlier than park close because it can be a rather complicated process to take the animals in for the evening. They don't just leave them there on the savannah overnight, they are taken to backstage facilities to be cared for and put to bed. It's the same reason that not many zoos stay open past dark. It's a pretty difficult thing to get the animals in where they need to be at night, especially since many of them are nocturnal and thus more active and less prone to following along what needs to be done. Beyond that too, these animals are used to a routine and it can be very distressing to them if this routine is broken. They're used to being put in their backstage places at a certain time, and it could very well be troubling to them to be left out and met with the trucks and park guests past the time they're used to winding down. Yes, a night safari would be cool but logistically there's just not really any way for them to do that that also allows the zoological cast members to do what they need to do to the best of their ability. They already are working on it past park close as is, it'd be a real nightmare and time consuming process for them if they were only starting it at park close.

mysto8 hours ago

I'm pretty sure it makes life difficult for the resident animals who cannot choose to escape the loud noise and lights like people can. It's the same reason the park closes so early.

EagleScout6108 hours ago

https://attractionsmagazine.com/animal-kingdom-construction-january-2025-tropical-americas-triceratop-spin/

AidenRodriguez7319 hours ago

I guess it can stop people from getting in lines for "one last ride" on FOP. Since they won't make it to the queue before the park close. Much easier to clear people out with one last show than keep open what rides they would go on for a last ride on for longer.

gerarar10 hours ago

They sometimes add a late FOTLK showing right at park closing. Can't remember the exact reason why but it was done very recently. Edit: It was extended evening hours. Say park closed normally at 6pm, there were FOTLK showtimes at 6pm and 7pm. It's rare, but they often do late showings.

MagicHappens197111 hours ago

The theater show performers are unionized and there are restrictions on how many shows they can perform a day and rest times and such. They already have two casts for this reason, another thing is that these closing shows would probably not bring in enough guests to justify adding the cost.

MrPromey15 hours ago

Only thing I can think of is cast pay/scheduling which feels like a solvable "problem".

MrPromey15 hours ago

I never heard. Was there a logistic or animal safety reason why night safaris couldn't continue other than the park no-longer being open past dark? Having been on one, I didn't think it was a bad experience. Certainly not the same as the day one and it felt like fewer animals but being in relative darkness also changed the feel of it, too making it seem in some ways like a different ride - something worth trying even if you'd already done the day one, for instance.

IMDREW15 hours ago

Question, why do park shows never run at nighttime? Whats stopping Nemo and Lion King from a performance at like 8?

SpectreJordan16 hours ago

I'd say they'd need another ride in Africa first; the rumored Lion King ride would be perfect. The Africa land is essentially dead at night since they have to close the Safari, trails & show early. It'd be really difficult to justify this park being open later if there's a big land in the middle that closes early.