Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World is known for an awe-inspiring balance of big-budget immersive experiences like Pandora – The World of Avatar and intimate animal encounters like those found within the Tree of Life Gardens. As the theme park looks toward its future, it will add new attractions in both of these categories.
Beloved characters like Bluey, Indiana Jones, and the Madrigal family will star in new attractions coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom in the coming months and years. Keep reading for details on all of these upcoming experiences! There are also other additions coming at Disney World and Disneyland. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including the new Disney CEO’s comments on Lightning Lane changes and what’s in store for the future of Magic Kingdom.
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1. Encanto Ride
A new land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom called Tropical Americas will depict a fictional village called Pueblo Esperanza. Here, guests can experience attractions based on the Indiana Jones franchise and the Walt Disney Animation Studios film Encanto.
This land replaces DinoLand, U.S.A., which closed in phases over the past few years and officially shut down for good in February 2026.
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Unlike the Indiana Jones ride, which will repurpose a defunct ride, the Encanto attraction is being built from the ground up. The ride’s building, currently under construction, is huge and expands the footprint of Disney’s Animal Kingdom into an area that was previously backstage.
The Encanto ride will take place inside the Madrigals’ casita. Riders are visiting on the day Antonio, the young boy in the film, receives his gift of being able to talk to animals. While Disney hasn’t announced the ride system, expect a family-friendly ride in the style of a modern Fantasyland dark ride.
Tropical Americas’ Encanto ride will open sometime in 2027. Disney has not announced an exact opening date.
2. Indiana Jones Ride
A new Indiana Jones attraction, like the Encanto ride, will be part of a new land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom called Tropical Americas, replacing the now-closed DinoLand, U.S.A.
The Indiana Jones ride will repurpose the ride system that formerly belonged to DINOSAUR, an indoor thrill ride back to prehistoric times in a fast-moving Jeep. In the new version, riders will be immersed in a story about Indy exploring an ancient temple.
This will be inherently similar in nature to Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland in California, but will tell a completely different story. The DINOSAUR ride already used the same ride system as Disneyland’s Indiana Jones Adventure attraction.
Disney has not announced a name for the Indiana Jones ride coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Construction is ongoing, with Disney recently dismantling the DINOSAUR entrance sign and fountain in preparation for building an ancient-looking temple in the entrance plaza instead.
The Indiana Jones attraction will open sometime in 2027 at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. An exact opening date has not been revealed.
3. Bluey’s Wild World at Conservation Station
Conservation Station is an area of Disney’s Animal Kingdom where guests can learn about the real-life care of Disney’s teams of the park’s animal residents. Sometimes guests can even watch medical procedures happening behind a glass pane.
The popular preschool animated series Bluey will take over this part of Disney’s Animal Kingdom in a new experience called Bluey’s Wild World at Conservation Station.
Games, dancing, and character appearances by Bluey and her sister Bingo will be part of the overlay. Additionally, guests can see real Australian animals in a new habitat called Jumping Junction.
Guests access Conservation Station by riding the Wildlife Express train from the park’s Africa area. As part of Bluey’s arrival, this remote section of Disney’s Animal Kingdom will retire its former name of Rafiki’s Planet Watch.
Another Bluey experience, Bluey’s Best Day Ever!, just debuted at Disneyland. On opening day, it was so popular that lines stretched from the back of the park all the way to Sleeping Beauty Castle.
If this same level of demand is present at Disney’s Animal Kingdom for Bluey’s Wild World, I’m concerned for the capabilities of Conservation Station to accommodate those crowds.
Conservation Station was built as a science facility, not an entertainment space. Even with a three-month closure to convert the venue and install any new show elements, it’s never faced Bluey-level crowds in its 28-year history. These factors compound with the added requirement of everyone boarding a train to access Conservation Station.
Families should expect high crowds for Bluey’s Wild World at Conservation Station and should possibly be prepared for some testing and adjusting as Disney figures out how to best operate a new experience in this old venue.
Bluey’s Wild World at Conservation Station will open on May 26, 2026.
READ MORE – These 10 Disney Rides Are Far Better Than The Ones They Replaced
4. Carousel Ride
In addition to the Indiana Jones and Encanto rides, Tropical Americas will also include a new carousel located in the heart of the fictional village of Pueblo Esperanza.
Instead of traditional horses, riders will mount playful sculptures of favorite Disney animal characters. Concept art depicts Timon and Pumbaa from The Lion King, Abu the monkey from Aladdin, Squirt the sea turtle from Finding Nemo, and even Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh stories, as well as a few others.
Walt Disney Imagineering always adds a backstory to attractions to give the existence of any given ride a specific purpose within a greater narrative. This is true with the carousel in Tropical Americas. Within the lore of Pueblo Esperanza, the carousel is the creation of a local woodcarver.
The new carousel will open along with the rest of Tropical Americas in 2027.
5. Huge Quick-Service Restaurant in Tropical Americas
One of the largest quick-service restaurants in Walt Disney World, Disney says, will be part of Tropical Americas in Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Based on concept art and current construction progress of Tropical Americas, we believe this restaurant will repurpose the building formerly belonging to Restaurantosaurus and Dino-Bite Snacks when this area was known as DinoLand, U.S.A.
Rather than tearing down the former building, Disney can save a lot of money by re-theming it and upgrading any back-end facilities, such as kitchen utilities, to the modern standards of a new theme park land.
It’s a safe bet to assume Disney will also likely sell highly themed menu items and novelty products at this location, connected with either Indiana Jones, Encanto, or both.
That being said, we think the overall aesthetic of this new restaurant will be more deeply connected to the new fictional village of Pueblo Esperanza rather than taking place within a specific Disney franchise.
6. Reimagined Stores in Tropical Americas
Another facility we expect to be repurposed rather than torn down is the building that formerly houses Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures, a gift shop.
Given its prime location adjacent to the future Encanto ride, it’s not difficult to imagine the former Dinosaur Treasures shelves filled with all things related to Mirabel, Antonio, Bruno, and their animal friends.
Another former, smaller store, The Dino Institute Shop, was located at the exit of the DINOSAUR ride. Disney may repurpose this space for a similar gift shop with Indiana Jones merchandise as guests exit the future Indy ride, replacing DINOSAUR.
It depends on how much Disney changes the interior layout and guest flow of the queue, loading station, and exit pathways within the former DINOSAUR facilities in adapting them for the new Indiana Jones attraction.
Just Opened: New Zootopia Attraction
All of the above attractions are planned for the future of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, but another experience is still new for guests who haven’t visited the park recently.
Zootopia: Better Zoogether! opened in 2025 as a new 3D show inside the Tree of Life. This attraction permanently replaced It’s Tough to be a Bug!, which had been around since the park’s opening day in 1998.
Guests wear “CarrotVision” glasses to celebrate Zoogether Day, a holiday in Zootopia acknowledging togetherness among all its animals. The attraction has in-theater special effects, music, and a new Audio-Animatronics figure of Clawhauser from the movies.
Major Projects at Other Disney World Theme Parks
The new and upcoming attractions at Disney’s Animal Kingdom are exciting, but they’re just the beginning of ongoing development across multiple Walt Disney World theme parks.
Monsters, Inc. is coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios with a new land called Monstropolis, complete with a roller coaster themed after the climactic door chase from the movie. See the latest construction progress for Monstropolis in our separate coverage.
Magic Kingdom will welcome two huge new areas: Piston Peak National Park with Cars rides and Villains Land, home to Disney Villains. This massive construction site recently reached a construction milestone. See all the new Magic Kingdom additions coming.
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