Animal Kingdom has a major project in the works as Disney builds a new land themed to the Tropical Americas, which will feature a brand-new Encanto, Indiana Jones attraction, and new carousel. This means that a big area in the theme park is currently under construction. This work comes as progress on the additions in Magic Kingdom are also moving forward.
As the final days of Dinoland, U.S.A. approach, we are taking a closer look at a major construction update that shows just how far redevelopment on one side of the land has already progressed. At Mickey Visit, we report on recent Disney news like major Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge changes and hotel closures at Disney World. See the latest Disney news here and ride line rules update here.
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“Pueblo Esperanza” Construction Hits Milestone
Rather than being tied to a specific intellectual property, the Tropical Americas will be a broadly themed land designed to complement the existing storytelling style found throughout Animal Kingdom. The land will also be home to two signature attractions: an Indiana Jones experience and the first-ever Encanto-themed ride-through attraction. This new Tropical Americas area is called Pueblo Esperanza and is replacing Dinoland, U.S.A., with the land slated to open in 2027.
This week, Disney World marked a major milestone for the new Encanto attraction in the Tropical Americas, with Walt Disney World President Jeff Vahle joining cast members for a celebration at the construction site. As part of a long-standing Disney tradition for major projects, the group signed a steel beam that will be permanently incorporated into the attraction’s structure. This ceremonial moment recognizes the cast members who contributed to the project and symbolically makes them a lasting part of the ride’s history.
In this photo, you can see how the construction is all actively taking place around the remaining areas of Dinoland.
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Currently, the active construction is working on building the Encanto-themed area along with the other projects on that side of the land, as the Indiana Jones experience will replace the current DINOSAUR attraction, which will close permanently on February 2, 2026, along with the rest of DinoLand. So the active construction right now is focusing mainly on the Encanto area of the land, which is moving along quickly.
Latest Construction Progress on the “Casita” House
This first-ever Encanto-themed ride-through attraction will feature the Madrigal family as guests travel inside the magical house from the films called the Casita. Once guests enter the Casita, they will follow the storyline of Antonio receiving his special gift of the ability to communicate with animals. You can see the concept art for this above. The construction update gives us a look at the progress on the Casita attraction.
Here you can see the aerial overview of the Encanto ride show building construction progress.
Here’s a closer look. At the bottom, you can see the construction walls with the path that guests are still using to access DINOSAUR until it closes.
Here’s an even closer look at the Encanto attraction building.
As you can see in this photo, the Encanto attraction will be at the back of the land, which aligns with the concert art we’ve seen.
In the model Disney shared with guests at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, you can see an early look at the future design of the Encanto house and how it will take shape within the new land. This provides a clearer sense of how construction is progressing while also giving us a better idea of what the final land will look like.
Latest Construction Progress on the New Carousel
There will also be a working carousel created by a “woodcarver that features his favorite animals from Disney stories,” as shown in the concept art above. Based on the latest set of construction photos, this appears to be the second phase of work currently underway, along with the general atmosphere of the land.
To the left, on the other side of the guest path that remains open, you can see the construction site for this other part of the Tropical Americas taking shape.
The carousel will be at the footers in the center of this photo, which was originally part of The Boneyard playground. At the top of this photo, you can see where the entrance to the Tropical Americas will be, which was originally the Dinoland, U.S.A. entrance.
In the model Disney shared with guests at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, you can see how the entrance to the area is framed, which also includes a fountain.
Here’s a closer look at the area where the carousel will be.
We saw a preview of one of the animals featured in this carousel at the last D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event alongside the concept art.
While construction still has a ways to go, if you compare these updates with the concept art originally shared, you can see how it’s starting to take shape.
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Photos courtesy of bioreconstruct on X.
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