Disney Just Made Big Move That Suggests Work Will Start Soon for Major Animal Kingdom Expansion

Fans have been eagerly awaiting an update since it was announced at Destination D23 that Dinoland U.S.A. at Animal Kingdom would be reimagined and that a new show would be coming to Animal Kingdom. Disney teased that this major change could introduce beloved stories like Encanto and Indiana Jones to the park!

Now, there has been a new development that suggests work will start soon for the Animal Kingdom reimagining. This is a great sign that Disney is making progress on this project, as we have not heard much information since it was initially announced.

Keep reading for everything you need to know about this move by Disney!

New Development to Animal Kingdom Reimagining

At D23, Disney shared a broad announcement that Dinoland U.S.A. would be reimagined into a land inspired by the tropical Americas and played musical themes from Encanto and Indiana Jones to suggest that these stories may be featured. This could include the thrill ride DINOSAUR being turned into the popular Indiana Jones Adventure present at Disneyland Park and Tokyo DisneySea (that uses the same ride system), but little detail has yet been shared about what exactly this reimagining will entail. The Dinoland U.S.A. reimagining is one of the many Disney projects without dates or a clear timeline.

The other announcement for Animal Kingdom at Destination D23 was that a new Zootopia show would be coming to the Tree of Life theater featuring different seen biomes in the film and characters like Judy Hopps, Nick Wilde, and others.

However, a new permit was recently filed by Walt Disney Imagineering that indicates that progress is being made for this project and that work may begin soon. The permit includes plans for a trailer compound near Kali River Rapids that includes four new Walt Disney Imagineering trailers, a contractor trailer, and 363 parking spaces, along with a new sidewalk and crosswalks added to the roadway that connects the trailer compound to the Dinoland U.S.A. area.

See the permit for the new Animal Kingdom trailer compound below:

See more details of the permit here:

Given that the permit for the trailer compound is situated near Dinoland U.S.A., we can assume that this is likely for the land's upcoming reimagining. This is good news for the Dinoland U.S.A. project, as we can take it as a sign that it will be progressing from a “Blue Sky” concept to reality.

Since this was first teased at Destination D23, we have been saying that Disney just needed to get shovels in the ground and start working rather than waiting even longer to make an announcement and then start work. We anticipate that we will get more information on this project and others that Disney is working on during the D23 Expo in August, but it would be great if they could say at that point that work was already well under way.

See the tweet from Behind the Thrills that shared the permits for the Animal Kingdom project:

Looks like work on a MAJOR Animal Kingdom project will be starting soon. A new SFWMD permit was filed for a 5 acre trailer compound just north of Kali River Rapids with infrastructure improvements along the BOH roadway leading directly to Dinoland. pic.twitter.com/H5f4algtzX

— Behind the Thrills (@BehindThrills) March 18, 2024

You can see our Animal Kingdom map for an overview of how the park is currently laid out with attractions, dining locations, and more.

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• Attraction Guide to Walt Disney World’s: Animal KingdomAttraction Guide to Walt Disney World’s: Animal Kingdom
• Everything New or Coming Soon to Disney World in 2024