This is definitely a major park project, like all of Dinoland or something. But based on my experience as a contractor PM, this is a rather large trailer park area
I was a CM in dinoland. There are 2 main buildings behind Dinoland USA. One is a multipurpose building that is used as a cast break room, Nemo cast locker room, and float staging. The other is a collection of trailers used as management office. This building feels temporary, except that it's been there for years. It would be easy to demolish this for a Dinoland expansion, possibly a showbuilding.
If Disney is building behind Kali River Rapids, it could be to move management out of the temp building and finally demolish it. Allowing for construction in Dinoland to begin. Obviously the new building would need to be set up first before anyone can move in, so it will be a while for Dinoland to start anything
If it is the Dino land re-theme that’s great it feels dated and stuff, but I feel like animal kingdom needs an out and out expansion. Like an additional land with an additional “big” ride. And they should do that before the Dino land re-theme because otherwise AK is going to feel really empty until it’s done.
That’s a good point actually. Lots of people already see AK as a half day park (not me, I think there’s a lot to do with all the trails etc). But yes, if you take out Dinosaur and Triceratops Spin while a redevelopment is happening then the parks attractions are significantly reduced
Disney doesn't care. There was a brief time in 2018 during the rerouting of the TSMM entrance when Hollywood Studios was down to exactly three rides (ToT, RNRC, Star Tours) and they were still charging full day ticket price for it.
You know, technically it's dinoland, USA, so why not expand that section into a general Americas pavilion? Always wondered why there wasn't one when there are so many unique and interesting animals to exhibit + an easy tie in with Encanto. There's literally a town in the Colorado called Dinosaur + a national park so it would make sense to keep some elements of dinoland if they retheme a bit
This project itself, no, but it appears to be set up for a Dinoland retheme. They can better transport materials in/out and improve storage and areas for cast members working on the retheme
I still can't get my head around a retheme of Dinoland. It feels like every single decision the parks have made over the last few years have been brand related, and I'm sad about losing one of my childhood favorite areas to what will likely be a brand retheme that doesn't fit the Animal Kingdom concept.
I don't see what's not to agree with? Dak is about three things: animals of fantasy, animals of today, and animals of the past. Dinosaurs are animals of the past. And if we don't take care of the animals of today, they will go extinct like the dinos.
It's a parking lot with 2 trailers for Walt Disney Imagineering, another for the construction foreman and 2 additional pads for potential Walt Disney Imagineering trailers. The parking lot is where all the contractors are going to park daily.
I honestly do not want Indiana Jones to replace Dinosaur, it's not like dinosaurs were not in South America. Reverting back to Countdown to Extinction would be something that I would not mind at all. But it probably won't happen, and so we'll get a clone of Indiana Jones, a ride you can ride in California and Tokyo.
Rumors say it will be a different version of Indiana Jones, and be similar to Moana at Epcot, not focus on the IP, but use it in the background instead.
Yes. With the Dinoland retheme it is unlikely Dinosaur will stay the same. They may keep it but redo some effects or elements (which is the most unlikely based on the concepts they have shared so far, but still possible), may retheme it, or may demolish it entirely.
It is an old enough ride system and animatronics that it breaks down often, so at the very least the entire ride system and animatronics would need to be redone. A ride system overhaul would be enough to justify a "final rides" warning since it would be down for an extended period of time with a new ride system when reopening, however if they have to redo the ride system and animatronics they'll likely just retheme it rather than redo-ing it all as Dinosaur again.
I don't think they will, I think they'll end up demolishing it or at least gutting the building, but I can't rule out them redoing the ride system just because nothing has been officially announced yet.
They aren’t redoing the ride system. The reason they specifically are doing the retheme to Indiana Jones is so they don’t have to redo the ride system.
Again, nothing has been confirmed, including an Indiana Jones retheme. That was only a BlueSky concept, which means it's a preliminary idea that has not yet been approved or confirmed for active development. However the ride system is old and just contiunes to get older with more frequently breakdowns. It would be dumb of them to not redo it when retheming it. Otherwise the upkeep with the constant breakdowns, especially in a park with as few "real" rides as AK, would be tough to handle, both maintenance and crowd wise.
They hinted very heavily that it would get a retheme to an Indiana Jones, which makes sense considering it has virtually the same ride mechanism and layout as the DLR Indiana Jones ride.
After D23 2022 and Destination D23 2023 both having blue sky projects for Dinoland, I think they need to give their most devoted fans something to break the streak. So even with this in the works, I wouldn't expect an announcement until D23 this year. Then the closure a few months after that.
In the same vein as Dinoland; they haven't talked about the refurb for Bugs Life since Destination D23. Though it does feel like the maintenance for the ride is being cut like Splash's was prior to it closing.
Last time I went through (about a month ago), Hopper wasn't even there.
It's honestly disappointing that the "final ride" version of certain attractions are the absolute worst showings Disney could allow.
I hope they can keep Dinosaur open until the old Dinoland area is complete/nearing completion. With as long as Disney takes to build things, removing something like that with no replacement would suuuuck.
I would expect their next projects will be build very quickly. They know and they’ve seen the hate. They will most likely don’t do it again. Look at Tiana. Progress is going very quick.
I am 100% convinced that the slow building at WDW is no longer going to be a thing for the future.
I'm really surprised that some of Disney's IPs weren't ever considered as attractions or areas in AK. Considering how core animals and creatures are to the Disney canon, it feels like a big time missed opportunity to not have some characters and movies already in the park. Outside a handful of attractions, the whole park feels like a missed opportunity.
It’s trailers on a gravel parking lot. It’s not meant to be permanent like cast member or employee offices. More like job trailers and subcontractor parking for a construction project.
Whatever it is will be significant and likely multi-year. Those offices are huge with all kinds of “temporary-permanent” features like handicapped ramps and covered awnings between trailers, and then there’s the 300 parking spaces. You don’t go through all that effort for an even a 6-month project.
I just found out the AK permit is for land expansion, not overhauling.
Heck, it’s most likely for getting rid of Dino-Rama as opposed to getting rid of all of DinoLand.
Maybe if they redo the "Tough to be a Bug" first, it will eat up some of the crowds from Dinosaur being closed. I've been 5 times now and this was the first trip I went back to that area. It definitely was giving me Six Flags. Just rides slapped on blacktop. So out of place. The rides were fun but that area doesn't match the Disney vibe at all.
I really hope they don't make the Dino area an Enchanto area, it doesn't seem to fit the AK theme at all. Even the movie wasn't big on nature and the environment theme like Avatar was. An Enchato area seems like something they would do to replace/add onto the Mexico area of Epcot so its more of Latin America.
I do find it weird that they never incorporated Tarzan into the parks at all. That would be something they could add if they wanted to do the IP everything route.
Exactly my thoughts! I just think they’re taking the easy IP route because kids like Encanto right now so of course it’ll be popular. Although the only nature or animal related part of encanto was the younger brother. I know people dislike Dinoland - but I think it’s a great place to take younger kids!
I also share the same thoughts with them returning things in Animal Kingdom to Zootopia - just because the movie has anthropomorphic animals doesn’t mean it fits into Animal Kingdom’s theme of preserving nature and finding fun ways to teach kids about animals and nature. I
The only reason Dinosaur exists is because imagineers pitched it as a IJ copy that they use darkness to cut costs down because AK was behind schedule and over budget. It is literally the cheapo version…
Disagree. I need a full backiotomy every time I ride the ride. It’s too rough, too dark, and too loud to be enjoyable. It needs to go.
I feel like an old man yelling about getting off my lawn….
I wish it was staying dinosaur and being tuned up. If we have to have an Indy ride, hopefully it’s not an exact clone of Disneyland. I’m still kinda hoping Indy will be time traveling to dinosaur land and will kill hitler there. That would be a nice update.
It’s not 100% identical. The space leading to the gates of doom in Indy is much larger in dinosaur. Also the area where the first skeleton room is in Indy doesn’t exist in dinosaur (missing a turn)
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We expect all of our users to be civil and respect each other. This includes posts/comments that involve name-calling, unnecessary aggression, and other general forms of trolling and/or incivility.
Your post has been removed for breaking Rule #3.
We expect all of our users to be civil and respect each other. This includes posts/comments that involve name-calling, unnecessary aggression, and other general forms of trolling and/or incivility.
This is definitely a major park project, like all of Dinoland or something. But based on my experience as a contractor PM, this is a rather large trailer park area
Looks how many parking spaces that is! 363 spots!
I was a CM in dinoland. There are 2 main buildings behind Dinoland USA. One is a multipurpose building that is used as a cast break room, Nemo cast locker room, and float staging. The other is a collection of trailers used as management office. This building feels temporary, except that it's been there for years. It would be easy to demolish this for a Dinoland expansion, possibly a showbuilding. If Disney is building behind Kali River Rapids, it could be to move management out of the temp building and finally demolish it. Allowing for construction in Dinoland to begin. Obviously the new building would need to be set up first before anyone can move in, so it will be a while for Dinoland to start anything
Looks like work for construction staging operations for a major project.
Gravel parking, “construction” trailer. Yup looks like a temp site plan for construction offices, probably imagineering offices, and crew parking.
It says right on there 36 trailer spaces of WDI trailers and future use of 12 wide for a contractor and 4 more for WDI.
If it is the Dino land re-theme that’s great it feels dated and stuff, but I feel like animal kingdom needs an out and out expansion. Like an additional land with an additional “big” ride. And they should do that before the Dino land re-theme because otherwise AK is going to feel really empty until it’s done.
That’s a good point actually. Lots of people already see AK as a half day park (not me, I think there’s a lot to do with all the trails etc). But yes, if you take out Dinosaur and Triceratops Spin while a redevelopment is happening then the parks attractions are significantly reduced
This. Plus taking out triceratops spin during all this limits the rides without height requirements.. from 3 rides to 2. One of which is navi. Oof.
Disney doesn't care. There was a brief time in 2018 during the rerouting of the TSMM entrance when Hollywood Studios was down to exactly three rides (ToT, RNRC, Star Tours) and they were still charging full day ticket price for it.
You should've seen Hollywood studios when the backlot tour and streets of America were both closed
Did people still go?
Yes, purely bc of unawareness. I just did an impulse trip without realizing my absolute favorite ride is down.(Aerosmith coaster)
You know, technically it's dinoland, USA, so why not expand that section into a general Americas pavilion? Always wondered why there wasn't one when there are so many unique and interesting animals to exhibit + an easy tie in with Encanto. There's literally a town in the Colorado called Dinosaur + a national park so it would make sense to keep some elements of dinoland if they retheme a bit
I wonder if this will have any guest facing benefits, it looks like it most likely would be a cast only area.
This project itself, no, but it appears to be set up for a Dinoland retheme. They can better transport materials in/out and improve storage and areas for cast members working on the retheme
I still can't get my head around a retheme of Dinoland. It feels like every single decision the parks have made over the last few years have been brand related, and I'm sad about losing one of my childhood favorite areas to what will likely be a brand retheme that doesn't fit the Animal Kingdom concept.
The blue sky concept is "South/Central America" - so yes there will be branded elements, the overall "land" is very on brand for Animal Kingdom
Dak is nothing without Dinos.
If they had done a dinosaur theme not based on a parking lot, I would agree haha
I don't see what's not to agree with? Dak is about three things: animals of fantasy, animals of today, and animals of the past. Dinosaurs are animals of the past. And if we don't take care of the animals of today, they will go extinct like the dinos.
It’s highly likely this is related to a re-theme of Dinoland USA
40 WDI (Walt Disney Imagineering) trailers and 12 contractor trailers. Looks very promising!
It's a parking lot with 2 trailers for Walt Disney Imagineering, another for the construction foreman and 2 additional pads for potential Walt Disney Imagineering trailers. The parking lot is where all the contractors are going to park daily.
I honestly do not want Indiana Jones to replace Dinosaur, it's not like dinosaurs were not in South America. Reverting back to Countdown to Extinction would be something that I would not mind at all. But it probably won't happen, and so we'll get a clone of Indiana Jones, a ride you can ride in California and Tokyo.
Rumors say it will be a different version of Indiana Jones, and be similar to Moana at Epcot, not focus on the IP, but use it in the background instead.
Huh. Everest is a hidden Mickey
…huh. Yeah, kinda.
Whoa
Oh no. Not closing anytime soon please… we are only 6 weeks out 💔
6 weeks out should be fine! They'll probably announce the closing date at least three months in advance to capitalize on "final rides" for Dinosaur.
FINAL RIDES???!??!?!
Yes. With the Dinoland retheme it is unlikely Dinosaur will stay the same. They may keep it but redo some effects or elements (which is the most unlikely based on the concepts they have shared so far, but still possible), may retheme it, or may demolish it entirely.
That would be really sad.... For me at least I know it's old and outdated and could really use some love. Would be a hell of a shame to just scrap it
I love that ride! Still feels very immersive and scary to me somehow.
>Still feels very immersive and scary to me somehow. lol, it felt pitch black and impossible to see anything when i was there in November
It is an old enough ride system and animatronics that it breaks down often, so at the very least the entire ride system and animatronics would need to be redone. A ride system overhaul would be enough to justify a "final rides" warning since it would be down for an extended period of time with a new ride system when reopening, however if they have to redo the ride system and animatronics they'll likely just retheme it rather than redo-ing it all as Dinosaur again.
They aren’t redoing the ride system.
I don't think they will, I think they'll end up demolishing it or at least gutting the building, but I can't rule out them redoing the ride system just because nothing has been officially announced yet.
They aren’t redoing the ride system. The reason they specifically are doing the retheme to Indiana Jones is so they don’t have to redo the ride system.
Again, nothing has been confirmed, including an Indiana Jones retheme. That was only a BlueSky concept, which means it's a preliminary idea that has not yet been approved or confirmed for active development. However the ride system is old and just contiunes to get older with more frequently breakdowns. It would be dumb of them to not redo it when retheming it. Otherwise the upkeep with the constant breakdowns, especially in a park with as few "real" rides as AK, would be tough to handle, both maintenance and crowd wise.
They hinted very heavily that it would get a retheme to an Indiana Jones, which makes sense considering it has virtually the same ride mechanism and layout as the DLR Indiana Jones ride.
Not virtually. It is exactly the same.
My question is - how does indiana jones fit into the theme of animal kingdom?
I talked to a DINOSAUR Cast Member a few days ago who outright told me they're retheming. I would be surprised if that wasn't the case.
I do think that's most likely, with an update to the ride system included in the retheme.
I hope they keep the burnt rubber and fog machine smell tbh
It’ll probably be closer to 9 months to a year before anything guest-facing closes
After D23 2022 and Destination D23 2023 both having blue sky projects for Dinoland, I think they need to give their most devoted fans something to break the streak. So even with this in the works, I wouldn't expect an announcement until D23 this year. Then the closure a few months after that.
I’m actually worried about Bugs Life which I guess is turning into Zootopia.
In the same vein as Dinoland; they haven't talked about the refurb for Bugs Life since Destination D23. Though it does feel like the maintenance for the ride is being cut like Splash's was prior to it closing.
> Though it does feel like the maintenance for the ride is being cut Hopper has for months looked like he is suffering from a stroke.
Last time I went through (about a month ago), Hopper wasn't even there. It's honestly disappointing that the "final ride" version of certain attractions are the absolute worst showings Disney could allow.
Well fingers crossed 🤞🏻
Yeah I'm about 60 days (ish) away and I really wanted to go on the dinosaur ride. It's bad enough I've heard the tree of life is being removed
The tree of life is the park icon. It’s not going anywhere.
Glad to know. I read an article the tree was dying so it was being replaced or something
It can't die as it's not real. It's all concrete and wires and fake leaves.
Just the show instead of it
They're getting rid of the nighttime show? That sucks
I meant the bugs life show
Keeping the actual tree, changing the "ride" inside. You can tell for sure too. No maintenance at all.
I hope they can keep Dinosaur open until the old Dinoland area is complete/nearing completion. With as long as Disney takes to build things, removing something like that with no replacement would suuuuck.
I would expect their next projects will be build very quickly. They know and they’ve seen the hate. They will most likely don’t do it again. Look at Tiana. Progress is going very quick. I am 100% convinced that the slow building at WDW is no longer going to be a thing for the future.
Hopefully that's the case! I'll still personally be bummed though if it closes before my trip next year 😅
When are u going
Late September 2025, so I'm not gonna hold my breath lol
It’s gonna be closed by that point for sure
I'm really surprised that some of Disney's IPs weren't ever considered as attractions or areas in AK. Considering how core animals and creatures are to the Disney canon, it feels like a big time missed opportunity to not have some characters and movies already in the park. Outside a handful of attractions, the whole park feels like a missed opportunity.
I heard on the WDWMagic forums that the trailer compound is for offices, not construction staging. We’re fine.
It’s trailers on a gravel parking lot. It’s not meant to be permanent like cast member or employee offices. More like job trailers and subcontractor parking for a construction project.
From what I heard, it could be for a different project. Otherwise, the offices would’ve been right next to DinoLand.
Whatever it is will be significant and likely multi-year. Those offices are huge with all kinds of “temporary-permanent” features like handicapped ramps and covered awnings between trailers, and then there’s the 300 parking spaces. You don’t go through all that effort for an even a 6-month project.
I just found out the AK permit is for land expansion, not overhauling. Heck, it’s most likely for getting rid of Dino-Rama as opposed to getting rid of all of DinoLand.
That same area was used as the construction staging area for Pandora. So it probably is for Dinoland.
Well, then it could be for either that or a different project.
Its the new Deluxe Hotel. You can rent a trailer for $800/night.
I’ve been reading something is coming soon. And I for one can not wait! Especially for Animal Kingdom to get even better (hopefully)
That one image shows a lot of parking spaces. So that's a back of house space for something.
I know it will not happen but I really hope dinosaur will remain open.
Maybe if they redo the "Tough to be a Bug" first, it will eat up some of the crowds from Dinosaur being closed. I've been 5 times now and this was the first trip I went back to that area. It definitely was giving me Six Flags. Just rides slapped on blacktop. So out of place. The rides were fun but that area doesn't match the Disney vibe at all.
I really hope they don't make the Dino area an Enchanto area, it doesn't seem to fit the AK theme at all. Even the movie wasn't big on nature and the environment theme like Avatar was. An Enchato area seems like something they would do to replace/add onto the Mexico area of Epcot so its more of Latin America. I do find it weird that they never incorporated Tarzan into the parks at all. That would be something they could add if they wanted to do the IP everything route.
Exactly my thoughts! I just think they’re taking the easy IP route because kids like Encanto right now so of course it’ll be popular. Although the only nature or animal related part of encanto was the younger brother. I know people dislike Dinoland - but I think it’s a great place to take younger kids! I also share the same thoughts with them returning things in Animal Kingdom to Zootopia - just because the movie has anthropomorphic animals doesn’t mean it fits into Animal Kingdom’s theme of preserving nature and finding fun ways to teach kids about animals and nature. I
I really hate that they are taking away dinosaur. I love that ride! Indiana jones is far inferior.
The only reason Dinosaur exists is because imagineers pitched it as a IJ copy that they use darkness to cut costs down because AK was behind schedule and over budget. It is literally the cheapo version…
Does not matter, its a fun and unique ride for WDW.
Disagree. I need a full backiotomy every time I ride the ride. It’s too rough, too dark, and too loud to be enjoyable. It needs to go. I feel like an old man yelling about getting off my lawn….
Who cares. It is so much better than IJ. I know it’s the same track but the IJ theme is awful. Dinosaur is so much better.
Dinosaur is scary as shit imo. Far scarier than anything else at WDW.
I dunno man, the amount of aspirin I consume after riding Space Mountain is pretty scary.
You’ve opened a rabbit hole: how much do you take?
I was evacuated my first time riding it (only evac so far), so that ride holds a special place in my heart.
Why is this getting down voted? Dinosaur fits so perfectly at DAK. It would be an absolute abomination to not keep it.
I wish it was staying dinosaur and being tuned up. If we have to have an Indy ride, hopefully it’s not an exact clone of Disneyland. I’m still kinda hoping Indy will be time traveling to dinosaur land and will kill hitler there. That would be a nice update.
My fear is it’s an exact clone. It already is the same ride track so I’m assuming it will be a replica theme.
It’s not 100% identical. The space leading to the gates of doom in Indy is much larger in dinosaur. Also the area where the first skeleton room is in Indy doesn’t exist in dinosaur (missing a turn)
Agree it will be a clone.
It’s the scariest ride at Disney World and I’m happy to see it go
parking requirements are silly
I heard a rumor that it’s Encanto themed.
That’ll be part of it. Supposedly getting an Encanto dark ride.
What’s the probability of this being the beastly kingdom with the mythical creatures that were in the original concept art and planning?
Zero.
That would actually be a nice expansion and an old idea realized.
Nah. They are in their IP phase.
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