Animal Kingdom’s DINOSAUR ride enters its final countdown
We’ve known the end was nigh. But now we have a date. Disney’s DINOSAUR Ride in Animal Kingdom – the last standing remnant of DinoLand USA – will take its final trip back in time on Feb. 1, 2026.
It will be the latest in major closures in Animal Kingdom, Disney World, and across the Orlando theme park universe as the path of progress leaves many rides, attractions, and shows that were at varying levels of cult classics in the proverbial dust.
At this point we know the routine, there will be the usual collections of true fans, opportunists, and grifters giving a variety of eulogies for a ride that’s beloved by some and all but ignored by others.
What does this mean in the long and short terms for Animal Kingdom? Disney? Orlando theme parks?
Let’s talk it out.
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Why Is DINOSAUR closing?
DINOSAUR – which was originally opened in 1998 under the name Countdown to Extinction – is the last survivor of Disney’s multi-year effort to close and replace DinoLand USA with a new area known as Tropical Americas.
However, we didn’t know when the first metaphorical asteroid struck the land. Way back in 2021, Primeval Whirl – a small, spinning coaster – did not return following the COVID-19 closure.
In fairness, it had been limping along prior to the pandemic after being announced as a seasonal ride in 2019. The ride was torn down in late 2021, leaving something of an eyesore next to the variety of carnival games and the TriceraTop Spin.
In September of 2023, Disney announced its plans for how Tropical Americas would replace DinoLand USA in stages – first the carnival games and TriceraTop Spin and later DINOSAUR.
They will be replaced with Tropical Americas, the hub of which will be Pueblo Esperanza, the centerpiece of the land – a lush and beautiful hub. There will be a carousel, replacing TriceraTops Spin, featuring hand-carved Disney-inspired animals. Up where Primeval Whirl used to be, there will be an Encanto-themed attraction which will celebrate the Madrigal Family – even Bruno – and their magical casita.
There will be a restaurant to replace Restaurantosaurus, which was revered for its imagineering and only somewhat less than reviled for its menu.
Finally, DINOSAUR will be – I think the word is refurbished – into an Indiana Jones based ride featuring are archaeological adventure in a Mayan setting.
How mad are people?
It’s a little hard to gauge. As with many of the recent ride closures in Orlando – not so much the Rip Ride Roller Coaster at Universal – you’ve got the usual array of actual fans of the attraction, grifters looking to earn clicks, and the collection of people who have an axe to grind with anything Disney.
I saw a guy on X say that when DINOSAUR closes, the last vestiges of the beloved Disney of his youth will be gone. Which seems dramatic, but we have to remember that everyone has attachments to different rides for different reasons.
I’ve never been a big DINOSAUR ride guy. The ride is too rough, too hectic, and too hurried to be taken in.
My favorite part of DinoLand was the carnival games, even if they added significantly to the cost of our trip. Once – when my wife wasn’t looking – I splurged and got 10 tickets, three for each kid and one for me for the low, low price of $60.
Both of our girls won small prizes quickly. But the middle child, the highly competitive boy who believes irrationally in his abilities to win at all things, hadn’t won anything.
He decided to play his final ticket at the ball toss, where it had to land in a certain color cup to win the prize.
As I was mentally preparing to coach him out of the brewing sulk – something about winning and losing with character and class – he unleashed his last throw. The ball bounced around the white cups, caught an edge, and rolled straight to the best color on the board, winning him the biggest prize.
We celebrated like we’d won the World Series. It remains one of my favorite Disney memories.
So, am I sad that part of Animal Kingdom is gone? Yeah, a little. But not so sad that I’m not looking forward to what’s next.
But, should we be mad?
I don’t think so. Obviously, if you’re a huge DINOSAUR or DinoLand USA fan, you have every right to be disappointed. But mad? Objectively speaking, if you were to rank DinoLand – in full glory – against all the other theme park lands in Orlando, I don’t think it makes the top 75%.
And if we’re objectively ranking rides at Disney World, I don’t think DINOSAUR finishes much higher. In fact, I would go so far as to say DinoLand USA was a big part of the reason many people consider Animal Kingdom a half day park.
The investment in the new land and rides, however, could prove to be a game changer.
I expect the theming to be Epic Universe level good and having an Encanto-themed ride in the park will certainly be a draw for fans – young and old – of one of Disney’s most popular movies in recent years. Also, I think a beautiful, hand-carved carousel will be a significant improvement over flying triceratops.
The biggest question is: will Indiana Jones be an improvement over DINOSAUR?
I expect it will be, especially if they smooth out the ride. DINOSAUR’s track layout resulted in a brutally bumpy ride.
Now, should you take that opinion with a grain of salt?
Absolutely, one of my first memories of being in a theatre was watching the melting faces at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark, even as I tried to cover my own eyes. I’m a huge Indiana Jones fan, and a close, personal friend of Harrison Ford, having met him once and spoken for as many as 90 seconds.
Even setting my unabashed excitement at a new Indiana Jones ride aside, I think there will be more of a public connection to the rethemed ride than DINOSAUR. But what do I know? We’ll find out when the new section opens sometime in 2027.
2027? What will happen at Animal Kingdom in the meantime?
This is a good question. The hope here is that the land will be able to open in early 2027, meaning the full closure will be about a year. They’ve had a head start on Pueblo Esperanza because the transformation into the Indiana Jones ride will be a reskin and refurbishment, not a complete rebuild.
But once DinoLand USA is closed for good in February, things at the park will be a little grim from a ride standpoint. Animal Kingdom will have five rides – six if you count the Wildlife Express Train ride up to Rafiki’s Planet Watch. While the park has enticing animal exhibits, good shows and excellent drinks and dining, that’s not a lot of rides, even if three of them – Expedition Everest, Flight of Passage, and Kilimanjaro Safari – are bangers.
Wait times could get rough, though.
There are two things that will help, however. The Zootopia show – replacing It’s Tough to Be a Bug – will open November 7.
Also, park officials have announced they are moving up the annual refurbishment on Kali River Rapids. The ride will be closed for repairs – most Orlando water rides will shut down in the offseason for repairs – from October 6 through December.
How much will it help? A little. A lot of people don’t enjoy the water rides because wet and damp clothes can add to chafing situations.
Also, I don’t know how many people are gonna want to get soaked in February and early March. While it doesn’t usually get too cold in Orlando, I did participate in my first Florida snowball fight in late January last year, so it can happen.
