One of four main theme parks making up the 27,000-acre Disney World resort in Orlando, Animal Kingdom was the fourth and most recent to be added to the fold in April 1998.
The combination of live animal and natural world exhibits with traditional theme park rides has made it one of the most innovative in the wider Disney portfolio but, as anyone who has visited the park recently has almost certainly noticed, some sections have started to look a little dated after nearly 30 years.
On February 1, the DinoLand U.S.A. section of the park closed its doors forever for a renovation that will turn it into a Tropical Americas themed land that will feature new rides from more modern films like “Encanto” and the newer “Indiana Jones” series. Rides that were part of the land, including “TriceraTop Spin,” “The Boneyard” and “Fossil Fun Games,” had already been shut down since September.
Restaurontasaurus Quick-Service restaurant to be demolished at Animal Kingdom
As guests who were strolling past the former DinoLand section this week quickly noticed, the entire area in the southeast of the park has been cordoned off as a construction site while a demolition permit appeared on a trailer next to the building that housed the Restaurantosaurus Quick-Service food hall.
Around since Animal Kingdom opened, the casual restaurant sold grab-and-go foods such as hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken salads that guests would take with them to both inside and outside tables.
Related: Disneyland, Disney World closing iconic rides
Those passing by the site noticed that part of the paneling had already been removed while forklifts were moving boxes of equipment throughout the area.
“Walt Disney World Resort is transforming parts of the former restaurant building into a hacienda-style Quick-Service dining location to fit with the new theme,” Inside To The Magic, a Disney watchdog blog that was first to report the demolition, writes.
Disney
What we know about what is coming to the place of DinoLand at Animal Kingdom
The “Encanto” section of the new Tropical Americas land will be titled “Pueblo Esperanza.” Disney first presented the new land at D23 Expo 2024 and much of the details about the opening date and the kind of rides it will offer guests will be released in the coming months.
The two confirmed attractions are currently a “La Casita Encantada” dark ride and carousel of animal character at the site of the former “DINOSAUR” ride.
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At least part of the infrastructure from DinoLand U.S.A. is, according to early reports, being kept after a renovation for the new themes. According to Inside The Magic, Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures gift shop will be reworked to be an “Encanto” gift shop like the themed stores placed throughout the other lands.
An entirely new park, “Disney Adventure World,” will also be part of a much-awaited opening in Disneyland Paris at the end of March. The French theme park that has been under construction for the last three years replaces the former Walt Disney Studios with a new park featuring lands like “Frozen” and “Marvel Avengers Campus.”
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