Encanto, Indiana Jones Attractions Teased for Animal Kingdom

Several popular franchises could be coming to Animal Kingdom. Today, Bruce Vaughn, Chief Creative Officer at Walt Disney Imagineering, revealed that Disney Parks was looking to replace the largely defunct Dinoland USA area of Animal Kingdom with a new "Tropical Americas" area that would include attractions based on Encanto and the Indiana Jones franchise. No other details were announced about the plans outside of some early concept art of the reimagined areas. Keep in mind that this is still in the conceptual phase, so plans for Dinoland USA could change in the future. You can check out the early concept art down below: 

Additionally, Disney Parks announced that the Tree of Life will feature a new Zootopia show, replacing It's Tough to Be a Bug. The new Zootopia show will feature an expansion of the world of Zootopia, with new biomes not seen in the movie. Characters from the movie, such as Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, will also appear. No release date was announced for the new attraction. 

Dinoland USA's Fate Revealed

It's long been rumored that Disney would replace Dinoland USA, an opening day attraction at Animal Kingdom. The carnival-themed area was meant to mimic a Route 66 attraction and was built around the concept of a fossil discover world built up alongside an actual scientific institute (that also feature time-travel technology.) The Primeval Whirl, a roller coaster in the area, was shut down in 2021, spurring speculation that the land would be replaced entirely. Disney Parks revealed that it was looking at potential replacements last year, with Zootopia named as a potential replacement. 

However, a "tropical Americas" area would at least fit better with the general flow of the park, which already has areas based on Africa and Asia.