If you’re already pre-emptively mourning the death of DinoLand U.S.A. (in which case, join the club), you’ll be pleased to know that Disney has breathed new life into its most divisive land.
Last week, new entertainment popped up at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Atmospheric performers were spotted at Restaurantosaurus – the quick-service location in DinoLand.

Videos shared on X (formerly known as Twitter) show an “intern” on a break from the Dino Institute – AKA the fictional research institute in which the park’s Dinosaur attraction is housed – checking out Restaurantosaurus and playing guitar to pass the time until he’s back on shift.
New intern from the Dino Institute has started performing at Restaurantosaurus in Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
New intern from the Dino Institute has started performing at Restaurantosaurus in Disney’s Animal Kingdom 🦕🦖 pic.twitter.com/LO45vcHUCf
— MickeyBlog.com (@MickeyBlog_) April 1, 2024
Several interns have been spotted at the restaurant over the past week. While there’s no set schedule dictating when they may or may not appear, they appear in the lounge area of Restaurantosaurus when they are performing.
According to several X users, the Dino Institute’s interns are actually former performers from Galactic Starcruiser, the immersive Star Wars hotel that infamously closed after just one year at Disney World in September due to low attendance. Disney has since found several ways to recycle elements of the hotel, including bringing its exclusive glassware and beverages to Disneyland Resort as a part of Season of the Force.

This isn’t the first time Animal Kingdom has played host to Dino Institute interns. As the land’s lore goes, the employees at Restaurantosaurus are actually interns making extra cash during their program (a detail that’s a little meta, considering participants in the Disney College Program typically man Restaurantosaurus).
Restaurantosaurus is packed with references to the Institute’s interns, including a public notice asking them to “restrain your youthful exuberance and cease all loud conduct after 11 PM,” and a welcome letter from Dr. Bernard Dunn of the Dino Institute expressing hopes that they’ll “serve with dignity, diligence, and decorum and, in so doing, become part of the proud half-century tradition that is the Dino Institute.”
It’s been a while since DinoLand U.S.A. welcomed anything new – and it’s especially surprising considering Disney is open about the fact the land is on its last legs. Over the past few years, Blue Sky plans have suggested that the area is marked as space for lands inspired by everything from Moana (2016) to Zootopia (2016).

The latest plans, revealed by Josh D’Amaro at Destination D23 in September, see it transforming into a Tropical Americas land, packed with references to Encanto (2021) and Indiana Jones (despite the fact neither of them has anything to do with animals or conservation, but we’ll leave that conversation for another day).
When this transformation will become a reality is, for now, a mystery. However, things definitely don’t look good for DinoLand U.S.A. in the long run – which is why we’ll take every last drop of atmospheric entertainment we can get in the meantime.
Are you excited about the closure of Dinoland U.S.A., or do you wish Disney would reinvest and revive the land? Let us know in the comments!