Disney World Theme Park Closes Permanently, Guests Blocked From Entry

On Sunday, January 12, 2025, Disney’s Animal Kingdom permanently closed a significant portion of its theme park within a theme park, DinoLand U.S.A. Disney Parks fans flooded the roadside carnival-themed land for one last nostalgia hit as Walt Disney World Resort prepares to build a new Tropical Americas land.

As of Monday, January 13, the Central Florida Disney park has erased all traces of the shuttered locations.

Fans speculated that the opening-day theme park land would close after its roller coaster, Primeval Whirl, closed in 2020. Its former location sat empty, surrounded by construction walls.

Last year, Walt Disney Imagineering revealed that a new land, Pueblo Esperanza, will replace DinoLand U.S.A. at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park. The area will include an attraction inspired by Encanto (2021), and an Indiana Jones retheme of the legendary DINOSAUR ride.

DINOSAUR, the Boneyard play area, and three DinoLand U.S.A. dining locations will remain open through 2025, giving Disney Parks fans plenty of time for one last journey to the prehistoric past. However, January 12 marked the extinction of the following three locations:

• Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures
• Chester & Hester’s DinoRama (including the Fossil Fun Games)
• TriceraTop Spin

On Saturday, January 11, the Fossil Fun Games ran out of exclusive DinoLand U.S.A.-themed prizes. In the weeks before the final closure, Walt Disney World Resort slowly replaced the plush toys with generic Disney merchandise.

Early Monday, Inside the Magic reported that Walt Disney World Resort had removed these three DinoLand U.S.A. areas from its digital and paper theme park maps. Theme park journalist Scott Gustin (@scottgustin) shared this screenshot on X (formerly known as Twitter):

Here’s the new digital map at Animal Kingdom that shows the future footprint of the Encanto ride in the upcoming Tropical Americas-themed land.

Here’s the new digital map at Animal Kingdom that shows the future footprint of the Encanto ride in the upcoming Tropical Americas-themed land. pic.twitter.com/lO2CEWk0vB

— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) January 13, 2025

Now, Disney Parks fans have a first look at the physical appearance of DinoLand U.S.A. Redditor u/Ekecede shared these photos of green construction walls and plants-on-wheels concealing TriceraTop Spin, Chester & Hester’s DinoRama, and Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures. Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park guests have no access to the area.

Dino-Rama! Chester & Hester removed from Park Guide Map

Dino-Rama! Chester & Hester removed from Park Guide Map
byu/Ekecede inDisneyWorld

The green construction walls feature quotes from different nature-inspired Disney and Pixar movies, including “SQUIRREL!” from Up (2009) and “Change is good” from The Lion King (1994).

Although guests can still spot some closed attractions behind the bushes, construction crews will likely add more permanent walls as they begin dismantling the area. Follow Inside the Magic for updates on the Pueblo Esperanza expansion at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park!

What should Walt Disney Imagineering include in Pueblo Esperanza at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park? Inside the Magic would love to hear your ideas in the comments!