Goodbye! Disney's Confirms Status of New Ride Set To Replace Opening Day Attraction

Sometime in the future, the Walt Disney World Resort will have transformed. While the Central Florida destination is in a constant state of evolution, the House of Mouse is arguably undergoing its biggest change in decades, with the arrival of multiple new lands, attractions, and experiences.

Now, new information has surfaced regarding the ongoing expansion at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

The Tropical Americas-themed land will officially take over DinoLand U.S.A. in the next few years. Already multiple attractions such as TriceraTop Spin and Fossil Fun Games–as well as landmarks like the DinoRama sign and the Cementosaurus–have been demolished, but the land’s signature attraction DINOSAUR will remain open through the end of 2025.

This large-scale overhaul at Animal Kingdom will see the Encanto and Indiana Jones franchises arrive at the theme park. Disney has confirmed an attraction based on Antonio Madrigal’s bedroom and an Indiana Jones-themed ride will be part of this development, along with other experiences such as a woodcarver’s carousel.

Along with the demise of DinoLand in favor of the Tropical Americas, the park will also be losing the current Tree of Life Theater show, It’s Tough to be a Bug! With a closing date in mid March, It’s Tough to be a Bug! will be replaced by Zootopia: Better Zoogether, based on Disney’s Academy Award-winning 2016 hit, Zootopia.

Over the last year, not much information has dropped regarding the actual new attractions themselves, but at this year’s South By Southwest (SXSW), the Disney team, led by Disney Experiences Josh D’Amaro and Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Alan Bergman, shared new information about the theme park changes, anchoring their announcements under the “future of world-building.”

Alongside details regarding the new Monsers, Inc. coaster at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom’s developments, the Mouse House shared information on the upcoming Indiana Jones ride at Animal Kingdom.

“During the event, Chris Beatty from Walt Disney Imagineering surprised the audience with an unexpected glimpse into what the new Indiana Jones ride that is coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be like,” Kenny the Pirate wrote. “The ride will be a completely new adventure with an original storyline that will play into the pillars of Animal Kingdom.” He went on to confirm that nothing will be replicated from the West Coast ride.

As a reminder, the Indiana Jones Adventure attraction at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim brings guests inside the Chamber of Destiny.

“Follow Indy’s footsteps into the crumbling Temple of the Forbidden Eye past intricate booby traps,” the official Disneyland Resort website explains. “Inspect carvings and frescos that tell the story of Mara, a powerful deity who promises great treasures—and vengeance to those foolish enough to gaze into its all-seeing eyes.”

The fact that the Disney World Indiana Jones ride will be completely different is an exciting development in this huge Tropical Americas overhaul of Animal Kingdom. Disney has often drawn ire for replicating attractions across its theme park portfolio, but an entirely new ride is likely to increase excitement and anticipation for its arrival.

The Tropical Americas area, known as the Pueblo Esparanza, is expected to open in 2027 and will come before Disney World’s other major transformation over at Magic Kingdom Park. The Frontierland area–and new space “Beyond Big Thunder Mountain”–will gain multiple new experiences, including a Pixar Cars-themed destination, as well as the Disney Villains.

At SXSW, Disney revealed its first look at its Cars franchise development. No opening date has been revealed yet, but recent permits filed for Frontierland show that work is getting underway. While the arrival of the Cars characters to Frontierland sparked backlash, Disney aims to blend the automobiles with the environment of the American Frontier.

“When we’re designing our attractions, our primary goal is to create an emotional experience for our guests, just like the filmmakers do on the screen,” Imagineer Michael Hudgen said at SXSW (via The Walt Disney Company). “For this Cars attraction, we need to invent a new type of ride vehicle to create that feeling,”

The Imagineer explained that creatives had been out to Arizona to examine the terrain and take a ride in off-road vehicles that will act as the inspiration for the attraction.

Whether fans love or hate the changes being made to Disney’s flagship theme park resort, it’s evident that the company is putting its money where its mouth is and delivering major updates. Disney’s announcements come as Universal Orlando Resort readies the debut of its giant new third gate, Universal Epic Universe.

With lands based on franchises like Harry Potter, How to Train Your Dragon, and the Classic Monsters, Universal Epic Universe is expected to completely transform the theme park landscape of Central Florida. The new location opens on May 22, 2025.

How do you feel about the Indiana Jones attraction at Walt Disney World Resort being completely different to the ride in Disneyland? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!