Credit: Steven Miller, FlickrWalk into Disney’s Animal Kingdom and there’s no missing it. Rising above Discovery Island, the Tree of Life has stood at the center of the park since opening day in 1998, its massive trunk covered with more than 300 carved animals.
The longer you look, the more you find, with new animals seeming to appear from every angle. It’s one of those Disney icons that rewards slowing down, and generations of guests have spent time circling its roots trying to spot every creature.
The tree does more than look pretty, too. Inside, the theater that once housed It’s Tough to be a Bug! is now home to Zootopia: Better Zoogether, which took over after the original show closed on March 16, 2025.
For many fans, the best way to experience the tree has always been up close. Unfortunately, one of the most popular ways to do that is off the table for now.
The Garden Walk Goes Dark Again
The Tree of Life Garden, the winding pathway that runs right beneath the tree, will stay closed indefinitely.
This isn’t a brand-new closure. The path has been off-limits for quite some time already. What’s new is that Disney has now explained why it can’t reopen yet. According to Disney, as reported by BlogMickey, the garden pathway falls within the construction envelope for upcoming maintenance on the Tree of Life itself.
In plain terms, crews will be working on the structure above the path, so the area below needs to stay clear of guests until that work is done.
It’s a tough loss for fans. When the Tree of Life Garden reopened in December 2016 after spending years behind walls, it gave guests some of the closest views of the tree’s carvings anywhere in the park.
Nets, Walls, and a Permit
The signs that something was coming have been there for about a year. On October 31, 2025, Walt Disney World installed safety nets over the Zootopia: Better Zoogether queue, ahead of planned maintenance on the tree. Guests in line still walk beneath those nets today.
The garden pathway gets a different solution. A green construction wall now blocks it, positioned roughly in line with the perimeter set by the nets over the queue. The nets protect guests who still need to pass through, while the wall keeps the garden empty.
There’s a paperwork trail, too. In December 2025, Walt Disney Imagineering filed a permit listing Whiting-Turner for work at the Tree of Life. The permit was labeled for “demolition,” though that kind of label doesn’t necessarily mean major changes are coming. Days later, that permit was extended, pushing its expiration to December 25, 2026.
What Disney doesn’t have yet is a timeline. The company says it doesn’t know when the work on the tree will be finished. And it’s not even clear that the work has started. During recent visits, BlogMickey reported seeing no visible work on the tree and no high-reach cranes on site.
That’s a notable difference from early 2023, when a high-reach crane arrived for the tree’s last repainting and refurbishment, and Disney closed nearly every walkway around it.
Still Plenty of Tree to Love
The good news? You can still get great views of the Tree of Life while the garden is closed.
The open walkways around Discovery Island offer clear sightlines to the tree, including from across the water. For an up-close look, the Zootopia: Better Zoogether queue still brings guests near the roots and carvings, just beneath the safety nets.
There’s one more nearby bright spot. The lemur habitat near the Tree of Life reopened in October after months of refurbishment, so it’s worth a stop on your way around Discovery Island.
Meanwhile, Across the Park
While the Tree of Life waits for its turn, construction is moving quickly elsewhere at Animal Kingdom. Tropical Americas, the 11-acre land replacing DinoLand U.S.A., got a wave of official details at D23 2026, including names for all three of its attractions: Antonio’s Fiesta de Encanto, Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent, and El Carrusel de los Animalitos.
New aerial photos shared by parks photographer Bioreconstruct on November 8 show a tall steel frame for Casita, the Madrigal family’s magical home from Encanto, now rising in front of the attraction’s show building. Crews are also building concrete walls that, according to Bioreconstruct, will hold tiered, landscaped berms to create forced perspective so Casita appears to sit high on a hill.
Inside, guests will board ride vehicles meant to look like pieces of furniture. “When you enter the house, you’ll board a ride vehicle meant to represent the different pieces of furniture assembled by the power of Casita to carry you through the rooms,” Disney Parks Blog wrote. The ride will have no height requirement.
Over at the former DINOSAUR site, Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent will send riders into a Maya temple toward a showdown with a serpent creature called Tsukán. Its Indiana Jones Audio-Animatronic will be the first sculpted in Harrison Ford’s likeness. Disney has said Tropical Americas is expected to open in 2027.
Rooting for the Tree
Nobody loves seeing construction walls around a park icon, but at nearly 30 years old, the Tree of Life deserves a little care. A little upkeep now should help keep it looking its best for years to come.
We’ll keep watching for cranes, crews, or any update on when the garden walk might return.
In the meantime, we want to hear from you. Did you ever get to walk the Tree of Life Garden, and what’s the coolest carving you’ve spotted on the tree? Share it in the comments below. Bonus points if it’s one most people walk right past!
