Yes, Disney World Really Is Closing One of Its Best Rides

We’re gonna miss this Disney World ride. Will you?

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There’s always a debate going on about which Disney ride is “the best,” and while this answer is subjective, there are a few attractions that always snag the top spot. Many Disney fans would tell you that classics like Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan’s Flight, Space Mountain, and Pirates of the Caribbean are the best.

There’s certainly a case to be made about each of these rides; after all, there’s a reason they’re all decades old. Newer attractions like Avatar—Flight of Passage, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, and TRON Lightcycle / Run also take top spots for thrill seekers.

However, what if we told you DINOSAUR is one of the best rides at Disney?

This thrilling and intense dark ride debuted alongside Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 1998, serving up scares, smiles, and tears for over two decades.

Scares are few and far between at Walt Disney World and really any of the Disney theme parks. None of the rides found at the parks set out to terrify guests quite like DINOSAUR. Very few attractions also feature the sheer amount of animatronic ingenuity seen on the attraction.

It’s a completely entrancing, immersive, and exhilarating experience, though it’s also one of the most controversial and divisive. DINOSAUR is a mixed bag for many Disney World guests, with some calling it cheap and others labeling it an underwhelming and jerky ride through dark and empty sets.

But those who get it get it, and we think DINOSAUR is not just one of Disney World’s most unique attractions, it’s one of the best. However, DINOSAUR and DinoLand U.S.A. are closing permanently at Disney’s Animal Kingdom to make way for the park’s new Tropical Americas expansion.

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Disney first teased demolishing and overhauling DinoLand back in 2022, an announcement that may have come as a surprise to some, though the prehistoric-themed land has never been all that “loved” in the community.

During the construction of Animal Kingdom, Disney was forced to make cuts and scale down projects due to the park’s inflating budget. As a result, DinoLand was born, a relatively cheap and straightforward solution to Disney’s budget problem.

This is not to say that DinoLand isn’t a great place to spend some time, because it’s actually a really well-themed and detailed land. But DinoLand’s carnival aesthetic never meshed well with the rest of Animal Kingdom, a park that prides itself on its realism and authenticity.

DINOSAUR, along with the final bits of DinoLand, will close forever in February 2026. While it never ranked as high as Peter Pan’s Flight and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, there’s a special “magical” quality found within the dark jungle of DINOSAUR that isn’t found anywhere else on property; for that reason, we will sorely miss it.

However, what’s coming next is quite exciting. DINOSAUR itself isn’t being demolished, but rather repurposed into a new ride, one based on Indiana Jones.

It’ll still be a fun adventure, but we will miss the impressive dinosaur animatronics and the sheer intensity DINOSAUR had to offer.

Will you miss DINOSAUR?