Disney Moves Ahead With Controversial Theme Park Transformation

Disney is moving forward on a very interesting and controversial theme park project.

Aladar statue in front of the DINOSAUR attraction at Disney World Resort's Animal Kingdom — Credit: Inside the Magic

Disney has filed a new permit for work on Harambe Market at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park. This new permit lists longtime Disney vendor MLC Theming as the main contractor and notes “general construction” work.

This is all part of Disney’s ongoing efforts to revitalize its theme parks, specifically Animal Kingdom, which will continue to change over the coming years. Half of DinoLand U.S.A. closed permanently in January to allow Disney to begin working on Tropical Americas.

Announced at last year’s D23 event, Tropical Americas seeks to transform Animal Kingdom’s DinoLand into a new, South America-inspired hub, full of new rides and attractions for visitors to enjoy. The remaining half of DinoLand, including DINOSAUR, will shut down permanently in February, 2026.

This includes Restaurantosaurus, one of Animal Kingdom’s leading fast-food restaurants. The eatery is closing along with the rest of DinoLand but is set to return as part of Tropical Americas. A number of the eatery’s menu items will move over to Harambe Market, which will close this Winter for a brief refurbishment.

This new permit is tied to the refurbishment of Harambe Market, which has historically served various protein bowls and salads. Once it reopens in early 2026, it will feature more generic options like chicken nuggets and burgers.

The new permit expires on May 29, 2026.

Concept art for the carousel in the Pueblo Esperanza area at Disney's Animal Kingdom. — Credit: Disney

Disney’s Tropical Americas project is a big undertaking that will bring several new experiences to Animal Kingdom. Alongside new attractions based on Encanto and Indiana Jones, Tropical Americas will also completely change how this park section looks.

Tropical Americas is expected to open sometime in 2027, a year that will be monumental for Walt Disney World. Assuming everything goes to plan, Disney will welcome multiple new areas and attractions in 2027, including its new Cars-inspired land, Piston Peak at Magic Kingdom.

Work on the new area began earlier this year following the closure of classic attractions and locations like Tom Sawyer Island and Magic Kingdom’s Rivers of America.

A new land is also under construction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Monstropolis. Based on the fictional city seen in Pixar’s Monsters Inc., Monstropolis will feature several new areas to explore and enjoy, including a suspended roller coaster.

Are you excited about Tropical Americas at Disney’s Animal Kingdom?