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Credit: Steven Miller, FlickrSunday, February 1, 2026 marks the final day guests can experience DINOSAUR, the time-traveling thrill ride that has been a cornerstone of Disney’s Animal Kingdom since the park’s opening day in 1998.
After nearly 28 years of sending riders back to the Late Cretaceous period to dodge meteors and outrun a charging Carnotaurus, the attraction closes permanently tonight at 8:00 pm to make way for the Tropical Americas expansion and a new Indiana Jones adventure.
But here’s the twist nobody saw coming: DINOSAUR’s final day is happening during one of Central Florida’s most extreme weather events in recent memory. A freeze warning has blanketed the Orlando area, with temperatures expected to dip into the upper teens and low twenties overnight.
Wind gusts have reached tropical storm force levels of 40-45 mph throughout the day, and the wind chill is making it feel even colder. The conditions are so severe that Typhoon Lagoon closed entirely, and the National Weather Service issued an extreme cold warning for the region.
Despite the hostile weather, thousands of Disney fans are braving the arctic conditions to say goodbye to an attraction that defined what Disney dark rides could be. Social media is filled with guests bundled in winter coats, sharing photos and videos from their final rides, many with visible emotion as they experience the attraction one last time.
The combination of DINOSAUR’s closure and the historic cold snap has created a strange, almost surreal atmosphere at Animal Kingdom today, where nostalgia meets meteorological chaos.
For those who grew up visiting Walt Disney World, DINOSAUR represented something different from the typical Disney experience. It was darker, louder, and rougher than most attractions the company built. It didn’t shy away from genuine scares or intense physical motion.
And for nearly three decades, it remained one of the few opening-day attractions still operating at Animal Kingdom, a living piece of the park’s original vision even as the land around it changed dramatically.
The Final Operating Hours
DINOSAUR has been operating today with Early Theme Park Entry from 7:30 am to 8:00 am, followed by regular park hours from 8:00 am through 8:00 pm tonight. Cast members report that wait times have been significant throughout the weekend despite the brutal cold, with guests determined to experience the attraction one final time regardless of weather conditions.
The freeze warning has added an unexpected layer of difficulty for those making the pilgrimage. Guests waiting in outdoor queues are dealing with wind chills in the teens, a far cry from the typical Florida experience. Many are layered in clothing they probably never expected to wear at Disney World, clutching hot beverages from nearby carts while they wait their turn to board a Time Rover.
A Nearly 28-Year Journey Through Time
DINOSAUR opened on April 22, 1998 as Countdown to Extinction, one of Disney’s Animal Kingdom’s signature attractions from day one. The ride used Enhanced Motion Vehicle technology similar to Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland, but with programming designed to be even more intense and unpredictable.
Guests entered the Dino Institute and climbed aboard Time Rover vehicles for a mission to the Late Cretaceous period, tasked with retrieving an Iguanodon moments before the asteroid impact that would wipe out the dinosaurs.
The attraction’s original meteorite finale was quickly replaced with the now-iconic Carnotaurus chase sequence, where the massive predator charges directly at riders in one of Disney’s most startling practical effect moments. That scene alone cemented DINOSAUR’s reputation as one of Walt Disney World’s most physically demanding attractions.
In 2000, Disney renamed the attraction DINOSAUR to tie in with their animated film of the same name, though the ride experience and storyline remained essentially unchanged. The film’s characters never made it into the attraction, preserving the original rescue mission concept. Years later, the ride motion was reduced slightly to lower the height requirement from 46 inches to 40 inches, particularly during the Carnotaurus encounter.
Throughout its nearly three-decade run, DINOSAUR built a devoted following among guests who appreciated its darker tone, practical Audio-Animatronic dinosaurs, and reliance on physical effects rather than screens.
As DinoLand U.S.A. lost other elements over the years including Primeval Whirl and Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama, DINOSAUR stood as the land’s anchor attraction and strongest connection to Animal Kingdom’s original educational mission.
Saying Goodbye in a Freeze Warning
The weather today has created unprecedented challenges for guests trying to experience DINOSAUR one last time. Central Florida is in the grip of an arctic blast that has pushed temperatures to levels rarely seen in the region. The cold air settling over Orlando is creating wind chills that feel like the low to mid teens, with sustained winds of 20-30 mph and gusts reaching 40-45 mph.
Satellite imagery literally shows the separation between cool air, cold air, and freezing air masses moving across the state. Areas like Gainesville saw temperature drops of 8 degrees in just two hours earlier today. The National Weather Service issued both a freeze warning and a wind advisory valid through Monday morning, warning residents about the dangerous conditions.
Some computer models even suggested the possibility of flurries in parts of Central Florida tonight as Gulf moisture interacts with the freezing temperatures, though forecasters have backed off those predictions somewhat. Regardless, Sunday will remain bitterly cold throughout the day, with high temperatures struggling to reach the 50s even during the warmest afternoon hours.
The extreme weather forced Typhoon Lagoon to close, but Animal Kingdom remains open for DINOSAUR’s final day. Cast members and guests alike are powering through conditions that feel more appropriate for a winter destination than Central Florida.
What Comes Next
The DINOSAUR show building and ride system will be reimagined as a new Indiana Jones adventure as part of the Tropical Americas expansion announced for Animal Kingdom. While the dinosaur theming and storyline are being retired, the same Enhanced Motion Vehicle technology and physical track layout will continue under a different theme.
For fans of the original attraction, today represents the end of an era. DINOSAUR was one of the last remaining opening-day attractions at Animal Kingdom, a connection to the park’s original vision that emphasized education and conservation alongside entertainment.
Its closure marks another step in the park’s evolution, though many guests feel genuine sadness about losing an attraction that took creative risks Disney doesn’t often take anymore.
If you’re at Animal Kingdom today braving the freeze to ride DINOSAUR one last time, you’re not alone. Share your final ride memories in the comments because honestly, this is history happening in real time, even if it’s happening at 20 degrees with wind chill.