At the time of publishing this article, the DinoRama portion of Dinoland U.S.A at Disney's Animal Kingdom has officially closed for good. Starting today, January 13th, 2025, construction walls are now up and demolition is beginning as crews begin work on the new Tropical Americas land coming to the park in 2027.
As a friendly reminder, the experiences that are now closed in Dinoland include Triceratops Spin, Fossil Fun Games, and Chester and Hester's Dinosaur Treasures Gift Shop. The rest of the land will remain open for the foreseeable future, but for how much longer still remains a mystery. DINOSAUR is the only portion of Dinoland confirmed to last into 2026, but experiences like The Boneyard and Restaurantosaurus could very well (and are likely to) close sooner.
In short, not all of Dinoland is lost, but phased construction work is now underway for the land's transformation.
It's important to note that Chester and Hester's DinoRama will be the entirety of what will soon be the new Encanto attraction. If you look at the aerial concept art above, the entire upper-left portion of the land is now under construction. Makes sense, considering Disney will have to literally build the Encanto attraction straight from the ground up.
In speaking of, check out the two pieces of concept art below for a closer look of what Disney is planning for the Encanto attraction!
Photos: Final Hours of DinoRama
I was fortunate enough to visit DinoRama during its final moments of operation. (No literally, the following photos were taken during the last 30 minutes of the park being open lol.) As such, please enjoy my final documentation of Chester and Hester's DinoRama!
Personally, this is one of the very few things that I'm completely okay with Disney getting rid of. Animal Kingdom is arguably the most beautiful of the 4 Walt Disney World Theme Parks, and the most thematically consistent. But this portion of Dinoland U.S.A never impressed me, and it's a very strong and ugly outlier when compared to the rest of the park. It honestly amazes me how DinoRama has stuck around for almost 25 years.
Respectfully, a street side carnival area does not belong at Disney's Animal Kingdom (although Encanto doesn't seem all that better). While I will miss the fun and creative dinosaur theming, it's time for Chester and Hester's DinoRama to go.
As for the rest of the land, savor it while you still can! The rest (and better part) of Dinoland U.S.A is still open, but extinction for the land in its entirety is on the horizon.
However, I am equally excited to begin covering the extensive construction progress as work officially begins on the Tropical Americas, coming in 2027! A slew of construction vlogs are on the way soon, so make sure you're subscribed to the channel so you don't miss the latest construction activity!
But now I'll turn it over to you. How do you feel about Chester and Hester's DinoRama closing for good? Are you excited for work to begin on the land's reimagining? Let me know in the comments below and I'll see you next time.
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