DinoLand U.S.A. will soon be going extinct. At the Disney Parks & Experiences Panel at the D23 Expo, Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro announced that the prehistoric land at Animal Kingdom will be receiving a major reimagining. The new land will be themed to two of Disney’s biggest hits from the last ten years: Zootopia and Moana. This announcement is one of the biggest developments that could be happening at Disney World in the next few years.
During the presentation, D’Amaro prefaced this reimagining as in the Blue Sky phase. This means that concepts are still being developed and finalized. So there’s no announced opening date for these new lands, and Disney was very vague on what the lands will actually be like. We don’t know what types of attractions will be coming to Animal Kingdom when this section of the park is redone.
However, Imagineering did share concept art of the new land, mainly showing the Moana section.
In this concept art, we can see two attractions. The first is a log flume ride on the left hand side, so Tiana won’t be the only Disney Princess with a water ride at Disney World. On the right hand side, you can see an aerial spinner, similar to TriceraTop Spin that is currently in DinoLand. However, it appears that there is a water component to this spinner.
Details are even vaguer about the Zootopia area. However, Imagineering is currently building a Zootopia land in Shanghai Disneyland. They offered a sneak peek at the Clawhauser animatronic, which looks incredible. It’s unclear if how much of the land coming to Animal Kingdom shares with the one currently being built at Shanghai Disneyland.
While we don’t know when Disney World will debut these new Zootopia and Moana lands, it’s safe to say we are several years away at the very least. In the past when Disney has shared blue sky looks at lands like Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Pandora, Cars Land, and New Fantasyland, it typically takes at least 4-5 years for these projects to be completed.
Be sure to check out Disney World’s other major blue sky announcement: Encanto, Coco, and Villains lands teased for Magic Kingdom.
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What do you think about Zootopia and Moana coming to Animal Kingdom? Will you miss DinoLand USA? Let me know in the comments below!
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I think that zootopia and Moana theme land will be awesome. I can’t wait for more details!
I agree! That area of the park definitely needs some attention. Hopefully it won’t be too long before we find out more.