NEWS: Permits Filed For Animal Kingdom’s Expansion

Work at Disney’s Animal Kingdom may be starting sooner than we thought.

The upcoming construction at Animal Kingdom is one of the most exciting projects happening in Disney World right now. Confirmed to be themed to the Tropical Americas – and heavily implied to include attractions based on Encanto and Indiana Jones – the new land will be located in the area that currently houses DinoLand, U.S.A.. Now, some new permits indicate that construction might begin soon!

As first reported by Scott Gustin and confirmed by our team, Disney has recently filed new permits for the Tropical Americas construction area.

New permits were filed today for work on the Tropical Americas-themed land planned for Disney's Animal Kingdom. In March, wastewater permits revealed plans for a 5-acre WDI trailer compound at AK. And today, Disney filed Notice of Commencement permits to install the trailers. pic.twitter.com/aUcU2aSY2g

— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) May 23, 2024

Specifically, the company filed Notice of Commencement permits to begin installation of a 5 acre trailer compound on site. Initial wastewater permits that revealed the plan for the trailer complex were first filed back in March. While the trailers aren’t direct construction, these types of temporary compounds serve as essentially a command center for Disney’s construction sites, and are likely a sign that time is limited for DinoLand, U.S.A..

Disney has officially confirmed little about the Tropical Americas area. Back at the Destination D23 event in September of 2023, Josh D’Amaro – the president of Disney Experiences – said that Disney was considering additions inspired by Encanto and Indiana Jones – which would likely replace Dinosaur, as the latter’s ride system and track layout are a cop of the Indiana Jones Adventure – in an expansion project themed to the “tropical Americas”, confirming what had been a few years of speculation.

During the same event, Disney Imagineering head Bruce Vaughn said of the development and potential plans, “Imagine a land filled with authentic experiences from this part of the world. With all of the placemaking and storytelling you’d expect. Look, it’s a beautiful region to explore and has been the inspiration for so many magical stories over the years. We’re looking forward to bringing all of that to life.”Imagineering has been talking about stories from this part of the world; Encanto with Indiana Jones just rose to the top. They give us so much to play with. We have a long way to go now and a lot more to discover. But our team here in Florida is all over it.”

Disney Imagineering confirmed more about the land in an April 2024 Instagram post, which included video of an Imagineering research trip as well as some peeks at models, with the caption, “Travel with us to the Yucatán Peninsula, one of the many locales where we’ll draw inspiration for Tropical Americas, the exciting update coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom! “

In the clip, Neal Emery, Principal Landscape Designer at Walt Disney Imagineering, explained “We recently took a trip down to Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula to study culture, art, and the archeology of the Mayans. Imagineers build 3D models to help visualize the stories that we’re trying to tell, to bring the fantastical and magical to life.”

While there still aren’t that many details OFFICIALLY confirmed about the upcoming Tropical Americas project at Animal Kingdom, these latest permits indicate that work on this potential exciting addition could begin soon. Stay tuned to AllEars for more Disney construction updates.

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