Disney’s Animal Kingdom is in the midst of a massive transformation at a scale not seen since Pandora: The World of Avatar was added to the park. While this change will eventually yield the new Tropical Americas land, we’re worried about the park until then.
In my 30+ years of visiting Walt Disney World, I’ve seen each of the resort’s parks go through massive changes, with iconic rides and lands disappearing, blue sky plans announced and dropped, and massive new rides opening. However, I can’t quite recall a situation like what’s about to happen to Animal Kingdom.
Tropical Americas, which will feature rides based on Encanto and Indiana Jones, will be replacing the opening day land DinoLand U.S.A., which began a phased closure in late 2024. The final stage of said closure will finish on February 2nd, 2026, with the closure of Dinosaur, the opening day attraction once known (fittingly now) as Countdown to Extinction.
While we’re excited about what the new land — likely opening in 2027 — will bring, the time between the closing of Dinosaur and its opening will leave Animal Kingdom with ONLY 5 true rides: Avatar: Flight of Passage, Na’vi River Journey, Kilimanjaro Safari, Expedition Everest, and Kali River Rapids.
Exacerbating the issue is the fact that none of those rides are large people-eater attractions. The two Pandora rides have low capacity and long waits, Kilimanjaro Safari is dependent on live animal encounters, the rapids are dependent on weather, and Everest is a coaster that is in desperate need of a long refurbishment (and not just to fix the “Disco Yeti”).
That small number of rides is sure to become an issue for the park, especially during the busier times of year like spring break, summer, and the holiday season. Granted, the park does have other minor attractions and shows, including the train to Rafiki’s Planet Watch, the new Zootopia: Better Zoogether 3D film, and of course, the many animal exhibits.
However, while those are all worthwhile experiences, the reality is that most Disney World guests want to ride rides, and for at least a year, likely longer, Animal Kingdom will only offer just over a handful of them, all of which will feature long waits.
So. what to do on your Animal Kingdom day during this time? If rides are your priority, you can cut your day short and plan something else for the same day — perhaps start in Animal Kingdom at rope drop, and then maybe this is the ideal day to leave the parks early and enjoy the pool at your resort, play mini-golf on one of Disney World’s courses, or visit Disney Springs for shopping and dinner.
The small number of rides that will be available has us worried about how Animal Kingdom’s operations will fare through 2026 and into 2027. Stay tuned to AllEars for more on the park’s transformation.
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Will you still visit Animal Kingdom even with only 6 rides open? Let us know in the comments below.
Whilst I enjoy the rides at AK, I always feel that it’s sad that the park has to rely on them to encourage visitors in. The animal exhibits are wonderful and I think it’s sad that some people go and ignore them. To me, the park should be all about the animals. The rides are just a bonus.
What would really be neat, if Disney would get creative for all visits (not just FL residents) would be to do something like dry/wet ticket for Animal Kingdom and Typhoon Lagoon. Like you get to spend the day in Animal Kingdom and then after 2pm hit up Typhoon Lagoon or vice versa. Offer exclusive snacks for that ticket – and (gulp) maybe it doesn’t even cost extra – this could be the same cost of a 1-Day park ticket. Give people the option to add another ticket (water park of theme park) at a discounted rate. Make people feel like they are getting their money’s worth.