2 Critical Ride Changes at Disney’s Animal Kingdom This Year

Change is coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and it’s taking over the safari-themed park tenfold in 2026.

Animal Kingdom is in the midst of an extreme makeover, as the park is removing DinoLand U.S.A. in favor of Pueblo Esperanza — a new Tropical Americas-themed land that will feature theming and attractions from IP such as Encanto and Indiana Jones. While work on this new land officially started in 2025, significant progress is on the calendar in 2026 when the land closes for good — affecting Animal Kingdom’s rides in more ways than one.

In order to make room for Pueblo Esperanza, Animal Kingdom said goodbye to TriceraTop Spin, the Fossil Fun Games, Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures, The Boneyard, Trilo-Bites, and Dino-Bite Snacks in 2025. However, DinoLand officially closes PERMANENTLY on February 2nd, 2026, when Restaurantosaurs and DINOSAUR close their doors.

That’s right — February 2nd will be your last day to ride DINOSAUR before the building gives way to a new Indiana Jones ride that’s similar in ride mechanics to DINOSAUR and the Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland, albeit with an original story.

While the new Indiana Jones ride is an exciting development, there’s no doubt Disney World enthusiasts will miss time-traveling to prehistoric times in a race against a deadly meteor shower as they avoid perilous dips, turns, and scary carnivorous animatronics.

Once DINOSAUR closes, the book on DinoLand rides officially closes along with it.

With DINOSAUR and the rest of DinoLand closing, the second big ride change presents itself in the form of a planning conundrum.

Animal Kingdom already struggled with the reputation of being a half-day park. While this title is debatable, folks who prioritize the theme park offerings over the unique zoo experiences are going to be faced with some difficult decisions in 2026.

The park already had a limited number of rides before, but that’s going to get worse in 2026 with an entire land closed. The result could be a couple of different outcomes.

If crowds are steady throughout the year at the park, lines could get pretty backed up, justifying the need for the Lightning Lane Multi Pass. However, even with the number of rides dwindling, we’ve noticed that the need wasn’t really there in 2025. With one less major attraction that uses Lightning Lanes, it might be tough — once again — to justify a Lightning Lane Multi Pass purchase for Animal Kingdom in 2026.

With that said, we recommend a Flight of Passage Single Pass if you’re going the Lightning Lane Route, as this will remain the most popular Animal Kingdom attraction in 2026 — without much competition.

Animal Kingdom will be undergoing some massive evolutions not only this year, but into 2027 and beyond. We’ll be visiting the park and keeping up-to-date on every single change, so keep it posted right here at AllEars for all the latest updates!

Why This Permanent Ride Closure at Disney World Is Actually a Good Thing

How are you feeling about the state of Animal Kingdom in 2026? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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