Disney World Is About to Have a Really Cool Opportunity. Let's Hope They Don't Blow It.

Whether we like it or not, Disney World is changing.

Beloved attractions are going away to make way for new ones, entire lands are being demolished to bring in new ideas and IP, new lounges will start popping up throughout this year, and so much more. No matter how you feel about these changes, one fact remains true — it gives Disney the unique opportunity to do ONE thing…and we’re really hoping they don’t mess it up.

While we’re very sad to see DinoLand, U.S.A go, we are looking forward to seeing how Tropical Americas comes to life. It’ll be awhile until we get to see the land and step into it for the first time, but there’s one thing we’re really hoping to see throughout the new land.

The new town Esperanza will be situated in Tropical Americas land coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The town features classic Spanish-style architecture in the heart of the rainforest.

Sometimes when Disney replaces an attraction with a new one, you’ll find hints to the old attraction inside the new. The biggest example of this is in Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway where you’ll find hints to the former attraction in that space, the beloved Great Movie Ride.

For example, in the carnival scene, you’ll see a poster that advertises “The Great Moving Ride” as a callback to the original attraction! The tornado in the ride could also be argued to be a reference to The Wizard of Oz scene from The Great Movie Ride as well.

So our hope is that we’ll see nods to DinoLand all throughout Tropical Americas, in the same way that you can see red, white, and yellow pipes with the scientific ingredients for ketchup, mayo, and mustard in the Dinosaur attraction as a nod to the McDonald’s partnership Animal Kingdom used to have for many years.

Did you know McDonald’s used to sponsor DINOSAUR? These pipes in the ride represent mayo, mustard, and ketchup!

Maybe we’ll see some hidden dinosaur prints on the ground somewhere, have a nod to Dr. Seeker inside a new attraction, or have a dinosaur animal available on the new carousel going into the new land! Whatever it is, we need LOTS of subtle nods to DinoLand to make sure the land is never forgotten.