Animal Kingdom in 2025: Saying Goodbye to Bugs and Carnival Games
Change is coming to Animal Kingdom in 2025. Starting next week, the park — largely unchanged since Pandora’s debut in 2017 — will see the arrival of demolition crews and construction walls. The updates will increase park capacity by adding family-friendly rides. Unfortunately, we’re losing iconic attractions to make that happen. This has become an all-too-common refrain across Disney Parks. But I digress.
On the bright side, we’ll soon meet a brand-new baby tiger. Let’s get to the details!
DinoLand U.S.A. is (slowly) going away
Dinosaurs are once again facing extinction — this time in Animal Kingdom. DinoLand, U.S.A., home to DINOSAUR, Fossil Fun Games, TriceraTop Spin, Restaurantosaurus, and The Boneyard, is being replaced with Tropical Americas. However, instead of closing the land all at once, Disney is wisely keeping parts of DinoLand open for another year. Animal Kingdom can’t afford to lose an entire area of the park when it has so few attractions to begin with.
DINOSAUR will remain in operation until 2026. While Disney hasn’t shared the closing dates for Restaurantosaurus or The Boneyard, we know the fates of Dino-Rama’s attractions. Your last day to experience TriceraTop Spin, Fossil Fun Games, and Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures is January 12. Scrims go up the next day as crews prepare that area for an Encanto-themed attraction housed in the Casa Madrigal.
Eventually, all of DinoLand will be gone. DINOSAUR will be rethemed as an Indiana Jones attraction. A new carousel is also coming. From Disney:
“A woodcarver has created a giant working carousel featuring his favorite animals from Disney stories like Kevin from the Pixar Animation Studios film Up, who’s displayed showcasing the woodcarver’s expert craftmanship. It’s a new take on a classic attraction that young families are going to love!”
We don’t know what will become of Restaurantosaurus, but I imagine Disney will transform it into an eatery specializing in South American fare. I’m on board with that.
It’s Tough to be a Bug! is closing (to the delight of most children)
As young parents, my wife and I had no clue that It’s Tough to be a Bug! would terrorize our then-5-year-old. The acid had him worried, but it was the black widows that sent him ducking for cover. But don’t worry, there’s a happy ending. He loves the show now, especially when the screaming starts.
It seems Disney has decided they’ve tortured enough children and are closing my favorite horror attraction. We don’t know when, but you should count on it being sooner than later. That’s because…
Zootopia: Better Zoogether! opens in winter 2025
The Bugs Life theater will soon welcome new tenants. Zootopia: Better Zoogether! is an all-new 4D production featuring Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde. Disney says the show “will make you want to clap your hands.” I can tell you that I never heard anyone clapping after the Bug’s Life shows. Nope. Those kids were too busy sprinting for the exits.
Zoogether debuts next winter, but I wonder if it could open sooner. Zootopia 2 hits theaters on November 26. I’m sure Disney would love to pair a new theme park attraction with that release, especially during the busy Thanksgiving holidays.
Bakso is coming to the Maharajah Jungle Trek
I live for Animal Kingdom babies! Last year, we met Corra, a baby elephant dynamo. We witnessed her off-the-charts energy on Kilimanjaro Safaris last year. She followed that performance up by wrecking her birthday party decorations.
This year, we’re looking forward to meeting Bakso, a baby Sumatran tiger. He and his mom, Sohni, have been hanging backstage since his birth last September. Eventually, the duo will join the Maharajah Jungle Trek. Until then, you can check them out on Disney’s Tiger TV Tuesdays YouTube series.
Our wish list
I wish DinoLand wasn’t going away. I admit the land needs plenty of TLC, but its bones (no pun intended) are strong. DINOSAUR is a fantastic dark ride when properly maintained. Heck, I wouldn’t object to adding an Indy storyline if it meant preserving the land. The Boneyard gives kids the opportunity to ditch their queue manners. Restaurantosaurus has great theming. Raze Dino-Rama and replace it with a family-friendly prehistoric attraction.
But none of that’s happening. So my more realistic wish is that Imagineers honor Animal Kingdom’s original purpose by bringing animals to Tropical Americas. Encanto and Indiana Jones are not animal-centric IPs, but their settings (Colombia and the Yucatan Peninsula, respectively) are teeming with cool species. Let’s relocate the capybaras from their Tree of Life home. The same could be done with the Winged Encounters show.
Oh, and let’s find an area for kids to run around. Disney needs way more of that.
Finally, I’d love to see Animal Kingdom stay open later in the evening. The park is stunning at night, but many guests miss out on experiencing it due to its early closing times. Perhaps this will change once Tropical Americas opens. In the meantime, make the most of Extended Evening Hours whenever they’re available.
Animal Kingdom fans might be going through some things in 2025. Just like Magic Kingdom fans.
