The countdown to the extinction of Animal Kingdom’s DinoLand U.S.A. has officially begun.
Disney World announced Monday that the first phase of the land’s closures will begin after Jan. 12, 2025. That day will mark the last operations of TriceraTop Spin, Fossil Fun Games, and Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures.
The rest of DinoLand will remain open for now, including the Dinosaur attraction, the Boneyard play area, Restaurantosaurus, Dino-Bite Snacks and Trilo-Bites. The land was already short one ride, as the Primeval Whirl roller coaster was shut down back in 2020.
Disney announced at the D23 Expo in August that DinoLand would be transformed into a new Tropical Americas section for Animal Kingdom, featuring a ride based around the animated film “Encanto” and an Indiana Jones attraction that will take over for Dinosaur. The new land is expected to open sometime in 2027.
Disney also provided updates on other refurbishment and refresh projects on Monday.
In Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the opening for the park’s new “Little Mermaid” stage show has been pushed back to summer 2025. “The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure” was supposed to open this fall, taking over the space occupied by “Voyage of the Little Mermaid” from 1992 until Disney World’s COVID-19 shutdown in mid-March 2020.
Confirmation that the new “Mermaid” show is still moving forward may create some extra anxiety for fans of “MuppetVision 3D.” Disney’s “Monsters Inc.”-themed land is likely to take over either the Muppets area of Disney’s Hollywood Studios or the Animation Courtyard, where the “Mermaid” theater sits. Had the new show been canceled, Muppets fans could have rested easy that their beloved 3D film was staying put.
Disney also announced that the Magic Kingdom will be without one of its marquee attractions for at least a year. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will shut down on Jan. 6, 2025, and won’t reopen until 2026 — but will return “with a little bit of new magic,” according to Disney.