At Destination D23, guests were given a revised peek at the “Blue Sky”ideas for a project planned for Disney’s Animal Kingdom, which now has the transformation of Dinoland, U.S.A. turning the area into a Tropical Americas themed land. This land would feature stories from the Encanto and Indiana Jones franchises.

From Disney Parks:

“At Destination D23 2023, it was announced that Walt Disney Imagineering is planning to reimagine Dinoland U.S.A. at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park into a new land inspired by a region sometimes referred to as “tropical Americas.” As part of their research, Imagineers are looking at some of the most biodiverse areas on the planet in the regions just north and south of the equator in the Western Hemisphere – the northern part of South America, stretching up into Central America.

“New experiences inspired by “Encanto” – the Academy Award winning Walt Disney Animation Studios film – and the fan-favorite adventurer Indiana Jones are being considered for the reimagined land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.”

Natural Beauty Inspiration

Blue Sky is a phase of the Imagineering process where they explore potential ideas, in this case inspired by the real life vistas shown above.

If seen to fruition, the area will replace the current Dinoland U.S.A., oriented as seen below in the overlay with the current map area. The entire high-resolution image of the concept art is below.

As seen in the overlay, the area may likely expand into what is currently backstage area for the Casita attraction.

Stories of Indiana Jones and Encanto Planned for New Land

Though no further details have been released, the above Tropical America land concept art includes a model of Casita, surrounded by a pink-hued river inspired by Caño Cristales in Colombia. Often called “the river of five colors,” “melted rainbow,” or “liquid rainbow,” this remote, pristine river in the Serrania de la Macarena mountain range gets its name from an aquatic plant called Macarenia clavigera that changes color dramatically throughout the year. The clear waters of the river seem to flow in shades of blue, maroon, yellow, red, light green, and even the hot pink seen in the image above.

While we didn’t see any specific details in the Tropical Americas land concept art that indicate specific Indiana Jones attractions, many of the buildings appear to be right at home in an Indiana Jones film. The DINOSAUR attraction currently at Animal Kingdom is built on the same track and uses the same ride vehicles as Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland; the current concept is considering retheming DINOSAUR to an Indiana Jones attraction at Animal Kingdom.

Are you looking forward to exploring this new area at Disney’s Animal Kingdom? After all, adventure is out there! Let us know in the comments what you’d like to see in this new land.

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