Temporary barriers still obscure park guests’ views into the new area, but we recently got a look over the walls thanks to these new photos.

Tropical Americas Construction Update

Following the closure of Animal Kingdom’s fan-favorite Dinosaur ride, the whole of Dinoland U.S.A. officially closed in early February 2026, with demolition work already underway at that point in time in areas that closed prior to the final day of Dinosaur’s operation.

Since then, the area has been completely inaccessible to guests as they make their way from Discovery Island, at the core of the park, out to Asia or the Finding Nemo stage show just shy of Asia’s Everest coaster.

On a recent visit to Animal Kingdom, however, we got a new look at construction efforts behind the new walls.

As you can see in the above photo, which shows a perspective on the former site of Restaurantosaurus, the ground throughout this previously walkable zone has been thoroughly dug out and sits in a state of flux while work continues on elements of the upcoming Tropical Americas area. Scaffolding, which is visible from the other side of the wall, is shown to be standing about two-three stories high.

Closer to the site of Restaurantosaurus, three excavators were spotted ready to continue work on digging and reforming the earth around the restaurant’s land and adjacent walkways. It appears all of the pavement throughout Dinoland U.S.A. has been completely removed by this point. You can get another look at progress on the area overall thanks to aerial photos in our earlier coverage here.

Restaurantosaurus is still standing at the time of our visit – including its attached Airstream travel trailer. It’s unclear at this point how much of the structure is due for demolition, or if the building will ultimately just undergo an aesthetic facelift and internal updates to theming and service areas.

As with other parts of the former Dinoland U.S.A. footprint, heavy industrial equipment can be found parked around the perimeter of the building, suggesting either new demolition work or additional excavation around the restaurant may be forthcoming.

You can learn more about the Tropical Americas project, which was originally announced at Destination D23 in 2023, throughout our coverage here on WDWNT.com. We got our first tease of the area’s central Encanto-themed attraction at the end of last year.

What are your thoughts on the upcoming Tropical Americas area of Animal Kingdom? Would you have preferred to keep Dinoland U.S.A. or are you happy to see the change? Join the discussion with us on social media.

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