It’s been a bit of a sluggish two months at the construction site of the future Encanto ride at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, but two recently filed permits from Walt Disney Imagineering suggest that we’ll see an increase in activity soon. The two permits are for third-party construction trailers – one at the site of the Encanto attraction, and one back in a trailer complex. The contractor is one of Walt Disney Imagineering’s big guns too, so we expect to see work soon. Here’s the latest.
New Imagineering Permits Suggest Construction Surge in DinoLand USA
The transformation of DinoLand USA came out of the gate hot earlier this year, but has slowed in recent months as crews work to fortify a berm that will remain in place. Crews were quick to demolish or remove the existing Dino-Rama attractions and kiosks, but then aerial photos from Bioreconstruct started to look the same from week to week and month to month.
To be fair, there is work taking place on the site, but it’s not the type of work that would get fans excited for what’s to come. Most recently, crews have been installing steel sheet pilings to fortify a portion of a perimeter berm that we assume will remain in place throughout the construction and opening of the Tropical Americas land. That said, new permits are encouraging. Here’s what we’re seeing.
The two notice of commencement permits, both filed by Walt Disney Imagineering, list big gun contractor Whiting-Turner. Whiting-Turner is Walt Disney World’s go-to contractor, having worked on other large projects such as the EPCOT overhaul of Future World, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, TRON Lightcycle Run, Beak & Barrel tavern, Toy Story Mania, and site prep for the Tropical Americas project, among other work.
Both permits list the scope of work as “install trailer”, with one address resolving to a backstage area immediately adjacent to the Encanto construction site, and another address close to a Walt Disney Imagineering trailer complex just north of Expedition Everest. If this trailer is for Whiting-Turner, then it would suggest that they plan on having a larger presence on the site. To me, their presence would suggest that we’re close to seeing actual work on the Encanto ride building.
In terms of what’s next for the remaining portions of DinoLand USA, The Boneyard will be closed starting September 2nd, with the final day to experience the playground currently set for September 1st. The closing date for The Boneyard was accelerated, with Disney saying that Walt Disney Imagineering was making great progress on the transformation.
Beyond that, the DINOSAUR attraction is currently expected to remain open through the end of 2025. An exact closing date has not yet been announced, but we would imagine that it would be sometime in early 2026. Preparations are already underway for the transformation of DINOSAUR into an Indiana Jones-themed attraction, and a permit was recently filed that would suggest that Disney is ready to move the second the ride is closed.
We’d expect to see activity increase in the remaining months of 2025. Walt Disney World currently says that the entire Tropical Americas project will be completed sometime in 2027. In fact, the Tropical Americas project is the only project that has an official opening year at the moment. We’d expect to hear more about the Tropical Americas project and the other construction projects underway at Walt Disney World during the upcoming Destination D23 event at the end of this month.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!