Tropical Americas construction is moving past bare building skeletons, and the personality of the land is starting to peek through the sawdust and steel. The main entrance archway now resembles the concept art. Themed steel can be spotted in the tall Casita for the Encanto attraction, and scaffolding has come off the side entrance to the land to reveal aged, weathered finishes. Crews also appear to be applying concrete to the faux mountain range above the Encanto building, the start of the next phase of rockwork. We visited Disney’s Animal Kingdom today for a closer look!
Tropical Americas Theming Starts to Show at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
IN THIS ARTICLE:
- The main entrance archway matches the concept art, and scaffolding is off the side entrance.
- Themed steel shows features of the Casita, which appears to be built for its front half only.
- Crews appear to be applying concrete to the faux mountain range above the Encanto building.
Tropical Americas has spent months in a structural phase, with cranes, galvanized steel, and concrete forms predominantly featured in our photos. Our photos from today show a new stage of work. Themed shapes, aged finishes, and rockwork are taking over, and they give us our best sense yet of how the finished land will feel. The personality of the land is starting to peek through a bit.
The main entrance archway is the clearest sign of the change. In early August, we watched crews assemble the galvanized steel archway above the construction wall. A dark mesh now covers most of that frame. Crews were working on the scaffolding tiers around the curved archway during our visit. The rounded center and the sculpted shoulders on each side match the concept art for the land. This archway marks the main entrance, and it already looks the part.
The side entrance may be the biggest “personality” moment in this update. Scaffolding has come off the columns near the Finding Nemo and Expedition Everest side of the park. The finished theming for the columns is fully visible. We saw test paint swatches at this spot in August. The pillars now show warm tan and ochre tones streaked with rust-colored staining, cracked plaster, exposed stonework, and moss gathering in the seams. A carved TROPICAL AMERICAS plaque sits on one pillar with its edges chipped and stained, as if it has stood there for generations. We like what we’re seeing so far, and the aging is pitch-perfect for Animal Kingdom.
Orange fencing and piles of dirt still surround the base of the columns, so the landscaping is yet to come. Elsewhere inside the land, a concrete block building with an arched doorway is rising behind scaffolding, with a curved concrete arch above the entry. We don’t know yet what the building is for. The Restaurantosaurus replacement is also taking shape, as is an anticipated meet-and-greet building, taking over the former Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures.
Casita Steel Shows Its Shape
Themed steel is now outlining features of the tall Casita for the Encanto attraction. The galvanized frame includes peaked roof lines and a curved arch ntan. Lighter framing with arched openings sits beside it, wrapped in building wrap. A tall, squared tower of braced steel appears to rise above the rest. Our last look at the Casita’s steel skeleton showed only the outline of the house, and these pieces hint at the rooflines and arches of the finished version.
Disney appears to have built only the front half of the Casita. The frame looks like a true facade, with the show building sitting nearby behind it. It doesn’t look like the building is being built toward the rear. That makes sense, since the back of the Casita would sit out of view of guests. Disney can focus the themed work on the part of the house guests will actually see.
Faux Mountains Move to Concrete
Above the Encanto building, the faux mountain range has reached its next phase. Crews in white suits appear to be applying concrete over the mesh, working from scaffolding that wraps the peaks. Our first look at the mesh mountain range came in July, and netting and wire now cover the roofline in several rolling peaks. Smooth gray concrete is spreading across sections of that mesh, with white buckets sitting on the plank walkways nearby.
Concrete gives the mountains their first solid surface, and paint should follow. That sequence matches the side entrance, where sculpted concrete came first, and the weathered finish came after. Once finished, the range should hide the show building and give the Casita depth and scale behind it.
Story So Far
- July 15: Steel mesh covering roughly half of the Encanto building’s width gave us our first look at the mesh mountain range.
- August 3: The main entrance archway took shape in steel, and new vertical steel was installed at the Casita site.
- August 10: We saw test paint swatches on the side entrance rockwork as the tower crane came down.
- September 22: Aerial photos showed the Casita’s steel framing at the front of the attraction.
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!