Boneyard at Disney World Permanently Closes Early & New Tropical Americas Kids Area

Walt Disney World has dropped another new timeline for the extinction level event of DinoLand USA, moving forward the official closing date for the Boneyard, which is now earlier than previously suggested. (Updated September 2, 2025.)

Some of these closure details have been covered elsewhere in our 5-Year Construction Plan for Walt Disney World. That offers a regularly-updated rundown of all projects on the horizon, and our expectations as to when closures would occur and when the reimagined replacements or new attractions would open.

This covers the latest on everything we know about the end times for DinoLand USA, when DINOSAUR to go extinct, and so forth. One thing we should note is that even though this is a newly-released timeline from Walt Disney World, it doesn’t really disclose or confirm any new details or rumors.

Consider subscribing to our free Walt Disney World newsletter, where we’ll share instant updates as soon as they’re announced. To that end, Walt Disney World has shared an updated FAQ, revealing the closure date for the Boneyard and operational updates for the rest of DinoLand USA.

With that in mind, let’s get diggin’, diggin’ in DinoLand…

The Boneyard Has Gone Extinct.

Our latest update is that the Boneyard had its last day of operations over Labor Day weekend, with construction walls quickly going up overnight blocking the main entrance to the land under the “OldenGate Bridge,” the main gateway to the land under the giant Brachiosaurus bones.

Instead of going this route that offers a straight-shot into Dinoland, you now need to take the side path up from Trilo-Bites (which is still open), towards the Finding Nemo theater, and then back down to Dinoland. You can see this on the updated map above, which has replaced the Boneyard and the now-blocked walkway with a fresh forest.

The negative is the few minutes of extra walking, and down side paths that we’re going to assume reduces foot traffic to Dinoland. It doesn’t require going out on much of a limb to predict that some guests will approach via the main bridge, see the construction walls and not realize there’s a detour, and simply turn around.

The positive is that the construction walls went up fast. This suggests that Imagineering really does plan to commence construction (well, first demolition) on the new critter carousel that’ll replace the Boneyard. We’ve been a bit nervous about this expansion all hitting its 2027 opening target, so these walls going up immediately is nice to see.

When Did the Boneyard Permanently Close?

The Boneyard is extinct as of September 2, 2025. The last day to experience the area was Labor Day.

This is a big blow. The Boneyard was arguably the best play area at Walt Disney World. I say “arguably” only because I don’t want to rile up my fellow purists by suggesting that anything surpassed Tom Sawyer Island. But honestly, the Boneyard has more that appeals to today’s children than Tom Sawyer Island. (The latter’s strength is serenity, not substance.)

The Boneyard invited kids ages 10 and under to clamber across rope bridges, climb through mysterious caves, and hurl down twisting slides. At the dig site, children could help excavate fossils from a Triceratops and a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Parents of busy explorers could enjoy a shaded seating area at the dig site, where large fans help cool things down. It was great.

Isn’t this earlier than what was previously announced?

Yes. Previously, Walt Disney World shared this: “There’s still time for another excavation (or two) throughout 2025. The Boneyard is still open and welcoming little archeologists to play daily.”

Although that “throughout” left some ambiguity about the closing date, Walt Disney World subsequently followed up with a proactive statement that the rest of DinoLand USA wouldn’t close until sometime in 2026. Obviously, September 2, 2025 is before 2026.

Walt Disney World has been full steam ahead of Tropical Americas construction. It appears that the project is being fast-tracked and the accelerated closure of the Boneyard is to facilitate demolition of that and construction of the new critter carousel. We expect vertical construction on the Encanto attraction any day now.

Will there be a kids play area in the Tropical Americas?

Yes! The new land will include a themed play area for kids visiting Tropical Americas.

While more details about this kids area have yet to be revealed, it probably appears in the “Project Ro” post-development plans filed with the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) last October. Those revealed a reimagined space between the counter service restaurant and gift shop, essentially in the middle of the Tropical Americas where the Cretaceous Trail is currently located.

It was previously unclear as to whether this would be an ‘exploration trail’ and animal exhibit, meet & greet area, or kids play area. Unless the plans have changed considerably since then (doubtful as new permits haven’t been filed), we now should have our answer: kids play area.

Is DinoLand still open?

Yes! You don’t even need a Time Rover to visit DinoLand because parts of the area are still currently open until 2026. There’s even the new-ish Eco-Rhythmics entertainment act near the land’s entrance that’s presumably meant to draw guests deeper into the park who are asking this very question.

What’s already closed in DinoLand USA?

To accommodate construction, the first wave of closures happened earlier this year, with TriceraTop Spin, the Fossil Fun Games, and Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures running their last day of operations on January 12, 2025.

Basically, the Dino-Rama carnival subsection (the area we hated with the burning passion of a thousand suns) is already closed. The good portion of DinoLand USA (that we like) is still open.

When is DinoLand USA closing?

If you’re hoping to get in some prehistoric fun, 2025 is your last year to visit DinoLand before it goes extinct. Currently, many of DinoLand locations are still operating, including DINOSAUR and Restaurantosaurus. When construction ramps up throughout the year, we’ll bring you more info faster than a Time Rover can race out of the end of the Cretaceous period.

When is DINOSAUR closing?

This is your year to go fast and visit the past. DINOSAUR closes in 2026.

When is Restaurantosaurus closing?

You’ve still got time in 2025 to rustle up some grub at Restaurantosaurus, and it’s the perfect place to refuel before your next wild adventure in the park. You might even catch a performance from the Dino Institute Intern — on a break from his internship duties — happy to entertain everyone and anyone who will listen to his original dino-themed tunes.

The nearby Dino-Bites Snacks is also still open, where you can pick up an ice cream cookie sandwich or the Dig Dino ice cream sandwich — you can’t go wrong with either snack.

What’s Replacing Dinoland?

DinoLand is closing to make way for a new land based on the Tropical Americas, which is slated to open in 2027. There are essentially three areas of this land, the first of which is Pueblo Esperanza, the hub in heart of the rainforest that’s name translates to “Village of Hope.”

The Pueblo Esperanza community center will be lush and sprawling, featuring a large fountain in the center. There’s also a large hacienda (the former Restaurantosaurus), which will be one of the largest quick-service restaurants at Walt Disney World. Additionally, a woodcarver has repurposed a horse stable into a giant working carousel, carving some of his favorite animals from Disney stories into the ride.

After leaving the Pueblo Esperanza, guests can venture deeper into the rainforest to find not one but two signature attractions! To the left is the Encanto magical Madrigal Casita dark ride, which is likely to be a family-friendly Omnimover–perhaps like an Encanto-ized version of Mystic Manor.

Inside the Casita, Antonio has just received his special gift — the ability to communicate with animals — and his room has transformed into a rainforest. It’s time to go explore alongside him, and you never know what member of the family you might bump into.

To the right from Pueblo Esperanza is a new Indiana Jones Adventure attraction, which will replace DINOSAUR. This will be a new twist on IJA that will be different from the existing versions of the attraction at Disneyland in California and Tokyo DisneySea. Both of those are quite different from one another, and this will be the third non-cloned version of the attraction. Obviously, they all bear similarities–but also all tell unique and distinct stories.

In this new adventure at Animal Kingdom, the man with the hat has recently discovered a perfectly preserved Maya temple, and that can only mean one thing: it’s time to explore it. He’s heard rumors about a mythical creature deep within the temple — and he’s got to see it for himself. So, he brings us along on the adventure.

Our Commentary

On a personal note, I’m really torn about this news. On the one hand, I’m happy to see accelerated extinction dates for DinoLand USA, as it strongly suggests Walt Disney World is serious about fast-tracking this project. On several occasions, I’ve previously “advocated” for this land closing earlier, and expressed concern about DINOSAUR staying open until early 2026.

We’re playing the long game, and want Imagineering to have as long as necessary to accomplish a quality reimagining. I expressed similar sentiment with Splash Mountain and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, hoping the latter would open behind schedule as opposed to ahead of it (and now we know how that turned out!).

On the other hand, we’re also playing the short game to some extent. Our daughter had just started walking last year right before our Christmas-time trip to Walt Disney World and she was immediately enamored with the Boneyard. Unfortunately, she was limited in her enjoyment of the area by her little legs and their reliability. So she only scratched the surface of what the Boneyard had to offer.

In the months since then, Redwood Creek Challenge Trail at Disney California Adventure has risen to the top of Megatron’s theme park attraction power rankings, with its only weakness being that it lacks the “Hot Dog Song” (something she believes is integral to any attraction’s success). I was really looking forward to seeing how she’d enjoy the Boneyard this Christmas.

On balance, I still think it’s a bullish sign that Tropical Americas is being accelerated as opposed to delayed. Most fans aren’t going to be too upset about this, as our circumstances are very unique. More would definitely be upset about DINOSAUR closing before January 2026, but honestly, I really hope that’s the news we get next. What’s a few months when Indiana Jones Adventure is going to be around for a few decades?!

The longer DINOSAUR is closed, the more time Imagineering has to do justice to an ambitious reimagining. Everything I’ve heard about this version of Indiana Jones Adventure has me optimistic, including insiders suggesting it has the potential to be the best of the trio.

Tropical Americas is already going to have a tough time hitting its 2027 target date with this belated closure of DINOSAUR. But who knows–work has been progressively relatively quickly on demolition and the first crane is now on-site. This timeline acceleration is promising, so hopefully you have one last chance to dig in DinoLand before the whole area goes extinct.

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YOUR THOUGHTS

Surprised that the Boneyard has closed early? Optimistic that its extinction event is being accelerated? When do you expect DINOSAUR and Dinoland at Animal Kingdom to close completely? Think DINOSAUR will go extinct on January 13, 2026? Expect Restaurantosaurus to close then, or earlier due to lack of demand/cost-savings? Think our speculation is wrong? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!