Disney World Dropped A Lot Of Good News At Destination D23, But Waited Until It Was Over To Announce What I've Been Dreading

Destination D23, a small event at Walt Disney World that takes place in years where the main D23 event does not, wrapped up yesterday, and if you’re a fan if Disney Parks, there was plenty to be excited about. While there were no blockbuster reveals, there was a strong collection of smaller announcements that fans seem to be very happy about so far.

However, Disney Experiences is always good about not announcing anything that might be seen as “bad news” on a big stage. So it’s not exactly a shock, though it’s a bit frustrating, that it just decided to wait until the next day to drop the news that Disney Animal Kingdom’s Dinosaur ride has an official closing date.

Dinosaur Is Closing At Disney’s Animal Kingdom Next Year

In a somewhat surprising move, Walt Disney World confirmed the official closing date of Dinosaur at Disney’s Animal Kingdom not through an official press release or new blog post, but by adding the dates to an old post. Officially, February 1, 2026, will be the last day to experience the ride. It will close on February 2nd, making way for a brand new Indiana Jones attraction. Start the countdown to extinction.

A large portion of Dinoland U.S.A., the dinosaur-themed land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom has been closed since the beginning of this year. We’ve known that Dinosaur would not close until sometime next year, but exactly when the hammer would fall was unclear.

While Destination D23 only just ended, it’s not exactly a shock that this news wasn’t revealed there. Even couched in the focus of the new attraction, the confirmation that Dinosaur was closing would have been met with some upset fans. Still, the fact that the news drops the morning after, without even a break, makes it clear this detail was being intentionally held back. The same thing happened last year when the new Piston Peak area of Magic Kingdom was announced at D23, but the announcement of what was closing to make room for it didn't happen until the show was over.

Destination D23 had Lots Of Great News Too

Of course, this unfortunate, but not unexpected news is balanced by a lot of great stuff that got announced at Destination D23. While Disney World is losing one popular attraction, another, the iconic Carousel of Progress, is getting a major upgrade. That will include a new introduction sequence complete with a Walt Disney audio animatronic. The first one made its debut at Disneyland earlier this summer.

For those who don’t like change and prefer to revel in Walt Disney World’s nostalgia, their wish will be granted in at least one form, as it was announced that Cinderella Castle will undergo a new paint job, transforming it back to its traditional blue and white look that it had prior to the park’s 50th anniversary.

We’ll also see an overlay to Tron: Lightcycle Run to coincide with the release of Tron: Ares. The attraction will change from its traditional blue to red, and the music of Daft Punk will be replaced by the score being handled by Nine Inch Nails.

Dinosaur was a great ride, and it will certainly be missed. I’m certainly hopeful I’ll have a chance to get out to Disney World before February to give it one last ride before it goes extinct.