If you’ve been keeping tabs on the Tropical Americas project at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, you know the wait for real details has felt endless. At the Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase during D23 Expo 2026, Disney finally gave us official names, story details, and a look at just how far along construction has come.
Let’s start with the names. The three attractions coming to Tropical Americas are Antonio’s Fiesta de Encanto, Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent, and El Carrusel de los Animalitos, with Encanto and Indiana Jones being billed as the land’s two headliners.
Antonio’s Fiesta de Encanto takes guests through the magical Casita to celebrate Antonio Madrigal’s gift, wrapping up in a reimagined version of his room, done up with rainforest theming. The good news for families: the film’s voice cast is coming back to voice the ride, and there’s no height requirement, so it’s shaping up to be the gentler, more welcoming option next to its thrill-ride neighbor.
And that thrill ride is where things get interesting. Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent is taking over the old DINOSAUR building, and the premise sounds like classic Indy. He finds a hidden passage inside an ancient temple that, according to legend, leads straight into the Mayan underworld — and that same legend warns the passage is guarded by a mythological creature. Naturally, Indy goes in anyway. Turns out the legend was right. The guardian is real, and it’s named Tsukán.
From there, guests get pulled through a portal into the underworld itself for an escape sequence loaded with bats, scorpions, fire, and snakes, all building toward a face-to-face moment with Tsukán.
Disney Parks Blog gave fans a preview of exactly how intense that moment gets: “You may be asking, ‘why’d it have to be snakes?’ and Imagineers have a great answer to that. Chris divulged that you’ll encounter the Tsukán throughout the attraction, including a final confrontation that will probably solidify your fear of snakes for the rest of time.”
There’s also a fun first for the franchise built into this one: Disney confirmed the Indiana Jones Audio-Animatronic will actually be sculpted to look like Harrison Ford, marking the first time an Indy animatronic has been made in the actor’s own likeness.
So what does the actual construction site look like right now? Parks photographer bioreconstruct has been keeping fans updated, recently sharing an aerial shot of the temple facade coming together. Those colorful sections were reportedly built and painted over several months at Imagineering’s backstage workshops at Animal Kingdom, then lifted into place over the surrounding rockwork with a crane. On September 21, Bioreconstruct posted a fresh batch of aerial photos showing even more progress: additional rockwork and theming on the Indiana Jones show building, framing work going up near the Encanto ride’s exit, and continued activity at the carousel site.
Aerial overview of construction of Tropical Americas in Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Aerial overview of construction of Tropical Americas in Disney's Animal Kingdom. pic.twitter.com/rq4BoL1VKb
— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) September 21, 2026
The paperwork trail matches the photos. On September 11, 2026, Disney filed a notice of commencement for the Indiana Jones attraction, confirming Buena Vista Construction Company — Disney’s own in-house builder — will “provide labor, material, and/or electrical for construction” at the site. These notices typically expire a year after filing, and Disney hasn’t said which specific phase of work this one covers.
Bottom line: names, story, and animatronic details are locked in, construction is visibly moving, and the only thing missing now is an opening date. Given how much has already come together, that news might not be far away.
Which of these three rides are you most excited to check out? Let us know down in the comments.
