Tree of Life is not being demolished in 2026. Let’s be very clear from the outset, as the Animal Kingdom park icon has been the subject of questionable headlines and fear-mongering recently from major, mainstream media outlets. Regardless of recent permits (plural) and other dubious decisions (Rivers of America and MuppetVision), there is zero danger whatsoever of Walt Disney World destroying the Tree of Life. It’s not happening. If that’s your only concern, no need to read the rest of this article.
For one thing, the newest attraction at Walt Disney World is Zootopia: Better Zoogether, which is located inside the Tree of Life. Although there are instances of one hand not knowing what the other is doing, with Facilities Asset Management refurbishing theaters or other aspects of attractions that subsequently have closures announced, this is a totally different scale. No one “accidentally” made Better Zoogether (even if its quality might feel that way) without knowing Tree of Life was on the chopping block.
For another thing, Tree of Life is the park icon in the middle of Animal Kingdom! Even though it’s a few decades old, it’s the newest such icon at Walt Disney World. Some of us bitter diehards might cynically say that demolishing the Rivers of America was a precedent-setting slippery slope to getting rid of anything that wasn’t revenue-generating, right down to Cinderella Castle itself, but c’mon. It’s apples and oranges. Walt Disney World isn’t demolishing any of the 3 park icons (plus whatever’s going on over at DHS) absent an irremediable alligator infestation or Florida’s largest sinkhole.
Simply put, these Notice of Commencements are not that exciting and/or concerning. This trio of permits are all more or less the same, with the material differences being the dates, both that they were filed and expire.
The Notice of Commencements all list Whiting-Turner as the contractor to complete “Facility Demo, General Construction, Electrical, and Area Development” at 745 W Savannah Cir in Bay Lake, Florida. This address corresponds with the Tree of Life in Animal Kingdom.
One thing that’s notable about the permit is that it was filed by Walt Disney Imagineering as opposed to an internal arm of Walt Disney World, such as Facilities Asset Management. The latter is usually just routine maintenance to extend the life of an asset, whereas an Imagineering-led project is usually creative at the core, resulting in substantive changes.
Also odd is that the permit taps Whiting-Turner for the work. This contractor is a frequent collaborator with Imagineering on major projects at Walt Disney World, not minor ones. You’ll see their name pop-up as the general contractor on new lands, resorts, attractions, etc–usually not routine refurbishments or restroom refreshes.
So far, this would seem to suggest something significant happening at Tree of Life. The project description along with the involvement of both Imagineering and Whiting-Turner all point to that.
Then we get to the expiration date field, which is the entire reason why we’ve seen 3 of these Notice of Commencements in the first place. The second such permit was just filed before Christmas, and listed an expiration date of December 30, 2025–a mere one week into the future, wrapping up right in time for NYE at DAK!
Curiously, this was not the only permit filed for Animal Kingdom on that day with an expiration of December 30, 2025. There were several. And for multiple projects around the park. None of the others were particularly noteworthy or attention-grabbing, though.
When I saw that Tree of Life permit, I elected against covering it. In part because time is finite and this blog only has one writer as opposed to a team, and we were busy with Christmas prep. Equally as significant, I figured it was a typo that would be remedied before December 30th or a procedural permit necessarily for ‘clean-up’ work. (As noted above, this was the second permit–the first was substantially similar and filed back when the Zootopia project began.) In which case, no one would care, anyway.
It actually reminded me a bit of a permit earlier this year that everyone assumed was for a new drone show at Disney Springs. It turned out that was actually for the removal of a stray safety fence and final inspection, which couldn’t happen without a permit. Within minutes of publishing that article, I got a call from Disney with a polite “this is nothing” explanation. The end result was a lot of needless excitement, wasting everyone’s time. I figured this was a similar story: typo or this is nothing.
The typo explanation won out here. Walt Disney Imagineering filed a new Amended Notice of Commencement right ahead of the weekend. (They actually filed amended permits for all of those with December 30th expirations.)
This permit is substantially similar to the ones filed before it, with one simple change: the expiration date was removed. A blank expiration field means the default 1-year period controls, which now puts the expiration of this permit at December 26, 2026.
This makes more sense, clearly suggesting it was a typo before (someone must’ve had too much eggnog the night before filing the previous permits) and is not simply clean-up work for the previous project involving Zootopia: Better Zoogether.
Given all of that–and since the Christmas rush is over so I have more time–and the fact that we’ve been getting questions about this project from worried fans who have read clickbait elsewhere, I figured it was worth quickly addressing these permits.
Of course, this is going to “inspire” a new round of sensationalized articles, but hey, at least the headlines won’t be quite as dumb as “Disney World plans ‘demolition’ of beloved, decadesold park attraction — and it may happen by next week” like the viral one in the NYPost. (No link here for a reason–and no sense in searching for it. Hate-reading those articles gives them exactly what they want.)
As for what is planned with the Tree of Life, it’s difficult to say. The permit expiring a year from now opens the door to more possibilities than whatever last-minute punchlist items might’ve been done in a single week.
The easy and obvious answer is a refurbishment to the Tree of Life’s exterior. Anyone who has done Zootopia: Better Zoogether has probably noticed the makeshift netting. That’s been up since before previews started, and we didn’t even cover it in our Zootopia: Better Zoogether Review because it’s not even among the dozen worst things about the new attraction–and because it’s obviously temporary.
There was some concern among fans that hastily-constructed netting was the beginnings of a permanent shade structure, but we’ve seen something similar in the past. Previously, netting was installed ahead of facade maintenance as a safeguard against debris falling into the queue and striking guests. Purely a liability move.
My assumption is that this netting exists for a similar purpose, and that facade maintenance, repairs, or restoration will happen in 2026 on the Tree of Life. That’s the safest and smartest bet. In which case, this is nothing (again).
That still doesn’t fully explain the involvement of Walt Disney Imagineering or Whiting-Turner, Walt Disney World’s major construction project contractor. Or even why this didn’t happen when the attraction was closed for reimagining.
Perhaps since the Tree of Life is the park icon or this repair project is more ambitious in scale and scope than previous ones it’s drawing more resources? You never know–maybe they’re carving Bluey, Bingo and Flash Slothmore into the Tree of Life itself! After retconning the icon’s backstory to tie it into Zootopia, I suppose that’s a possibility. But I highly doubt it.
Animal Kingdom’s Tree of Life is often the subject of odd rumors and urban legends. And our best guess is that this slew of permits is baselessly adding to that rich tradition. We do expect to see maintenance to Tree of Life in 2026, and this permit suggests that’ll be of a significant scale, scope and duration. Regardless, I’d still be surprised if there are any creative changes to the park icon. I also don’t think demand for Zootopia: Better Zoogether has been strong enough to justify a permanent shade structure (thankfully).
One wildcard on my personal wish list would actually be making the Zootopia: Better Zoogether queue more ‘porous’ by essentially turning a portion of it into exploration trails that can be accessed without entering through the marquee. The attraction has way more queue than it needs the vast majority of the time, much of which is gorgeous and offers great views looking up at the Tree of Life. Making that explorable without subjecting oneself to Better Zoogether would be a huge win. I don’t see that happening, either, but it’s more likely than the Tree of Life being demolished or getting Flash Slothmore’s mug carved into the icon!
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Your Thoughts
Thoughts on potential changes Imagineering could make to the Tree of Life? Expect this to be a simple exterior maintenance project, or are you still betting on complete demolition of the Animal Kingdom icon? Predictions about what this project actually entails? Agree or disagree with our speculation? Any questions? 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!
