After a bit of back and forth, the South Florida Water Management District has officially approved Walt Disney World’s permit for “Project Ro,” which is the internal codename for the Tropical Americas. This details the approval, along with another major permit filed recently by Imagineering that relates to bigger-picture Animal Kingdom expansion plans.
The permit was issued by the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) on February 6, 2025, and expires in 5-years if not otherwise extended. This means Imagineering has until February 6, 2030 to redevelop the Dinoland USA area and make modifications to existing utilities, updates to the drainage system, and stormwater management enhancements.
This shouldn’t be a problem, as Tropical Americas is currently slated to open in 2027, although it could be delayed, as discussed in our latest edition of Walt Disney World’s 5-Year Construction Plan. Regardless, the aforementioned infrastructure work should be done long before then–hopefully by the first half of 2026 for the most part. While this is not the final permit in the Tropical Americas project as a whole, it should be the last one poses any degree of challenge–the rest should be rubber-stamped.
This follows a few months of back-and-forth, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts filed applications for permits with the SFWMD last October, and the district responded with a request for additional information about one month later, in late November. (Direct links to SFWMD permits aren’t possible, so search for “Project RO” if you’d like to review for yourself.)
The original 26-page permit Imagineering filed with the SFWMD itself is pretty pedestrian. The project consists of enhancing and re-theming of the existing area with no change to land use. The SFWMD is primarily concerned with–you guessed it–water management, and this doesn’t really alter the status quo in that regard: “The existing stormwater collection and conveyance strategy will remain the same with a few realignments to allow for the construction of the proposed facilities.”
Disney asserted that the proposal should be grandfathered in, as the project involves the modification of the existing Dinoland, USA. Tropical Americas will primarily consist of re-theming of the existing area with no expansion beyond its current limits. The “expansion” project only proposes a net increase of 0.68 acres (5.3%) of impervious area.
The bottom line is that this permit application is nothing like the “407 Basin Stormwater Modifications” project–also known as replacing the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island for Cars and Villains lands in Magic Kingdom. Speaking of which, Walt Disney World filed its response to the SFWMD’s request for additional information on that project back in late December, indicating it’s still full steam ahead on that.
It wouldn’t be the least bit surprising if there’s more back and forth on the Magic Kingdom expansion project between Florida and Disney. In reading all of these correspondence, the difference in scale and scope is immediately obvious, as is SFWMD’s greater scrutiny of the MK proposal.
This isn’t to say we think the Rivers of America replacement permit will be denied (we don’t!), but we also wouldn’t be surprised if the next step isn’t a final approval. That might not come until later this spring. Best case scenario, if the application process follows similar timelines, would be approval in early March 2025. Unlike with Dino-Rama, which closed prior to this permit being issued, nothing can happen on the Cars and Villains projects until there’s approval from SFWMD. The project is in development purgatory until then.
Turning back to the Animal Kingdom project, here’s a look at the before (left–Dinoland USA) and after (right–Tropical Americas):
In the above plan, the pre-development is on the left and the post-development is on the right. Buildings are blue, with pervious areas (greenspace) in green, and beige showing impervious areas (walkways).
To orient you, DINOSAUR is at the bottom, Restaurantosaurus is on the left, and Dino-Rama is on the right. You should able to get a pretty good sense for that, as there’s not much of a before/after difference with the DINOSAUR show building or Restaurantosaurus. Little changes, but nothing major. All of the big differences are on the right side, with Dino-Rama becoming part of Pueblo Esperanza and Encanto.
Here’s a closer look at post-development plans for Tropical Americas:
There are some changes on what’s currently the DINOSAUR side, such as fully covered overflow queue and altered pathways between Indiana Jones Adventure, the gift shop, and Encanto area. My hope is that this is an animal exhibit, but it’s probably just a rest area for guests who skip Indiana Jones Adventure.
The bigger difference comes with the critter carousel replacing the Dig Site play area, TriceraTops Spin being demolished, and most of the current Dino-Rama space being redeveloped into a large outdoor queue for the Encanto Madrigal Casita attraction. We already knew from the concept art that the house would have a large front lawn, but this further reinforces that. It also shows the large show building for Encanto–we already knew it was going to be big based on the model, but it’s nice to have confirmation.
There are also a number of smaller buildings that have popped up around Tropical Americas, likely to be snack stands, merchandise kiosks, or meet & greet spots. It’s kind of fun to pore over these aerials, trying to make sense of the granular details and guess as to what each small spot could be. You can do the same with the queues (Lightning Lane vs. standby), little pathways, and more.
The permitting party doesn’t end there!
Earlier this week, Disney filed another application with the SFWMD for a new contractor parking lot just north of Animal Kingdom. The new lot will be used by third party contractors to support construction projects at Animal Kingdom, the biggest of which is currently Tropical Americas.
Note that this application is separate from the main substantive permit for Tropical Americas (Project Ro), and also from the previously-approved construction compound behind Kali River Rapids (Project Ro Trailer Compound/ROTC). If you want to look it up, this is “Dak Contractor Lot.” (I promise, there’s nothing exciting or worth your time in this permit package. But you probably could’ve guessed as much given that it’s a parking lot and all.)
The permit details infrastructure improvements in an undeveloped area between Animal Kingdom and Western Way, near the Walt Disney World Horticulture department, Kilimanjaro Safaris, and Conservation Station. Western Way is the connector between Flamingo Crossings and Walt Disney World property, and there are a lot of back of house facilities on this otherwise quiet stretch.
We used to drive Western Way on a daily basis; you see Expedition Everest almost 10 minutes before arriving at Animal Kingdom. I mention this because the new parking lot should provide easier access for the contractors coming from this direction than driving all the way around.
The new lot will provide hundreds of additional parking spaces on its 10.5 acre footprint. The project encompasses roadways, contractor parking, sidewalks, stormwater treatment systems, drainage collection and conveyances.
This is for a surface lot, so there’s not really much to discuss unless you’re a parking or pavement enthusiast, and I’m neither. What I do find interesting, though, is just how much backstage infrastructure Walt Disney World is preparing. Tropical Americas is a big project, but it seems like all of this is slightly disproportionate to what is being built, and is with an eye for the longer term.
Keep in mind that in addition to the trailer compound for field offices and this parking lot, Imagineering is getting more offices in Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser.
Ultimately, this makes sense. Tropical Americas is going to open in 2027 or 2028 as part of Walt Disney World’s 5-year plan. But the $17 billion in investment is over the next decade, and backloaded (according to Bob Iger). This means there’s even more spending in the early 2030s than in the late 2020s. It’s probably fair to say Animal Kingdom is the park that needs the most help, and that sentiment will remain true even after Tropical Americas.
By the time Villains Land opens in ~2030, it should be time for even more investment in Animal Kingdom in 2031 or 2032. Not to get ahead of ourselves since a lot could change with the company, economy, etc., but I strongly suspect these backstage infrastructure changes are being made with an eye towards not just Tropical Americas, but the Lion King attraction, Pandora expansion, or whatever else is on the horizon at Animal Kingdom. Should be a fun saga to watch unfold as we grow old!
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Your Thoughts
Optimistic that the infrastructure permits suggest more expansion is in the pipeline for Animal Kingdom in the 2030s? Excited for Tropical Americas at Animal Kingdom? Hoping it’s not just going to be an Encanto and Indiana Jones IP land but will also offer critters and cultural authenticity? Other thoughts on the Tropical Americas project? Excited or underwhelmed? Or, are you in wait and see mode with this? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? 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!
