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Legendary Imagineer Refuses to Share His Shelved Plans for Tropical Americas at Animal Kingdom

February 13, 2026  ·
  Cham Lee
The Encanto Casita concept art in Disney's Animal Kingdom

Official concept art for the Encanto attraction coming to Disney's Animal Kingdom. Credit: Disney Parks Blog

Joe Rohde, a longtime creative executive at Walt Disney Imagineering, recently confirmed that he will not disclose details of his earlier proposals for a Tropical Americas land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

He did share that he had tried to get a Tropical Americas area, gutting DinoLand USA, for 15 years, "up until the day of my retirement." His comments followed renewed attention on the park’s ongoing Tropical Americas expansion, which Disney first announced in 2023.

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Author: Cham Lee
Cham Lee is an educator and researcher who enjoys travel across the United States. Mrs. Lee is avid in loom knitting, as well as a purveyor in all things non-coffee at Starbucks. You'll often find her in the great outdoors, Pink Drink in hand, wearing a scarf of her own creation.
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