Inside WDI’s Research Trips for Tropical Americas at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

There’s a reason Tropical Americas at Disney’s Animal Kingdom feels different from anything else Disney has built in recent memory. Long before a single wall goes up in the park, the team behind the land traveled to the actual places that inspired it — and what they brought back is shaping every stone, color, and story that guests will experience when the land opens in 2027. Walt Disney Imagineering has now shared new details about those research trips for Tropical Americas at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and the depth of the work is genuinely impressive. Joan Hartwig, the Executive Creative Director on the project and a 36-year Disney veteran, has been leading the charge to ground this land in something real.

Quick Summary

• WDI research trips for Tropical Americas took Imagineers to Honduras and Colombia
• In Honduras, the team met with Maya artists at the Copán archaeological site and visited regional quarries with native red and green stone
• In Colombia, they immersed in the culture and places that inspired Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Encanto
• Research directly shaped Pueblo Esperanza, the fictional town at the heart of the new land
• Tropical Americas will feature the first-ever Encanto attraction at a Disney park, an Indiana Jones ride, and new dining
• The land opens in 2027 at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
• The idea of a Tropical Americas-inspired land has been considered since Animal Kingdom’s earliest planning days

The WDI Team Behind Tropical Americas

Joan Hartwig, Executive Creative Director for Tropical Americas, has been with Disney for 36 years. From the start of the project, her team made research trips a core part of the design process. The goal was to go beyond surface-level theming — to build something rooted in genuine cultural understanding rather than visual approximation. That philosophy shows in every detail of what’s been shared so far.

Honduras: Meeting the Maya Artists of Copán

One of those trips took a small Imagineering group to Honduras, where they connected with Maya artists whose work centers on carving the intricate details found throughout the Copán archaeological site — one of the best-preserved cities of the ancient Maya civilization.

The team didn’t just study images or reference books. They traveled through mountain valleys to the actual quarries that have supplied the region for centuries, getting hands-on experience with the red and green stones native to the area. Those same materials — and the carving techniques used by the artists they met — will make their way directly into Tropical Americas at Animal Kingdom. You’ll feel the difference when you walk through. This isn’t stage design; it’s documentation.

Colombia: Stepping Into the World of Encanto

The team also traveled to Colombia to immerse themselves in the places and cultures that inspired Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Encanto, the Academy Award-winning film. They didn’t just research the country generally — they met with the same communities and visited the same locations that the original Encanto filmmakers used during their own research.

That Colombia trip fed directly into the design of Pueblo Esperanza, the fictional town that anchors the heart of Tropical Americas. The team studied town plazas, the way hacienda colors shift in different light throughout the day, and how local buildings respond to climate and terrain. Every detail was a deliberate reference point, not a guess.

The First-Ever Encanto Attraction at a Disney Park

Tropical Americas will be home to the first Encanto-themed attraction ever built at a Disney park. The ride centers on Antonio and his new gift — the ability to talk to animals — and carries a message that fits Animal Kingdom perfectly: all living things are part of the same family.

It’s a fitting match. Animal Kingdom has always been about more than thrills; it’s been built around respect for the natural world. An Encanto attraction grounded in Antonio’s connection to animals slots into that story in a way that feels completely organic to the park.

A Land Decades in the Making

The idea of a Tropical Americas-inspired land at Animal Kingdom isn’t new. Disney Legend and former Imagineer Joe Rohde noted that Imagineers have been considering a Maya-inspired land for Animal Kingdom for a long time — given how closely ancient Maya culture is tied to the natural world, exactly the kind of connection Animal Kingdom was built to celebrate.

Those early ideas never disappeared. They evolved — slowly, deliberately — into what will become Tropical Americas: a land that combines the world of Encanto, the adventures of Indiana Jones, and the biodiversity of Central and South America into a single cohesive experience.

What’s Coming to Tropical Americas

When the land opens in 2027, guests will find:

• Pueblo Esperanza: A fictional town with its own history, culture, and surrounding rainforest
• The Encanto attraction: Centered on Antonio’s gift of talking to animals
• An Indiana Jones ride: Replacing the former DINOSAUR attraction
• A new dining location: Details still to come

Hartwig describes the region as “one of the most culturally rich” on the planet — a place where ancient cultures remain present in everyday life and where nature shapes entire communities. That’s the spirit the Imagineers are working to capture, and based on the research trips they’ve taken, they have the raw material to do it right.

Start Planning Your 2027 Trip to Animal Kingdom

Tropical Americas at Disney’s Animal Kingdom is shaping up to be one of the most thoughtfully researched lands Disney has ever built. The fact that Imagineers flew to Honduras to study stone carving and walked Colombian streets to understand how light hits a hacienda wall — that level of intentionality is what separates a great themed land from a good one. When the land opens in 2027, you’ll be experiencing the results of years of work that started with real people, real places, and real stories. Start making your plans now — this one is worth the trip to Animal Kingdom.

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Meet the Author: Nate Bishop

I’m a die-hard Disney fan with 38 years of visits under my belt, having stepped into Disney World 120+ times. Proud to be a Disney Annual Passholder, a Vacation Club member since ’92, a Castaway Club Member, and a runDisney enthusiast. Oh, and I’ve graduated from the Disney College of Knowledge. Need Disney insights or planning tips? I’m your guy!