The Tropical Americas archway at Disney’s Animal Kingdom has its final theming. Drew Smith shared new photos on Saturday, October 24, showing the finished stonework on the arch, including two subtly carved birds worked into its design.
The Tropical Americas entrance archway has received its final theming, including two subtly carved birds that complement its design!
— Drew Smith (@DrewDisneyDude) October 24, 2026
The final coat of paint is expected soon, as the village of Pueblo Esperanza continues to take shape at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
The arch is the gateway guests will walk under as they cross from Discovery Island into Pueblo Esperanza, the village in the new land. Ten days ago, crews had just begun setting rough stones into its gray surface. Now the theming work is finished, and the next step is paint.
What The New Photos Show
Scaffolding still wraps the whole structure, so the view is through a grid of metal poles. Behind it, the arch has the worn look Disney is going for. Cracks run across the plaster in every direction, and darker patches near the base and along the curve are shaped to look like old stone showing through where the surface has broken away.
The close-ups make the texture easier to see. Thin cracks spread out from each patch of exposed stone like breaks in old plaster, and the rougher stone areas cluster around the corners and the edges of the opening. Along the top, the arch keeps its stepped outline, with a raised center section above the curve.
For now everything is still a pale, unpainted gray. Drew says the final coat of paint is expected soon, which will be the first time the arch gets real color.
Look through the opening of the arch in Drew’s photo and you can spot a building going up behind it, with orange and yellow walls already showing.
From Steel Frame To Finished Stone
The arch has come a long way in a few months. Its steel frame went up in early August, a dark mesh covered most of it by early October, and on October 14 we reported that crumbling rockwork was giving the archway an aged look, with orange spray paint marking where more stones were still to come.
The carved birds are the kind of detail that is easy to miss from a distance, but they suit a land that pairs the village of Pueblo Esperanza with a rainforest, and that will be home to the Encanto attraction and a new Indiana Jones adventure.
When Tropical Americas Opens
Tropical Americas is replacing DinoLand USA, and Disney has said the land will open in 2027. There is still no exact opening date. Until then, guests can only see the arch from behind the construction walls.
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