First Look at Casita: Encanto Ride Models and Chispi Animatronic Have Animal Kingdom Fans Buzzing

By entgrove · August 15, 2026

Walt Disney Imagineering displayed physical models of the Encanto ride coming to Tropical Americas at Disney's Animal Kingdom, including a Casita kitchen scene set at Antonio's birthday party, furniture-styled ride vehicles, and animatronics of a donkey, toucan, and Chispi the capybara. The land replaces DinoLand U.S.A. and is set to open in 2027.

First Look at Casita: Encanto Ride Models and Chispi Animatronic Have Animal Kingdom Fans Buzzing

Animal Kingdom regulars finally have something concrete to study. At D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, Walt Disney Imagineering put physical models of the Encanto attraction on display, showing a full ride scene, the furniture-inspired ride vehicles, and a first set of animal animatronics for the dark ride coming to the Tropical Americas land at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

A metal sculpture on a brick base is centered in a paved plaza with buildings, palm trees, and benches under a clear blue sky. Photo: Marcos Elias de Oliveira Júnior via Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Key Details

What: Scale models of an Encanto ride scene, ride vehicles, and animatronics shown at D23
Where: The attraction is part of Tropical Americas at Disney's Animal Kingdom
Featured scene: Casita's kitchen decorated for Antonio's birthday party
Ride vehicles: Household furniture brought to life, with two rows of four seats each
Animatronics: A donkey, a toucan, and Antonio's capybara friend Chispi
Opening: Tropical Americas replaces DinoLand U.S.A. and is set to open in 2027

A birthday party inside Casita

The centerpiece model shows the kitchen of Casita, the Madrigal family's magical house, decorated for Antonio's birthday. Imagineers filled the scene with animals: a pig and a donkey on the floor, a bird perched on the chandelier, and another creature tucked in among the presents on the table. Colorful bunting hangs from the ceiling overhead.

The scene choice says a lot about the ride's direction. Although the attraction is set during the events of the 2021 film, the models suggest it will center on Antonio and his gift of talking to animals rather than retelling the movie's plot. Concept art released earlier showed a scene set in Antonio's jungle bedroom, the room that becomes a rainforest in the film, and the birthday kitchen fits the same thread.

Exterior of the it's a small world dark ride at Magic Kingdom, a classic Disney family attraction — Family dark rides built around music and animal scenes, like "it's a small world" at Magic Kingdom, are the tradition the *Encanto* attraction draws on.

Ride vehicles made from living furniture

The vehicle models are the first look at how guests will actually ride through Casita. The vehicles incorporate household furniture, including a piano and a dresser, and seat guests on benches styled as couches and chairs, arranged in two rows with four seats in each row.

There is a story reason for the design. In Encanto, Casita can bring its own furniture to life, sliding chairs under people and flipping floorboards on cue. The attraction runs with that idea: the house itself creates the vehicles that carry guests through the show scenes.

Chispi and the animatronic menagerie

Animatronic figure models on display include a donkey carrying party supplies with a toucan perched on its back, plus a capybara. That capybara is Chispi, Antonio's animal friend from the film, and he is set to do double duty in the new land. Chispi will also appear as a rideable seat on the Tropical Americas carousel, one of four animals Disney has confirmed for that attraction so far.

Where Tropical Americas stands

The Encanto ride anchors Tropical Americas, the land replacing DinoLand U.S.A. on the eastern side of Disney's Animal Kingdom. Along with the dark ride and the carousel, the area is also slated to bring an Indiana Jones adventure to the park. Demolition and construction have been underway since DinoLand's closure, and Disney continues to target a 2027 opening for the land.

A person walks along a curved hallway with large windows and display cases filled with fossils and skeletons. Photo: Jeremy Thompson via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

For Animal Kingdom, the project is the biggest addition since Pandora: The World of Avatar opened in 2017, and it gives the park its first ride based on an animated musical. Encanto remains one of Disney Animation's most popular recent films, so a family dark ride built around Antonio and his animals fills a real gap in a park that skews toward thrill rides and shows.

The Buzz

These are the first physical models of the ride, a step beyond the concept art fans have been dissecting since the project was announced
The Antonio-first approach settles a long-running fan debate about whether the ride would retell the film or tell a new story inside it
Chispi the capybara showing up as both an animatronic and a carousel seat has quickly become the detail fans are sharing most

Why fans are buzzing

Fans have had concept art for months, but models are where a ride starts to feel real. The birthday scene confirms an original story angle, the furniture vehicles show the house itself is a character in the attraction, and the animatronic lineup points to a screen-light, figure-heavy build. With 2027 on the calendar, guests visiting Animal Kingdom over the next year should expect the construction walls around the former DinoLand U.S.A. to keep hiding steadily more of Casita.