Walt Disney International has up to date its calendar with running hours for Harambe Marketplace, suggesting the counter provider eating place will reopen in March 2026. We provide an explanation for why that is most probably fallacious, and will have to be considered as a closing date versus a reopening date.
Let’s get started with the why of this, which is preparation for the extinction stage match of DinoLand USA, DINOSAUR, Restaurantosaurus, and extra. With what’s left of that land going extinct as of February 2, 2026, different operational adjustments are vital round Animal Kingdom to pick out up the slack. Many of those already passed off closing October, with the closure of more than a few snack stands and relocation of menu pieces.
Extra adjustments are at the horizon, so believe subscribing to our loose Walt Disney International e-newsletter, the place we’ll proportion rapid updates once they’re introduced. To that finish, right here’s what Walt Disney International has printed, together with eating updates for the remainder of Animal Kingdom to house the closure of Restaurantosaurus. Let’s dig in!
Harambe Marketplace Reopening Date Date (Cut-off date)
Harambe Marketplace quickly closed as of October twentieth closing 12 months to be able to permit paintings to replace the positioning to be able to serve new menu pieces. In accordance with development allows filed round that point, Disney is updating kitchens and including apparatus vital to serve usual theme park fare at Harambe Marketplace.
Up to now, Walt Disney International introduced that the up to date Harambe Marketplace would reopen in early 2026. On the time of that announcement, it used to be our working out that Harambe Marketplace would go back no later than February 2, 2026, which is the extinction date for Restaurantosaurus.
With Restaurantosaurus completely ultimate, staples from its menu (burgers, rooster strips, and so on.) will transfer over to Harambe Marketplace to house visitors when the latter reopens. (That is the entire explanation why for the adjustments at Harambe Marketplace–DAK “desiring” a place that serves acquainted meals to fulfill visitors the place they’re, so that you could discuss.)
With the newest calendar replace, Harambe Marketplace as soon as once more has running hours (10:45 AM to 3:15 PM) as of March 1, 2026 and each and every date thereafter. That is virtually a complete month after Restaurantosaurus closes.
Our expectation is that the calendar is fallacious, and the purpose continues to be to reopen Harambe Marketplace through or sooner than February 2, 2026. That the function, at minimal, is to make sure the present Restaurantosaurus menu is served someplace at Animal Kingdom and that eating capability (or a portion of it) exists right through development. Principally, that there’s uninterrupted counter provider ‘protection’ and now not a month-long hole.
It’s at all times conceivable that there’s an unexpected extend with the reopening of Harambe Marketplace, however we doubt it. Much more likely is that the March 1, 2026 hours had been entered into the calendar as a default some time in the past and so they simply began showing because the calendar improved. That a press release of the particular, correct reopening date of Harambe Marketplace at the side of a menu expose continues to be to return.
This may sound bizarre, however precisely this has took place with the WDW running calendar on a number of events within the closing 12 months. It’s continuously flat-out fallacious or provides a conservative estimate of inner timelines.
For our phase, we wouldn’t be stunned if Harambe Marketplace returns in time for MLK Day Weekend. Conversely, we’d be surprised if it’s now not again lengthy sooner than Presidents’ Day. Iciness is busier each and every 12 months and Restaurantosaurus is the park’s crowd-pleasing eating place with the perfect capability, so it’s extremely not going there’s an opening between the respective reopening and deadlines.
Something that’s nonetheless unclear is whether or not Harambe Marketplace will merely take in the menu of Restaurantosaurus along with its earlier menu, or if the previous Restaurantosaurus menu will substitute the present Harambe Marketplace menu, or if it’ll be a mixture of the 2. Walt Disney International’s verbiage has been obscure in this level.
Our wager is that the brand new menu at Harambe Marketplace will most commonly be crowd-pleasing fare from Restaurantosaurus, most likely with a legacy merchandise or two sporting over from the previous menu. Our hope is that the prevailing menu sticks round, and is just supplemented through burgers, rooster, and so on. That’s not going, as it might be tricky for this location to successfully serve double the dishes.
Within the interim, Kusafiri Espresso Store & Bakery in Africa has been open for lunch since Harambe Marketplace closed for refurbishment. All over the closure, the bakery has been serving extra really extensive dishes, such because the Harambe Hen Rice Bowl, Harissa Hen Wrap, and plant-based Picadillo Rice Bowl.
Most likely this will finally end up being the everlasting resolution–an expanded menu of bold dishes at Kusafiri, with Harambe Marketplace turning into the crowd-pleasing spot. We might be ok with this! Kusafiri has sneakily grow to be probably the most higher eating spots in Animal Kingdom (amid staunch pageant), and it keeping bona fide counter provider eating place standing can be a excellent factor.
Long term, this may additionally open the door for the brand new hacienda in Tropical Americas serving extra adventurous delicacies. I might be surprised if that location reverts to being uninteresting and elementary when Tropical Americas opens. Typically, new lands and eating places include thrilling and marketable menus. We’d be expecting that to carry true with the Tropical Americas hacienda, and a location that opponents Satu’li Canteen and Flame Tree BBQ as the finest counter provider eating place in Animal Kingdom…and through extension, all of Walt Disney International!
That’s the best-case, everybody wins state of affairs.
Dinoland Ultimate Date Reminder
As famous above, Restaurantosaurus might be extinct as of February 2, 2026. However it’s now not simply that quick-service eating place, it’s the whole lot of Dinoland USA, or fairly, what little is left of it.
Maximum particularly, this implies the land’s marquee enchantment–and probably the most few rides at Animal Kingdom. Walt Disney International introduced closing fall that the closure date for DINOSAUR is February 2, 2026. Which means the closing day to enjoy the enchantment sooner than extinction is February 1, 2026. (Ditto Restaurantosaurus, the reward store and the whole thing else.)
The opposite final wild card is the meet & greets. Walt Disney International in the past printed that the present personality lineup for Donald’s Dino Bash, together with Donald and Daisy Geese in addition to Chip & Dale, might be relocated to different spaces of Animal Kingdom.
No professional main points as to places, nevertheless it’s secure to mention they received’t be a part of Donald’s Dino-Bash anyplace the characters land. Our ideal wager is that the characters might be dispersed throughout a couple of out of the best way places. It’d be great if they’d distinctive costumes that are compatible Animal Kingdom, however we wouldn’t grasp our breath on that. Keep tuned for extra.
Tropical Americas Land Background
There also are a couple of sub-lands or spaces inside Tropical Americas, which is why/how Walt Disney International is staggering the closure of the prevailing DinoLand USA over the process a year-plus. It’s additionally why/how they could stagger the outlet of Tropical Americas alongside a in a similar way long timeline.
The primary house of Tropical Americas is Pueblo Esperanza, the hub in center of the rainforest that’s title interprets to “Village of Hope.” The Pueblo Esperanza neighborhood will characteristic a big hacienda, which might be probably the most biggest quick-service eating places at Walt Disney International Hotel (this can be a reimagining of Restaurantosaurus).
Pueblo Esperanza will even be offering a critter carousel as an enchantment. This Village of Hope will substitute the Boneyard, TriceraTops Spin, Restaurantosaurus, Dino-Chunk Snacks, and Trilo-Bites.
After leaving the Pueblo Esperanza, visitors can project deeper into the rainforest to search out now not one however two signature sights. To the left is the Encanto magical Madrigal Casita darkish journey, which could be a family-friendly Omnimover–most likely like an Encanto-ized model of Mystic Manor.
The Encanto enchantment will substitute all of Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama, together with all of its carnival video games, that gigantic roadside dinosaur, Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures, Donald’s Dino-Bash, and TriceraTop Spin (once more–it straddles the Pueblo Esperanza and Encanto spaces).
That is the realm of Tropical Americas development the place partitions had been up since January. We’re anticipating the Encanto enchantment to move vertical any day now. It’s very shut!
In any case, there’s the new Indiana Jones Journey enchantment, which can substitute DINOSAUR.
This reimagined journey might be a brand new twist on IJA that might be other from the prevailing variations of the enchantment at Disneyland in California and Tokyo DisneySea. Either one of the ones are rather other from one any other, and this would be the 3rd non-cloned model of the enchantment. Clearly, all of them endure similarities–but in addition all inform distinctive and distinct tales.
On this new journey, Indiana Jones has found out a wonderfully preserved Maya temple, and that may handiest imply something: it’s time to discover it. He’s heard rumors a few legendary creature deep throughout the temple — and he’s were given to peer it for himself. So, he brings us alongside at the journey.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Ideas on all the reopening of Harambe Marketplace and different eating adjustments at Disney’s Animal Kingdom? What’s your preferrred state of affairs with the menus right here, at Kusafiri and the approaching Tropical Americas hacienda? Do you settle or disagree with our tests? Any questions we will be able to will let you solution? Listening to your comments–even whilst you disagree with us–is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please proportion your ideas underneath within the feedback!
