Disney gave the Tropical Americas carousel a real name and a full animal lineup at D23 2026, and out of everything revealed for Disney’s Animal Kingdom this weekend, this is the one we are most excited about. Here is the new name, every animal confirmed so far, and why a carousel carries more weight at Disney than almost any other ride type.
What Is El Carrusel de los Animalitos? The name translates to “The Carousel of Animals,” and it sits inside Pueblo Esperanza, the town at the heart of Tropical Americas, the land replacing DinoLand U.S.A. at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. We last checked in on this ride in July, when the roof trusses were just going up around its steel frame, so seeing it get a full name and character lineup this weekend is a big jump forward. The story goes that the town’s woodcarver built the ride himself, and rather than carving traditional horses, he shaped each figure into an animal pulled from his favorite Disney and Pixar stories. Every figure is designed to look hand-carved from wood, and each one carries its own floral-patterned saddle.
Every Animal Revealed So Far: Disney shared 21 named figures for the carousel at D23 2026:
- Parce the leopard (Encanto)
- Chispi the capybara (Encanto)
- Scuttle (The Little Mermaid)
- Meeko (Pocahontas)
- Nigel (Finding Nemo)
- The Great Prince of the Forest (Bambi)
- Kevin (Up)
- Pua (Moana)
- Squirt (Finding Nemo)
- Simba (The Lion King)
- Timon (The Lion King)
- Pascal (Tangled)
- Heihei (Moana)
- Eeyore (Winnie the Pooh)
- Heimlich (A Bug’s Life)
- Pumbaa (The Lion King)
- Bambi
- Kuzco (The Emperor’s New Groove)
- Owl (Winnie the Pooh)
- Kaa (The Jungle Book)
- Thumper (Bambi)
Not Officially on the List Yet – Disney has said the finished carousel will include 22 figures, but only 21 made this weekend’s official lineup, and a couple of previously teased figures are notably missing from it. Ray from The Princess and the Frog and Nala from The Lion King both showed up as early maquettes in a video at the Walt Disney Imagineering pavilion on the show floor, but neither one made the official list Disney shared. It is worth keeping an eye on whether they get added back in, get swapped out, or simply have not been confirmed yet. The very first figure revealed for this ride was Kevin from Up, all the way back at D23 in 2024, so this project has been in development for a while.
Why We Can’t Wait for This One – A carousel might sound like the smallest of the three new Tropical Americas attractions next to a full Indiana Jones adventure and an Encanto dark ride, but at Disney, a carousel carries more history than almost anything else in the parks. Walt Disney used to spend Saturdays with his daughters, Diane and Sharon, at Griffith Park in Los Angeles, and while they rode the Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round, Walt sat nearby on a bench eating peanuts. He said later that watching them made him wish there was a place where parents and kids could have fun together, and that idea eventually grew into Disneyland. The actual bench from Griffith Park, along with a restored horse from that same merry-go-round, sits on display today outside Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln on Main Street, U.S.A. A carousel was one of the first rides guests saw when Disneyland opened its gates on July 17, 1955, and it has anchored the center of Fantasyland ever since. Knowing that history, the amount of detail going into El Carrusel de los Animalitos feels less like a simple addition and more like a nod to where all of this actually started.
More From Tropical Americas at D23 2026 – The carousel was not the only headline out of Animal Kingdom this weekend.
Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent – Disney confirmed the name of the land’s Indiana Jones attraction and revealed that Harrison Ford’s actual likeness will be used for the Indy animatronic, a first for any Disney attraction anywhere in the world. The story is set in the 1950s, before the events of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and sends Indy into an ancient Maya temple near a cenote in search of a portal to the underworld. Expect a giant serpent, scorpions, bats, and fire along the way. The ride will take over the show building that previously housed Dinosaur.
Antonio’s Fiesta de Encanto – The land’s Encanto attraction also has an official name now. Guests board vehicles designed to look like pieces of Casita furniture brought to life, and the story takes place on the day Antonio receives his gift to talk to animals. Disney says more than 50 species of animals will appear throughout the ride, including a capybara, a toucan, and a donkey, and several of the film’s original cast members are returning to voice their characters. There is no height requirement, which should make this one an easy add for families riding together.
The Yeti Is Finally Getting Fixed – This one is not part of Tropical Americas, but it came out of the same Horizons: A Carousel of Progress presentation and it is too big to leave out. Thomas Mazloum, Chairman of Disney Experiences, confirmed that the Expedition Everest Yeti, stuck for more than a decade in a stationary, strobe-lit stand-in fans nicknamed the Disco Yeti, is being restored to its original moving encounter. Disney gave the Disco Yeti era a proper send-off on stage, with Gloria Gaynor performing “I Will Survive” to close that chapter out. No repair timeline has been announced yet.
For more on how Tropical Americas has been taking shape, check out our look at the Casita construction from aerial photos, and visit our D23 2026 coverage hub for everything else announced this weekend.
