Disney's 2027 Pipeline Comes Into Focus: A Close-Up at the Jade Serpent Temple, Plus a Longer Polynesian Refurb

Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro spent October 20 walking three of Walt Disney World’s biggest in-progress projects and posting the photos for everyone to see — giving fans the clearest ground-level look yet at the Maya-style temple rising for Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The same day brought less welcome news from the Seven Seas Lagoon, where Disney quietly extended the Polynesian Village Resort refurbishment into early 2027. Here’s what actually moved in the parks over the past day.

Josh D’Amaro’s Ground-Level Look at the Indiana Jones Temple Is the Clearest Yet

The headline image from D’Amaro’s October 20 Instagram post is the construction facade for Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent, the E-ticket anchoring the new Tropical Americas land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. According to the photos the Disney CEO shared on his official account, the Mayan-style temple is well into its exterior theming phase, with carved temple stonework emerging from behind the scaffolding — a dramatic jump from the concrete shells we were squinting at behind the construction walls earlier this year.

The attraction replaces DINOSAUR, which closed in February 2026 after more than two decades in the former DinoLand U.S.A. Disney has publicly targeted a 2027 opening for Tropical Americas since first announcing the land, and nothing in D’Amaro’s post changed that window. What the post did change is how real it suddenly feels: ground-level theming photos are typically one of the last construction milestones before a ride enters its long testing phase.

For a project that has lived mostly as concept art and permit filings, seeing the temple’s carved facade from the walkway level is the most tangible progress marker to date — and a strong signal that Animal Kingdom’s biggest transformation in years is on schedule.

The Same Post Teased Monstropolis and a Signed Floor at Lakeshore Lodge

D’Amaro’s October 20 construction tour didn’t stop at Animal Kingdom. His post also included progress looks at Monstropolis, the Monsters, Inc. land taking shape at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge, the next Disney Vacation Club resort.

Monstropolis, which Disney detailed at its 2026 D23 Expo in August, is built around the first suspended “hanging” coaster Disney has constructed in its parks — a door-chase dark ride-coaster hybrid first teased by Billy Crystal at D23 2024. Disney has said the land will also feature a show inside the Glob Theater (the former Muppet*Vision 3D building) and Harryhausen’s, a sit-down restaurant lifted straight from the 2001 film, with the land set to begin opening in 2027 and the suspended coaster following later.

The most human moment came at Lakeshore Lodge: D’Amaro signed the resort’s floor before the finished flooring is laid — a tradition we always enjoy spotting in these behind-the-walls peeks. Lakeshore Lodge is scheduled to open July 1, 2027. Taken together, the three stops make clear that Disney wants 2027 framed as a banner year across its Florida resort.

Disney Pushes the Polynesian Village Resort Refurbishment Into Early 2027

Not every October 20 update was a celebration. According to the updated refurbishment notice on Disney’s official Polynesian Village Resort webpage, the sweeping overhaul of the resort and Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows — originally slated to wrap by the end of 2026 — will now continue into early 2027.

The notice states that the work includes a reconfiguration of the resort’s front entrance roadway, and warns that some views of the theme parks and surrounding areas may be impacted during construction. Disney stresses that most resort dining, pools, and amenities remain available throughout, so guests with existing reservations aren’t losing access to the resort itself — just absorbing a few more months of active construction.

If you’ve stayed at the Poly recently, as we have during this stretch, the trade-off is already visible: the exterior work is progressing in plain sight, and the longhouses are looking noticeably sharper even mid-project. The extension is a schedule slip, not a scope cut — but for anyone booking a monorail-resort stay in late 2026 or the opening weeks of 2027, it’s worth factoring the ongoing work into your expectations.

Keep Planning Ahead

For the full breakdown of everything coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, including Tropical Americas and the Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent temple, see our Animal Kingdom expansion guide.