Tokyo DisneySea has removed the one-year closure of Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull from their schedule.

Indiana Jones Adventure Closure

As we reported on Friday, the Tokyo DisneySea temporary closures list stated Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull would be closed from March 5, 2025, through March 4, 2026. As of Saturday, August 24, the attraction is no longer on the list.

Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull opened with Tokyo DisneySea in 2001 as part of the Lost River Delta port. It has a similar ride experience to the Disneyland attraction, Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye, which opened in 1995. However, the Tokyo version features a different story. While the Disneyland ride is set in India, the Tokyo DisneySea ride is set in Mexico, matching the Lost River Delta theming. It sends guests into an Aztec temple guarded by a crystal skull. It’s unrelated to the fourth Indiana Jones film, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (2008).

In 2027, DINOSAUR at Disney’s Animal Kingdom is set to become a third version of Indiana Jones Adventure. This change comes as part of the Pueblo Esperanza land replacement of DinoLand U.S.A. This version will feature a new story set in a Mayan Temple and have a mythical creature. DINOSAUR and Indiana Jones Adventure use almost identical ride tracks.

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Universal shared a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of Dead Exposure: Death Valley, an original house at Halloween Horror Nights 2024 in Universal Studios Hollywood.

Behind-the-Screams of Dead Exposure: Death Valley

Dead Exposure: Death Valley is a brand-new house but was inspired by Dead Exposure: Patient Zero from HHN 28 at Universal Orlando Resort. In Patient Zero, the planet is ravaged by a disease that turns humans into zombies. The Death Valley story also features zombies, but this time guests find themselves in a top-secret government facility in Death Valley, California.

John Murdy, creative director and executive producer of Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood, said the following via Discovery Universal Blog.

If you were gonna build a facility somewhere that you didn’t want anyone to know about, you’d build it in Death Valley. It’s one of the most inhospitable places on Earth.

Sirens blare, as guests see the smashed-open gates of the facility upon entering the new house. The mysterious and uneasy start invites guests to speculate and create their own conspiracy theories about the facility.

Conspiracy theories are the first cultural theme of “Dead Exposure: Death Valley.” As Discovery Universal Blog states, good horror “often speaks to the cultural anxieties of the moment.”

While the genre, of course, creates new monsters and terrifying scenarios that haunt our nightmares, those monsters are often a magnified, exacerbated and personified version of what we already fear. Whatever’s happening on the cultural or political stage crops up in the horror movies of the time. Whether it’s fear of nuclear war in the 1950s, anxiety over protest movements of the 1960s or the “stranger danger” paranoia of the 1990s, the genre is a funhouse mirror of ourselves. 

Discover Universal Blog

While conspiracy theories are rampant today, Murdy also drew inspiration from Soviet-era conspiracies.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, in the early ‘90s, there was a lot of chatter about all these secret military facilities and labs popping up all over the world. In the world of Horror Nights, we can open that Pandora’s Box and let [the guests’] worst fears become reality.

The house’s design was also inspired by the Soviet era. Murdy was a foreign exchange student in Copenhagen in the late ’80s and spent time traveling the Soviet Union. Being American in late-Soviet Europe triggered paranoia for Murdy. He describes one particular incident that has stuck with him through the years.

I remember taking pictures in Red Square and having my camera taken away, and the film taken out by a soldier. That paranoia stayed with me. I knew I was going to do something with that feeling one day.

As guests continue towards the facility, they see a vehicle labeled “DANGER: RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL.” It’s slammed into the building — so it must be what smashed through the gate. Guests also see, through hazy green smoke, that the radioactive material is leaking.

They then come face-to-face with their first zombie: one of the facility guards is experiencing the early stages of radioactive poisoning. They have skin lesions and their eyes are turning red.

After escaping the guard, guests end up in the security station with another view of the crashed vehicle. The person driving the vehicle is “splattered all over the windshield.”

A computerized voice blares “WARNING” over and over again. It’s sometimes slowed down and sometimes sped up to create a disorienting feeling.

Guests eventually realize that the lab has been creating super soldiers who could get shot and keep fighting.

The super soldier zombies are HHN’s answer to AI anxieties. Murdy’s team created their own look for the creatures. The tops of their skulls are gone, exposing their brains with wires and cables for experimentation. Their red eyes stand in their skulls.

In addition to the facility guard, guests will encounter lab tech zombies in hazmat suits, a zombified gorilla going nuts, humans in body bags with oxygen lines hooked up to them, and a thawing freezer unit with half-frozen test subjects.

Halloween Horror Nights 2024 is on select nights from September 5 through November 3. Get your tickets now.

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Magic Key holders attending the sold-out Oogie Boogie Bash at Disney California Adventure can pick up an exclusive Hades patch, plus enjoy a special photo backdrop.

Magic Key Hades Patch

The patch depicts Hades against a purple background with silhouettes of Pain and Panic. The Magic Key logo is in the top corner. The patch is bordered by yellow stitching.

The patch will be available at Silly Symphony Swings in Disney California Adventure during Oogie Boogie Bash, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. There is a limit of one per Magic Key holder. Guests must have an Oogie Boogie Bash event wristband and present their valid Magic Key pass. The Magic Key holder must be present at the time of redemption.

Hades has his own treat trail meet-and-greet at Oogie Boogie Bash this year, appearing as a face character with color-changing flame hair.

What do you think of the new Hades patch? Let us know in the comments.

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We’re less than a week from the start of Halloween Horror Nights 33. Crew members are putting the final touches on scare zones, the Tribute Store, and more at Universal Studios Florida.

Halloween Horror Nights Tribute Store

On Friday, we saw crew members carrying covered props into the Halloween Horror Nights Tribute Store, which is located in the New York area of the park. At the time, the store’s exit area was blocked off with blue construction walls.

The walls were removed overnight. As of Saturday morning, they had been replaced with temporary barriers around a section of the sidewalk.

As for the Tribute Store façade, themed scaffolding has been added above the shipping container entrance. The scaffolding is draped with tattered black tarps. A black barrel sits near the top.

Tension cables run from the scaffolding down to blue barrels at each corner of the container. There are lights on the front of the container ready to illuminate the “Tribute Store” graffiti.

Inside the shipping container are two new strings of lights. Guests will enter the container from ramps on either side and then walk through an opening into the Tribute Store.

As of Saturday morning, a set of barriers blocks access to the Tribute Store façade and the surrounding street.

Torture Faire Scare Zone

Down the street in the Torture Faire scare zone, the Brazen Bull has a new prop. A golden bellows has been attached to one of the trusses next to the bull’s tail.

Sahara Traders

The HHN display in Sahara Traders has some updates. When we last checked on the store, a bat statue had been revealed in a crate. The statue is now gone, although a poster still displays a picture of the figure, which is connected to The Museum: Deadly Exhibits haunted house.

The crate is still there, with snapped rope and broken wood. This crate has been constantly updated. In an earlier post, the crate was closed and tied with rope.

This nearby QR code leads to a Halloween Horror Nights Instagram filter.

An open manila folder displays new newspaper clippings. A hand-written note in the center reads, “What does it mean?” One clipping includes a picture of the Tribute Store façade with the headline, “Construction halted as city spirals into madness over shadowy ‘bat creature.’” The last two words are underlined.

Another clipping describes a break-in at the Museum of Antiquities. “Museum Robbed! Recently donated exhibit ransacked” reads the headline, next to a picture of the bat statue. The story references the “soon to be revealed” exhibit Wonders of the Ancient Garden and notes large vines and foliage have grown over the crime scene.

A “News in Brief” clipping features the headline “Security guard missing after museum ‘heist.’” It seems the bat statue was stolen from the Museum of Antiquities. The story references a broken skylight, leading some to believe the artifact was flown out.

A “Sports in Brief” clipping reads, “Football player removed from game after being attacked by bat.” A red “X” is over the story, which describes a spectator attacking the football player with a baseball bat — not a bat creature.

Another headline reads “Shadowy figure stalks the city, rumors of unrest continue to grow.” In the story, the words “winged creature” and “foliage” are underlined. The final headline reads, “Local warehouse reopens after roof collapse repaired.”

‘Enter the Blumhouse’ Stage

This small stage in the San Francisco area has been decorated for Blumhouse’s upcoming release “Wolf Man.” The stage is located next to the “Enter the Blumhouse” scare zone.

A backdrop behind the stage features a farmhouse with windows illuminated at night. The “Wolf Man” title is across the top with “Only in theaters January 17.”

Plants, hay, and shovels have been added to the scene around the stage. A sign reads “No Trespassing: there is nothing here worth dying for.”

A wheelbarrow leans against the set.

‘Nightmare Fuel: Nocturnal Circus’ Signs

Signs for “Nightmare Fuel: Nocturnal Circus” are up outside of the former Fear Factor Live amphitheater in World Expo.

There are two signs displaying showtimes: 8 p.m., 9:30 p.m., 11 p.m., and 12:30 a.m. Like the houses, the show is exclusive to Halloween Horror Nights and will only be performed on event nights.

The signs also display warnings for the show. This one states guests with medical sensitivity to strobe and fog effects should not experience the show.

A larger warning sign indicates guests with heart conditions, abnormal blood pressure, fear of enclosed spaces, or a recent surgery that may be aggravated should also stay away. There is also a code of conduct.

The largest sign is a banner featuring spear-like arrows jutting out from the show’s name. Circus tent stripes curve down to the bottom of the banner. The background is smoky purple and orange.

“Nightmare Fuel” is an annual show with a new version every year Former versions include “Wildfire” and “Revenge Dream.” The show won a Brass Ring Award at the IAAPA Honors 2024.

The HHN Bar

A new sign at Battery Park indicates this spot will be called The HHN Bar. The simple black and white sign is on the top of a scaffolding archway leading into the park.

Battery Park is located behind Transformers: The Ride 3D, across from Mel’s Drive-In.

Halloween Horror Nights 33 begins on August 30. Tickets are on sale now. Before you go, check out the merchandise available at this year’s event.

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