As of October 23, Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye is back open at Disneyland. The ride has been closed for refurbishment for over six weeks.
Indiana Jones Adventure Ride POV
Indiana Jones Adventure
Indiana Jones Adventure is an extremely complex attraction that requires an annual refurbishment (at least) to keep it running, although it has a reputation for regular breakdowns and was even delayed for two hours on its scheduled reopening date.
Earlier this year, the bridge effect was restored after several years, and props at the exit were refreshed. However, this six-week refurbishment period focused primarily on improving operational efficiency, so most changes won’t be perceptible to guests.
The outdoor queue for the ride is basically unchanged, save for general cleanup and maintenance work.
However, the biggest change guests will notice is actually in the indoor portion of the queue: the fan-favorite interactive bamboo pole has returned (again), hopefully for good this time. Disobeying the posted warning sign and giving the flexible pole a good yank will cause loud crashing and banging noises to suddenly emanate from above; however, despite briefly returning earlier this year, the collapsing ceiling effect is still absent.
One of the noticeable changes is the larger storage pouches in the ride vehicles. Visually, they’re still made of tan canvas material, but are considerably larger and have an elastic top instead of the previous pouches’ worn-out Velcro closures.
Another indiscernible update is that the ride vehicles now position themselves more accurately when going in and out of the loading area, which, when compounded, reduces the time spent loading and unloading guests and contributes to greater guest capacity.
The long-dormant spinning door effect has still not been restored, leaving the two far doors “shuttered” with projections of spiderwebs and moss. Another invisible update made to the ride is that these doors are now fully electric, replacing the original leakage-prone hydraulic system.
Inside the ride, multiple scenes have been refreshed with new blacklight paint, so every skeleton, snake, and spider is fully illuminated in eerie greenish-blue light as your vehicle races by.
The large decaying skull statue of Mara was also repainted with multiple vibrant, blacklight-reactive colors that lend extra dimension to the idol’s face.
The boulder scene still ends the ride, as an annoyed Indy scoffs and sends the “tourists” on their way. All the ride animatronics were also disassembled and tuned up during the refurbishment.
The exit queue is still the same, complete with the previously AT&T-sponsored sign imploring guests that “Real rewards await those who choose wisely.” (AT&T was the official sponsor of the ride from 1997 to 2002.)
Attraction Background
The story of Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye is set in India, 1935. Indiana Jones has reunited pieces of a map to locate this ancient temple to the deity Mara. The god offers gifts to visitors as long as they never look into the eyes of Mara. After Indy found the temple, Sallah began conducting tours. Some tourists go missing, and Indy goes looking for them, but does not return himself.
Guests follow Indy inside, where they enter one of Mara’s chambers: Chamber of Earthly Riches, Fountain of Eternal Youth, or the Observatory of the Future. These different “rooms” are actually the same but feature different projection mapping effects and dialogue. Of course, guests accidentally look into Mara’s eyes, and all hell breaks loose.
Temple of the Forbidden Eye opened at Disneyland in March 1995. A second version of the attraction called Temple of the Crystal Skull opened at Tokyo DisneySea in 2001. Though it uses the same ride track, the story is different, now set in Mexico in the 1930s.
Indiana Jones: Myth of the Jade Serpent will soon replace DINOSAUR at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. DINOSAUR used the same ride system and nearly identical track as the existing Indiana Jones Adventure, so though the ride will have a third original story, it will be a similar experience. The colorful Mayan temple exterior of the ride is currently being installed.
Part of the new Tropical Americas land, Myth of the Jade Serpent places the adventure in a Maya temple in the 1950s before the events of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. For the first time, Harrison Ford will be the model for Indiana Jones in the ride.
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