Indiana Jones is officially coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Ke Huy Quan, who played Short Round in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” appeared at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event to reveal how the IP will be incorporated into the animal-themed park.
Indiana Jones at Animal Kingdom
As previously announced, DINOSAUR will be reimagined into an Indiana Jones attraction. This is part of a larger transformation of DinoLand U.S.A. into a Tropical Americas land called Pueblo Esperanza.
This attraction will feature a completely new story, taking place in an ancient Mayan temple. Indy has heard stories of a mythical creature in the temple and is looking to get to the bottom of what’s awaiting there.
Construction will begin this fall with the rest of DinoLand U.S.A., as the land’s reimagining continues in phases. The Indiana Jones ride and the land’s new “Encanto” ride will open in 2027.
DINOSAUR has an almost identical ride system and track as Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye in Disneyland. However, the Disneyland attraction is set in India, not the Tropical Americas. The new ride could take cues from the version of Indiana Jones Adventure at Tokyo DisneySea, subtitled “Temple of the Crystal Skull” (unrelated to the 2008 film), which is set in Mexico.
The Disneyland version of the ride is set in 1935. Indy has discovered a temple to the god Mara, who offers gifts to visitors if they do not look into the eyes of Mara. When funding for the archeological expedition runs out, Sallah opens the temple up for tours. Tourists start going missing, however, and when Indy goes looking for them, he goes missing too. Guests arrive for their own tour and set off into the temple — accidentally looking into the eyes of Mara, of course. They encounter Indy and he helps them try to escape. Watch our POV video below.
The Tokyo DisneySea version is set in Mexico during the 1930s. Guests travel into an Aztec temple guarded by a Crystal Skull in search of the Fountain of Youth. An original character named Paco hosts the pre-show. Though it’s a completely different story, the ride experience is nearly identical. Guests accidentally wake up the Crystal Skull instead of looking into the eyes of Mara.
Construction will begin this fall but Disney promised plenty of time for guests to experience DINOSAUR one last time. Get another look at the Indiana Jones ride with the Pueblo Esperanza model.
The Tropical Americas land was first announced at Destination D23 2023. Disney filed their first notice of commencement for construction in DinoLand earlier this year.
Check out every Disney Parks announcement from D23.
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