March 3rd is the 25th anniversary of the Indiana Jones Adventure at the Disneyland Resort. For a quarter of a century, guests have been able to go on an adventure with Indiana Jones when they visit Adventureland. This is an attraction that set a new bar for an immersive attraction and is the definition of quality. Because of this, it still remains incredibly popular today.
As the attraction reaches its 25th anniversary, the Disneyland Resort is celebrating with some special offerings. Indiana Jones Adventure also has a new addition to the Play Disney Parks app for guests to enjoy while waiting in the queue.
For the 25th anniversary of the attraction, here are 25 facts about it. Check them out and see how many of them you know and how many are new. Then, share in the comments what you knew and didn’t!
Attention to Detail
- More than 1,300 props are used along the queue of the attraction to enhance the story.
- While guests explore the Temple of the Forbidden Eye, they learn about the story of the ancient temple through more than 168,000 square feet of hand-carved surfaces.
- Throughout the temple, guests will find Mara-glyphics, a pictograph-style alphabet that provides warning messages to guests before they embark on their journey.
- When the attraction first opened, guests were given a decoder card to translate the Mara-glyphic messages hidden throughout the attraction. Today, guests can use the Play Disney Parks app to decode the messages and more.
- In the Cavern of Bubbling Death, guests are suspended on a rickety bridge that reaches 50 feet high and they come face to face with a 45-foot-tall decaying skull of Mara.
- Inside the Snake Temple, guests encounter the head of a 100-foot long King Cobra, one of the 2,129 snakes living inside the Temple of the Forbidden Eye.
- The attraction contains more than 2,000 replicated human skulls and 55 murals that provide further clues into the myth of the deity Mara.
- Special effects including light and wind are utilized throughout the attraction to enhance the sense of adventure.
- The Rolling Boulder that guests narrowly escape in the final scene of the attraction is 16 feet in diameter.
Technology and Special Effects
- Every ride experience will have a new combination of thrills as the jungle troop transports each have their own ride control system, providing nearly 160,000 possible show programming combinations.
- The original score from the Indiana Jones films was adapted, arranged and recorded by a 90-piece orchestra for Indiana Jones Adventure.
- The music for the attraction was designed to add to the excitement and sense of adventure felt throughout the attraction by accentuating dramatic turns, explosions and off-road escapades.
- Each troop transport is equipped with a proprietary audio system that includes synchronized speakers and provides each guest with full “stereo sound.” For example, in the Poison Dart Room, guests experience the sounds of darts traveling from off-vehicle speakers across, into or through the speakers onboard and then back off the vehicle, creating a realistic effect of darts passing very close to the guest.
- Beginning in 2013, guests saw Mara in a whole new way when they gazed into the eyes of the ancient deity, who was enhanced with projection mapping technology.
Hidden Gems
- While traversing along the queue area, guests journey through the eerie dampness of bat-filled caves within the temple and pass through the “Spike Chamber.” On the left, guests may notice a bamboo pole bent under the weight of the ceiling with a sign next to it that reads “Caution Do Not Touch Pole.” Guests can tug on the pole at their own risk to unleash a surprise.
- One of the skeletons hidden within the temple can be found showing his Disney magic. He’s wearing a Mouseketeer cap with the name “Bones” embroidered on it.
- A copy of “Life” magazine from the 1930s featuring Mickey Mouse on the cover can be found in Indiana Jones’ office along the queue area.
- One of the crates on the wall of Indiana Jones’ office in the queue area is labeled, “Deliver to: Club Obi Wan.”— a reference to the opening scene of “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and a tribute to the Obi Wan Kenobi character in George Lucas’ Star Wars
Movie Magic
- Indiana Jones Adventure is based on the Indiana Jones films created by George Lucas.
- One of the German patrol trucks that was featured in the first Indiana Jones film “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” can be found in the outside queue area of the attraction. When guests look closely, they will see golf balls on the handlebars of the front bumper that were placed there for one of the car chase stunts in the film.
- The mine car seen just outside the attraction’s exit was used in the filming of “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.”
History
- Indiana Jones Adventure is set in 1935, after Indiana Jones discovered the Temple of the Forbidden Eye, a mystic place built to honor an ancient deity named Mara.
- Inspirations for the Temple of the Forbidden Eye include the Hindu temples at Banteay Srei and Angkor Wat in Cambodia and the Mahamallapuram, Virupaksha and Elura temples of India.
- The screenwriters who wrote “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, also consulted on the script for Indiana Jones Adventure.
- Several celebrities attended the opening ceremony for Indiana Jones Adventure including George Lucas, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dan Aykroyd, Wayne Gretzky and Dennis Miller.
How many did you know?
