Indiana Jones Adventure

Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye
Attraction poster art by Drew Struzan.

Disneyland
Name	Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye
Area	Adventureland
Coordinates	33°48′35″N 117°55′17″W / 33.8098°N 117.9213°W / 33.8098; -117.9213
Status	Operating
Soft opening date	March 3, 1995
Opening date	March 4, 1995

Tokyo DisneySea
Name	Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull
Area	Lost River Delta
Coordinates	35°37′35″N 139°52′51″E / 35.62627°N 139.88092°E / 35.62627; 139.88092
Status	Operating
Opening date	September 4, 2001
General statistics
Attraction type	Dark ride
Designer	Walt Disney Imagineering
Theme	Indiana Jones
Music	John Williams
Length	2,500 ft (760 m)
Site area	57,400 sq ft (5,330 m²)
Vehicle type	Enhanced motion vehicle
Vehicles	17
Riders per vehicle	12
Rows	3
Riders per row	4
Duration	3:25
Height restriction	46 in (117 cm)
Hosted by	American version Sallah (John Rhys-Davies / Bob Joles)^[1] Japanese version Paco (voice of Houki Katsuhisa)
Disney's Fastpass available
Single rider line available^[2]
Must transfer from wheelchair

The Indiana Jones Adventure is an enhanced motion vehicle dark ride attraction based on the Indiana Jones film series. Guests accompany intrepid archaeologist Dr. Indiana Jones on a turbulent quest, aboard military troop transport vehicles, through a dangerous lost temple guarded by a supernatural power.

The attraction premiered as Temple of the Forbidden Eye at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California on March 3, 1995, and opened to the general public on March 4, 1995. A second, and nearly identical, version of the ride opened as Temple of the Crystal Skull on September 4, 2001 at Tokyo DisneySea in Chiba, Japan, although the attraction is not related to the film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which was developed and released after the attraction's opening.

History

Because of the success of Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida, George Lucas decided to join forces with Walt Disney Imagineering in creating a new attraction for Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California. Unlike the previous collaboration, this attraction was created with a backstory "set in the Lost Delta of India, circa 1935".^[3] Indiana Jones Adventure is the fourth collaboration between Disney and Lucasfilm, after the Disneyland attractions Captain EO, Star Tours, and Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!.

Several early concepts were considered including a walk-through adventure and a high-speed mine car adventure within a temple. To avoid a long queue, Imagineers considered using Jungle Cruise launches to shuttle guests to the loading area.^[3]

The team tested key show elements in a Burbank warehouse on a full-sized elevated track that resembled a freeway. This enabled the team to test set pieces, lighting, effects, transport clearances and motion profiles.

Groundbreaking for the Temple of the Forbidden Eye occurred in August 1993, with more than 400 Imagineers working on its design and construction.^[3] Tony Baxter led a core project team of nearly 100 Imagineers.^[3] To create space for the 0.5-mile (0.80 km) queue area and the 50,000-square-foot (4,600 m²) show building, an area of the former "Eeyore" parking lot was demolished, and the Monorail and Jungle Cruise attractions were rerouted. Disney filed for patent on the ride-system on November 16, 1995.^[4] The Imagineers reportedly asked Harrison Ford to reprise his role as Indiana Jones, but it is unknown whether or not Ford assisted in the making of the attraction.^[5]

The Temple of the Forbidden Eye premiered on March 3, 1995. Among the invited celebrity guests were George Lucas, Michael Eisner (Disney CEO at the time), Dan Aykroyd, and Carrie Fisher.^[3] To promote the opening of the attraction the Disney Channel produced an hour-long TV program entitled Indiana Jones Adventure featuring Karen Allen and John Rhys-Davies reprising their roles from Raiders of the Lost Ark.^[3] Forty days prior to the attraction's opening, a "Forty Years of Adventure" promotion giveaway of 40 unique annual trading cards began. Guests with valid paid admission received a voucher at the main gate turnstile to exchange for the card of the day, each in a series featuring the landmark attraction of the year starting with 1955. The last card was distributed on March 2, 1995. A special "41st" card of larger issue featured the Indiana Jones Adventure on March 3. Artist Drew Struzan produced a one-sheet poster in the same theme as the films.^[3] The adventure opened to general admission on March 4.

AT&T Corporation sponsored construction of the attraction and the first seven years of operation, from 1995 to 2002. One of three styles of Marabic decoder cards was distributed to each guest, advertising their promotional campaign on the back. "It’s great to have AT&T as presenting sponsor," said then-Disneyland President Paul Pressler. "With Disneyland celebrating its 40th Anniversary and preparing to open its most exciting attraction, we welcome the opportunities this relationship is sure to create."^[3] The attraction currently has no sponsor.

The ride was temporarily closed on September 4, 2012 for an extensive refurbishment and re-opened on December 7, 2012. Scheduled modifications included enhancements to lighting, paint, figure animation and other effects.^[6] In 2013, the idol of Mara that appears in the Hall of Promise scene was updated with projection mapping effects.^[7]

Ride system

Disneyland version

Story

Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye is set in 1935 India and is told through twelve letters and telegrams scattered throughout the queue as well as three newsreels shown before guests board the attraction. Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) has reunited missing fragments of a map scroll of parchment documenting the precise location of an ancient Bengalese temple. The Temple of the Forbidden Eye, containing countless intriguing artifacts buried beneath silt by a flood of the Lost River Delta over two thousand years ago, is undergoing excavation for archaeological research. The temple deity Mara seems to conditionally offer one of three gifts to all who come to the hallowed site: earthly riches, eternal youth, or visions of the future. The only condition is that one may never gaze into the eyes of Mara. Although Jones’ discovery, dubbed the "Temple of the Forbidden Eye" by the media, has set the archaeological community abuzz, his funding has run out. To raise money so the excavation can continue, Sallah (John Rhys-Davies / Bob Joles) has begun conducting guided tours. Good fortune has come to many of the tourists who survive, but others have not returned. Promising to find the missing tourists, Jones ventured inside the temple approximately one week ago, and has not yet reappeared. Jones also hoped to find the temple’s power source: the mysterious “Jewel of Power”, which Abner Ravenwood believed to be within an immense cavern, beyond the Gates of Doom. Marcus Brody has asked Sallah to continue conducting the tours, in the hope they may locate Dr. Jones.^[8]

Queue

The Temple of the Forbidden Eye

Entrance to the queue. Guests may obtain a single-rider pass from any cast member working here.

This 2.5 ton Mercedes-Benz diesel truck was actually used in the filming of the desert chase scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark and is on display near the exit queue of the Disneyland attraction. The pole with the golf ball mounted to the bumper was placed there as an aid to stuntmen during filming.

The attraction’s immersive and carefully detailed queue leads guests through dimly lit temple chambers and eerie passageways containing booby-trapped sections reminiscent of the Indiana Jones movies.

The queue begins outside, winding past a 2.5 ton Mercedes-Benz troop transport truck. This is the actual vehicle used in the desert chase scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark.^[9] A small mining car near the truck is a movie prop as well, used in the mine scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Guests also walk by a noisy steam-powered engine/generator set piece, which appears to power the lights strung deep into the temple.

Much of the queue is inside the temple itself. Throughout the bowels of the temple, petroglyphs in "Marabic" warn temple visitors of the rewards and perils that can be found further within.^[10] The glyphs can be translated into English using a simple character substitution encoding. In the early months of the attraction's existence, guests were given decoder cards; while these cards are no longer distributed, the code is easily solvable as each symbol bears a strong resemblance to its corresponding letter in the English alphabet. The sole exception is the letter I, which, appropriately, resembles an eye. Where the text is painted, vowels appear in red.

The queue contains several interactive features. In the “spike room”, the ceiling appears to be retained by several upright bamboo poles. When the key supporting pole is pushed, guests are startled by sounds of the ceiling dropping as the spikes begin to descend slowly toward them. In the next area, large stone blocks released from the ceiling (triggered by the diamond-shaped stones below) are barely kept in place by wooden wedges and supports. Further on, in the Rotunda Calendar, pulling on a rope triggers responses from Dr. Dunfor Pullit, an out-of-sight archeologist supported by the rope beneath the sarcophagus stone. Various crates throughout the queue contain some significant features; one marked with the number "990 6753" refers to the number on the crate holding the Ark of the Covenant in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Another crate is marked "Deliver to Club Obi Wan", referring to a fictional club at the beginning of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, itself a reference to the character Obi Wan Kenobi from Star Wars.

Eventually, guests encounter a projection of a newsreel of the discovery, followed by a safety spiel by Sallah.

Mickey and Minnie appear on the cover of a copy of Life Magazine in Professor Jones' office.

Ride experience

A diagram of the Chamber of Destiny

At the loading area, guests board the troop transport. Through the radio, Sallah (John Rhys-Davies) reminds the tourists to fasten their seat belts, and points out a problem with the transport. The transport takes off, past a cluster of mirrors concealing the maintenance dock entrance, and turns a corner into the Chamber of Destiny, where guests are presented with three doors. One of the three doors begins to glow more brightly than the other two, and Mara announces which gift the passengers have chosen to receive. The doors open, and the passengers enter the Hall of Promise.

In reality, the Chamber of Destiny only has one operating door and corridor. The walls and ceiling of the room are designed to rotate across the working doorway and a set of four façades (two on each side of the real doorway), so that three "doors" are always visible at any given time. The doors and the Hall of Promise are lit differently based on which particular chamber has been randomly chosen. Dummy tracks lead up to the other doors to enhance the effect. This is best noticeable in night vision videos of the ride which can mostly be found on YouTube.This effect however is currently not in use anymore.

If the transport gets the Fountain of Eternal Youth, the Hall of Promise appears illuminated with shimmering aqua blue light. Front-lit scrims along the walls are painted to depict true believers drinking mystic water, discarding their withered skin and emerging young and beautiful. As you enter the thru the Fountain of Eternal Youth version of the Chamber of Destiny into the Hall of Promise, Mara says, "You have chosen wisely. This path leads to endless youth and beauty."
If the transport gets the Chamber of Earthly Riches, the Hall of Promise is illuminated with shimmering golden light behind the scrims where of gold and other treasures are visible, rendering the Fountain of Eternal Youth scrim paintings transparent. In the original update of the attraction in 2013, Mara says "You seek the treasure of Mara. Glitter and gold, it is yours."
If the transport gets the Observatory of the Future, it tilts upward, directing passengers’ eyes away from the dark scrims, and towards the dazzling star field. The Hall of Promise is dimly lit in purple and the ceiling above twinkles with 5,000 fiber optic stars. Mara says, "You seek the future. I will lift the curtain of time. It is your destiny."

At the end of the tunnel, the idol of Mara suddenly appears to scowl and projection mapping shows the idol 'bleed' with colors as it says:

"You looked into my eyes. Your path now leads to the Gates of Doom!",

The transport momentarily appears to head toward an exit, before making a sharp turn into a large crumbling corridor. Lightning flashes along the walls, illuminating large cobra statues overhead as the transport continues forward. The Gates of Doom pulsate with green mist and an audio-animatronic Indiana Jones struggles to keep the doors closed. Jones scolds the tourists for looking into the idol's eyes and instructs them to proceed up the steps to the left. The transport then accelerates up the flight of stairs.

Mara attempts to destroy the bridge.

The transport emerges from the passage and teeters on the edge of a vast pit of lava. Another transport is seen attempting to cross a rickety rope bridge which spans the pit under a crumbling ceiling. On the far side of the cavern, there is a 45-foot-tall stone face of Mara, that periodically shoots green rays at both transports, causing flames to erupt from where the beam hits. Formerly, there was an effect in place within this scene where the light beams would hit the ceiling, causing dyed ice cubes to rain down, simulating the rubble of the caving temple. In a flier distributed in early 1995 to Disneyland Annual Passholders, a factsheet states that "By the power of Mara's wrath, 60 pounds of rubble can fall inside the temple every 18 seconds", making reference to the ice. This can be seen in some YouTube videos from the ride's opening year. (But not all, either due to the ice machine failing to meet the demands of the quick scene-change or due to the fact that the effect was turned off later that same year.) However, this effect is currently non-functioning. Many have speculated the reasons behind this, but nothing has been officially confirmed, nor has the effect been seemingly touched or tampered with in any subsequent refurbishments. The light beams have now been redirected away from the former effect, however, the sound effect for the rubble still plays upon entering the room. The transport turns left and enters catacombs of false pathways lined with skeletons, some of which pop out toward the guests.

Suddenly, all is dark. The transport's headlights flicker back on, illuminating walls swarming with thousands of beetles. Hissing sounds are heard, and riders are blasted with puffs of air. The transport heads out of the darkness and onto the bridge which spans the pit. The transport stalls for a moment as another oncoming transport can be seen about to cross the bridge, which turns away just before reaching it. The transport then accelerates across the bridge which sways and jostles under its weight. The massive stone face of Mara shoots beams from its eye, attempting to destroy the bridge. The transport makes it safely across then turns sharply to the right.

Hundreds of snakes cover the walls and ground and a large audio-animatronic cobra appears to the right of the vehicle, striking at the riders. The transport heads back to return across the rope bridge and flashes its headlights at an oncoming transport about to cross. The transport turns sharply to the right, behind the giant stone carving of Mara's face, and crosses a wooden bridge under the rope bridge. The transport stalls near a hanging tree root, where many rats are seen climbing across it and falling off into the car before a burst of speed sends the car through the tree root, which vaporizes like mist. The transport careens through a dimly lit tunnel with paintings of spear-wielding skeletal warriors adorning the walls. Blasts of air hit the riders and darts are heard striking the transport as it rolls over the trigger stones between the skeletal warriors.

The transport then approaches a dark area and stops. Indiana Jones suddenly appears above the vehicle hanging on a rope in a shaft of light. He welcomes the adventurers' rescue and bids them to turn on the headlights and prepare for him to board. As the lights flicker on, they illuminate a massive boulder rolling toward the transport. The transport seems to back up as the boulder threatens to crush Jones and the tourists. At the last possible second, the transport accelerates and suddenly the floor seems to give way, sending the transport into the chamber below. An impact resonates through the chamber, as if the boulder has crashed down, nearly striking the transport.

Cast members in costume

The transport plunges down into darkness and swerves right to see Jones standing in front of the boulder, which has been cracked by its impact. An exhausted Jones wipes his forehead and says one of the following:

"Not bad, for tourists!",
"There! That wasn't so bad, was it?",
"Next time, you're on your own.",
"Next time, you wear blindfolds, okay?",
"Don't tell me that wasn't big fun!"
"Tourists, why'd it have to be tourists?"
"You were good in there. You were very, very good."

A final triumphant refrain of music ushers the guests back into the station. Sallah welcomes back the tourists, and tells them to remain seated as the transport reaches the loading area.