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copyright 1995 John Frost (frost@primenet.com)
Part I
o- What is the IJA:TOTFE
o- What are the age and height restrictions for IJA
o- People Involved
o- George Lucas and his involvement with Disney
o- Strategies for Riding IJA
o- Mechandise Available
o- Urban Legends
o- What happened to Adventureland to make room for
the IJA
Part II
o- The Plot
- From Disney PR
- As told to the author
- As experienced by the author himself
o- General Review
o- Physical Location of IJA
o- Is Harrison Ford's Voice and Likeness used in the
IJA.
o- How the Queue Works (Is the Queue Handicap Accessible?)
o- How does loading work and what are the best seats?
o- How do the 3 different doors at the beginning of
the ride work?
o- Some Interesting Facts about the IJA.
o- Inside Jokes & Hidden Mickeys
o- Verbatim Press Releases
o- What is this new attraction
The Indiana Jones Adventure: The Temple of the
Forbidden Eye (IJA) is a new runaway thrill ride in
Disneyland's Adventureland. As the story goes, Indiana
Jones has discovered the temple of an Ancient Indian
God named Mara. To pay for the excavation, guests
are invited in to tour the site, in a 12 person transport,
and recieve a blessing from the Temple God. At somepoint
things go wrong, they always do, and you must race,
with the help of Indy, to escape the wrath of Mara.
The ride itself will be about 3 minutes long
with a queue that holds 2400 people or an hours worth
of loading and unloading at full capacity. Lines for
IJA are expected to reach 3 and 4 hours for the first
year or two, so read this and other Disneyland FAQs
carefully for hints to make your day more enjoyable,
and still ride IJA.
o- What are the age and height restrictions
for IJA
A minimum of 3 years of age and 48 inchs of height
are required for IJA. There is a statue of a snake
in the front of the queue with a sign reading "you
must be as high as the fangs" to ride. (I don't
know any 48 inch 3 year olds... do you?)
If you think your 3 year old is mature enough or your
older child is just short for their age, I suggest
making your child wear hiking boots in the park. Useful
for adding those extra inches and playing around on
Tom Sawyer's Island.
o- Important Dates in the creation of IJA:TOTFE
1987 - Herbert Ryman brought out of retirement to
draw conceptual sketches and themes for the IJA. circa
1990 - Design is finalized in drawings by Chuck Balleu
and track and vehicles begin testing.
1993 - Work begins in the parking lot of Disneyland.
The monorail is rerouted about 40 feet closer to the
center of the parking lot and some 10 foot deep holes
are dug in the middle of a new fenced off ear. Rumors
abound that a new ride based on the Indiana Jones
character is being built.
- When Monorail is up running again, pilots adlib
spiel about latest greatest attraction opening spring
1995.
1993 - Adventureland attraction The Jungle Cruise
is shut down for refurbishment. Sign announcing Indiana
Jones Adventure is put on guard wall. Work begins
on IJA Queue area.
1994 - Jungle Cruise reopens, IJA outdoor queue area
opens for pretour exploration.
1995 - February is marked by multiple preview
parties and the fine tuning for the ride.
o- People Involved
George Lucas - Lucas has been quoted as saying he's
wanted to do an Indy ride at Disneyland since he got
Star Tours up and running. He just wanted to wait
till the right technology existed before commiting
to the concept. It took the fast and brilliant minds
of the Walt Disney Imagineers to come up with the
original ride technology quick enough to have it operational
less than 7 years from conception.
Tony Baxter - I can't list all of Tony's credentials
here, they really need a separate FAQ. However, he's
been very instru- mental in much of Disney's development
over the last 20 years. On Indy Tony was at the head
of the creative team. His dedication and ability to
practice the art of the 'show' with budget tightening
and management breathing down his neck saved this
attraction from mediocrity. Rumor has it that Tony's
next project is a revision of Disneyland's Tommorowland.
Susan Bonds - The attraction producer.
Chuck Balleu - Conceptual artist. His work is
displayed prominently in the Disney Gallery above
Pirates. Balleu also created the Mara font which is
available from the Mouse House BBS.
Herbert Ryman - An Imagineer from the earliest days
of Disneyland. He was pulled out of retirement in
1987 to draw some conceptual artwork for the Indy.
The current attraction is amazingly similar to the
work Ryman did. Ryman recently died and a tree was
planted in his honor near the Snow White Grotto whichframes
the castle he so beautifully designed.
AT&T - AT&T sponsorship. "Chose Wisely"
and "Know the Code" seem to ring true with
an AT&T sponsorship... and two new signs, one
hanging below the IJA sign and one in the exit queue,
indicate AT&T's involvement.
o- George Lucas and his involvement with Disney
The Indiana Jones Adventure is the fifth theme park
collaboration between Lucas and Disney. The others
are 'Indiana Jones et le Temple du Peril' at Disneyland
Paris, 'The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular'
and 'Star Tours' at Disney-MGM Studios in Florida,
and both 'Star Tours' and 'Captain EO' at Disneyland,
Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris.
o- Strategies for Riding IJA
This is most definately a rope drop ride. You
and the 3000 other guests who came early to the park
will be competeing to ride IJA. Here's a word of advice...
don't run!!! Adventureland is the only land in the
park where the 'streets' are still wet after their
nightly cleaning... not only are they wet, they're
slippery too.I hope that Disneyland will start the
IJA queue on Mainstreet and walk the guests in...
but who knows. This section assumes they won't. For
the morning rope drop line up on the left side of
the street, near coke corner, bring a book, chat with
the security people, set up a game of blackjack...
whatever... but when the rope drops be ready to become
a mob. Those 3000 people you see behind you all want
to head to the same place you do. So walk -- briskly
if you must --, don't run, to Adventureland.
Let about 100 people get inline infront of you...
this way you'll have a chance to see some of the queue
and your party won't get separated or hurt. IJA can
load and unload 100 people in about 3 minutes. So
you could even let 200 or so people get infront of
you and not have a wait at all.
Once you've exited the ride check and see how
long the line is. If it isn't past the outside area,
the wait will be about 50 minutes. This might be a
good time to get back on.
Other times to hop in line will be 1) the first
parade, 2) the first Fantasmic/MSEP combo, 3) 10 minutes
before closing. Assuming you make the rope drop, then
get back on again to see the queue, then ride it once
more during the day... you've ridden IJA 3 times that
day, which is more than 95% of the park goers can
say. Give yourself a pat on the back or buy an IJA
shirt =)
o- Mechandise Available
Just before February 6th there was an explosion of
merchandise specific to the IJA available in the park.
There are however, only two shops in Adventureland
devoted to all varieties of Indiana Jones merchandise.
One at the Bazaar and one in the exit area of the
Queue.
While there is not yet any merchandise with the Mara
alphabet on it. There is a wide selection of shirts,
mugs and Indy apparalto try out.
Among these are; a baseball cap with the "Temple
of the Forbidden Eye" logotype on it; T-shirts
and Sweatshirts with a reproduction of Herbert Ryman's
conceptual drawing, the attraction name and a line
that reads "Opening Spring 1995"; and a
Button of similar design. The 'official' design appears
to be a transport crossing the bridge infront of the
Mara God. There are buttons, mugs, shirts, magnets,
key chains and more sporting this design... there
are also some great designs of skeleton warriors,
the spike room, and the snake. Prices are no higher
or lower than other mechandise in the park.
I'm waiting for the Indiana Jones Shish Ka Bob
to appear at the Bengal Barbeque... gummy rats, snakes
and skulls on a skewer. *yum*
o- Urban Legends
Urban Legends about IJA. Two that I've heard are:
1) The ride takes place completely underground.
This is false the ride building is very easy to see
from the parking lot. In fact it is sitting on a section
of what used to be the parking lot. Even the queue
is above ground. But Disney Imagineers have worked
hard to make it appear as if you are actually descending
into the bowels of the earth and I think they've suceeded.
2) During the filming of a commercial in the ride
a child was thrown from the vehicle and crushed underneath
its wheels. This too is false. While IJA is perhaps
the most violent ride in the park, there are more
than enough safety mechanisms to ensure no one is
thrown from the vehicle. For instance, they have been
testing the vehicles for months with sandbags sitting
unbuckled inside the cars instead of people and they
have been successful in keeping these unrestrained
weights in the car. A full size person will be safe.
o- What happened to Adventureland to make room
for the IJA
There have been three major changes to Adventureland
to make way for IJA. The most obvious is the new Jungle
Cruise Queue. The old Bamboo and Straw structure is
gone forever and a new two level tour boat depot has
risen about 25 ft east of the old queue. In place
of the old queue is the new entrance for the Indiana
Jones Adventure. No changes to the Swiss Family Treehouse
were needed to make way for the IJA queue. Instead
it winds along the western edge of the Jungle Cruise
(The rivers of India area). Guests can see much of
the outside queue area from the Jungle Cruise.
Additionally the Bazaar shops in Adventureland
have been remodeled to add floor space, including
a shop devoted to things Indiana Jones.
Indiana Jones Adventure - The Temple of the
Forbidden Eye
A Frequently Asked Questions and Answers List PART
II
Issue 0.85 -- February 21, 1995
Maintained and Copywritten by John Frost (frost@primenet.com)
o- The Plot
- From Disney PR
- As told to the author
- As the author experienced it himself
o- General Review
o- Physical Location of IJA
o- Is Harrison Ford's Voice and Likeness used in the
IJA.
o- How the Queue Works (Is the Queue Handicap Accessible?)
o- How does loading work and what are the best seats?
o- How do the 3 different doors at the beginning of
the ride work?
o- Some Interesting Facts about the IJA.
o- Inside Jokes & Hidden Mickeys
o- Verbatim Press Releases
o- The Plot
- From Disney PR
(from Cast Member Preview Kit)
ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDINGS
Research: Dr. Indiana Jones
Initial Findings: I have unearthed an ancient temple.
Many a soul has lost his life within the eerie corridors
and caverns. Appears to be a massive shrine to the
mighty diety Mara. Hieroglyphics along the temple
corridor walls indicate that Mara can "look into
your very soul" and grant the "pure of heart"
one of three magical gifts - earthly riches, eternal
youth, or future knowledge. Other wall carvings and
other unsavory findings also indicate that few have
escaped the temple with Mara's gifts. Warnings indicate
that no one must gaze upon the eyes of Mara.
Have witnessed fiery, bubbling lava pits; swarms of
rodents, snakes (I hate snakes!), and wretched insects;
poisonous darts; and mummies. Records indicate that
those who have been tempted to look into the eyes
of Mara must deal with these and other terrible fates.
Findings even indicate that entire exploration parties
have been eliminated by powerful, explosive beams
of light that shoot directly from the eye of Mara.
Have not witnessed such...yet.
Indy
- As told to the author
Please keep in mind that this is a retelling of the
story as the author remembers it. Some scenes are
out of order or just completely wrong, but why give
everything away.
Hundreds of years ago a great flood came across India
and buried a temple devoted to the God Mara. Since
then a dense jungle has grown up in the area. Luckly
the jungles of India are attached to the Jungle Cruise,
so we can go visit. From this jungle Indy has excavated
the Temple of the Forbidden Eye, but has run out of
funding. So his "friend" Salah, from the
first and third movie, turns it into a tourist attraction.
The attraction being that you will receive one of
the three gifts of the Temple--eternal life, unlimited
wealth, or future knowledge.
The attraction begins at the queue between the tree
and Pirates. There will be a huge temple as you look
yonder which will have a huge line leading up to it.
Part of that line will dip into the Jungle Cruise
where you will be able to walk through the jungle
for the first time. Along the way you'll see some
of Indy's work--maps on tables, etc. Some of the props
will be from the Raiders of the Lost Arc film. There
will be Movie Reels with a promotional clip for the
tour. You are told that all your dreams will come
true as long as you obey the simple rule of the Temple--don't
look into the eyes of Mara. Once you enter the temple,
you see booby traps that Indy has disabled, some labelled
"Don't touch." If you touch them, something
bad will happen.
Just before you get on your Troop Transport, you'll
be able to see a transport full of tourists go down
a hall with three doors and enter one of them. Finally
you get on your own transport; don't worry if it looks
old it will make one more trip. The jeep will have
a speaker that voices the tour guide's blabbering.
So you travel down that same hall you saw a preview
of from the line and figure you'll go through the
same door as the car you previously saw. But no, Imagineering
will make sure you go through a different door and
see a different scene! These three doors lead to one
of the gifts. It's kind of like seeing the pirate
treasure in Pirates. But damn! Somebody in the jeep
looks in the eye of Mara and angrily Mara declares,
"You idiot, I will send you to your doom."
His eyes will radiate beams around the room. And he
tries to send you through the Gates of Eternal Doom.
So these huge gates begin to open and a glowing
light emanates from beyond them sucking everything
in like a tractor beam, including your transport.
There will be smoke being sucked in; the effect should
be pretty neat. But wait, Indiana Jones is there to
save you. He yells at you to "Go that way"
or something like that and tries to shut the Gates.
Then the ride gets nuts.
The next room you enter is the mummy room, very
similiar to the mummies in the first movie. You're
scared, and your car is driving scared -- skidding
and tilting on turns until you get to this _huge_
room with no real floor and the sides of the room
are connected by a flimsy looking bridge. There's
a huge statue of a Mara's head acros from the bridge.
When you cross the bridge the head will come alive
and shoot lasers from his eyes. Lucky for you he's
a bad shot and rocks will be blowing up all around
you. The bridge will be swaying and falling apart,
but of course you make it to the other side.
You'll enter a complete dark tunnel and could
swear you hear creeping and crawling things. The screeching
of the tires, weird sound effects, the motion of the
jeep, and some well placed headlights will challenge
the strength of your bladder. When you come into the
light, you're in that huge room with the god's head
again and you scream for the nearest exit while dodging
more lasers.
When you find an exit, there will be a huge
statue of a snake that will come alive and snap at
different people in the jeep. The neat thing about
it is that it will snap at different seating positions
in different combinations each time you ride. You
pass a cave of rats that leap at your jeep. Then a
section of bugs everywhere which you will run over
and cause your car to slip and slide, maybe even get
stuck. Then a booby trap of darts while fly at you
from the walls. Puffs of air and acoustic holography
will make it feel and sound like darts are flying
by your head. Some darts will hit your jeep and make
pinging noises.
When you finally come to a dead end, a huge boulder
comes rolling straight towards you. Your jeep will
start backing up. But Indy drops down hanging on a
rope from a hole at the top of the cave and tells
you to go straight for the boulder. "Trust me,"
he says. So you do and the ground gives away and you
fall through on to a much safer pathway below. So
you floor it to safety while you hear the boulder
rolling behind you until it comes to a distant crash.
You're safe. You pass a breathless Indy. He mutters
to himself, "Tourist. Why did it have to be tourists?"
The End.
- As the Author Experienced It himself (*with spoilers*)
Once seated and buckled into the troop transport look
straight ahead and you'll see some mirrors. You can
watch the car ahead of you enter the chamber of gifts
(or whatever its called) and recieve their hear's
desire. The car you are in 'should' enter a different
door than the previous car did.
As you take off toward the door Salah, your
guide, wishes you luck and explains the deficiency
of your car (no brakes, no lights, flat tire... these
are some of the things I've heard). Then a godly voice
tells you to make your choice and your car is driven
through the door. Once through the door you are in
the chamber of gifts. Mara has already read the transport's
collective mind and you will either see (and hear):
lots of gold, the chamber of earthly riches; an aquatic
scene, the chamber of youth; or an astrological night
scene, knowledge of the future. But don't look into
the eyes of Mara... or certain doom awaits
Of course, The statue of Mara is so huge (and the
transport is angled right at the statue) that you
can't avoid looking at Mara's eyes. (Temple of the
Fobidden Eye... get it.) Being a god, Mara knows these
things and says so in a loud booming voice then sends
you off flying thru the air to the gates of doom...
But wait! Who is there to save you but Indiana Jones!
Our previously lost hero.... Indy is holding the gates
of doom closed and tells the transport that the escape
is through the temple, that-a-way. (*points*)
That-a-way leads you into a steep decline that looks
straight into a huge statue of Mara. The statue shoots
beams of light that explode around the room causing
your transport to react violently. Beneath the statue
is a lake of molten lava (kewl effect) so you turn
left to avoid that fate and end up in the mummy chambers...
remember the first film.. well it's the same idea...
only the mummy's are a good 10 feet away and there
aren't as many of them. There is a neat effect with
some rocks forming a skull in this room.
After you scream through the mummy room you encounter
a dark room with weird noises... once you get the
headlights of the transport turned on you'll see those
noises are made by thousands of spiders, scorpians,
and other bugs moving around rapidly, squishing under
the tires and even dropping on the car.
Getting out of there quick is probably a good idea.
But next thing you know there is that huge statue
of Mara again along with the molten lava. The only
way across is that creeky wooden bridge infront of
you... well hang on.. cause here you go!!! Needless
to say the bridge gives way and you plummet toward
your doom.... ummm maybe not... but the fear is there.
Once across you take a sharp right into a room that
seems to be devoted to some snake god or another...
better get out of there, but the exit is blocked by
said 100ft snake god and it must be hungry because
it snaps at a passenger on the right side of the car.
(This is a good point to get rid of relatives that
might have been bugging you while you waited in the
queue. (-: .) Snake-phobic people are advised to sit
on the left.
Having escaped the jaws of that snake you speed off
back into the central chamber, but this time you go
behind the Mara statue into what could be called the
'skull' room. Mostly for the hundreds of skulls you
see everywhere around you but also for the kewl special
effect that threatens to knock your own skull off
your head. The imagineers have figured out same way
to project a holographic wall infront of you and just
when it looks like you can't duck down far enough
you pass right through it. IMHO, this is the best
FX in the ride.
In this area you can also see other troop transports
full of guests wisked around various parts of the
ride... there is a significant portion of the ride
that occurs right around here.
Past the skull room is another dark room, but wait
your transport has stalled.. ut-oh... cause those
'rats' you hear dropping onto the car certainly sound
hungry... I hope they work on this room a little,
the effect is spoiled by the fact that a flat wall
(not a cave wall, like the rest of the atttraction)
is directly to your left.
Just past the rats is a beautifully carved room
of soldiers, wait those aren't soldiers, they're skeletons
looks like a trap... so the transport starts off slowly,
then picks up speed once the trap has been triggered.
The great thing about this room is that you acutally
do hear the darts strike the side of the car and actually
feel the darts is they narrowly miss you. (of course,
never having been narrowly missed by a dart, I can't
tell you if the effect is authentic... but suspend
your disbelief and it works.)
Still in one piece, you hope, the transport enters
another dark room. What's this, more bugs, rats or
snakes.. I hate snakes. Turning a light on you see
that nope, its just Indy hanging on a rope from a
hole in the ceiling. He tells you to back up and then
you see why... a huge (and I mean huge) ball is rolling
down an incline toward you. The transport slips into
reverse, but it looks hopeless... Indy yells at you
to drive forward and you fall through the floor safe
from the ball.
The effect in this room is wonderful. The transport
actually isn't going backwards at all. Rather, the
whole room moves toward you creating the desired effect.
To see this work, if you're sitting on the edge of
the car look down to the sides and you'll see where
the walls don't meet the floor.
You drop down and turn sharply to find Indy
standing infront of the broken ball that would have
made tourist pancakes out of the car. Here he says
something from a certain list of phrases he can use.
The one I remember is "tourists', why'd it have
to be tourists."
Well, that's it... you can see the unloading area
infront of you. Salah's voice comes back on the speakers
telling you not to leave before the car comes to a
complete stop at the dock and that's that.
The exit queue leads you out past the entrance queue,
so please feel free to give anyone you see cutting
back into line a piece of your mind.
Well, what did you think?
o- General Review
This ride is the first of its kind. The combination
of scenery, special effects and a motion simulator
in 360 degrees is unique in the amusement park world.
Walt Disney Imagineering put their collective brains,
hearts and souls into this ride and it really shows.
What makes the Indiana Jones Adventure exciting and
thrilling is WDI's original vehicle design. The motion
technology is so good that most of the thematic aspects
pale in comparison.
That is to say, that the ride is so far beyond
any other attraction I've ridden it must be held up
to new standards which I'm not sure were met. A catch-22.
So these critiques are really backhanded compliments
or constructive criticisms. WDI has done quite abit
under severe budgetary pressure from upper management.
Some of the special effects are cheesy and/or not
complete. For instance, I mentioned the 'earthly riches'
room where the gold is just painted on a scrim, instead
of the 'real' gold that is in the treasure room on
Pirates. Another example: the vehicles demand so much
room to manuever that the details of the ride are
kept a huge distance away and you lose a certain amount
of intimacy that would make the ride that much more
thrilling and scary.
Since this was a preview night I didn't expect the
ride to be up to full speed, but I guess there is
a rule amongst magicians that the more powerful magic
you practice the more dramatic the let down when the
spell fails. The same can be said for WDI, where they
'make the magic'. Exposed speakers, delays, and frequent
breakdowns were the rules, not the exceptions, during
these preview nights. For the general public, I know
more things will work... but it is some powerful magic
going on in there and emense letdowns when the spell
is broken.
An important note to remember is that IJA is a fantasy
ride, not meant to be 'real', but rather 'realistic'
or 'hyper-real'. In this area there was great success.
For the 3 minutes and 30 seconds the ride lasts, even
though you move so fast it all seems to happen in
around a minute, you are in the magical film world
of George Lucas and Indiana Jones. The colors and
lighting in IJA is outstanding; as much a 'show' as
it is a ride. The Indiana Jones figures are head and
shoulders above the other audio-animatronic figures
used in theme parks.
It's nice to ride something where you know it won't
be duplicated in Las Vegas or in malls-across-america
(tm). IJA is something Disneyland and all the people
who worked on it can be proud of. And as guests we
are privilidged to join the movie world where stories
of 150ft snakes, angry gods and famous explorers are
commonplace. Just sit back, let Salah be your guide,
and then hang on for the adventure of your life.
o- Physical Location of IJA
While the entrance for the queue is in Adventureland.
The actual ride building is outside the train tracks
and easily visible from the parking lot. It's that
big green building with the observer hut on it to
the left of the main gate. The exact spot where the
queue passes under the train tracks is in the spike
room... making it more like the 'quake' room when
a train passes overhead.
o- Is Harrison Ford's Voice and Likeness used in the
IJA.
Harrison Ford had other engagements which prevented
his voice from being used at this time... but that
doesn't mean it can't be added later. I don't think
you'll notice the difference though... you'll be much
too scared to care.
His likeness does appear three times in the
ride... once early on and twice right near the end.
o- How the Queue Works (Is the Queue Handicap
Accessible?)
The permanent section of the queue is wheelchair accessible.
There is even an elevator near the loading area to
help out. I don't know what this means for the other
2 to 3 hours you'll be spending out side the normal
queue area ... but I'll tell you after March 3rd.
Before you enter the temple you wind through the excavation
site that Indy has set up. Besure to check out the
buddha under the tarp near the river edge. Some people
have rumored it looks like our Famous Uncle Walt.
What do you think?
Inside the temple you begin a descent into the bowels
of the earth, without ever really getting below parking
lot level, kewl huh? Indy has left some signs in the
queue to help you along. Interesting stuff like --
"Don't disturb the bats", and if you look
up into the corners of the caves you can see the bats,
or "Don't step on the Diamond Stones", but
Indy has fixed this room. The best example of this
is in the Spike room.
If you're in the spike room and a train passes
overhead it sounds just like (and I can verify this
from experience) an earthquake is rolling your way.
The spike room is also the home of what could be the
most terrifying moment in the whole ride...
Now here is a little hint for the queue. As
you know the queue is almost completely wheelchair
accessible. When you get almost to the load area there
area a set of stairs that lead up and across a vehicle
track. If you are in a wheelchair, this is where you
need to ask for assistance. They will take you up
in a elevator, across the track, and then down into
the loading area, here you will need to leave your
wheelchair and enter the transport. Only the right
side of the loading dock has a wheelchair accessible
lane, so I can imagine there even being a little queue
for wheelchairs if things back up.
If you are able to climb stairs you will have
a choice of righthand or lefthand stairs. Choose the
lefthand if you can. It is significantly shorter and
has the benefit of directly accessing the exit queue.
If you exit on the right side you must go up and down
a set of stairs to reach the exit queue.
o- How does loading work and what are the best seats?
Guests load from inbetween two lanes of vehicles.
There are 3 rows of 4 guests in each transport and
the back outside seats ([X]) experience the most motion
variance, while the direct middle of the car ([c])
is the calmest. I didn't try asking for any particular
seat as I was tickled pink to be riding the thing
in the first place, but you could give it a shot and
see what happens. All the seats have great vantage
points since the ride occurs all around you and the
rear is somewhat elevated.
o- How do the 3 different doors at the beginning of
the ride work?
Once seated and buckled into the troop transport look
straight ahead and you'll see some mirrors. You can
watch the car ahead of you enter the chamber of gifts
(or whatever its called) and recieve their heart's
desire. The car you are in 'should' enter a different
door than the previous car did.
This is how that works:
There is one track for the whole ride... But there
are _five_ doors in that area of the ride. (four fake,
one real.) If you're going through the middle door
the two outermost doors are hidden, if you're going
through the left door, the two leftmost doors are
hidden... etc. There are 'fake' tracks leading to
the four facade doors; in reality you are going through
the same door everytime. As you take off toward the
door Salah, your guide, wishes you luck and explains
the deficiency of your car (no brakes, no lights,
flat tire... these are some of the things I've heard).
Then a godly voice tells you to make your choice and
your car is driven through the door. Once through
the door you are in the chamber of gifts. Mara has
already read the transport's collective mind and you
will either see (and hear): lots of gold, the chamber
of earthly riches; an aquatic scene, the chamber of
youth; or an astrological night scene, knowledge of
the future. But don't look into the eyes of Mara...
or certain doom awaits
These three chambers are, once again, really just
one room along the same track. Changes are done with
scrims, sound effects and lighting. (Actually, I've
only seen the Earthly riches room and found the scrim
effect to be pretty corny. We know Disney can make
good treasure rooms, they have one in Pirates, but
a painted scene is more like "Duck Tales: Treasure
of the Lost Lamp" than an attraction.)
o- Some Interesting Facts about the IJA. (Sprinkled
liberally with facts from Cast Member Preview Kit)
Beginning of dig: August 1993
Temple unveiled: March 3, 1995
Design: Walt Disney Imagineering
Location: Deep within the Adventureland jungles
Temple cubic footage: 2,200,000 cu. ft.
Temple Chambers:
Chamber of Destiny, Hall of Promise, Tunnel of Torment,
Gates of Doom, Cavern of Bubbling Death, Mummy Chamber,
Bug Room, Snake Temple, Rat Cave, Dart Corridor, Rolling
Boulder finale
Track:
Ride track: 1,975 linear feet
Total track: 2,500 linear feet
Levels: Two levels of track, three attraction levels.
Vehicles:
Number of Vehicles: 15 cycling + 1 spare
Time between cars: at 15 cars the time is 18 seconds.
Weight: Approximately 12,800 pounds
Capacity: 12 guests per vehicle
Maximum velocity: 20 feet per second (13.6 mph)
Ride Technology:
Utilizes a state-of-the-art enhanced motion system
developed and patented by Walt Disney Imagineering
The vehicles were under testing for at least 3 years
on sample tracks before being moved to the ride building
Each on-board ride control system contains a myriad
of programmed cues. The adventure will never be the
same twice, with nearly 160,000 possible combinations
of show programming.
Ride Duration:
Trip time: 3 minutes, 20 seconds
Cycle time: 4 minutes, 30 seconds
Capacity:
Maximum theoretical hourly capacity: 2,400 guests
The queue: 50 minutes of permanent queue, 1,400 linear
feet
Queue Area:
The Generator in the queue area really does power
the lights in the queue and the dimming is due to
the generator's cycles. Underneath a tarp in the outdoor
queue area is a buddha-esque statue but with a mustache...
some people claim it looks like Uncle Walt... I tend
to believe them.
Additional Findings:
More than 168,000 square feet of hand-carved surfaces
adorn the caverns, with 55 hand-painted murals throughout.
More than 2,000 replicated human skulls found within
the temple chambers. Wind speed inside the Mummy Chamber
rush up to 60 mph. The vehicle displayed in the base
camp was the actual vehicle used for the chase scene
in Raiders of the Lost Ark. More than 600 strobes
are used to simulate lightning in the Tunnel of Torment.
By the power of Mara's wrath, 60 pounds of rubble
can fall inside the temple every 18 seconds. The exterior
temple structure towers four stories above the excavation
site. The temple contains 2,129 representations of
snakes. The Mara alphabet uses 26 characters and english
grammer. No numbers or puncuation yet. The alphabet
was designed by Chuck Balleu.
o- Inside Jokes & Hidden Mickeys
-- There has already been one hidden mickey found.
Look in the cage to your right after the newsreel
room. There is a LIFE magazine from the 30's with
Walt surrounded by a couple Mickeys. Also look on
the writing outside the cage and see a reference to
"club obi wan" which was the club in the
2nd Indy movie.
-- A second hidden mickey has been discovered, this
time inside the ride itself. In the Mummy Chamber
one of the mummies on the left has Mouse Ears on.
-- George Lucas always uses the sequence THX
1138 in his work as an homage to his first film. I
found where the THX 1138 is on the preview night passport,
but haven't found it in the attraction.
o- Verbatim Press Releases
A Press Release from Disneyland Publicity -- January
25, 1995 Indiana Jones is a trademark of Lucas Films
Limited.
INDIANA JONES ADVENTURE TO PREMIERE AT DISNEYLAND
Indiana Jones, the intrepid explorer in the film trilogy
created by George Lucas, is the inspiration for a
new runaway thrill ride scheduled to open at Disneyland
on March 3, 1995.
The Indiana Jones Adventure will come to life in an
expedition through the fabled Temple of the Forbidden
Eye, mysteriously hidden deep within the dense jungles
of India. There will be action and thrills around
every corner in this Adventureland attraction where
guests, boarding well worn WWII troop transports,
will embark on what appears to be a standard archaeological
tour.
Built long ago in tribute to the powerful deity Mara,
the temple was rediscovered in 1935 by Dr. Jones and
his expedition team. According to temple lore, Mara
could "look into your very soul," and then
grant the "pure of heart" one of three magical
gifts: unlimited wealth, eternal youth or future knowledge.
However, the ancient legend also issues a stern warning:
"A terrible fate awaits those who gaze upon the
eyes of Mara!" Dr. Jones would only say, "Records
indicate that many have come... but few have returned."
With longtime friend Sallah, Indiana Jones set out
to explore the temple and uncover its many secrets.
Accompanying Dr. Jones and Sallah was a newsreel film
crew, whose coverage caused a flood of fortune seekers
to flock to the mystical site. Visitors to the temple
excavation will witness Indy's latest archaeological
find and test the temple's powerful legend. When the
temple opens this year, Park guests will be allowed
to enter, following the "safe" path marked
by Jones' initial expedition team. Warning signs along
the way indicate that there may still be some booby
traps that have not yet been disarmed. Reaching the
ancient temple interior, guests will board a 12-passenger
troop transport vehicle for the remainder of their
tour.
Prior to boarding, guests will, once again, be instructed
by Sallah to look away from Mara's eyes. He also asks
them to keep an eye out for his friend Indy, who entered
the temple and has been missing from the expedition.
For those who dare to look into the eye of Mara, their
journey will take an entirely different route. Their
vehicles could encounter louds of smoke, fire, bubbling
lava pits, ominous steam vents, a crumbling ceiling,
or even an "up close" confrontation with
Mara. Legend says that Mara vaporizes the "unworthy"
with beams of fire and other horrors such as screaming
mummies, horrible bugs and rodents, snakes and poisonous
darts.
Explorers could discover even more surprises around
every bend in this subterranean world where, just
like in the movies, escape is only temporary as they
traverse a shaking suspension bridge, suffer an avalanche
of creepy crawlies and face a gigantic rolling ball
which threatens to flatten them and their vehicle.
The journey will be set apart by the fact that the
guests will never experience the same ride twice.
"George Lucas and Disney share the same vision
of innovation and excellence. Each time we have embarked
on an adventure together, we have been able to create
a special experience for our guests," said Michael
D. Eisner, Disney's chairman and chief executive officer.
"The Indiana Jones Adventure is the next cliffhanging
episode." The Indiana Jones Adventure is the
fifth theme park collaboration between Lucas and Disney.
The others are Indiana Jones et le Temple du Peril
at Euro Disneyland Paris, The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt
Spectacular and Star Tours at Disney-MGM Studios in
Florida, and both Star Tours and Captain EO at Disneyland,
Tokyo Disneyland and Euro Disneyland Paris.
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