The Disney Parks can be an enigma sometimes, and honestly, that mystery can add to the magic.
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If having some of the mystique uncovered is a big no-no, you may want to look away. With that said, learning Disney’s secrets can actually lead to even more fun and a better trip experience. When the secret is about an attraction, typically it enhances our appreciation for the work Disney Imagineers do. Disney recently revealed a major not-so-secret-secret about a popular ride that is sure to knock your socks off!
Without question, one of the most popular rides at Disneyland is Indiana Jones Adventure. Located in Disneyland’s Adventureland, this thrill ride takes passengers on a jeep through the Temple of the Forbidden Eye. The adventure ends with riders escaping under a boulder that is about to crush them, after which Indiana Jones stands atop the broken boulder and berates the driver with quips like, “Nice driving, pal!” and “Next time, you’re on your own!” But did you know the boulder doesn’t actually move?
©Disney
Disney recently revealed that it takes some crazy mechanics to make the boulder room work. While it seems like riders are backing up per the instructions of Indiana Jones, the ride vehicle actually doesn’t move at all.
©Disney
What actually moves is the entire room around the vehicle! The movement of the walls simulates the backward movement of the jeep while activating the boulder to start its forward movement. While the movement of an oncoming boulder ready to crush you seems wild, the fact that the entire room moves to create this illusion is actually even wilder!
We love learning cool facts about how Disney’s most complicated rides work! Be sure to stay tuned here at DFB for all kinds of Disney secrets and tips!
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Did you know this fun fact about Indiana Jones Adventure? What are some of your favorite Disney rides’ secrets? Let us know in the comments!
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Wow! I have ridden Indy since it opened in 1995 and I literally can’t count how many times that has been (including back when no one guarded that sweet spot in the exit line that is only separated from the line in by one small, easily hopped/ducked rope – I think one time my family and I did 3 back-to-backs because there was no one in line). I don’t think I’ve *ever* felt like we *didn’t* back up from the perilous bolder (!). This was really surprising and really cool: thanks DFB!
OH…. also, while on the topic of Temple of the Forbidden Eye, there are two things that I remember about the ride from when it first opened that seemed to change pretty quickly after that. Firstly, I remember the giant snake (cobra?) leaning down *pretty darn close* to the jeep. Like, it was so close that I wanted to sit in that second row, right hand side seat so it would get closest to me. But then, at some point I don’t clearly remember, it seemed like it stopped getting so close. Like maybe it comes down about ⅔ as far as it used to. #2, I used to wear contact lenses. They never got comfortable for me so I eventually stopped but the year the ride opened, I was wearing them. Right when the engine starts to kind of fail and the jeep slows down a lot, it turns into the passage with all of the poison dart throwing booby traps in the walls. These days, you can clearly hear dart-throwing noise and feel a little air burst out of the holes in the wall. But, my recollection is that in ’95 the air bursts out of the wall were pretty intense! Like, I could feel on my skin the individual ‘darts’ as bursts of air. It never hurt or anything, but I remember that I had to be really careful about not looking at them because it messed with my contacts if I got one of those blasts in the eye.
Does anybody else remember these things? (or, maybe I am just a little bit crazy… probably caused by Disney deprivation 😉 )
Hi Maggie, I, too, remember all those things. But there are other changes you probably noticed as well – the entrance to the ride used to be up the front steps of the temple. This was very cool, but there was no room for a long line at the site. When the ride first opened in 1995, the line extended out through the Adventureland gate and into the circle by the castle!!
Also, when your jeep first starts out, there used to be THREE paths you could take! This was also quite cool and now there’s only the middle path. (If you can safely look over the side of your jeep, you can still the other two tracks on the ground.) Only one path isn’t as much fun.
Finally, towards the end of the ride, before you get to the air darts, your jeep would swing around a corner and you would see and hear rats dropping on the hood of the jeep. I miss the rats.