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Credit: DisneyAfter years of complaints and an extensive refurbishment, a fan-favorite Disney ride finally reopened its doors, restored to its former glory.
Disneyland Resort is home to timeless classics and exciting new rides alike. With original attractions like Casey Jr. Circus Train, King Arthur Carrousel, Peter Pan’s Flight, Disneyland Railroad, Jungle Cruise, and Dumbo the Flying Elephant — among other classics like Matterhorn Bobsleds, “it’s a small world,” Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Haunted Mansion — still operating at the Southern California theme park, and thrilling new rides like Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission BREAKOUT!, and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway debuting at Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure, it’s no wonder why Disneyland Resort is the Happiest Place on Earth.
However, few rides are as popular — and criticized — as Indiana Jones Adventure in Adventureland at Disneyland Park. While the attraction is a must-do for many Disneyland parkgoers, the 1995 attraction faced multiple malfunctions and severe criticism from Guests, who even commented the iconic Disney ride was in lackluster condition.
And while Disneyland officials and Cast Members worked hard to keep the attraction functioning, an extensive refurbishment was inevitable, causing Indiana Jones Adventure to shut its doors indefinitely on January 9, 2023.
While Disneyland stated that the popular ride would remain closed “until spring 2023,” fans were concerned about the extended closure, as no official reopening date was announced, and no one would like the fan-favorite ride to face the same faith as one of Universal Orlando Resort’s most popular attractions.
Fortunately, as Inside the Magic reported, Disney recently announced that Indiana Jones Adventure would welcome Guests bold enough to venture into the Temple of the Forbidden Eye today, March 17. And with an average wait time of 90 minutes on its reopening day and a temporary closure as of this article’s publishing, it appears that Indiana Jones Adventure is back to business as usual in Adventureland.
Related: Indiana Jones Ride Breaks Down…Again, “Someone Come Get Me”
Theme park reporter Brady MacDonald, with The Orange County Register, commented on his first experience back on the ride during a preview event on March 16, saying he “found [his] favorite Disneyland ride fully restored to its glory days.” MacDonald added that “Disneyland cleaned every skull, mummy and snake during a three-month refurbishment of Indiana Jones Adventure,” allowing the iconic Disney dark ride to feel refreshed “without disturbing any of the beloved rubble and debris in the crumbling Temple of the Forbidden Eye.”
Walt Disney Imagineering teams upgraded the classic dark ride with two new digital effects scenes that show the true power of Mara, the attraction’s antagonist. “Our additions to Indiana Jones Adventure add touches of new magic that enhance its already established storyline,” Imagineering executive creative director Kim Irvine said in a statement released by Disneyland. “Mara taunts guests even further with a powerful, electric-like energy and frenetic apparitions. This force of Mara turns a possible passageway escape into a rubble of dust.”
Contrary to what many fans, yours truly included, believed with the upcoming premiere of the fifth installment in the Indiana Jones franchise — Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny — Disney did not add any new storylines to the fan-favorite attraction.
However, refurbishment teams for Indiana Jones Adventure carried out a titanic task, cleaning and painting projection surfaces throughout the attraction, refreshing scenic elements in the ride’s extensive queue, individually cleaning every skull and refreshing all 40 mummies in the attraction, refocusing projectors, replacing lighting fixtures, and finally repairing the massive audio-animatronic snake, perhaps the most notable and requested update to the beloved attraction.
With most elements in the fan-favorite Disney ride finally restored and significant aesthetic improvements, we can’t wait to join Doctor Indiana Jones as he explores the Temple of the Forbidden Eye in Adventureland at Disneyland Park.
Are you excited about the return of Indiana Jones Adventure? Will you visit Disneyland Resort soon to experience the restored Disney ride? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments below!