Grab the fedora, pack your field journal and prepare yourself for a few snakes along the way. Adventure is calling at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Indiana Jones has spent decades taking fans around the world in search of lost artifacts, forgotten civilizations and mysteries that perhaps should have remained buried. Now, one of cinema’s greatest adventurers is preparing for another expedition—only this time, Disney Parks guests are coming along for the ride.
As Disney’s Animal Kingdom continues to transform with the addition of its new Tropical Americas land, Disney has unearthed even more details surrounding the area’s upcoming Indiana Jones attraction.
And this isn’t simply another version of an existing Indy adventure.
Officially titled “Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent,” the attraction will introduce an original story built specifically around Animal Kingdom, sending guests beneath an ancient Maya temple and eventually somewhere considerably more dangerous: the Maya Underworld.
Indiana Jones Himself Is Along for the Adventure
Of course, you can’t have an Indiana Jones adventure without the legendary archaeologist himself.
Disney Legend Harrison Ford revealed that his likeness will officially be used for the attraction’s Indiana Jones Audio-Animatronics figure.
It marks the first time Ford’s face will appear as part of a Disney Parks attraction anywhere in the world, creating another connection between the cinematic adventures fans have followed for decades and this completely new chapter.
And Indy is going to need all the help he can get.
An Ancient Mystery Is Waiting
“Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent” begins around a mysterious Maya temple built near what was once a water-filled underground cave, or cenote.
According to the local legend, the passageway leads directly into the Maya Underworld.
Because naturally, Indiana Jones has found himself exactly where he probably shouldn’t be.
The mysterious passage is protected by a serpentine creature known as the Tsukán, and things quickly go from archaeological expedition to full-fledged Indiana Jones adventure when riders are pulled through a portal and into the Underworld.
From there, getting in might prove considerably easier than getting back out.
Guests will encounter monstrous bats, enormous scorpions, fire, flames and—because Indy can never seem to escape them—snakes.
Why did it have to be snakes?
The Jade Serpent Awaits
The Tsukán won’t simply be lurking somewhere in the background, either.
Disney revealed a first look at the massive Audio-Animatronics figure being developed for the attraction, with the serpent towering over the Imagineers working to bring the creature to life.
Guests will encounter the Tsukán throughout their adventure before eventually coming face-to-face with the creature for one final confrontation.
Considering the sheer scale Disney is teasing, this might be one Indiana Jones encounter that makes even the bravest explorers reconsider their feelings about snakes.
Bringing Adventure to Animal Kingdom
Perhaps the most interesting element of this new attraction is how Disney is building Indiana Jones specifically around Animal Kingdom.
Rather than simply dropping the character into the park, Imagineers are using the attraction to explore the relationship between the ancient Maya and the natural world.
Disney says its team has been working alongside archaeologists, anthropologists and Maya experts while developing the attraction, including drawing inspiration from research conducted around sites such as Copán in Honduras.
That influence will extend into the temple itself through original Maya-inspired artwork, architecture and storytelling.
It gives Indy another ancient mystery to uncover while allowing the attraction to remain connected to Animal Kingdom’s larger focus on nature, culture and the creatures—both real and imagined—that inhabit our stories.
A Whole New World of Adventure
“Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent” will become one of the headlining attractions inside Tropical Americas, the massive new 11-acre land currently taking shape at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Alongside Indy, families will be able to step into the world of Encanto with Antonio’s Fiesta de Encanto, take a spin aboard the animal-filled El Carrusel de los Animalitos, explore a Maya-inspired children’s play area and discover new dining and shopping experiences throughout the land.
But for those of us looking for something a little more dangerous?
There is an ancient temple waiting to be explored.
A portal to the Underworld has been opened.
A gigantic serpent is protecting its secrets.
And somewhere in the middle of all of it is Indiana Jones.
Sounds like adventure to us.