The Walt Disney World Resort is almost certainly adding a new Indiana Jones attraction to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and our sources have provided us with the details you just have to know!
Short on real animals but dense on attractions, Esparanza is on the way to Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park. The new land (replacing Dinoland USA) will be home to a carousel, a very impressive trackless ride celebrating the movie Encanto, a restaurant likely themed to Coco… and the current Dinosaur ride will be transformed into an all-new Indiana Jones thrill ride.
While we all thought Indiana Jones would be a cloned attraction brought over from Disneyland, our sources say that is not the case at all. Instead, Indiana Jones will be taking on a brand new adventure with guests as he battles against the Mayan god of snakes, Kukulkan. The track layout will not change for Dinosaur, but state-of-the-art effects are expected to be brought in as a suite of young Harrison Ford look-a-like animatronics lead you to treasure… that surely belongs in a museum.
According to our sources, guests will be on adventure in which they join Indiana Jones to retrieve a mythical relic that may be a very special type of egg. We’re told the particular relic could change, so that one is still a bit iffy. However, what we do now believe is that the Dinosaur track pathing will remain exactly the same and current animatronics will either be reused via new skins or will be broken down to build new animatronics. The budget for this attraction change is not grandiose according to those we have heard from. Rather, this is seen as a thematic shift for a new land and an effort to draw boys into Esparanza — the new area which will be otherwise very female-centric. Encanto is expected to dominate this land with Indiana Jones tucked far away.
Josh D’Amaro, VP of Parks and Experiences, has allegedly told Imagineers to make sure they make this look like more than just a new paint-job. But that doesn’t necessarily bode well for bigger budget alterations. We do believe that new projection effects, Indiana Jones animatronics, and show scenes are all planned. That said, we’re not even under the impression currently that the vehicles will be reprogrammed from their current movements. Cost-savings are of the essence here for Disney, although that may not hamper the ride in its final state.
Of course, things can and will change regarding this ride as development continues. We’re talking about a future attraction not yet even under construction. However, we have been informed that Disney will likely expedite work on this ride as they seek to bring back audiences which have largely left the Disney World parks for the forthcoming quarter. Indiana Jones, then, will need to brush off his fedora and find a way to keep crowds coming back at a time when Tiana’s Bayou Adventure seemingly has failed. For the quarter in which Tiana’s is opening, Disney has projected soft attendance. That in no small part has driven the Disney stock downward.
It’s now up to Indiana Jones and the Madrigals to save the day for Disney World. In this case, we’re looking forward (with an open mind) as to how all of this will come together.
The above article discusses a future, currently non-existent attraction. It should therefore be considered rumor and speculation.
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