Take a trip as we explore one of Disneyland’s most beloved attractions.Credit: DisneyRelated: This Genius Hack Will Get You a Disney World Pre-Pandemic Perk for FreeDisneyland is filled to the brim with exciting rides and attractions such as the Haunted Mansion, Matterhorn Bobsleds, “it’s a small world”, and Peter Pan’s Flight. There are so many choices guests can choose from that picking what to wait in line for may prove difficult. However, if there’s one thrill ride you have to experience when visiting Disneyland, it has to be Indiana Jones Adventure.Indiana Jones Adventure is considered a classic in both Disney Imagineering history and Disney park history. As the name suggests, the ride is based on the Indiana Jones franchise, taking guests on an exciting journey through a cursed temple. Since opening at the Disneyland Resort, it has become a fan-favorite and beloved attraction in the Disney parks and continues to entertain thousands of guests daily.Below is everything you need to know about this impressive and iconic attraction.The Ride’s HistoryCredit: DisneyRelated: ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ Trilogy: What To ExpectWhile there are so many great attractions at Disneyland, few come close to matching the immersion and theming of the Indiana Jones Adventure. The ride was initially conceived for the Disneyland Resort due to the success of the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular in Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World. The stunt show features multiple sets and characters themed around the first Indiana Jones film, with the premise that guests would be watching how a real film studio operates. Because of how popular the attraction was, Disney and George Lucas partnered up to create a new attraction for Disneyland that would blow guests away.George Lucas and Disney previously teamed up in 1987 for the release of Star Tours in Tomorrowland. This ride (at the time) was a state-of-the-art attraction, placing guests right in the middle of their very own Star Wars adventure. Since its opening, the ride has remained popular, with it undergoing a massive refurbishment in 2011, adding even more scenes and characters to the ride, like Darth Vader and Princess Leia, as well as new characters like Kylo Ren, Rey, and Poe Dameron.Groundbreaking for Disneyland’s Indiana Jones-based attraction, originally called Temple of the Forbidden Eye, occurred in August of 1993. More than 400 Imagineers worked on the attraction’s design and construction.Just like Joe Rohde with Disney’s Pandora – The World of Avatar, this ride also had a main Imagineer who truly spearheaded the attraction, this time being legendary Disney Imagineer Tony Baxter. Baxter is well known in the Disney community and is responsible for rides like Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain, as well as Disneyland Paris.The Ride ExperienceCredit: LucasfilmIndiana Jones Adventure is a first-of-its-kind enhanced motion vehicle (EMV) dark ride, for which Disney filed a patent on November 16, 1995. Although the ride is based on the Indiana Jones film series, an agreement between Harrison Ford and Disney was never met, meaning Ford is not the voice of Indy on the ride. Instead, Dave Temple provided the voice of Indy.The ride officially opened on March 3, 1995, and featured quite the fanfare. Tons of celebrities were invited, with the list of attendees including George Lucas, then Disney CEO Michael Eisner, Ghostbusters star Dan Aykroyd, The Mummy star Brendan Fraser, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tony Danza, and Star Wars icon Carrie Fisher.At the time, Disneyland didn’t have that many thrill rides of this caliber in the park, and because California Adventure had not even opened yet, the park desperately needed another big “E-ticket” attraction. The ride was an instant classic, to say the least.Credit: DisneyRelated: I Found The Abandoned Disney Store Disney Strategically Reopened After 5+ YearsAfter the initial success of the Indiana Jones Adventure in 1995, Disney found an easy way to incorporate an “E-ticket” attraction into its upcoming park called Animal Kingdom.For those who have ridden DINOSAUR at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Indiana Jones Adventure may seem a little familiar. Surprisingly enough, DINOSAUR and Indiana Jones Adventure have nearly the same track layout, meaning the overall ride experience is very similar.Because of how EMV-based attractions are designed, the individual ride vehicles can be altered and animated to simulate terrains of all kinds, meaning Disney could program these ride vehicles to simulate a prehistoric landscape. All Disney had to do was build another Indiana Jones Adventure and then retheme it to fit the land. This was a clever and efficient way to add a big attraction to Disney’s new Animal Kingdom park.The story of Indiana Jones Adventure involves you, a cursed temple, and Indiana Jones himself. This temple, known as The Temple of the Forbidden Eye, is where guests embark on their adventure searching for one of three gifts.As soon as guests’ ride vehicle pulls out of the loading dock, riders approach the Chamber of Destiny, a hallway that leads into one of three doorways. This feature on the ride is incredibly famous as guests will never know which doorway they will enter. Originally, this effect was achieved through the three doors actually being fake, moving on a track that lines up with the one true door.Unfortunately, this effect was retired and has not been used for many years. Now, the effect is done through lighting and projection mapping, a cool but not as convincing effect. After entering through one of these three doors, guests are reminded by Sallah not to look into the eyes of Mara, the god of the temple. But as soon as riders start moving toward the idol, Mara’s eyes open, taking the ride on a dangerous detour.From here, guests are taken on a journey involving giant snakes, lava, fire, and many impressive effects. Here is where the attraction truly shines. After this turn of events, guests pass Indy and head into a giant room where they can see other riders stuck on the same perilous journey. Guests then head into a creepy cave filled with skeletons everywhere. After passing through a bug-filled hallway, guests face a drawbridge and head straight toward other guests, narrowly avoiding a collision.Next, guests encounter a huge snake animatronic and head straight toward a seemingly safe hallway when darts start shooting right over guests’ heads. While many guests would be convinced they are narrowly avoiding being struck with one of these poisonous darts, the effect is achieved through simple blasts of air.Guests eventually stop and can see Indy hanging from a rope at the end of a ramp. While guests may feel the dangers have passed, one final obstacle is heading their way. The famous boulder moment from Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) is recreated. Just as it seems like guests are about to get crushed by the giant rock, the ride vehicle lunges forward and misses the boulder.The Ride’s LegacyCredit: DisneyIndiana Jones Adventure is an icon not just in Disneyland but within all of the Disney parks. The attraction has proved popular enough that a version was built in Tokyo DisneySea.The Indiana Jones property has proved very popular within Disney parks, as attractions based on the film series exist in multiple Disney resorts worldwide. Of course, there is Indiana Jones Adventure in Disneyland and another version of the same ride in Japan.Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World offers guests the fantastic Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular show. Disneyland Paris also has its own Indy-based ride called Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril.Have you had the chance to experience Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland? What do you think about the attraction? Let us know in the comments below!The post Things You Didn’t Know About Disneyland’s Infamous ‘Indiana Jones’ Ride appeared first on Inside the Magic.