Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye

Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye
History
Opening date	March 4, 1995
Description
Land	Adventureland
Park	Disneyland
Attraction type	Motion-simulated dark ride
Connection Status	Retconned, through references at other attractions

Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye is a dark ride attraction at Disneyland, located in Adventureland. It was the second Indiana Jones attraction to open at the Disney parks, the first dark ride based on the series, and the third collaboration between Walt Disney Imagineering and George Lucas.

Background

In 1935, Indiana Jones discovered the location of the Temple of the Forbidden Eye - an ancient Bengalese temple to the deity Mara. They are said to give gifts to all who enter the temple, provided they never look into their eyes. When money ran short for the excavation, Indy’s friend, Sallah, began offering tours of the temple to raise funds. As guests went missing, Indy went into the temple to look for them, hoping to find the Jewel of Power in the process. A week passed, and he had not returned. Indy’s colleague and friend, Marcus Brody, asked Sallah to keep the tours running, in hopes that they’d find him.

Attraction Experience

Queue/Pre-Show

Guests enter the queue outside, weaving around the excavation site before entering the Temple of the Forbidden Eye. Many of the props outside were used in the films, like the truck and the mine car. Depictions of Mara can be found on the temple walls, along with hieroglyphic letters spelling out different phrases. Cards were once given out to guests to decipher the phrases, but they are no longer available - though they can be easily found online. Interactive elements can be found throughout the temple, such as a rope to pull on or traps to trigger.

The line leads to a screening room, where a newsreel plays while guests wait to board. It talks about the discovery of the temple and all of the tourism it’s brought to the Lost River Delta area.

After the newsreel, Sallah welcomes guests into the temple. He gives the safety instructions - put all carry-on items into the pouch, buckle the safety belt, and keep hands, arms, feet, and legs inside of the car. He warned guests not to look into Mara’s eyes, before he sent them on their way. The queue continues, passing by Indy’s office, until reaching the loading station.

The Attraction

Once guests board the vehicles, it moves deeper into the temple, reaching the Chamber of Destiny. Mara decides which gift they will bestow, before entering the Hall of Promise. Their dialogue is different, depending on which gift they receive - eternal youth, earthly riches, and omnipotence. However, it’s no use, as the guests look into the idol’s eyes. Mara sends them into the Gates of Doom. The vehicle is sent speeding into another direction, as the halls crumble around them. Indiana Jones is standing at the gates of doom, trying to close them. He scolds the guests for looking into the idol’s eyes, before pointing them in the right direction.

The guests are sent speeding into the darkness, nearly falling into a pit of lava below. A giant statue of Mara sits on the other side of the chamber, making fire materialize around them. The vehicles enter the catacombs, with hundreds of skeletons around them. The vehicle’s headlights go out and they enter complete darkness. When the lights flicker back on, bugs are crawling over the temple walls. They pass onto a wooden bridge, overlooking the lava pit from earlier. The vehicle stalls, and Mara attempts to destroy the bridge, but they escape just in time.

Guests enter a chamber of snakes, while Indy complains, and are nearly struck by a giant cobra. A mudslide sends the vehicle downwards. They pass into a corridor of statues that shoot darts towards guests.

They come to a stop, when Indy dangles from a rope above. He is about to join the guests, until a large boulder rolls towards them. The vehicle drives backwards, before accelerating forward just in time, barely missing the impact. The guests swerve, before they meet with Indy one last time. The vehicle makes it safely back to the station, where they disembark.

Connections

Jungle Cruise

Skippers will point out the temple, when riding past it at the beginning of the attraction.

Skipper Canteen

After the events of the attraction, Indy wrote a book about the temple, titled The Eye of Mara. A copy of it can be found on a bookshelf just outside of the S.E.A. room.

Skipper Survival Guide

Indy utilized the Jungle Navigation Company’s services to help find the temple, as told through journal entries from the skippers. He finally found the temple on October 29, 1937, and skippers were eager to see how this helped their business.

Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar

A map with Mara's likeness on it is in the Lost & Found of this Disney Springs bar belonging to Indiana Jones' affiliate and SEA member Jock Lindsey. On the map of the bar is also an illustration of the Eye of Mara over India.

Trader Sam’s

A map of the temple can be found at the Enchanted Tiki Bar. Attached to it is a note to Trader Sam from Sallah. He thought that Sam would be interested in showing it to some of his guests, having 'borrowed' it from Indy.

Marcus Brody sent a postcard to Sam, asking if he had seen Indy since he had gone missing, likely while he was still in the temple.

A baggage claim tag from Sallah’s tours is pinned to a wall, heading from the Lost Delta Region to the Amazon Basin.

Trivia

• The ride system was reused for DINOSAUR at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.