Alan U. writes to ask:

Dear Jim,

I live on the East Coast and I am a WDW Trivia buff. I’m always on the lookout for new news on the parks. I would really like to visit Disneyland for one real reason, to ride Indiana Jones. I have looked and looked but I have never found any word on this attraction coming to WDW. Do you have any information on this possibility? Many WDW attractions have been going to Disneyland. Is there any chance of the opposite happening with Indy?

Love the site and Thanks,

Alan Urtz

Alan –

Thanks for your question. Regarding the “Indiana Jones Adventure” coming to Walt Disney World … actually, I do know a little something about those plans. But — tell to that story — I have to tell this story first.

You see, back in early 1994, Michelle Smith (AKA the Fabulous Disney Babe) and I were married and living (somewhat) happily in an apartment complex just down the street from Universal Studios Florida. We had just had our beautiful baby daughter, Alice. All in all, it was a pretty nice time for us. Couple-wise, that is.

Mind you, at the time, I was trying to support our small family through what I was writing. Which — as is probably evident by the poor quality of the prose that I post to this site — meant that we were always teetering on the brink of financial ruin.

Yes, it got pretty stressful at times. But what helped was that we had lots of friends who worked at the Walt Disney World Resort. People who’d regularly invite us to do this extra special, after hours, truly cool behind-the-scenes type stuff. Which would — at least for a while — alleviate the gloom.

One of these nice folks was Cindy S., a long-time Epcot employee as well as an old friend of Michelle’s. One day, Cindy called us up and invited Michelle and I to be her partners in that year’s “Goofy Studio Mystery Tour.”

“And what, pray tell, is a ‘Goofy Studio Mystery Tour’?,” you ask. Well, it’s this great after-hours cast-members-only activity where you wander around the Disney-MGM Studio theme park after dark and try to answer trivia questions as well as solve logic puzzles. You’re competing against 100 other teams (made up of cast members and their friends) for trophies and prizes. Oh … and did I mention that — while you’re trying to complete all of these tasks in under two hours — that you have to remain bungy-corded to your three other team mates?

Okay. I know. That all sounds kind of involved. But trust me on this, kids, the “Goofy Studio Mystery Tour” is really a lot of fun. If you ever get a chance to take part in this event, do it. You won’t be sorry.

Anyway … Michelle and I were just about to take Cindy S. up on her kind offer when we suddenly remembered that we weren’t just Disney dweebs anymore. We were actually parents of a newborn. Which meant that we weren’t really in a position to just charge off into the night and go do something fun, leaving our only-several-months-old-at-the-time daughter behind. To do that would be wrong. Irresponsible. Shamelessly self-indulgent …

Cindy S. interrupted our litany of excuses. “Look, not to worry. Just throw the kid in a snuggly and come out to the event, okay? No one’s gonna gripe if you have an infant there. It’s a family theme park, for Christ’s sake!”

“Come on! It’ll be fun! It’ll get you out of that apartment … Besides, I need you two weenies to help me answer all of those stupid Disney trivia questions … “

Which is how — several nights later — the five of us (Myself, Michelle, Alice, Cindy S. and Arlen M. – if I’m remembering correctly) ended up bungy-ed together, taking part in that year’s “Goofy Studio Mystery Tour.” Alice was stashed safely in a snuggly that was strapped to Michelle’s front. And my darling daughter pretty much slept through the entire event as we raced around New York and Residential Street, answering trivia questions and trying to solve various logic puzzles.

And — just like Cindy said — no one ever made a stink just because we’d brought an infant to this special after-hours cast-members-only event. If anything, the only comment that I ever remember hearing about Alice that entire night (And we must have heard this a couple of dozen times) was: “Hey, that’s a really cute baby that you’ve got there.” (Well, Alice WAS a really cute baby … Anyway …)

That year’s “Goofy Studio Mystery Tour” was a really fun outing for myself and Michelle. And, while we didn’t win, I know that our team did well enough in the overall competition for Cindy to say “Well, we’re definitely all going to have to do this again next year.”

Which is why — 12 months later — we got the call from Cindy S. saying “The ‘Goofy Studio Mystery Tour’ is coming up this month. Can I still count on you guys?” We asked if we could still bring Alice. Cindy said “I don’t see why not … “

Which is why — several weeks later — we threw Alice in a stroller and made our way backstage to Disney-MGM. And we were just seconds away from getting started in that year’s competition when an officious member of the WDW Cast Activities department steps up to us and said “What’s that baby doing here?”

Michelle and I explained that Alice had been part of our team last year. And that — just as we had done during the 1994 version of the “Goofy Studio Mystery Tour” — we planned to have our daughter safely tucked away in a snuggly (with Dad doing snuggly duty this time around) during the competitive portion of the evening. To prove this to the rep, Michelle even pulled out last year’s team photo (which showed Alice smiling broadly). So which is why there shouldn’t be a problem with our daughter being a part of our team now.

The WDW Cast Activities rep (of course) has a very different opinion. He said that for insurance purposes it just wasn’t safe for a baby girl (even if she was going to be safely strapped in a snuggly) to take part in that year’s “Goofy Studio Mystery Tour.” So Alice — and Michelle and I — would have to leave the park immediately. And Cindy’s team — due to a lack of necessary players — would, of course, have to forfeit the game.

My soon-to-be-ex-wife heard this and … well … there’s no other way to describe it, kids: Michelle exploded! She climbed up one side of this poor WDW Cast Activities rep and down the other. “How dare you …” this and “I have never in my life been treated so shabbily in my whole life …” that. All in all, it was a really impressive performance.

Those of you who have made the mistake of going head-to-head with my ex-wife in the JimHillMedia.com discussion boards are already (no doubt) learned of my ex-wife’s awesome fury. This WDW Cast Activities rep certainly became aware of it that evening. The poor slob got the full brunt of it.

Which is why — in a desperate attempt to escape Michelle’s wrath — this WDW Cast Activities rep immediately began back-peddling. “Did I say that Cindy’s team was automatically disqualified? What I meant was that it’s perfectly okay for her team to compete tonight with only three players?”

“And did I say that you three had to leave the park immediately? What I meant was one of you can sit in comfort in one of our backstage conference rooms with your child and watch television while the other takes part in tonight’s ‘Goofy Studio Mystery Tour.’ “

Michelle continued to glower darkly. The WDW Cast Activities rep then squeaked “Snacks. Did I mention that I’d personally be checking in on whoever stays in the backstage conference room and regularly bringing them snacks?”

I know, I know. This wasn’t exactly what either Michelle and I really wanted. But it was better than being tossed out of Disney-MGM for the night. So — as we pushed Alice in her stroller — we followed the WDW Cast Activities Rep (who never did stop apologizing, by the way) to this backstage conference room. As we walked, Michelle and I tried to decide who was going to take part in that night’s activities and who was going to stay behind with Alice

So we enter this darkened conference room. And then the WDW Cast Activities Rep flicks on the lights. And there — on the walls all around us — are the next five year’s worth of expansion plans for Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park. Artwork and blueprints and site plans for “Fantasmic!,” the “Indiana Jones Adventure” and “Journey to the Center of the Earth.” Not to mention that full-sized, double-sided classic drive-in theater that the Imagineers wanted to build in the backmost corner of Disney-MGM’s parking lot, near the Buena Vista Avenue entrance.

Michelle and I just stood there with our jaws agape. The WDW Cast Activities rep asked “Will this room be okay? If not, I’m sure that we could find another … “

“No,” Michelle and I say simultaneously. “This room will be just fine.”

“And I’ll stay with the baby,” I said.

“No, I’ll stay with the baby,” Michelle said.

“No, I’ll stay.”

“No, I’LL stay!”

We bickered back and forth for a bit. But — knowing all too well that it’s not very smart to get Michelle mad — I eventually acquiesced. As I exited the conference room with the WDW Cast Activities rep (Who’s still not finished trying to make my soon-to-be-ex-wife happy, asking “What sort of soda do you like? Do you want juice for the baby? How about cookies?”), I looked over my shoulder to see Michelle — holding Alice in her arms — staring in wonder at the storyboards for the original version of Disney-MGM’s “Fantasmic Hollywood” water pageant. You know, the version of the show that featured a sequence where a full-sized version of the Nautilus did battle with an giant inflatable squid? While Mickey sat on stage — in a Phantom-of-the-Opera costume, no less — and hammered out Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.”

You people ask where I get all of the snazzy information for my stories? Sometimes, it’s just crazy moments like this. When a well meaning person — totally by accident — leads you into the right conference room …

Anyway … getting back to your original question here, Alan. Which was (for those of you who may have forgotten by now): Why doesn’t WDW have its very own version of Disneyland’s popular “Indiana Jones Adventure” attraction yet?

Well, based on those blueprints and sketches that Michelle and I saw that evening back in 1995, WDI had planned to fast-track construction of a Walt Disney World version of this extremely popular Disneyland attraction. The original site plan called for a massive show building to be built right behind the “Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular” amphitheater, effectively creating a mini-Indy-themed land on this side of the park.

And — when I say “massive” — I truly mean massive, folks. The blueprints tacked up to those conference room walls that night showed a structure that extended at least 10 rows out into the pre-existing Disney-MGM parking lot. Concept paintings in that same room showed that the exterior of the structure (the side facing the parking lot, anyway) would have been themed to look like an ancient Mayan temple.

So why did Disney decide not go forward with these plans? Well, some folks at Imagineering will tell you that — just as officials at WDW were about to announce their plans to bring the “Indiana Jones Adventure” to Central Florida — they allegedly began hearing stories about how some Disneyland guests were experiencing weird symptoms as soon as they exited this Adventureland attraction. These isolated cases of neck injuries, blinding headaches and/or bruised ribs were supposedly enough to make senior officials at the Walt Disney Company wonder: Is the “Indiana Jones Adventure” ride really TOO rough? And, if so, why should we be rushing to build another one of these things in Florida?

But other Imagineers will tell you that all of those reports of guests allegedly being injured on Disneyland’s “Indiana Jones Adventure” ride weren’t the REAL reason that plans for another version of this attraction got side-tracked for Disney-MGM. To hear these folks tell it, what actually happened was that the Imagineers who were working on Disney’s Animal Kingdom wanted Indy’s EMV (Enhanced Motion Vehicle) ride system to make its Central Florida debut at their park, NOT Disney-MGM.

Why for? Well — to explain THAT part of the story — we’re going to have to make another digression. (You folks are all seated in comfortable chairs, right? If not, go find a pillow. And maybe a blanket. And — if you’re also in desperate need of a potty break — now’s as good a time as any to take one. Don’t worry. We won’t get started ’til you get back … )

Okay. Everyone comfy now? Then let’s continue …

Why did Disney’s Animal Kingdom need Indy’s EMV system more than Disney-MGM did? Well, to understand that, you have to understand that as that animal-based theme park was being designed, the project underwent repeated reductions in scopes. (“Reduction in scope” — for those of you who don’t know — is an-house WDI term for “cutting money out of the budget.”)

Anyway … the “Dinoland U.S.A.” section of Disney’s Animal Kingdom was really suffering because of all these budget cuts. EX: Did you know that this part of the park was actually originally supposed to have had TWO E-Tickets? A version of “Countdown to Extinction” that was supposed to have used the “Star Tours” simulator technology as well as a massive faux-woodie roller coaster called the “Excavator”?

What do I mean by a “faux-woodie”? Well, are you folks familiar with “California Screamin'” at Disney’s California Adventure theme park? Well, that’s a steel roller coaster that — thanks to its exterior detail and styling — masquerades as a classic wooden roller coaster. DAK’s “Excavator” was supposed to be just like that: a steel roller coaster that — thanks to clever theming — appear to be a woodie.

The storyline behind Dinoland U.S.A.’s cancelled coaster was to have built off of the “Boneyard.” You know, that kiddie play area toward the front of this part of the park where children can climb up, down, in and around a fake archeological dig? Well, the Imagineers had originally envisioned extending these story elements all the way to the back of Dinoland … where we would have found an abandoned part of the dig.

Now, the archeologists were supposed to have stopped digging in this part of the park not because they’d run out of fossils. But rather, because the soil here was just too unstable. Which meant that there was a real danger of cave-ins.

But — if DAK’s guests were to make their way through the “Excavator”‘s queue — they would have found that the ore cars that the archeologists had been using to remove materials from deep inside the dig site were still rolling along their rickety tracks. And if a really brave person were to climb into one of these ore cars, they might be in for an exciting ride through the abandoned portions of the dig site.

Let me clear about this, folks. The “Excavator” was supposed to have been huge. It would have easily towered up over the trees toward the back on Dinoland U.S.A. It would have been one of the very first things that you would have seen as you pulled into DAK’s parking lot. This thrill ride was supposed to have been the “weenie” that would have drawn DAK visitors deep into this portion of the park.

And — as for the simulator version of “Countdown to Extinction” — well … this was actually supposed to have been the next generation of the “Star Tours”-like simulator theater cabs. How so? Well, instead of having one movie screen toward the front of the vehicle, you would have had FOUR movie screens. One to the front, a slightly smaller screen to the left and right as well as an itty-bitty one (similar in design to a moon roof) on the ceiling of the theater cab.

The storyline of this proposed version of the attraction was basically the same as what we’ve got today with “Countdown to Extinction / Dinosaur – The Ride.” You (and 31 of your other close personal friends) journey back in time, precisely three minutes before the giant meteor that strikes the Earth and wipes out the dinosaur hits, to collect specimens.

Only in this version of the show you’re not in a jeep. But rather, you’re traveling inside a modified tank that has a steel cage-like structure overits open front. Which (hopefully) will keep all of the passengers safely inside, protected from those prehistoric lizards.

SLIGHT DIGRESSION HERE: (Which – technically – means that we’re making a digression within a digression. So everyone remember where we parked, okay?) This next generation version of the “Star Tours” ride vehicles was actually created by WDI for a “Roger Rabbit”-themed attraction that was supposed to have been part of the original version of Disney-MGM’s “Sunset Boulevard” expansion area. The “Toontown Transit” ride would have put studio theme park guests on board Gus the Bus with Roger acting as their tour guide. This version of the theater cab (which lacked the moon roof screen on the ceiling) would have given Disney-MGM visitors a spectacular almost-180-degree view out of the front of the car. Which would have really helped pull off that illusion of speed as they went whizzing — totally out of control — down the steep slopes of Mount Toonmore.

Anyway … getting back to our original disgression … your time traveling tank was supposed to have been beamed into the remote past at one set of co-ordinates. DAK guests were then supposed to capture a specimen as they made your way to a second set of co-ordinates, whereupon they would have been beamed back into the present. En route, these Animal Kingdom visitors were (what a surprise) supposed to have been attacked by raptors (who actually appear to leap onto the steel cage toward the front of the vehicle and attempt to bite the guests through the bars), almost crushed under the foot of an ultrasaur and rammed by a herd of startled triceratops.

Mind you, all of this was going to happen on film. With your theater cab moving in perfect synchronization to all the imagery on the surrounding screens. The only audio animatronic figure that DAK guests would have seen in this entire attraction would have been in the post-show area. Where — as visitors exited the building — they would have caught a quick glimpse of a small robotic version of the prehistoric specimen that they supposedly successfully brought back from the past.

Both of these attractions (By that, I mean: The “Excavator” as well as the original version of “Countdown to Extinction”) sound like wonderful rides, don’t they? DAK executive designer Joe Rohde and his team of Imagineers certainly thought so. Which is why they were crestfallen when the word came down from on high that Animal Kingdom’s budget was being cut. Again.

“You can’t have both E-Tickets for Dinoland U.S.A.,” said the accountateers at Imagineering. “You only get to build one of these rides for Phase One of the park. So choose.”

So what did Rohde and his DAK creative team decide to do? They chose … Neither! At least not in their original forms.

What Joe and his crew opted to do instead was keep the original premise of “Countdown to Extinction” but ditch its ride system. Since Dinoland U.S.A. could now only have one E-Ticket, Rohde wanted it to be a real doozy. Which is why he proposed taking the “Indiana Jones Adventure” EMV jeeps and having those roll through a show building that would be filled with full-sized audio animatronic dinosaurs.

As you might imagine, this idea didn’t exactly thrill the accountants at Imagineering (Who were hoping that – by scaling back Dinoland U.S.A. so that it featured just one E-Ticket – they might be able to save the Walt Disney Company a couple of million bucks. Now that Rohde was pitching this elaborate new ride for DAK that would be filled with robotic reptiles, all of those projected cost savings just flew right out the window). Nor were the folks in management at Disney-MGM all that excited when they heard about Joe’s. They knew that if Animal Kingdom got to use the EMV ride system for their “Countdown to Extinction” ride before the studio theme park’s version of the “Indiana Jones Adventure” was built, that meant that DAK would (of course) insist on having an exclusive on this cutting edge technology for at least four or five years. Just so DAK would have a ride that none of the other WDW theme parks had. Which (hopefully) would compel guests to go through the turnstiles and try Animal Kingdom on for size.

The folks at Disney-MGM fought fiercely, insisting that they get first use of the EMV ride system. That Disneyland’s “Indiana Jones Adventure” ride would be a logical addition for their park. Something that the guests would really enjoy riding.

The people in senior management positions at the WDW resort agreed with Disney-MGM’s position. The only problem was … they didn’t really see a reason to rush into constructing a clone of the popular Disneyland thrill ride for the studio theme park. The “Indiana Jones Adventure” attraction would still be a hit with Disney-MGM guests whenever the Walt Disney Company finally let the Imagineers get around to building the thing … be it 2004, 2005, 2006. Whenever.

Which is how “Countdown to Extinction / Dinosaur – The Ride” ended with getting first dibs on using the EMV technology. (If – of course – you’re willing to overlook that the cars that roll through “GM Test Track” at Epcot have a lot of the same properties at the jeeps in Indy. But – hey – I’m digressing again. Let’s see if I can actually wrap this story up, shall we?)

So to finally get around to answering your question, Alan – the “Indiana Jones Adventure” WILL be coming to Florida … eventually. I’m told that the latest timetable shows that a clone of this popular Disneyland ride (which will feature some of the newer ride elements that the Imagineers created for the Tokyo Disney Seas version of the “Indiana Jones Adventure,” AKA “The Temple of the Crystal Skull”) could be up and running as early as 2006 … just in time for Disney World’s 35th anniversary celebration.

Mind you, the smarter money is on the Mouse holding off on making a final decision about building a Disney World version of this Disneyland favorite ’til after management sees how this new “Indiana Jones” movie that Harrison Ford, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas reportedly have in the works does.

Yep, you heard right. A brand new Indiana Jones. To borrow a joke from the late, great Douglas Adams, this as-yet-untitled film will be the fourth in the trilogy. Production is tentatively slated to get underway in the summer of 2004 (Right after Lucas wraps up production and promotion of Episode III of the “Star Wars” saga) using a screenplay that will be written by noted director Frank (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile) Darabont. This much anticipated project even has a tentative release date already: July 1, 2005.

If Indy 4 hits (and hits big), you can anticipate, Alan, that Disney-MGM management and the Imagineers will immediately hit up Disney Company management and say “Look, we’ve waited long enough. DAK’s had an exclusive on that EMV ride system technology for — what? — over seven years now. That’s long enough. Let’s dust off those plans and finally put an ‘Indiana Jones Adventure’ where it’s belonged all along: Out behind the ‘Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular’ at Disney-MGM.”

That answer your question, Alan? Hope so.