Disney Story Behind the Photo: The Time I Was in The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular

by Nick

It was 2011, and Barbie and my first time visiting the The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular.
As we walked towards the front at the far left hand side of the auditorium, the cast was just asking folks if they would like to be in the show.

As we approached our seats, they announced they needed just one more person, as Barbie was sitting down, I started waving and yelled, "Yea, right here."
The announcer turned, looked right at me and said "The man in the blue Disneyland shirt, come on down."  That was me.

The rest is a blur. I remember this, I was asked to do my best ninja pose. Ninja? Uh, ok. My mind went right to the only movie I could immediately think of that contained martial arts, never mind ninjas, and I came up with the Matrix.

As this was my first time seeing the show, and I was the very first person asked to pose, I didn't know I'd be required to HOLD that pose, or I would have picked a much easier one!

After this we were sent to costuming and got to participate in the production. That's me waving below.

It was a lot of fun, and I highly suggest it to anyone. Just, you know, pick an easier pose!

If Indiana Jones Must Leave Disney's Hollywood Studios

 

As we've all heard by now, a Star Wars themed area is coming to Disney's Hollywood Studios. In fact, Lisa, David Hodges and I talk about it on episode 36 of The Disney Exchange Podcast.

What I didn't realize was just how far back the land was being talked about until I read this article from July of 2014! 

I agree with Lisa, they should have something Indy in the park. But I don't think Crystal Skull was THAT bad! -Nick

 

  By Lisa Green: 

 

I am unusually acceptant of change – I mean, more than the average person.  I tend to be a change advocate, if you will, both in my personal and professional life.  Most of the time, I am perfectly fine with and in favor of change – I like new and different things.  Even learning to use new technology is pretty fun.  Let’s talk for a minute about changes at Walt Disney World specifically.  I was totally happy with losing Snow White’s Scary Adventure in favor of the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.  I might have been a tad less accepting of replacing Mr. Toad with Winnie the Pooh, but I got over it.  Let’s not mention the Snow White/Aurora/Fairytale Hall thing, okay?  (That’s the one time I can think of that I was completely opposed to change…best not get going on that again.)  The update to the hub in Magic Kingdom?  Bring it on!  Avatarland, ooops, sorry…Pandora over in Animal Kingdom?  Can’t WAIT!  If the Star Wars expansion in Disney’s Hollywood Studios takes place, I’ll be super excited for that, too.  I like Star Wars a lot.

What I might be sad over, though, is the rumored plan to close the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular.  Now, I don’t know if I really believe that will happen – Disney did purchase the Indiana Jones franchise, right?  Maybe they’ll keep Indy around now, at least in some form or fashion.  I would be all in favor of an update to the stunt show since little, if anything, has changed about the it since its debute in 1989.  The premise of the show is great – it recreates iconic scenes from Raiders of the Lost Ark and explains how the stunts and special effects are created.  There’s action, humor, thrills, and explosions!  What more could you ask for in a 30 minute show?  Plus, there’s that great theme song….it’s the best.

I was 16 In 1981 when Raiders of the Lost Ark opened in theaters.  Indiana Jones was part nerd (hello, college professor) and part superhero.  He was lovably imperfect while clever and strong enough to defeat the villainous Nazis and save both the girl and the treasure.  Hands down, Raiders was one of the best movies I’d ever seen in my short 16 years and I still count it among my all time favorite movies.  Our dog’s name is Henry Jones, Jr. in honor of Indy and his amazing feats of daring do.  I sure will be a little sad at Walt Disney World if Indiana Jones must go, but if that happens, I have faith it will be okay.  Afterall, I understand that Raiders doesn’t mean nearly as much to most folks as it does to me.

But what if….

What if Disney, now that they own the Indiana Jones franchise, reintroduced Indiana Jones in a new way?  What if, like Disney did with Marvel superheros, Indy gets reinvented into an updated, but equally lovable incarnation and has new adventures with awesome story lines?  Like a phoenix from the ashes, the Indiana Jones franchise under Disney’s guidance, could become epic once more (let’s face it, that crystal skull thing was an abomination) – appealing to an entire new generation of fans, thus securing at least some sort of presence in the Studios for many years to come?  Maybe there’s hope for Indy yet!!!

What do you think?  Could there be a future at Walt Disney World for Indiana Jones?

This article was originally posted on Lisa's Living a Disney Life Blog.
She can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LivingaDisLife and on Twitter at @life_of_green

Please be sure to check out Lisa along with me and David Hodges on the aforementioned Disney Exchange Podcast!