New Indiana Jones Ride at Animal Kingdom Named — Jade Serpent

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Harrison Ford is the animatronic. Disney revealed the name and full storyline of the new Indiana Jones attraction coming to Tropical Americas at Disney’s Animal Kingdom — Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent — and Ford himself confirmed his likeness is being used.

It’s the first time Harrison Ford’s likeness will appear on a Disney attraction anywhere in the world.

Here’s the full story, the creature, and the cultural consultation behind it.

Quick Summary

• The ride is called Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent
• Harrison Ford is the model for the Indiana Jones Audio-Animatronics figure
• The story follows Indy into a Maya temple built near a cenote
• A serpentine creature called the Tsukán guards the passage to the Maya Underworld
• Imagineers worked with archaeologists, anthropologists, and Maya experts
• It opens in Tropical Americas in 2027, replacing DINOSAUR

Harrison Ford Is the Animatronic

Ford himself delivered the news via a message to the D23 audience.

He confirmed he is the actual model for the Indiana Jones Audio-Animatronics figure — the first time his likeness will appear on a Disney attraction anywhere in the world.

Imagineers followed up by displaying the digital model being used to build the figure.

Why That’s a Genuine First

This deserves emphasis because it’s easy to assume it already happened.

Disneyland’s Indiana Jones Adventure opened in 1995 and has never used Ford’s likeness. The Indy figure in that attraction is deliberately non-specific — shadowed, obscured, or positioned at angles that avoid a direct facial read. Disney had the license to the character but not the actor.

Getting Ford’s actual likeness is a separate negotiation from licensing Indiana Jones, and one Disney has apparently never closed until now. Ford recording a message to announce it himself suggests genuine participation rather than a rights transaction.

The Storyline

You rendezvous with Dr. Jones as he explores a mysterious ancient Maya temple built near a cenote — a water-filled underground cave.

Local legend holds that the passage leads directly to the Maya Underworld, protected by a serpentine creature called the Tsukán.

Things go sideways fast. Riders are pulled through a portal into the Underworld, where the dangers include:

• Monstrous bats
• Giant scorpions
• Fire and flame
• Snakes — lots of snakes

The Tsukán appears throughout the attraction, building to a final confrontation that Imagineer Chris Beatty described as something that will likely cement a fear of snakes permanently.

A first look at the creature’s Audio-Animatronics figure was shown at D23, revealing just how large it is — completely towering over the Imagineers working on it. The figure is being sculpted by hand to make it as lifelike as possible.

The Snake Payoff Writes Itself

Building an Indiana Jones attraction whose climax is an enormous serpent is the most obvious possible choice, and it’s the correct one.

“Snakes. Why’d it have to be snakes?” is among the most quoted lines in the franchise. An attraction ending with Indy and the guest facing a serpent the size of the show building is the payoff to a forty-five-year running joke.

The cenote setting is equally well chosen. Cenotes are real sinkholes in the Yucatán Peninsula, and the Maya regarded them as literal entrances to Xibalba, the underworld. That isn’t invented mythology dressed up — it’s the actual belief system.

The Cultural Consultation

The attraction is set within the world of the ancient Maya, consistent with Animal Kingdom’s commitment to authentic storytelling.

The project team has worked with archaeologists, anthropologists, and Maya experts to make sure every element accurately reflects the region and its culture.

Imagineers described the Maya artwork inside the attraction as highly detailed and original.

Why This Matters Here Specifically

Worth acknowledging directly: an Indiana Jones attraction set in Maya culture carries risk that a generic adventure setting wouldn’t.

The franchise has a complicated history with how it depicts non-Western cultures. Temple of Doom in particular is widely criticised for its portrayal of India, and the archaeologist-as-adventurer archetype rests on a colonial premise that has aged poorly.

Building a whole attraction on Maya cosmology means engaging with that. Consultation with archaeologists, anthropologists, and Maya experts is the right process, and the emphasis on original artwork rather than pastiche suggests it’s being taken seriously.

Whether it lands is a 2027 question. The stated approach is sound. Execution gets judged later.

The Tsukán is a real element of Yucatec Maya tradition rather than an invention, which supports the claim that the consultation is substantive rather than decorative.

Where It’s Being Built

The attraction sits within Tropical Americas, the new land coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 2027.

It replaces DINOSAUR, which closed in January 2024.

The temple facade is already under construction — aerial photos have shown significant progress on the former DINOSAUR building, with new structural steelwork rising at the entrance and extending above the existing building.

Imagineers confirmed at D23 that construction of the temple entrance is underway, and gave audiences a behind-the-scenes look at the facade for the first time.

Reusing the DINOSAUR Building

The former DINOSAUR building has good bones for this. That attraction used an enhanced motion vehicle system running through a dark, tight, twisting course with abrupt movements and sudden reveals.

A temple full of hazards with something hunting you in the dark maps onto that layout naturally, and reusing the ride infrastructure lets Disney spend the budget on story, scenery, and the Tsukán rather than rebuilding from scratch.

The Bottom Line

Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent is the official name of the new Animal Kingdom attraction, featuring the first Harrison Ford likeness on any Disney attraction worldwide.

The story sends guests through a Maya temple near a cenote into the Underworld, pursued by the Tsukán — a hand-sculpted serpent animatronic that towers over the Imagineers building it.

It opens in Tropical Americas in 2027, replacing DINOSAUR, with the temple facade already rising.

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