Indiana Jones et le Temple du Péril is a roller coaster attraction at Disneyland Park. It opened on 30 July 1993. Based on the Indiana Jones films, guests are taken on an adventure riding in a mining train through a lost temple. The attraction was sponsored by Esso.
History
Years before Indiana Jones et le Temple du Péril opened in 1993, an Indiana Jones themed attraction had been on the drawing boards, but due to Euro Disney Resort's ongoing financial difficulties, the attraction was retooled. Originally, guests would have been able to experience a full-scale Indiana Jones land-within-a-land, featuring a huge mine cart roller coaster based on the famous sequence from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The ride would have taken guests through wild jungles, around the lost temple and inside a large showbuilding for the mine chase scenes. Rumours often circulate of other attractions to have been included in the area, such as Disneyland's EMV Indiana Jones Adventure and a new Jungle Exploration attraction based on the classic Jungle Cruise. Indiana Jones et le Temple du Péril is the first ever Disney roller coaster to feature an inversion and the first ever Disney thrill ride to have a track gauge wider than 50 inches at 55 inches. Ultimately, the constrained budgets and requirement for a high-thrill attraction brought the birth of Indiana Jones et le Temple du Péril, a looping coaster produced by Intamin of Switzerland. Giovanola is subcontractor. Despite lacking an indoor show building and the same scale as its "blue sky" predecessor, the final attraction stays true to the heavy theming of the original plans, with enough landscaping, winding paths and lush vegetation. In summer 1993 the emergency brakes locked on during a ride. Some people were hurt and the attraction was temporarily shut down for investigations. Originally there were torches illuminating the stairway at night but they were removed in 2000. The Temple du Péril was the first roller coaster in a Disney theme park with an inversion. It also has the highest height requirement of any Disney theme park attraction in the world, though it is no longer the most intense.
Backwards
Seeking a new attraction to market for their 2000 season and wanting to bring more interest back to the attraction, the Imagineers of Disneyland Paris embarked on an ambitious project to create Indiana Jones et le Temple du Péril: Backwards!. In addition to removing the bodies of each train from their chassis and reversing them, the team added an extra two seats to each car, bringing the total for each two-car train from 8 to 12. Lighting and props had to be reversed throughout the ride to ensure guests did not see any signs of "backstage", and the track of the roller coaster itself even had to be altered and reprofiled at some points. Since guests travelling backwards are unaware of upcoming curves and drops, their bodies are unable to prepare for the movement. This meant some of the sharper drops and curves had to be "softened" to make the attraction a smoother experience. The reconfigured attraction reopened on 1 April 2000. On 27 November 2004, the attraction was "reversed" once more to return the trains to their original forward direction.
2014 refurbishment
The ride was closed on 7 January 2014 for a major refurbishment, which includes partially demolishing and rebuilding the structure and track with more durable materials to keep the ride safe and secure. Rumours also suggested that the rebuilt attraction might have been slightly different from the original 1993 plans to make way for future rides at the resort. The ride reopened on May 28, 2014, and in the end remained identical to the original plans but with a slightly larger loop and structures designed with real stone.
The experience
The attraction is designed around the theme of an expedition to the lost Temple of Peril. The queue wanders through an abandoned base camp, meandering toward the temple where guests climb a staircase to the temple entrance. Inside the temple, guests board a mine car. According to Disney ImagineerTony Baxter, "Temple du Péril is a traditional roller coaster attraction; the roller coaster cars, which are supposed to be mine cars, are going up and down over the surface of the temple, clearing debris or putting back the artifacts and so forth. It's a very simple little premise. Then the car seems to go out of control and upside down during its trip around the various temple pieces."
Ride layout
The track layout of the attraction is based on the layout of the first looping roller coaster built by the Pinfari company. Pinfari called this a TL-59, the TL stands for "The Loop" and the 59 is for the ride's 59m width. This Intamin version copies the course but uses a track style which is unique to Intamin. The style and basic design of this attraction was used as the inspiration and basis for the Tokyo DisneySea coaster Raging Spirits.
