''Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!'' is a live amusement show at

Disney's Hollywood Studios Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Based on a concept by M ...

at the

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. Based on the popular and successful ''Indiana Jones'' film franchise, it includes various stunts and live reenacted scenes from the series's first film, ''

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. It stars Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ron ...

''. It is executive produced by George Lucas and directed by

Jerry Rees Jerry W. Rees (born November 15, 1956) is an American film director and animator, best known for the Emmy-nominated animated film ''The Brave Little Toaster'' (1987) and creating many of the visual effects for the cult classic ''Tron'' (1982). E ...

, with stunt coordination by Glenn Randall. As part of the show prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, selected audience members 18 and older were invited to participate as extras in certain scenes.

Show experience

''Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!'' is based on many of the popular stunt scenes from ''

''. The show uses various pyrotechnic devices which are incorporated into several of the stunts. The action starts with Indy braving dangers in a recreation of the Peruvian temple scene from the beginning of the movie. Dangerous spikes, false floors and ancient booby traps test the archaeologist's skills before he attempts to make a getaway with the golden idol. The stunt show then moves on to the busy and audience-participant filled streets of

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

. Indy and Marion watch street

acrobats Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in acr ...

before events take a turn for the worse and a massive fight scene breaks out. The Cairo street scene concludes with Indy shooting at a Jeep loaded with explosives, producing a fiery conclusion. The final scene of the stunt show recreates the action-packed sequence in which Indy and Marion try to stop the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

from flying the Ark to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. The reenactment is complete with a scaled-down version of a German

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

aircraft with ''

Balkenkreuz The ''Balkenkreuz'' () is a straight-armed cross that was first introduced in 1916–1918 and later became the emblem of the ''Wehrmacht'' (German Armed Forces) and its branches from 1935 until the end of World War II. It was used by the '' Wehr ...

'' (swastikas were used in the show up until the 2000s). Indy fights a large German mechanic while Marion operates the aircraft's machine gun, blowing away enemies in sight. Indy and Marion are able to make a narrow escape as the airfield is engulfed in flames. Along with the former Superstar Television and Monster Sound Show, ''The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!'' is a show that relies on audience participation as part of the show's entertainment. Volunteers are chosen from the crowd to perform in the Cairo street scene though they safely stay away from the real stunt work. Along with the audience, one real stunt actor

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclu ...

is chosen from the audience to do ''real'' work, a fact that has become common knowledge after the many years that the attraction has been open (the plant is usually a man in a loud Hawaiian shirt).

History

The show opened on August 25, 1989, as the first ''Indiana Jones'' attraction at a Disney park, and was put on a six-month hiatus in 2000 for refurbishing. In 2004, the Nazi

swastikas The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...

on German trucks, aircraft, and actor uniforms were removed and replaced by a ''

''. This is the first theme park attraction to use a computer-based

show control Show control is the use of automation technology to link together and operate multiple entertainment control systems in a coordinated manner. It is distinguished from an entertainment control system, which is specific to a single theatrical depart ...

system in conjunction with a custom made programmable logic controller system to trigger, control and sequence complex live events in real time, controlled by the actors in many cases. All other effects are triggered by a cast member at the booth. The original control system was based on the Amiga computer with software by Richmond Sound Design Ltd. The show is consistently upgrading its electronics and computer elements to keep it up to date. This began a trend in live stunt shows with both Walt Disney World and

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

opening many more similar attractions over the next eight years.

Incidents

On August 17, 2009, 30-year-old stunt performer Anislav Varbanov died from a head injury after rehearsing a gymnastic tumble for the show.

2020 labor dispute

When Walt Disney World reopened in July 2020 following the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

shutdown, all stage shows such as ''

Finding Nemo – The Musical ''Finding Nemo – The Musical'' is a live puppet and musical stage show based on Disney/Pixar's 2003 film ''Finding Nemo'', located at the Theater in the Wild in DinoLand U.S.A at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World in Orlando, Flori ...

'', ''Beauty and the Beast'': Live on Stage, ''

Festival of the Lion King There have been seven theme park live adaptations of ''The Lion King'' at Disney parks since the animated film ''The Lion King'' was released by Walt Disney Animation Studios in 1994. These have included a parade, two theater-in-the-round shows, ...

'', and the ''Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!'' had remained closed due to a dispute between the

Actors' Equity Association The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing those who work in live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage productions without a boo ...

and Walt Disney World over allowing performers to wear face masks and providing regular testing.

Merchandise

The ''Indiana Jones'' show has two merchandise stores which sell ''Indiana Jones'' merchandise and apparel. The truck-shaped merchandise store is located at the attraction's exit, while the much larger ''Indiana Jones Adventure Outpost'' is located nearby, past the Prime Time Café.Information on Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular! http://allearsnet.com/tp/mgm/m_indiana.htm

References

External links

Walt Disney World Resort - Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!
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