While some ride refurbishment closures result in very noticeable changes to the guest \u2014 for instance, the recent addition of a face-shifting buccaneer<\/a> on Pirates of the Caribbean, or the temple-shattering projections that were added to Indiana Jones Adventure back in 2023 \u2014 other updates are less visible yet enhance the experience, such as helping to eliminate downtime.<\/p>\n That is the case for Indiana Jones Adventure. Behind-the-scenes engineering modifications over the last year have boosted not only the attraction\u2019s reliability, but allowed its capacity to increase by about 125 people per hour. Ultimately, that allows for about 1,000 more guests per day, says Nicholas DiBernardo, an area manager for Attractions Engineering Services and eight-year veteran of the resort. <\/p>\n A yearly rehab of the ride is required, says DiBernardo, in part because it is one of the resort\u2019s most complex, with many moving show elements. To ensure that it continues to meet the theatrical and safety standards required, it may appear to Disneyland regulars that Indiana Jones Adventure receives tune-ups with more regularity than other rides at the resort.<\/p>\n Nicholas DiBernardo surveys the guest load-in area of Indiana Jones Adventure. DiBernardo, an area manager for Attractions Engineering Services, helped oversee the recent refurb. <\/p>\n (Myung J. Chun \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n When asked whether that\u2019s the reality, DiBernardo answers: \u201cYes and no.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cEvery attraction is different,\u201d he says. \u201cIndiana Jones typically has a refurbishment every year just because of the size of the attraction and the amount of work that goes into keeping this attraction up. It all depends on the needs for improving show quality or maintenance reliability.\u201d<\/p>\n An audio-animatronic figure of Indiana Jones, which was disassembled and rebuilt during the recent refurbishment of the attraction. <\/p>\n (Myung J. Chun \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Two key changes were made to the attraction in 2026. The most recent \u2014 and the reason for the ride\u2019s downtime this fall \u2014 was something of a wishlist item, and that was changing the machinations that drive its first major show scene, the doors that lead guests face-to-face with Mara, the deity within the Temple of the Forbidden Eye that drives the ride\u2019s action. Prior to the refurbishment, the doors were controlled by hydraulic actuators. Now they\u2019re fully electric. In simple terms, DiBernardo says the doors are now easier to maintain, there\u2019s no longer a risk of a hydraulic spill, and they should properly open and close with significantly more dependability.<\/p>\n That may not sound like a sexy ride enhancement, but it\u2019s one that DiBernardo says will ensure Indiana Jones Adventure runs more efficiently. \u201cIn the past, when the old actuators would fail, the doors would have to remain open, ruining the guest\u2019s show experience,\u201d he explains. Not just that, but it slowed down the ride, as fewer cars could be dispatched so riders weren\u2019t seeing the vehicle in front of them. <\/p>\n Nicholas DiBernardo gives a tour of Disneyland\u2019s Indiana Jones Adventure, which just completed a six-week tune-up. <\/p>\n (Myung J. Chun \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Elsewhere, DiBernardo says capacity was able to be increased by improving the loading and unloading process, again a change that will be invisible to guests. Essentially, the vehicles park more accurately. <\/p>\n DiBernardo, who works Disneyland\u2019s third shift from 2 a.m. to 11 a.m., says this adjustment, a mix of hardware and software changes, was made over the course of the past year. The problem, oversimplified: Vehicles did not always park in their precise loading and unloading position. Because a theme park attraction needs to operate with extreme exactness to ensure guest safety, DiBernardo says that before this fix, operators would have to send vehicles through the temple sans guests to reset them. <\/p>\n \u201cThat was a major win for us,\u201d says the lifelong San Pedro resident. The parking issue was completed in May, and it\u2019s changed the ride\u2019s capacity. <\/p>\n Skulls on Indiana Jones Adventure. The area received a cleaning and a lighting refresh. <\/p>\n (Myung J. Chun \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Of course, a huge cause of downtime for a Disneyland attraction is often largely out of the park\u2019s control. It\u2019s us, the guests, who are the problem.<\/p>\n \u201cOur No. 1 downtime driver is guest items,\u201d DiBernardo says. \u201cGuests will be on the attraction, and they\u2019ll have a large water bottle or a backpack. All the vehicles have a pouch for them to store everything, but if they don\u2019t do that, there\u2019s many twists and turns throughout the ride, and those articles can fly out. We\u2019ll have to stop the ride. Not only are we working on ways we can improve maintenance reliability, we\u2019re also working with our operations to help notify guests to store their items.\u201d<\/p>\n Nicholas DiBernardo, who helped lead the recent refurbishment of Indiana Jones Adventure, walks toward Mara, the deity within the Temple of the Forbidden Eye.<\/p>\n (Myung J. Chun \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n To that end, each Indiana Jones Adventure vehicle has been outfitted with new, bigger pouches that should make it easier for riders to dump in their items. All of that should ensure more guests throughout the day can enjoy the attraction, and right now they\u2019ll want to, as all the figures have been dusted, blacklight paint has been reapplied, and the Indiana Jones audio-animatronics have been disassembled and rebuilt. <\/p>\n Walking through the attraction on Thursday, DiBernardo pointed out how all the figures are currently moving with full mobility. The first time we see Indy he\u2019s attempting to force shut a door, one that moves with the figure in front of vibrant animations. Later, he\u2019s hanging over a guest in one of the ride\u2019s grandest illusions, one designed to trick guests into believing the vehicle is reversing (it doesn\u2019t move backward, but rather the walls shift) as a crater of a ball closes in on us. <\/p>\n Walking the track, I noticed many a detail I hadn\u2019t seen on my hundreds of rides on the attraction over the decades. As Indy hovers above us, for instance, his legs and hips subtly shift. Elsewhere in the ride, when a vehicle dips down a hill, it\u2019s actually going down steps. The latter are painted on the track, but DiBernardo notes that over time the cars eventually strip away the paint. I had never seen the stairs. Of course, it\u2019s easy to be distracted by the skull in front of us hovering over a pit of lava, where many of the lights have now been refreshed.<\/p>\n Flames amid a decaying skull on Disneyland\u2019s Indiana Jones Adventure. <\/p>\n (Myung J. Chun \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Indiana Jones Adventure has changed over the years. Some opening day effects are long gone<\/a>, such as the illusion created by actual shifting doors at the start of the attraction, or visions of tumbling rubble near its beginning. But Indiana Jones Adventure remains one of the park\u2019s most detailed attractions, one in which I\u2019m still discovering artistic minutiae more than 30 years after it opened in 1995. And as the recent refurbishment proves, it\u2019s an attraction that remains an ever-evolving work of art.<\/p>\n \u201cThe sky is the limit on what we can also add to this attraction,\u201d DiBernardo teases. But for now, it looks good as new. <\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792752488_606_.jpeg\")
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