Disney World reveals stunning“ Indiana Jones” ride starring Indy in 'completely new story' at Animal Kingdom

"Indiana Jones" star Ke Huy Quan helped Disney announce a new Indy ride set to replace DinoLand U.S.A. at Animal Kingdom alongside a new "Encanto" ride.

Disney World is finally whipping itself into action with a new Indiana Jones ride set to replace the fan-favorite Dinosaur attraction at the resort's Animal Kingdom park.

Oscar-winning actor Ke Huy Quan, whose first film role was as Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, made a surprise appearance Saturday night at Disney's D23 convention in Anaheim, Calif., to help Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D'Amaro announce that the 26-year-old Dinosaur thrill ride will close to make room for a new Indiana Jones attraction. The new ride will open as part of Animal Kingdom's planned Tropical Americas section, with the existing DinoLand U.S.A. section of the wildlife-centered park to close forever to make way for the new section's 2027 opening.

Quan received a sustained ovation from the crowd after he conducted a live orchestra in a performance of John Williams' iconic Indiana Jones score, before D'Amaro took over to reveal details about the new Indy attraction coming to Disney World.

"Construction on this 11-acre section of the park is set to begin this fall," D'Amaro confirmed, adding that he wanted fans to be able to experience Dinosaur "one last time" before it goes extinct.

"This is going to be a completely new story from any other Indiana Jones attraction we have in the world," said Bruce Vaughn, Disney's head of Imagineering, after joining D'Amaro on stage.

As the fourth overall ride themed to the Harrison Ford-starring, Steven Spielberg-directed Indiana Jones film series at Disney parks around the world, D'Amaro revealed that the new ride will follow the fictional archaeologist on a brand new adventure after he discovers a preserved Mayan temple that's home to a mythical creature and (possibly) snakes.

The Tropical Americas land will also host Disney's first-ever Encanto-themed ride, with guests boarding vehicles that travel through the film's quirky Casita, where Antonio's special gift — the ability to talk to animals — comes in handy as guests venture through his room after it transforms into a rainforest.

Dinosaur and DinoLand U.S.A. opened alongside Animal Kingdom — the Walt Disney World Resort's fourth theme park — on April 22, 1998, under the original title Countdown to Extinction. Following the release of Disney's animated Dinosaur movie, Countdown to Extinction was renamed to better promote the 2000 feature, and has remained a popular ride among park guests ever since.

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The Dinosaur ride system is the same one used on Disneyland's Indiana Jones ride, the Indiana Jones Adventure, which opened in California in 1995 (with an updated version opening at Tokyo DisneySea in 2001). Earlier, Disney opened its Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril roller coaster at Disneyland Paris in 1993, though that wasn't the first overall Indiana Jones attraction to debut at a Disney park. Disney World's Hollywood Studios park opened its Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! live show in 1989, back when the show operated under its Disney-MGM Studios name.

In a November interview with Entertainment Weekly at the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland's new World of Frozen-themed land, D'Amaro teased that his team was looking into expanding the Indiana Jones franchise's presence at Disney World.

"I think I actually played some music, didn't I?" D'Amaro joked at the time, referencing his Destination D23 presentation in September 2023 during which he revealed concept artwork showing off an Indiana Jones-inspired temple in place of the existing Dinosaur ride, while Williams' Indiana Jones score played overhead.

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"We've got so many stories to tell, we have so many things we want to make even better in the theme parks. My plan is to continue to share that with the guests. I know people are like, 'My gosh, I can't believe he's saying this. Is he serious, is he not?' The answer is, we are absolutely serious," he continued, pointing to the company's intention to spend roughly $60 billion on its global properties over the next decade. "We know what this business is capable of, we know what our fans expect of us, and we're going all in. You're going to see more and more of that. As we make our way through some of these ideas, some of them will become real, and we'll say that's specifically what we're going to do, but I want our guests to be on the journey with us."

He also told EW he didn't anticipate that adding new intellectual properties to Animal Kingdom would clash with its core themes of wildlife and preservation.

"Animal Kingdom is about exploration and adventure," he stated. "I was fortunate enough to have run that theme park, so I know how special it is, and I think there are a lot of stories that we can stay true to Animal Kingdom and express new properties in there, and that's what you see us starting to do."

See images from the new attractions above.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.