Mayan Pyramid Sections Installed for Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Construction on Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent is reaching new heights at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, with large sections of the attraction’s Mayan-inspired pyramid now installed at the Tropical Americas construction site. New aerial photos captured by @bioreconstruct show that the decorative facade on the new Indiana Jones attraction is starting to come together.

The newly installed pieces feature extensive Maya-inspired carvings, weathered stone textures, and bright colors such as red stone with decorative scroll details covered in bright blue paint and earthy tones. These colorful prefabricated temple pieces were sculpted and painted over several months at the Disney Imagineering offices backstage near Animal Kingdom. Pre-fabricating themed elements off-site allows finish work to happen in parallel with the structural build rather than after it, saving significant time on the primary job site.

A crane recently placed these sections high above the attraction building onto rockwork forms and steel framing. Openings visible near the top of the structure were used to attach cables during the lifting process. Currently, only the top and bottom third of the temple have received the new facade sections, while the middle section remains a barebones structure, and crews continue working on steel framing and large areas of rockwork below the completed sections.

The new Indiana Jones attraction replaces DINOSAUR as part of Disney’s transformation of DinoLand U.S.A. into Tropical Americas. Much of the surrounding area of the former DinoLand U.S.A. has been dug up with piles of dirt everywhere and sections cordoned off with orange construction webbing. Tropical Americas is scheduled to open at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 2027.

When it opens, the new ride will feature an original Indiana Jones story created specifically for Disney’s Animal Kingdom rather than being a clone of the similar ride in Disneyland. Guests will rendezvous with Dr. Jones, whose likeness as the character will be modeled by Harrison Ford for the attraction’s Audio-Animatronics figure. The adventure takes place near a once water-filled underground cave called a cenote, where local legend says the passageway leads to the Maya Underworld and is protected by a serpentine creature known as the Tsukán. Riders will be sucked through a portal to the Underworld, where they must escape perilous dangers including monstrous bats, larger-than-life scorpions, fire and flame, snakes, and a major confrontation with a gigantic Audio-Animatronic Tsukán figure that will tower over riders.