At a glance
The coaster is directly inspired by the cult mine-cart chase in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). The adventure starts in the queue: you walk through an abandoned archaeologists’ camp, strewn with Jeeps, crates, notebooks and forgotten tools, before climbing a staircase to the temple entrance. The story is simple: Indiana Jones has built a railway to carry his archaeological finds and invites you to take the tracks. Except the mine cart quickly runs off course, and the temple turns into a wild race through the ruins, hurtling down slopes, round tight bends and through dark tunnels before flipping upside down in a loop hidden in the scenery.
On the technical side, it’s a 566-metre coaster, 18 metres high, reaching 58 km/h (36 mph), and the first Disney coaster in the world with a 360-degree inversion, two years before Space Mountain.
The temple is dedicated to the god Shiva, with the cobra Naga visible here and there, a nod to Indy’s fear of snakes.
The roughest coaster in the park. A mine-cart ride through a ruined archaeological site, with sharp bends, a fast drop and an unexpected vertical loop. The jungle-covered temple setting is particularly well done. Single Rider often cuts the wait, which is handy as the jolts can surprise unprepared visitors.
History
Opened on 30 July 1993 in the presence of George Lucas, a year after the park opened, the ride was conceived as part of the Added Capacity Program to take pressure off Big Thunder Mountain, then the park’s only rollercoaster. Originally planned as a temporary ride until Space Mountain arrived, its success made it permanent. It’s the only Disney rollercoaster based on Indiana Jones. The versions in Anaheim (1995) and at Tokyo DisneySea (2001) are dark rides of a different kind.
Between April 2000 and December 2004, the ride ran backwards as Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril: Backwards!, until the jolts, judged too harsh, brought the experience to an end.
Discover the full story of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril.
Technical data
- Top speed
- 58 km/h
- Duration
- 1 min 14
- Length
- 600 m
- Opened
- 1993
- Type Roller coaster
- Opening date 30 July 1993
- Duration 1 min 14
- Top speed 58 km/h (36 mph)
- Maximum height 18 m
- Number of inversions 1
- Track length 600 m
- Number of trains 6
- Cars per train 2
- Riders per car 6
- Riders per train 12
- Hourly capacity 1,472 people/hour
- Minimum height 1.40 m
- Design Walt Disney Imagineering
- Manufacturer Intamin
- Engineer Werner Stengel
Theme & story
Levels & accessibility
- Fear level moderate
- Thrill level big thrills
- Emotional impact moderate
- Perceived wait moderate
- Minimum height 1.40 m
- Recommended age teens, adults
- Wheelchair access must transfer from wheelchair
- Suitable for pregnant visitors
Premier Access, Single Rider, PhotoPass
Skip the regular queue whenever you like. Handy in peak season, when the wait often goes over 60 minutes.
"Single rider" queue: you fill the empty single seats, often much faster than the regular queue.
No PhotoPass on this ride.
Not open during Extra Magic Time: it opens at the same time as the park.
Who it’s for
Pros and cons
Strong points
- Carefully themed queue
- The only outdoor loop in Disneyland Park
- A historic Disneyland Park coaster
Weak points
- Sharp jolts for your back and neck, a short ride, no storytelling during the ride
My verdict
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril is the only outdoor loop in Disneyland Park and also the roughest coaster in the resort. The mine cart races through sharp bends and a fast drop at 58 km/h (36 mph), on a short 1 min 14 ride through an archaeological dig setting. The thrills are straightforward, with no onboard storytelling, but the queue is beautifully themed. Minimum height: 140 cm, which makes it one of the most restrictive coasters in the park for families.
It’s one of my personal favourites in Adventureland, but I’ll warn you: you need to like being shaken about. My insider tip is to press your head firmly against the headrest from the start: it makes all the difference for your neck and ears. If your children aren’t tall enough, ask for a Rider Switch (formerly Baby Switch) ticket at the entrance, so both parents can ride in turn without queuing again. And if you don’t mind riding alone, Single Rider saves loads of time at peak times. If the temple’s backstory intrigues you, Disneyland Paris has published a video telling the ride’s full story on its YouTube channel.
Julie’s tip
Best time to visit
Calculated from the ride’s queue time history, updated every day.
Map & getting there
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril is at the far end of Adventureland, between Pirates of the Caribbean and Adventure Isle.
Your questions about this ride
01 How can you avoid long queues for the most popular rides?
To avoid long queues at Disneyland Paris, I combine several tactics. First, Single Rider is free and really speeds things up on the rides that offer it, including Crush’s Coaster, Flight Force, Ratatouille and Spider-Man, as long as you’re happy not to ride with your group. Next, Disney Premier Access is a paid service that gives you priority access to the headline rides. If you’re staying in a Disney hotel, Extra Magic Time lets you into the park before official opening, and it’s the best time to ride the popular attractions back to back without queuing. Finally, heading to the most popular rides during a parade or a big show empties the queues considerably.
02 Are the queue times shown in the park reliable?
Yes, the queue times shown in the app or on the screens around the park are generally reliable. They’re often the same as, or slightly longer than, the real wait, which helps you plan your day better.
03 How can I find out if a ride will be closed for refurbishment during my trip?
Disneyland Paris publishes the list of rides closed for refurbishment on its official website, several weeks in advance. Because the parks are open all year round, the maintenance teams sometimes work on days when the parks are open, which leads to temporary closures. My advice: check this calendar (or the one on my blog) before booking, especially if there’s one particular ride you really care about.
04 What are the minimum heights for each ride at Disneyland Paris?
Here are the minimum heights for the thrill rides at Disneyland Paris. In Disneyland Park: Autopia 0.81 m, Star Tours and Big Thunder Mountain 1.02 m, Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain 1.20 m, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril 1.40 m. In Disney Adventure World: Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop 0.81 m, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 1.02 m, Crush’s Coaster 1.07 m, Avengers Assemble: Flight Force and RC Racer 1.20 m. The other rides have no height restrictions, which makes them ideal for families with young children.
05 Which rides have loops or inversions at Disneyland Paris?
Three rides at Disneyland Paris have inversions. Avengers Assemble: Flight Force, in Avengers Campus, is an indoor launched rollercoaster with inversions, all in the dark. Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain, in Discoveryland, is also an indoor launched rollercoaster with inversions, with a space theme. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril has an outdoor loop. If you love big thrills, these are really the three to try first. The minimum height is 1.20 m for the first two and 1.40 m for the last one.
