Monday, August 16, 2021

Indiana Jones and the Mysterious Shoes


In June 2008, I was riding the Indiana Jones Adventure attraction when the ride closed down. Our vehicle was stuck underneath Indy, just before the boulder came rolling towards us. I was in hog heaven when the lights came on and I immediately started snapping pictures!


As I was recently going through and re-processing some of those shots, I noticed something curious on the soles of Indiana’s shoes. Zooming in, it would appear that there are speakers there.


It would make sense, since the animatronic figure dangles above the vehicle for a few seconds before it takes a plunge downward. This particular face sculpt has got to be one of the worst in the history of Disney animatronics.



Not so scary with the lights on.


Yup. Awful. As if poor Harrison’s face had been stretched out like “Brazil.”


In case you don’t ‘“get” the reference…




You can see the hood of the vehicle and Indy’s shoes above:


A second closeup of the mysterious circles on the soles of his shoes. They don’t quite look like a Hidden Mickey:


One more of the boulder:


A parting shot as we walked off the attraction. Bye, bye, Indy!


See more Indiana Jones Adventure attraction photos at my main website.

12 comments:

Fifthrider said...

Sneakers with speakers, perfect for treasure seekers. I always wondered why ( as you pass under Jones ) you could hear sound coming from him, not just audio in the ride vehicle. I assumed his speakers were in the walls around him but no, those heels just have to be speaker openings. That face puts the Ellen DeGeneres animatronic ( previously regarded as the least resemblance to the source person ) to shame. That face doesn't even look like it's the same heritage.

Nanook said...

That face sculpture appears as if it was based on a poorly-executed action figure, rather than of Harrison Ford. (Perhaps the focus was on his special shoes with 'speaker heels'). Thanks for grabbing these great 'behind-the-scenes' shots.

Irene said...

It looks to me like they had an extra head laying around, perhaps meant for Pirates, and used it inside. "What the heck, let's use it! No one's going to see it in the dark" Hahahaha

Damon said...

If I remember correctly, they weren't allowed to use Harrison Ford's likeness.

Daveland said...

D - I believe you are partially correct, but a number of years ago they did change the sculpt and the last time I went it looked not only more like a human but actually like Harrison Ford.

Anonymous said...

Hmmm, looks like the stunt man was the sole survivor...

Dave, I love the "lights on" pics, thank you.

I got some good shots several years ago inside Space Mountain. Not only does it look like a grubby warehouse, you could see the floor with scattered baseball caps, sunglasses, etc.

JG

"Lou and Sue" said...

Dave, this is a fun discovery! Am glad your car stopped here and you were ready to snap some great shots we would have never seen, otherwise!

Dreemfinder said...

It's true... When the Indiana Jones Adventure opened, Disney did not have the rights to use Harrison Ford's image in the ride. Instead, the figure was modeled on actor Vaughn Armstrong, best known for his work on the Star Trek franchise. At a party/reunion of our LACC Theatre Academy, Vaughn told me he was later replaced with the current figure - one modeled on Ford's performance.

https://moviefit.me/persons/8684-vaughn-armstrong

Jake Hornet said...

Greetings! Those are not speakers. They are the holes where they screw the shoes to the animatronic. The speaker is actually in front of the animatronic but a few feet ahead and in the ceiling. The real mystery is what brand the shoes are. In 2011 they got rid of these and replaced them with generic looking hiking books that really do not fit the timeline of the ride and the style of shoe Indy wears.

Jake Hornet said...

And I forgot to add, that the holes are covered with, possibly, some type of putty so it's easy to remove and update the clothing whenever refurbs occur and other enhancements.

Daveland said...

Thanks for the info, Jake!

Jake Hornet said...

Of course!!