Everyone Got Their Whips?

To celebrate the worldwide release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, I thought I would introduce you to the Indiana Jones attraction at Disneyland Parc.

Indiana Jones et la Temple du Péril (& the Temple of Peril) is situated in Adventureland, near the back of the park, and is an outdoor rollercoaster. It opened at the end of July, 1993, and allows guests to be transported into a mining car, travelling through a mysterious and lost temple. DLRPMagic describes the story of the ride as follows:

Walk in the footsteps of Indiana Jones on an unforgettable expedition to a forgotten jungle civilisation. The first expedition to the Temple of Peril departed many many months ago... but they were never seen again.
Approaching the temple, the abandoned base camp and the thick vegetation doesn't look promising. The distant whirring of mine cars draws you closer, as you climb the imposing staircase to the temple entrance, where your adventure into the great unknown of the jungle really begins...
The expedition vehicle climbs the rickety chain lift to the top of the excavation site. Any sign of the first explorers down there? There's no time to even catch your breath - you're hurled suddenly into a twisting, turning, plunging ride around the temple ruins, driven around and around, over and under by the mysterious forces which reside here.
Forget the first expedition, you'll need all the courage of Indiana Jones to make sure you live to tell your own tale...

As you may or may not know, the original ideas for Parc Disneyland was to have a special Indiana Jones dedicated area, which would have had a full size rollercoaster (based on the Temple of Doom), a ride similar to the Indiana Jones ride found in Disneyland, and a Jungle Cruise-style ride. The rollercoaster that was built contains the first with an inversion in any Disney theme park and travels to a height of 52 feet.

During 2000, the attraction operated by going backwards, adding extra seats to the cars and also changing several props and lighting fixtures so as not to ruin the backward effect of the attraction. This also meant that for guests to enjoy the experience, some of the curves and drops had to be "softened". The attraction remained backwards until November 2004, when it was reversed back to its original forwards motion.

I was lucky enough to experience the ride backwards, and I have to say that it was an amazing ride! The unexpected nature of the loop was a ride in itself, and everything was just so much more intense. It's a shame that they have changed it to forwards again, as it takes away the original experience, but it doesn't make the ride any less exciting.

All you Indy fans, don't forget to check out Imaginerding for a look at something very special relating to Disneyland (California) and Main Street Gazette for even more Indy action!

(In the ride pictures, you might be able to see my dad looking up at the camera - and in the other one, you might be able to see me waving at the camera as we climb the hill backwards!)