Harrison Ford last played Indiana Jones on the big screen three years ago, but Disney is giving his version of the character a new home and a distinction the actor has never had before.
Disney revealed at D23 on August 15 that Ford, 84, is the actual model for an Indiana Jones Audio-Animatronics figure being created for Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom. As Just Jared reported, it marks the first time Ford himself has served as the model for an Indiana Jones figure in a Disney attraction.
Ford delivered the news in a prerecorded message to the D23 audience. “I’m the actual model,” he said before promising, “I’m coming to Walt Disney World soon.”
The figure will appear in Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent, a new attraction coming to the Tropical Americas section of Animal Kingdom. The 11-acre land is scheduled to open in 2027 on the site of the former DinoLand U.S.A.
Ford Will Be the Face Guests See Inside the Attraction
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The significance goes beyond simply adding another Indiana Jones figure to a Disney ride. According to the official Disney Parks Blog, Ford confirmed that this will be the first time his face has been used in a Disney attraction anywhere in the world.
Imagineers also unveiled the digital model being used to construct the Audio-Animatronics figure. Disney’s announcement focused on Ford serving as the physical model and did not say whether he has recorded new dialogue for the attraction.
The project comes three years after Ford last played the archaeologist on screen in 2023’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Disney is placing his familiar version of Dr. Jones at the center of an original theme-park adventure.
The New Story Sends Indiana Jones Into the Maya Underworld
The attraction is not a recreation of one of Ford’s films. Disney says guests will rendezvous with Dr. Jones as he explores a mysterious ancient temple near a cenote, described in the ride’s story as a passage leading to the Maya Underworld.
Local legend says the passage is protected by the Tsukán, a giant serpentine creature. The adventure takes a turn when riders are pulled through a portal into the Underworld, where Disney says they will encounter monstrous bats, larger-than-life scorpions, fire and, inevitably for Indiana Jones, plenty of snakes.
The Tsukán will appear multiple times during the attraction, culminating in a final confrontation. Disney has also shown off a massive Audio-Animatronics version of the serpent that Imagineers are sculpting by hand.
Disney says the Imagineering team has worked with archaeologists, anthropologists and Maya experts while developing the attraction. Research trips included time in Honduras, where Imagineers met Maya artists and studied the ancient city of Copán, whose architecture, artwork and materials helped inspire elements of the new land.
The Ride Is Taking Over the Former ‘Dinosaur’ Space
The Indiana Jones project is part of the larger transformation of DinoLand U.S.A. into Tropical Americas. The former Dinosaur attraction permanently closed in February 2026 after operating at Animal Kingdom since the park opened in 1998, originally under the name Countdown to Extinction.
The new Indy attraction uses the location and its ride-system foundation as the starting point for an entirely different story. Entertainment Weekly notes that Dinosaur used technology similar to the system Disney first employed on Disneyland’s Indiana Jones Adventure, which opened in California in 1995.
Tropical Americas will also feature the first-ever Encanto ride-through attraction at a Disney park, along with El Carrusel de los Animalitos, a carousel featuring 22 hand-carved animals inspired by Disney and Pixar characters. Dining, shopping and a Maya-inspired children’s play area are also planned for the land.