The Temple of the Forbidden Eye

I'm pretty sure this is the first comic in Marabic...

 

I remember watching Indiana Jones (not understanding much) at a young age, and the imagery and atmosphere struck such a deep cord with me. I think the overall tone heavily influenced the movies I made in my backyard for most of my life.  There was the ever alluring draw of the jungle settings, rotting stone temples, deep forgotten histories and so forth; which of course is something that I find deeply intriguing.

 

So the first time I walked out of the Jungle Cruise and saw the newly opened 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye' I was immediately fascinated. The concept was wonderful, The Temple of Mara has been discovered, offering one of three possible amazing treasures to those brave enough to enter; Visions of the future, Earthly riches, or Eternal youth. There is one condition however, you must not look at the eyes of the god Mara or face your doom. So many have vanished inside the temple that Indiana Jones was called in, but now even he has dissappeared. Guests travel into the Temple of the Forbidden Eye in search of treaures and Indy as well. 

 

 I even love standing in the line.

Outside the temple there are bamboo walls and snake-shaped pillars, plus the excitement of glancing up the line to the dark door leading into the crumbling structure with greenery sprouting up all over the decrepit stone. When it first opened one could spend a lot of time out here, which only added to the growing anticipation.

 

 

Inside the temple is phenomenal!!! My young mind latched onto this aesthetic so fiercely that I still have dreams of decorating my basement in the same style. The soft sound of drums echoing through the darkened passageways, lit only by flickering torches or crudely wired mining lights that gutter and brown out as low rumblings can be heard from ahead. Carefully stepping around the diamond shaped stones in the floor and eyeing the spikes poking out of the holes in the ceiling and floor. The walls are scrolled with messages in "Marabic", a forgotten language Imagineers created just for this attraction. When it first opened they would hand out cards that would help you decifer the writing.  The grand atrium with its murals covering the crown of the room, vines snaking their way down through gaps and cracks, before entering the darkened room with a clicking projector revealing more of the story.

 

 

A Glimpse Behind the Magic:

The area the temple is built on was originally the Eyore parking lot. If you have a moment to pause in the projection room, apparently you can ask a cast member to shine their flashlight on the blue sign that still resides in the dark corners of the room. I haven't seen it myself, I'm usually too shy to ask the frazzled looking cast member.

 

Of course my mind was working overtime at this point and I seem to forget I'm at Disneyland and I stare at the video wide eyed as we are warned not to gaze into the eyes of Mara.. I legitimately panicked because I wasn't quite sure where the statue was that I wasn't allowed to look at. What if I looked by accident? There was no time for clarification however as we were loaded into the waiting jeeps.

 

The car turns a corner and we are presented with three doors. This is one of the more tense moments for me, even now, because to this day I have never been granted visions of the future. Not once. I think Mara is holding out on me. Eternal youth? Sure. Earthly Riches? Ok. But not one peek into the future. Even when I'm the one behind the wheel, I can never seem to get it to turn that way.

 

So either the door to riches or youth open up and you pull ahead, the thunderous voice of Mara announces what gift you are about to recieve.

 

A Glimpse Behind the Magic:

Did you know there is actually only one room? The doors are all on a moving wall that shifts to make it appear as though you are getting a different gift. The room beyond is changed by sound and different lighting.

 

You are pretty much unable to avoid looking into the eyes of Mara in this space, unless you close your eyes (which I did as a child) and where is the fun in that? As you approach the huge carved face, his eyes begin to smoke and he apparently takes back your gift and instead sends you to 'THE GATES OF DOOOOOOM!" (Read that in a booming voice.)

 

The car speeds ahead, lightning shooting through the walls around you as you see Indy himself struggling to hold "THE GATES OF DOOOOOOM" closed. He sends you ahead and as you crest a small hill you see Mara again, however this time half of his face has broken away to reveal a skull-like visage, his one hollow eye full of flames. It's a thrilling moment as the music changes to a gothic choir.

 

You weave your way through darkened passageways, dodging bugs and skeletons (Fun Fact: One of the skeletons is wearing a pair of Mickey Ears, the name 'Bones' embroidered on it. Bones, by complete coincidence, is also the nickname that I was given by a group of friends.) Then you finally get to the rikety bridge that spans a lake of lava and as you speed across, avoiding the fires started by the beam of light emmitted from Mara's eye, Indy says something about snakes.

 

I can remember sitting next to my sister as we noticed the huge snake up ahead. Over all the sounds of fire and hissing I can hear her say; "If that snake comes after me I'm going to freak out." Now, she tortured me constantly when we were younger, so I found great joy in her shrieking and ducking as the snake lunged at her.

 

There are more twists and turns and dangers until you come to a stop under Indy hanging from a rope. The low rumbling sound heralds the approach of the huge boulder from the first Indy movie. As it rolls into view, your car backs up a bit before speeding ahead and down a sudden drop, narrowly avoiding being crushed.

 

A Glimpse Behind the Magic:

Did you know that your car does not actually back up? Apparently having a ride vehicle go in reverse can cause some problems, so instead they just move the whole room around you. The tunnel itself moves forward, giving the illusion of backing up.

 

This ride is still the highlight of my Disney trips, regardless of the length of the line. It is the perfect marriage of technology and story telling. As far as I'm concerned, it's the perfect ride.

 

Lesson Learned;

I am not supposed to see visions of the future...and I'm bitter about that.