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This Hollywood Studios attraction is a wonderful reminder of a bygone theme park mainstay

The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular remains a Hollywood Studios mainstay and a reminder of how stunt shows used to be a constant for theme parks!

By Michael Weyer

Get ready for edge-of-your-seat thrills in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, winner of four Academy Awards¨. Indy (Harrison Ford) and his feisty ex-flame Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) dodge booby-traps, fight Nazis and stare down snakes in their incredible worldwide quest for the mystical Ark of the Covenant. Experience one exciting cliffhanger after another when you discover adventure with the one and only Indiana Jones. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of the
Get ready for edge-of-your-seat thrills in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, winner of four Academy Awards¨. Indy (Harrison Ford) and his feisty ex-flame Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) dodge booby-traps, fight Nazis and stare down snakes in their incredible worldwide quest for the mystical Ark of the Covenant. Experience one exciting cliffhanger after another when you discover adventure with the one and only Indiana Jones. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of the /
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As one of the last surviving original Disney-MGM Studios attractions nears an anniversary, it’s worth noting how the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular shows a bygone era for theme parks!

The Disney-MGM Studios has changed massively since it opened in 1989, including its name. It was originallmeant to be an actual working studio alongside the theme park, and as much as Michael Eisner can deny it, there’s no doubt that it was an answer to Universal Studios planning their own park in 1990.

As time has gone on, the park has changed, eliminating the studio stuff to be more about celebrating movies. So much has come and gone, with more rides and expansions over the years. This makes it all the more impressive how the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular still remains after 35 years. 

Technically, it’s not an opening day attraction as it began on August 25, 1989, over three months after the Studios opened. Yet for many, the Stunt Spectacular is synonymous with the Studios and is still one of the most popular shows around. Yet it can be overlooked how the Spectacular is also one of the few remaining examples of the type of shows one used to find in theme parks around the world. 

The history of the Stunt Show

Universal is the one credited with getting the entire concept of “behind the scenes of a studio” park stuff going. It started slowly with the original simple “Stunt Show” debuting in 1960 and just a roped-off area for small stunts. As it became more popular, it was moved to a larger amphitheater. An Animal Actors bit in 1970 before 1980 brought the Wild Wild Wild West Stunt Show. It was a fun mix of actors showing stunts with a loose story but more about the gags and then big explosions. 

That was a big hit, and Universal would add more such shows, such as one based on Conan the Barbarian and The A-Team. That latter one was altered for the hit TV show Miami Vice, notable for the lagoon setting and guys on jet skis. In 1995, it was changed to Waterworld and was such a smash hit that it’s still running even if folks barely remember the movie it’s based on. 

Meanwhile, Knott’s Berry Farm likewise got into the game with their Wild West stunt show in 1974, which set a record for the most successful and longest-running in-house produced show in amusement park history. It changed in 2005 to “Fool’s Gold” and finally closed in 2015 with some smaller shows remaining. 

So a stunt show for the new Disney MGM Studios was logical and luckily, they had the best option for it. 

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