Tropical Americas construction walls might point to story details for ‘Indiana Jones’ ride at Animal Kingdom
We spotted new carvings of bat-like creatures on the Tropical Americas construction walls at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Could they possibly connect to the “Indiana Jones” ride on the way?
On Feb. 2, 2026, Dinosaur will close at Disney’s Animal Kingdom will close to start construction on a replacement attraction starring everybody’s favorite archeologist, Indiana Jones.
For seasoned Disney parks fans, you might know Dinosaur at Walt Disney World and Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye in Disneyland have the same track layout and ride vehicle. This lead to heavy speculation over the years that if Dinosaur was to ever close, Indiana Jones was probably at the top of the list of intellectual properties to replace it. After being announced at D23 2024, it was a rumor no longer as the attraction’s successor was announced along with vague story details: Indiana Jones has found a perfectly preserved Maya temple.
This brings us toward our first clue as to what the new bat-like creatures on the Animal Kingdom construction walls might be.
Diving into Maya culture online via HistoricalMX, a project curated by Sam Houston State University, I learned that these little guys displayed on the wall are known as the Camazotz. Translating to “death bat,” the Mayan Bat God is described as a leaf-nosed bat, similar to a common vampire bat. Here’s where things get interesting. A cult of the Zapotec tribe were the first to mention a bat deity in 100 A.D. They believed bats represented night, death, and sacrifice. Bats would inhabit the caves around sacred cenotes, which were natural sinkholes with groundwater beneath them. Mesoamericans believed these scared cenotes were portals to the underworld… do you see where this is going? Walk with me here!
The concept art of the upcoming Indiana Jones attraction (below) has a particularly interesting background that always had me intrigued. After looking into the history of the Camazotz, their connection to cenotes, and the believed connection of cenotes to the underworld, I think I might have a slight idea on what guests could expect on this highly anticipated attraction. The top right of the concept art below looks to be an opening leading deep underground with hanging vines and surrounding stalactites … like a cenote! With the beam of light hitting the cross-like statue Indy has discovered, maybe we’ll be trying to escape Maya Gods after inadvertently letting them loose from the underworld?
I don’t write the stories for the attractions unfortunately, so this is all just speculation for now! The idea of diving into Maya culture and possibly being introduced to the deities from that mythology is very exciting, as it leans into the edutainment aspect of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Combining mythological creatures with the themes of Animal Kingdom reminds me of the unrealized mythology-based land planned for Animal Kingdom’s early years that was never built. (Pandora: The World of Avatar now sits where it would have been.)
I hope Disney adds more Maya creatures on the walls near the “Indiana Jones” concept art to possibly point toward more story elements of the upcoming attraction. Maybe we’ll get some more when walls surround Dinosaur after its closure on Feb. 2, 2026. If you’d like to do more research on Maya culture, check out historicalmx.org! It’s thanks to them I was able to learn so much about the Camazotz.
Are you excited for “Indiana Jones” in Animal Kingdom? What do you think the story for this attraction might be? Let us know in the comments below!
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