Two behind-the-scenes engineering changes at Disneyland’s Indiana Jones Adventure increased the ride’s capacity by about 125 people per hour, according to Disney engineering manager Nicholas DiBernardo.
DiBernardo told the Los Angeles Times that the attraction now uses electric actuators to move the doors that lead riders toward Mara. The new system replaced hydraulic actuators.
He said the electric setup is easier to maintain, eliminates the risk of a hydraulic spill and should open and close the doors more dependably. Under the old system, a failed actuator could leave the doors open. Operators then dispatched fewer vehicles so riders would not see the vehicle ahead of them.
Disney engineers also changed hardware and software so ride vehicles park more accurately at the loading and unloading platforms. Before the fix, an imprecisely parked vehicle had to travel through the temple without riders to reset.
The vehicle-parking work was completed in May. The electric-door project came later, during the fall. DiBernardo said the engineering changes made over the past year raised the attraction’s hourly capacity by about 125 riders.