New aerial photos from friend of the site Bioreconstruct show themed “chips” now installed atop the temple structure, forming the facade for Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The carved, colorfully painted panels sit at the top of the structure. A steel superstructure remains open and exposed lower down. Nearby, a large mobile crane continues to work the site, and stacked panel sections still await placement. Here’s the latest.
Rockwork Chips Installed on Indiana Jones Temple Facade at Animal Kingdom
IN THIS ARTICLE:
- Themed rockwork chips are now installed at the top of the Indiana Jones temple facade
- The lower steel structure remains open, with panel sections staged nearby for future installation
- Info from D23 Expo 2026 on the temple’s design and symbolism
Rockwork Chips Take Shape at the Temple’s Upper Tiers
The new photos show the temple’s upper tiers now wearing their carved rockwork exterior. It’s a red and tan stone pattern accented with turquoise detailing, closely tracking the concept art and scale model Disney has released for the attraction. The chips give the top of the structure its finished, weathered look for the first time. Individual carved blocks and recessed window-like openings are visible across the facade.
Below that finished upper section, the steel superstructure remains exposed. Multiple levels of framing are still wrapped in gray mesh material rather than fully themed rockwork. That points to installation progressing from the top of the structure downward. A tall mobile crane sits near the temple, positioned to lift additional panel sections into place.
What’s Still Ahead
Stacks of additional rockwork panels sit staged on the ground near the base of the crane. That suggests the next phase of installation will continue working down the temple’s tiers. The surrounding area remains an active construction zone with generators, scaffolding, and additional equipment scattered throughout.
Disney has not confirmed a specific completion timeline for the temple’s exterior work, but the retheme of the former DINOSAUR building continues to track toward a 2027 opening. Disney officially named the attraction Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent following its D23 Expo 2026 reveal.
A Closer Look at the Temple’s Design
Walt Disney Imagineering used the recent D23 Expo 2026 to detail the thinking behind the temple now taking shape in these photos. Imagineer and Tropical Americas project lead Joan Hartwig said the temple model shown at the expo depicted the structure the way it would have looked while still in active use. That’s a deliberate departure from the layered, buried look many real Maya temples look like today. Later structures were often built directly over older, sacred ones.
Maya archaeologist Dr. Ivan Batun walked D23 attendees through specific symbols worked into the design. He pointed to a monster figure called the Witz, described as an entrance to the underworld, and corner figures depicting Chaac, the Maya rain god. According to project consultant and former Imagineer Joe Rohde, the glyphs covering the temple were not invented for the attraction. Dr. Marc Zender, an epigrapher at Tulane University, wrote the full set of glyphs used across this area of the Tropical Americas-themed land. Rohde said a trained reader could actually read them the way a specialist would read a real archaeological site. When the design was shown to a room full of Maya archaeologists for the first time, Rohde said, the reaction was a standing ovation.
Story So Far
- February 2026: Aerial photos showed the area in front of the former DINOSAUR attraction fully cleared, with concept art appearing on nearby construction walls.
- March 2026: In-park work began on the Maya temple facade in front of the former DINOSAUR building.
- May 2026: Steel framing for the temple went vertical, then continued climbing higher later that month.
- July 2026: Steel framing continued to rise above the former DINOSAUR building shell.
- August 2026: Disney revealed the attraction’s official name, Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent, during D23 Expo 2026 panels.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!