Indiana never loses his hat

We all know about the Indiana Jones Adventure Outpost, the 1930s era Hollywood style house with a Middle Eastern armory set hanging out in the back in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but what about the history and ideas that came before the fedora storehouse was established?

Further down the walkway is a trio of vehicles, mostly shrouded by the abundance of plants in the area these days. In actuality, the vehicles are part of a five vehicle convoy that Disney acquired from Lucasfilm after Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was finished shooting. Aside from the tank, truck, and car, Disney also obtained an additional car and truck. All of which can be seen in this 1990 concept art by Imagineer Tim Kirk. Keeping with the Last Crusade theme, Imagineers painstakingly recreated flags of the film’s sultan, as well as painting text on the vehicles and crafting signs that read in English and Arabic.

But what about the ideas that were never built? There were thoughts to use the exit area of Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular as a dining spot. What could be one of the oddest pairings I’ve heard of, the Indy inspired eatery would serve yogurt and utilize a Ford tri-motor airplane as part of a seating area.

 The concept I wish had come to pass, however, was the proposal to rebuild the home of Dr. Jones. That’s right, once upon a time, Disney-MGM Studios could have featured a pre-World War II home, plucked from the suburbs of Chicago, that belonged to Indiana. This would have also been a merchandise location, but it would have featured pieces from Indy’s adventures. Could you imagine shopping for some jewelry for your significant other only to find the staff head from Raiders of the Lost Ark hanging above your head, books and DVDs sitting on a bookshelf alongside the Grail diary, or fedoras perched upon hat-stands that are actually Sankara Stones?!?! Part of the joy of shopping there would be the exploration of the store and finding what artifacts Indiana Jones had left lying around his house.

In the end, we are left with the Indiana Jones Adventure Outpost, which, in all honesty, ties in much better to the surrounding of the park’s Echo Lake Area. And, if we could only have one shop dedicated to Indiana Jones, I think we can all agree it doesn’t matter what it looks like, so long as it sells fedoras!