After thinking on ways in which Indiana Jones could comfortably fit in the area (and the mission statement), I've come up with a fun solution: Dinoland USA would lose its “U.S.A.” title, and instead head south to become the park’s South America area. South America would be split into two sections: the rainforest and Patagonia. Both of these exciting regions are strongly related to archeology and dinosaurs, for very different reasons (discussed below).
Patagonia has been a site of historic fossil discoveries, including the recent discovery of ‘Argentinosaurus’, thought to be one of the largest dinosaurs to ever roam the Earth. This theme could easily overlay the boneyard and dining areas minimal overlay required, as well as a rockwork heavy re-skin of Primeval Whirl to make it appear as mine cart system used in fossil transportation. Everest in the distance could be explained as The Andes.
The second region would become the rainforest, and it would occupy the land between Primeval Whirl and Finding Nemo, and extend into to-be-developed backstage areas.
South America would be also home to a wildlife trail on the scale of Maharaja and Pangani, but would feature South American fauna such as Jaguars, Ocelots, Sloths, Ananacondas, Monkeys, Parrots, Toucans, Capybara, Piranha, Caimans and more! Areas of the trail with Everest in view would be themed as Andes region, and would feature animals such as Spectacled Bear, Llamas, and Tapirs.
The link between Indiana, dinosaurs, and South America can be personified as
Percy Fawcett (or a new SEA-linked character inspired by the famed explorer). Percy was an explorer, archaeologist, and geographer who is most famous for his exploration of South America in the early 1900’s, particularly for his final mission: the search for El Dorado. While the real Percy Fawcett was never heard from and has been assumed dead since 1925 (a month into his expedition into the jungle), Indiana Jones has searched for (and rescued) Fawcett in the films’ spin-off
novelizations.
Similar to legends in Africa, natives in the South American rainforest have long reported encounters with ancient animals believed to be long extinct. In fact, Fawcett himself had written about an associate's
encounter with a creature that matches the description of a Diplodocus in the swamps near the border between Peru/Brazil. Similar encounters have been reported by westerners throughout the centuries. For what it's worth, Fawcett had also described encounters with other exotic jungle beasts, such as an anaconda nearly 20-feet long Why did it have to be snakes...
Fawcett is also credited as a primary inspiration for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's
The Lost World, which features... dinosaurs living in the South American rainforest.
Creating a new attraction (or an overlay of Dinosaur) that features Indiana Jones joining Fawcett on an adventure could lead to a multitude of potential storylines that both respect nature, the past, and animals both living and (thought to be) extinct.
. That said, I’d still be happier if they just bulldozed DinoRama and Nemo and built 2 new dinosaur attractions in their place.
