A Friday Visit with Jim Korkis: Indiana Jones in Disney Springs
By Dave Shute
Welcome back to Fridays with Jim Korkis! Jim, the dean of Disney historians and author of Jim’s Gems in The easy Guide, writes about Walt Disney World history every Friday on yourfirstvisit.net.
JOCK LINDSEY’S HANGAR BAR
By Jim Korkis
Some Disney fans do not fully understand that in 2012 Disney did not just buy the Star Wars franchise but the entire Lucasfilm catalog. That purchase included the beloved Indiana Jones character.
The first example of utilizing that acquisition is the creation of Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar in Disney Springs.
Jock Lindsey was a minor character in the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) portrayed by actor Fred Sorenson who rescued Indy from the Peruvian Hovito natives with his seaplane. The character was an American freelance pilot whose background was as a stunt pilot performing in Midwest airshows.
After a flight related tragedy, he relocated to Venezuela where he was often hired to fly archeologist Indiana Jones to remote locations. According to the original screenplay, he was supposed to be British. His pet was a Burmese python snake named “Reggie”.
According to the newly created Disney legend for the new bar in Disney Springs, Lindsey took Jones over Florida in 1938 to help hunt down the location of the fabled Fountain of Youth. Lindsey spotted a small town that he liked and returned in 1948 to establish an airplane hangar, air tower and runway on its waterfront, and operate an air tour service.
His fellow members of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers (S.E.A.) would drop by for an occasional drink, and in 1955 the area was officially established as a hangar bar and was littered with artifacts and memoribilia from their adventures.
The concrete bar top of the new bar is made to look as if it was once used as a work bench. Ceiling fans are made out of plane propellers, and walls are adorned with vintage travel posters and postcards and letters between Indy, Jock and other characters.
“He only had about a minute of air time in the original movie,” WDI Imagineer Theron Skees said, “and it was fun expanding on that. We were coming at it from the aspect that Jock is a pilot first and an adventurer’s guide second.”
In addition to references to the first three theatrical Indiana Jones movies, Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar also alludes to elements from the Expanded Adventures such as The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, and Jock Lindsey’s roles in Indiana Jones and the Tomb of the Gods and The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones story “The Sea Butchers.”
The bar also contains nods to other Disney properties including Star Wars, The Rocketeer and Iron Man, as well as references to famous aviators such as Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh.
The bar’s address at 1138 Seaten Avenue, referencing a George Lucas feature film tradition to include in his works the number from his first theatrical film THX 1138 (1971).
From Raiders is the golden fertility idol at the top of the bar’s bookcase. The head piece for the staff of Ra is in the lost and found bin located near the bathrooms
From The Temple of Doom, Voodoo dolls of Indy, Short Round and Willie Scott are on a shelf. Also from that film is a coaster from Club Obi Wan in Shanghai, China. The cool-headed Monkey drink and souvenir mug reference the monkey brain eating sequence in the film.
From The Last Crusade, the image of the grail cup is on sign stating “artifacts no longer taken as payment”.
There are several references to Reggie, including an empty cage, a signature drink with a snake swizzle stick and an outside dry-docked steamboat named after the reptile.
The menu items have names that reference the films as well, including Rolling Boulder Sliders, Tanis Tacos, Lao Che’s Revenge, Dr. Elsa’s She-deviled Eggs, Hovito Mojito, Poisonless Dart, Brody’s Brats and many more.
Jock and Indy may be long gone, but this location honors their memories and cleverly immerses guests in their legendary adventures. With the addition of this bar, perhaps Jock may pop up in the new Indiana Jones movie that was recently announced.
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Thanks, Jim!
Here’s the review of the bar from the just-released updated version of The easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit:
And come back next Friday for even more from Jim Korkis!
In the meantime, check out his books, including Secret Stories of Walt Disney World: Things You Never You Never Knew, which reprints much material first written for this site, and The Vault of Walt: Volume 4, and his contributions to The easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit, all published by Theme Park Press.
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