 Macau was substituted for Shanghai , while cinematographer Douglas Slocombe caught fever from June 24 to July 7 and could not work . Ford returned on August 8 . Despite the problems during filming , Spielberg was able to complete Temple of Doom on schedule and on budget , finishing principal photography on August 26 . Various pick @-@ ups took place afterwards . This included Snake River Canyon , in Idaho , Mammoth Mountain , Tuolumne and American River , Yosemite National Park , San Joaquin Valley , Hamilton Air Force Base and Arizona . Producer Frank Marshall directed a second unit in Florida in January 1984 , using alligators to double as crocodiles . The mine chase was a combination of a roller coaster and scale models with dolls doubling for the actors . Minor stop motion was also used for the sequence . Visual effects supervisors Dennis Muren , Joe Johnston and a crew at Industrial Light & Magic provided the visual effects work , while Skywalker Sound , headed by Ben Burtt , commissioned the sound design . Burtt recorded Willie Scott 's scream and roller coasters at Disneyland Park in Anaheim for the mine cart scene . 
