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Jungle Cruise
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The Jungle Cruise is an attraction at the following Disney theme parks: Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland (under the name Jungle River Cruise). It is located in Adventureland. Disneyland Paris is the only Magic Kingdom-style Disney theme park that does not have the Jungle Cruise in its attraction roster, though an indoor jeep ride called Jungle Expedition was originally planned instead.
attraction simulates a riverboat cruise down several major rivers of Asia, Africa and South America.
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Encyclopedia
The Jungle Cruise is an attraction at the following Disney theme parks: Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland (under the name Jungle River Cruise). It is located in Adventureland. Disneyland Paris is the only Magic Kingdom-style Disney theme park that does not have the Jungle Cruise in its attraction roster, though an indoor jeep ride called Jungle Expedition was originally planned instead.
Ride description
The attraction simulates a riverboat cruise down several major rivers of Asia, Africa and South America. Park guests board replica tramp steamers and are taken on a voyage past many different animatronic jungle animals. The tour is led by a live Disney Cast Member delivering a humorous preset narration.
Inspiration & Design
Sources of inspiration for the attraction include a 1955 True-Life Adventure about a pride of lions, and the movie “The African Queen”. Imagineer Harper Goff referenced the African Queen frequently in his ideas; even his designs of the ride vehicles were modeled after the steamer used in the film. The project was placed on the schedule to open with the July 17, 1955 debut of Disneyland.
When plans began to develop, Bill Evans, the Imagineer responsible for landscaping Disneyland (DL) and most of Walt Disney World (WDW), faced the daunting task of foresting an entire jungle on a limited budget. Aside from importing many actual tropical plants, he made wide use of “character plants” which while not necessarily exotic could give the appearance of exoticism in context. In a particularly well-known trick, he uprooted local orange trees and "replanted" them upside-down, growing vines on the exposed roots. The clean water was dyed brown to prevent visitors from seeing the bottom of the “river”, which varies between three and eight feet deep.
Although Goff and Evans can be credited with the creation and initial design of the ride, Marc Davis (recognized for his work on venerable attractions such as the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean) added his own style to the ride in later versions and DL-version updates. The "Indian Elephant Bathing Pool" and "Rhinoceros Chasing Explorers up a Pole" were among his contributions.
Effect on Walt Disney
In a popular story recounted by Jeff Lange, a writer for weblogging site Jim Hill Media, an experience at the Jungle Cruise helped bolster Walt Disney's obsession with the concept of 'plussing', or continuous improvement. The story claims that Walt overheard a mother visiting Disneyland telling her child that since they had been on the ride the last time they visited the park, they didn't need to ride it again. In horror, he put his Imagineers to work designing upgrades to the ride. Many similar variations of this story exist.
At Disneyland
The attraction was in the opening day roster of the park, and has remained open and largely unchanged in theme and story since then. Aside from alterations and maintenance changes, four completely new show scenes have been added to date. In 1995 the river channel was rerouted to make way for the queue buildings and entrance courtyard of the Indiana Jones Adventure.
While the current version and all later instances have made use of a comedic spiel, filled with bad puns and malaprops, the original intent of the ride was to provide a realistic, believable voyage through the world's jungles. The original spiel had no jokes and sounded much like the narration of a nature documentary. Since its removal, it has become legendary among Disney fans. Competitions in which contestants compete to say the seven-minute spiel the fastest have been held.
Attraction Summary
The queue and station are themed as the headquarters and boathouse of a River Expedition Company, located in a (presumably British) Colony of the 1930s. The queuing area is cluttered with appropriate props, such as pinned insects under glass, an old radio on top of the bookshelf, and a chessboard with miniature animals and decorated shotgun shells replacing the pieces. The extended queue winds upstairs, underneath an animatronic hornbill, and then downstairs again. Big band music from the 1930s plays overhead, punctuated by jungle-related news bulletins, helping to reinforce the setting.
Once aboard the boats, the guests are introduced to their skipper and they head into the jungle (allegedly never to return). The first river simulated is the Mekong. The boats sail through a dense rainforest, and an ancient Cambodian shrine where they see a Bengal Tiger, giant spiders, king cobras and crocodiles. Passing Hindu statues, the boats enter the Sacred Indian Elephant Bathing Pool where dozens of Indian elephants frolic in the water and squirt water at the passing vessels.
The theme transitions to the rivers of Africa, and riders see a family of baboons, and safari camp that has been overrun by gorillas. The boats careen past the dramatic waterfall Schweitzer Falls, between two African Elephants, and large termite mounds. A tableau of the African Veldt follows, showing zebras, wildebeest, and giraffes watch a pride of lions feasting on a zebra beneath a rocky outcropping. Beyond the lion's den, an angry rhinoceros has chased a safari party up a tree. Antelope and hyenas watch from nearby. The skipper then pilots the boat into a large pool, disturbing a pod of hippos that signal their intent to attack the boat. Armed with a gun (filled with blanks), the skipper fires into the air to frighten them away.
Drums and chanting are heard as the boats come to headhunter country. The vehicles pass a native village before sailing into an ambush by natives wielding spears, (the sound effects for which are usually provided by the skipper).
The boats pass behind Schweitzer Falls (known as "the Backside of Water") to enter the Amazon River. Skeletal animal remains and warning signs featuring pictures of dagger-toothed fish forewarn the next show scene, where the boats encounter a swarm of leaping piranha. The guests then pass a pool of water buffalo, and meet shrunken head dealer Trader Sam before returning to the dock.
Major refurbishments
- 1962 - Addition of Indian Elephant pool
- 1964 - Addition of African Veldt and Lost Safari scenes
- 1993 - Various minor additions
- 1994 - Addition of boathouse queue
- 1995 - Rerouting of river for the Indiana Jones Adventure
- 1997 - Original ride vehicles replaced
- 2005 - Various replacement/reconstruction, addition of Piranhas, and updates to Gorilla Camp scene
Specific Changes
The baboons at the safari camp used to sit on the African termite mounds. A total of six lions have been removed since opening day; one that growled when the African Veldt was added, two lionesses from the Veldt that were fighting over a bloody strand of zebra meat, a lion and a lioness that each had a zebra leg in their mouth and a dead, hanging on a spit over a fire in the native village. Also removed from the Veldt were African wild dogs barking at the pride. The native village was originally a dense jungle filled with tikis, masks, and several more natives. Trader Sam used to wear a mask and a gorilla across the channel was trying to grab his merchandise.
Boats
There are 12 vehicles, with a maximum of 8 in operation at any given time. The boats in 1955 were painted as clean, idealized replicas, but have since been given a more realistic theming reflecting the grunge and wear of actual watercraft.
Names in Use:
- Amazon Belle
- Congo Queen (gold-painted for 50th anniversary)
- Ganges Gal
- Hondo Hattie
- Irrawaddy Woman
- Kissimmee Kate
- Nile Princess
- Orinoco Adventuress
- Suwannee Lady
- Ucayali Una (Wheelchair equipped)
- Yangtze Lotus
- Zambezi Miss
Names Decommissioned in 1997:
- Magdalena Maiden
- Mekong Maiden
At the Magic Kingdom & Tokyo Disneyland
The Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland versions are similar to each other, the main difference being direction; the Magic Kingdom river flows counter clock-wise, while Tokyo Disneyland's operates clock-wise. Also, the spiels in Tokyo are delivered in Japanese.
Magic Kingdom
The skippers at the Magic Kingdom don't carry revolvers with blanks in them anymore. The real guns have been replaced with realistic looking props that trigger an electronic gunshot sound through the boat's audio system.
Near the Hippo Pool, a piece of a downed airplane can be seen along the shoreline. This is the back half of the Lockheed L-12 Electra Junior that can be seen in Casablanca scene on The Great Movie Ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Since the opening of the attraction, guest have come to love some of the long lasting Skippers on the cruise, creating fan clubs for some. Some of these Skippers are Skipper Adam (Famous for his "Skipper Adam" Cruise), Guillermo C ( Known for his outrageous, out there but still classic tour) . Elyse W. ( for her "Sir" tour), Fabian D., Frank K and Jeff L, and Diver Dave.
Boats
There are 15 vehicles, with a maximum of 10 in operation at any given time.
Current Boats
Retired Boats
Tokyo Disneyland
Very similar to the Walt Disney World version, although the station and surrounding area are themed to a more upscale African city, as opposed to an isolated jungle outpost. This version shares a station building with the park's steam train ride, Western River Railroad. The boats travel clockwise rather than counter clockwise and the skippers bow after every to joke to his or hers' audience.
Boats
There are 13 vehicles, with a maximum of 12 in operation at any given time.
All boat names, except Orinoco Ida, are alliterations.
- Amazon Annie
- Congo Connie
- Ganges Gertie
- Irrawaddy Irma
- Kwango Kate
- Nile Nelly
- Orinoco Ida
- Rutshuru Ruby
- Sankuru Sadie
- Senegal Sal
- Volta Val
- Wamba Wanda
- Zambezi Zelda
At Disneyland Paris
Unlike the other parks there is no Jungle Cruise style attraction due to the cold temperature and weather of France. However a similar attraction called "Jungle Expedition" was planned where guests would board a jeep and traverse a steamy jungle which was under the protection of a glass roof to keep elements out. The jeeps would have passed giraffes, a pool of hippos under a suspension bridge, and a large temple where guests would have witnessed the "I Wanna Be Like You" segment from the Disney film, The Jungle Book, complete with audio animatronic versions of Mowgli, King Louie, Baloo, Bagheera, and the Monkeys. The jeeps then would have been chased by a tiger before returning to the load area.
At Hong Kong Disneyland
The shape of Hong Kong Disneyland's route is significantly different compared to the others, (circumnavigating Tarzan's Treehouse, for example) and it includes a grand finale with a battle between angry fire and water gods.
In addition, there are three languages regularly available: Cantonese, Mandarin, and English. Each language has a separate queue line, allowing visitors to experience the journey in their preferred languages.
Attraction Summary
The queue takes place in a small boathouse less elaborate then the other boathouses found at the other parks. After winding through the queue guests board one of the boats and meet their skipper who speaks either English, Cantonese, or Mandarin, to accompany the park's guests who speak many different languages themselves.
The boats then sail off and head down river past Tarzan's Treehouse where the skipper tells guests to wave goodbye to the guests traversing the treehouse for they will never see them again. The boats then drift past a mother Indian elephant and her calf playing in the water, followed by another elephant showering in a waterfall. A large bull Indian elephant emerges from the water squirting a plume of water at the boats with the guests narrowly avoiding the free shower.
The vessels then drift down a narrow stream past ancient Cambodian ruins which has been claimed by the jungle. Giant spiders and king cobras watch the boats as they move on. Up ahead several crocodiles are seen resting on a small beach when a school of hungry piranha jump up trying to attack guests. The boats escape into Africa where they pass a large safari camp where several curious gorillas have discovered clothes, guns, hammocks, and books, as the "Trashing the Camp" song from Tarzan plays on a nearby 1930's radio. The African Veldt comes into view where antelope, giraffes, zebras, and African elephants stare at the boats. The vessels then drift into a small pool where a pod of hippos try to tip the boat. Several feet ahead a rhino is seen chasing a safari group up a tree while several hyenas look on laughing.
Skulls and cloth impaled on broken bamboo sticks appears as tribal drums and horns fill the air. The skipper tells guests that they have entered head hunter country and must quietly sneak by. The boats slowly pass through the main village where several upright shields rest in the tall grass. A native notices the boats and all the shields now revealed to have head hunters behind them begin firing spears and poison darts at the boats as they narrowly escape into a rocky canyon. In the rocky canyon the boats stop near two weird rock formations that look like faces, revealed by the skipper to be the fire god and the water god who are constantly feuding about their differences. The fire god sets the river ablaze while the water god vomits a water bomb, causing the flames to die and the whole canyon to become a cloud of steam. The boats escape the canyon and pass a baby elephant before returning to the boathouse.
Major renovations
- 2006 - Piranha attack, and Trapped Safari scenes added, enhancement of Gorilla Camp, African Veldt, and Headhunter's Territory
- 2007 - Temporary scene added during the "Pirate Takeover" event (From May to August)
Boats
There are 9 vehicles, with a maximum of 8 in operation at any given time.
- Amazon Annie
- Congo Queen (Wheelchair Accessible)
- Ganges Gal
- Irrawaddy Irma
- Lijiang Lady
- Mekong Maiden
- Nile Nellie
- Yangzi Ying Ying
- Zambezi Zelda
In Popular Culture
- There was a tribute to the ride in 2005 on an episode of the podcast The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd, as well as a Strong Bad E-mail entitled "theme park".
- In the sing along songs video Disneyland Fun during "Following the Leader", Jungle Cruise made an appearance.
- Jungle Cruise was parodied as Timon and Pumbaa's Virtual Safari on The Lion King Special Edition.
Film adaptation
The Jungle Cruise is an announced Disney motion picture loosely inspired by the theme park attraction of the same name.
The film, originally scheduled for release in 2007, has experienced various delays and changes. Shooting of the film, originally schedule for 2006, was postponed. Moreover, the original screenplay by Josh Goldstein and John Norville was reportedly rewritten by Al Gough and Miles Millar.
The film follows a group's riverboat journey through a jungle in search of a cure.
Further details have not been forthcoming, apart from confirmation that the film is set in the twentieth century.
See also
External links
Jungle Cruise joke lists
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