Disney has announced that the World-Famous Jungle Cruise at both Disneyland and Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World will receive an update. The update will include a continuous storyline, updated scenes, colorful new characters, and more. This is not a complete re-envisioning of the beloved attraction, such as the previously announced re-theme of Splash Mountain to The Princess and the Frog (read about that here). Disney will officially be “building on the story” of the attraction on both coasts. The ride’s update timeline has not yet been released, though this year is likely. We have details of the changes, concept art, and a brief recap of our thoughts on the updates.
The Jungle Cruise is a river boat attraction located in Adventureland at four Disney theme parks worldwide: Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland. The attraction simulates a riverboat cruise down several major rivers of Asia, Africa and South America. Park guests board replica tramp steamers from a 1930s British explorers’ lodge and are taken on a voyage past many different audio-animatronic jungle animals. The tour is led by live Disney Cast Members delivering humorous narration. This narration is based on a written and practiced script, but generally is largely delivered ad-lib.
The current attraction includes animatronic characters which depict some Indigenous characters as headhunters and language which refers to them as savages. “In this particular case, Imagineers created a storyline that builds upon what people love the most while addressing negative depictions simultaneously,” said Disney spokesperson Michele Himmelberg. “Imagineers are addressing negative depictions of native people while adding a humorous storyline that follows the adventure of a Jungle Cruise skipper, his passengers and what has become of their boat and its contents. Guests will also find this group of adventurers to be diverse – in background and fields of interest.”
In addition to improvements to the storyline and cultural depictions, an animatronic skipper will get a new role. “As part of this story update, we’ll get to follow a skipper and his passengers as their journey goes awry,” Kevin Lively, Disney Imagineer and former Jungle Cruise skipper said in a video announcing the changes. “For the first time ever, the skipper role will not only be that of a live, experienced and witty guide, but also represented by a show figure within the attraction itself.” The change is all about incorporating the skippers even more and, most importantly, ensuring diversity and inclusion are included. Lively discussed more of the changes coming to the attraction’s storyline in the video:
Accordingly, Disney also included testimonials about the changes from Imagineers:
The original Jungle Cruise opened in 1955 at Disneyland. Continuing a tradition that Walt Disney started more than six decades ago when he first enhanced the Jungle Cruise, the new creative concept for the river’s journey will be original to Walt Disney Imagineering, just like the attraction itself. In an exclusive D23 interview with Imagineer Chris Beatty, he shared that the ride will soon include “new adventures that stay true to the experience we know and love – more humor, wildlife and skipper heart – and also reflect and value the diversity of the world around us.” Here’s a first look at some of the “gnu” magic they’re adding:
In the interview, Chris shared a peek at the new storyline. Beatty said the new storyline really kicks off with that famous rhino pole scene. He shared, “Did you ever wonder who those explorers were or where they came from? What’s their backstory? As part of the enhanced storyline, each of them will have their own story and cultural heritage.”
According to Beatty, the characters climbing up that pole include “a birdwatcher, an entomologist, a wildlife painter, and a photographer, and each one will have a different reason for being on the expedition. And, of course, they did one of the things you’re never supposed to do, which is leave the boat.” One of the things that is being added to the scene is an “animatronic skipper, who’s been chased up the pole by the rhino, along with the other explorers.” For the first time ever, the Jungle Cruise skipper won’t just be represented by your lively guide. The skipper will also be featured within the attraction. Beatty noted, “we’re not really re-envisioning that scene, we’re just adding a narrative and storytelling to bring things to life and connect that moment with other happenings along the river.”
Have you been wondering what happened to their boat? We learn that the front of the boat has been beached upon the rocks, a bit of humor reminiscent of the original imagineer, Marc Davis. Beatty shared, “So you’ll see that the family of chimpanzees has moved in….they are almost making fun of us.” One chimp is wearing the skipper’s hat and holding a microphone. The mother chimp is reading a map, and a smaller chimp has gotten into the paint supplies and made quite a mess. Beatty added, “It’s the animals really getting the last laugh in this cute scene—these silly explorers really came in and invaded their world.” Chimpanzees will be a new addition to the attraction.
Walt Disney always said that as time passed, these stories would grow and evolve. They were never meant to be frozen in time. Our concern is always if the changes will affect the integrity of classic attractions. Will there be changes to the Skippers’ spiels, which we thoroughly enjoy? Answer: Classic jokes that the fans know and love, like the backside of water, will remain. The new changes will give skippers some new material to play off of. Another question is if the upcoming Jungle Cruise movie might be incorporated into the ride? Answer: We will not see a character or major storyline from the film integrated into the ride. However, look for “Easter eggs” from the film to be added to the attraction.
Based on everything we learned about the updates, we are confident that they will only make the attraction better. We are getting a lot more than we are losing. The added boat scene, updated rhino pole scene and the addition of a Skipper animatronic have us very excited to see the finished project! How do you feel about the upcoming changes? Let us know in the comments below, or contact us by email. Check out our Facebook and Instagram for more news.