Jungle Cruise, formally named Jungle River Cruise, and currently named Jungle Cruise: Wildlife Expeditions, is a riverboat amusement ride located in the Adventureland themed section at various Disney theme parks worldwide. The attraction is a simulated riverboat cruise that travels along a

waterway A waterway is any Navigability, navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other ways. A first distinction is ...

using a concealed guidance system through areas with Asian, African, and South American themes. Park guests board replica steam launches from a 1930s

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

explorers' lodge, and Audio-Animatronic exotic animals are displayed throughout the ride. A live Disney cast member acts as a tour guide and boat skipper that loosely follows a rehearsed script, providing passengers with a comedic narrative. The first installation of the ride was featured at

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...

for its grand opening in 1955. A variety of changes were made over the years, including enhanced audio effects, updates to the storyline, and the removal of culturally-sensitive material. The installation at Hong Kong Disneyland features a significantly different storyline from the other parks and provides guests with three different language options, each with its own line queue. Following years of planning and delays, a film adaptation of the ride was released in the United States on July 30, 2021.

Inspiration and design

The project was planned by

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

to incorporate a jungle-themed ride into the list of attractions featured at

's grand opening in 1955. Sources of inspiration include a 1955 documentary called '' The African Lion'' from the '' True Life Adventures'' film series, as well as the 1951 adventure film '' The African Queen''. Disney Imagineer Harper Goff referenced ''The African Queen'' frequently in his ideas and drew inspiration from the steamer depicted in the film for the ride vehicle design. Bill Evans was the Imagineer responsible for landscaping Disneyland and most of

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...

. During the development of Jungle Cruise, he was given the somewhat complicated task of creating a realistic jungle on a limited budget. In addition to importing actual tropical plants, he incorporated "character plants" which have an exotic appearance despite not being exotic. He had used a well-known trick of uprooting local orange trees and replanting them upside-down, growing vines on the exposed roots. The ride's water clarity, known as turbidity, is controlled in a manner that obscures the boat's guidance system and other undesirable items like perches and mechanized platforms of the bathing Audio-Animatronic elephants and hippos. The

was originally dyed brown but was later changed to other colors: first to a green hue and later to a bluish-green. When water returns to the attraction, it travels through a diameter underground pipe before it can be utilized again. The waterway depth is approximately and circulates southward from the northern end of

Frontierland Frontierland is one of the "themed lands" at the many Disneyland-style parks run by The Walt Disney Company, Disney around the world. Themed to the American frontier of the 19th century, Frontierlands are home to cowboys and Settler, pioneers, ...

's Rivers of America to Fantasyland. The path of the ride takes riders past Frontierland's entrance and into Adventureland, where it drifts alongside the Tiki Room, before re-entering Jungle Cruise near the ride's exit. The waterway was later shortened and re-routed in 1994. Although Goff and Evans can be credited with the creation and initial design of the ride, animator Marc Davis – recognized for his work on venerable attractions such as

The Haunted Mansion The Haunted Mansion is a dark ride, dark-ride attraction located at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, and Tokyo Disneyland. The haunted house attraction features a ride-through tour in Omnimover vehicles called “Doom Buggies”, and a walk-through s ...

and Pirates of the Caribbean – added his own style in later versions. The "Indian Elephant Bathing Pool" and "Rhinoceros Chasing Explorers up a Pole" were among his contributions.

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. The original plan was to use real animals, but these plans were abandoned once Disney realized that the animals would likely sleep during the day. Aside from alterations and maintenance changes, four completely new show scenes have been added to date. In 1994, the river channel was rerouted to make way for the queue buildings and entrance courtyard of the

Indiana Jones Adventure Indiana Jones Adventure is an enhanced motion vehicle dark ride attraction based on the ''Indiana Jones'' film series, located at Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea. Guests accompany intrepid archaeologist Indiana Jones (character), Dr. Indiana Jon ...

. While the ride's comedic spiel is filled with intentionally bad puns by the skipper, the original intent of the ride was to provide a realistic, believable voyage through the world's jungles. The original spiel was similar to the narration of a nature

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

Attraction summary

The queue and station are themed as the headquarters and boathouse of the Jungle Navigation Company, a river trading company located in a

colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...

(as shown by the

Union Jack The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...

flying above the boathouse) circa 1938. The queuing area is cluttered with appropriate props, such as pinned

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

s, an old

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

on top of a bookshelf, an old

typewriter A typewriter is a Machine, mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of Button (control), keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an i ...

, and a chessboard with miniature

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Biology, biological Kingdom (biology), kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, ...

s and decorated shotgun shells replacing the pieces. The extended queue winds upstairs and then downstairs again.

Big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

music from the 1920s,

1930s File:1930s decade montage.png, From left, clockwise: Dorothea Lange's photo of the homeless Florence Owens Thompson, Florence Thompson shows the effects of the Great Depression; due to extreme drought conditions, farms across the south-central Uni ...

and

1940s File:1940s decade montage.png, Above title bar: events during World War II (1939–1945): From left to right: Troops in an LCVP landing craft approaching Omaha Beach on Normandy landings, D-Day; Adolf Hitler visits Paris, soon after the Battle of ...

plays overhead, punctuated by jungle-themed news bulletins, helping to reinforce the setting and threading together the show scenes and boat. Once aboard the boats, guests are introduced to their skipper and they head into the jungle, allegedly never to return. The first rivers simulated are the Irrawaddy and Mekong rivers, representing tropical

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. The boats sail through a dense

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

inhabited by large butterflies and a pair of toucans, before passing by the Temple of the Forbidden Eye and a

shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

of a cobra beholding a crystal ball. Passengers then glide precariously under the first of a pair of stone arches severely damaged by an

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

centuries ago. These are part of the ruins of an ancient Cambodian

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

where a crumbling

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

is one of the few things which have managed to avoid tumbling into the river. Here, passengers see an Indochinese tiger, giant

spider Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...

king cobra The king cobra (''Ophiophagus hannah'') is a species complex of snakes Endemism, endemic to Asia. With an average of and a record length of , it is the world's longest venomous snake and among the heaviest. Under the genus ''Ophiophagus'', i ...

s and mugger crocodiles. Passing a statue of a bowing

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

, the boats pass under the second arch and enter the Sacred Indian Elephant Bathing Pool. Here, a large herd of Indian elephants frolic and squirt water at the passing vessels. The theme moves to the rivers of Africa: here riders see a family of

baboon Baboons are primates comprising the biology, genus ''Papio'', one of the 23 genera of Old World monkeys, in the family Cercopithecidae. There are six species of baboon: the hamadryas baboon, the Guinea baboon, the olive baboon, the yellow ba ...

s and a

safari A safari (; originally ) is an overland journey to observe wildlife, wild animals, especially in East Africa. The so-called big five game, "Big Five" game animals of Africa – lion, African leopard, leopard, rhinoceros, African elephant, elep ...

camp that has been overrun by

gorilla Gorillas are primarily herbivorous, terrestrial great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or five su ...

s. The boats narrowly avoid the dramatic

waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

, Schweitzer Falls (which riders are told is named after Dr. Albert Falls), and turn down Africa's

Nile River The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the longest river i ...

where they pass between two African bush elephants, and large

termite Termites are a group of detritivore, detritophagous Eusociality, eusocial cockroaches which consume a variety of Detritus, decaying plant material, generally in the form of wood, Plant litter, leaf litter, and Humus, soil humus. They are dist ...

mounds. A tableau of the African

Veld Veld ( or , Afrikaans language, Afrikaans and Dutch language, Dutch: ''veld'', field), also spelled veldt, is a type of wide-open, rural landscape in Southern Africa. Particularly, it is a flat area covered in grass or low scrubland, scrub, ...

t follows, showing

giraffe The giraffe is a large Fauna of Africa, African even-toed ungulate, hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa.'' It is the Largest mammals#Even-toed Ungulates (Artiodactyla), tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on ...

s, wildebeest, zebras, vultures and gazelles; then a pride of

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

s feasting on a zebra beneath a rocky outcropping. Beyond the lion's den, an angry

black rhinoceros The black rhinoceros (''Diceros bicornis''), also called the black rhino or the hooked-lip rhinoceros, is a species of rhinoceros native to East Africa, East and Southern Africa, including Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Moza ...

has chased a safari party up a tree, much to the amusement of

spotted hyena The spotted hyena (''Crocuta crocuta''), also known as the laughing hyena, is a hyena species, currently classed as the sole extant member of the genus ''Crocuta'', native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is listed as being of least concern by the IUC ...

s. The skipper then pilots the boat into the

Congo River The Congo River, formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second-longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the third-largest river in the world list of rivers by discharge, by discharge volume, following the Amazon Ri ...

spotting the wreckage of a boat that has sunk while also disturbing a pod of

hippo The hippopotamus (''Hippopotamus amphibius;'' ; : hippopotamuses), often shortened to hippo (: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic Mammal, mammal native to su ...

s that

signal A signal is both the process and the result of transmission of data over some media accomplished by embedding some variation. Signals are important in multiple subject fields including signal processing, information theory and biology. In ...

their intent to attack the boat.

Drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

and chanting are heard as the boats enter through the Congo and end up in a place called "Head-Hunter Country". Guests can spot another boat being taken over by

chimpanzee The chimpanzee (; ''Pan troglodytes''), also simply known as the chimp, is a species of Hominidae, great ape native to the forests and savannahs of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed one. When its close rel ...

s as they raid the boat of its supplies and accessories. The boats then pass by more chimpanzees who have raided the box of butterflies. The boats now pass behind Schweitzer Falls (referred to as "the Backside of Water", which they call "the Eighth Wonder of the World") 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 couple of

water buffalo The water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis''), also called domestic water buffalo, Asian water buffalo and Asiatic water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also kept in Italy, the Balkans ...

and a

boa constrictor The boa constrictor (scientific name also ''Boa constrictor''), also known as the common boa, is a species of large, non-venomous, heavy-bodied snake that is frequently kept and bred in captivity. The boa constrictor is a member of the Family (b ...

. The boats then finally pass by a former lost and found stand which has been transformed by Trader Sam to become Trader Sam's Gift Shop.

Boats

There are 12 vehicles, with a maximum of 9 in operation at any given time (8 with guests and 1 training vehicle). 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 due to the addition of

and its ruggedness. Names in use: *

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

Belle (Renamed "Jingle Belle" during Christmas) * Congo Queen (Renamed "Congo Caroler" then "Candy Cane Queen" during Christmas) *

Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

Gal (Renamed "Ganges Garland" then "Gingerbread Gal" during Christmas) * Hondo Hattie (Renamed "Hondo Hollie" then "Hanukkah Hattie" during Christmas) * Irrawaddy Woman (Renamed "Irrawaddy Snowwoman" during Christmas) * Kissimmee Kate (Renamed "Yule Kissimmee" then "Kissimmee Under the Mistletoe" during Christmas) *

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

Princess (Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle) (Renamed "Nile Nutcracker" then "Noel Nellie" during Christmas) *

Orinoco The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers approximately 1 million km2, with 65% of it in Venezuela and 35% in Colombia. It is the List of rivers by discharge, f ...

Adventuress (Renamed "Orinoco Ornament" then "Navidad Adventuress" during Christmas) * Suwannee Lady (Renamed "Suwannee Sleigh" then "Sugar Plum Lady" during Christmas) * Ucayali Una (Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle) (Renamed "Ucayali Eggnog" then "Evergreen Una" during Christmas) * Yangtze Lotus (Renamed "Yuletide Lotus" during Christmas) *

Zambezi The Zambezi (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than half of t ...

Miss (Renamed "Peppermint Miss" during Christmas) Names decommissioned in 1997: * Magdalena Maiden * Mekong Maiden

Magic Kingdom

The Walt Disney World Jungle Cruise is set as a depression-era

outpost on the Amazon River, operated by the fictional company, The Jungle Navigation Co., whose advertisement poster is painted on the wall near the exit of the attraction. Albert Awol's broadcast is different from that of Disneyland's, being ride specific. Also unlike Disneyland, the queue never extended to a second level. Near the Hippo Pool, a piece of a downed airplane can be seen along the shoreline. This is the back half of the Lockheed Model 12 Electra Junior previously found at The Great Movie Ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios in the ''

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

'' scene. Each variety of plant throughout the attraction was carefully selected by landscape architect Bill Evans to ensure that the foliage would be able to endure Florida's unique climate: hot summers and relatively cool winters. The most difficult aspect of this was making sure these plants had the appropriate look and feel of traditional tropical plants in the equatorial jungle. A Jungle Cruise themed restaurant, the Skipper Canteen, opened in December 2015 and expanded on the Jungle Navigation Co. storyline, making Dr. Albert Falls into the founder of the company in 1911, with his granddaughter Alberta Falls taking charge of the Navigation Company and the Jungle Cruise in the 1930s.

Queue

The queue of the Jungle Cruise is heavily themed with period artifacts, tools, gear, photos and more. It is intended to resemble a colonial outpost where an exploration of the jungle rivers may be booked. It is divided into four main sections which may be opened or closed in sequence to accommodate crowd fluctuation. The queue was designed to wind about extensively so that guests may see all of the different artifacts in the queue. The most notable section of the queue is the office of Albert Awol.

Attraction summary

The skipper welcomes the boat full of guests down the tropical rivers of the world. The ride starts out in the Amazon River, where the passengers encounter butterflies with one-foot wingspans, or as the skipper might say, twelve inches. The boat then passes Inspiration Falls, which transitions into the

in Africa. The boat passes by a beach with a shop named "Boats & Baits and Bites", and then passes an African rock python. The boat then passes a camp that has been raided by western gorillas, which transitions the cruise into the Nile River. After encountering two

African elephant African elephants are members of the genus ''Loxodonta'' comprising two living elephant species, the African bush elephant (''L. africana'') and the smaller African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''). Both are social herbivores with grey skin. ...

s, the boat passes along the African Veldt, riders see numerous African animals including

s, gazelles, vultures, wildebeests, and zebras watching a pride of

s feasting on a zebra beneath a rocky outcropping. The boat then passes a lost safari group that has been chased up a pole by an angry

and are now trapped and surrounded by

s. The group then passes by a pair of

Nile crocodile The Nile crocodile (''Crocodylus niloticus'') is a large crocodilian native to freshwater habitats in Africa, where it is present in 26 countries. It is widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa, occurring mostly in the eastern, southern, and ce ...

s and another waterfall, Schweitzer Falls (which riders are told is named after Dr. Albert Falls), and heads past the remains of a plane crash. The boat then encounters a pool of

s, about to charge the boat until the skipper scares them off. The boat passes by another boat being raided of its supplies by

s, and then proceeds into the

Mekong River The Mekong or Mekong River ( , ) is a transboundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of rivers by length, twelfth-longest river and List of longest rivers of Asia, the third-longest in Asia with an estimated l ...

. After encountering mugger crocodiles, they enter a temple that has been destroyed by an earthquake. Inside, some

monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes. Thus monkeys, in that sense, co ...

s, and a

Bengal tiger The Bengal tiger is a population of the ''Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies and the nominate tiger subspecies. It ranks among the largest wild cats alive today. It is estimated to have been present in the Indian subcontinent since the Late ...

can be found. After they exit, they come across an elephant bathing pool where numerous Indian elephants are relaxing in the water. The cruise concludes after the boat narrowly avoids being sprayed by water from one of the elephants.

Boats

There are 15 vehicles, with a maximum of 9 in operation at any given time. Sankuru Sadie

Annie (Renamed "Eggnog Annie" during Christmas) * Bomokandi Bertha (Wheelchair lift equipped) (Renamed "Brrrrr Bertha" during Christmas) * Congo Connie (Renamed "Candy Cane Connie" during Christmas) *

Gertie (Renamed "Garland Gertie" during Christmas) * Irrawaddy Irma (Renamed "Icicle Irma" during Christmas) * Mongala Millie (Renamed "Mistletoe Millie" during Christmas) *

Nellie (Renamed "Noel Nellie" during Christmas) *

Ida (Renamed "Orino-cocoa Ida" during Christmas) * Rutshuru Ruby (Renamed "Reindeer Ruby" during Christmas) * Sankuru Sadie (Renamed "Sleigh Ride Sadie" during Christmas) *

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

Sal (Renamed "Poinsettia Sal" during Christmas) * Ucayali Lolly (Renamed "Yule Log Lolly" during Christmas) * Volta Val (Renamed "Vixen Val" during Christmas) * Wamba Wanda (Wheelchair lift equipped) (Renamed "Wassail Wanda" during Christmas) *

Zelda (Renamed "Fruitcake Zelda" during Christmas) Retired boats * Kwango Kate (Retired in 2000)

Tokyo Disneyland

The Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland attractions are very similar to each other, with the exception of a few minor differences. While the boats in the Magic Kingdom's attraction travel counter-clockwise, the boats at Tokyo Disneyland travel in a clockwise direction. In Tokyo Disneyland, 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 Western River Railroad (reporting mark WRR) is a 2 ft 6 in gauge railways, Narrow gauge railway, narrow gauge rail transport attraction in Tokyo Disneyland, which opened on April 15, 1983. Its route is long and takes guests through the Ad ...

. The spiels in Tokyo Disneyland are delivered in Japanese. In 2014, the ride was revamped and renamed ''Jungle Cruise: Wildlife Expeditions'' as being the second renovations of the ride, since it was announced that the first renovations of the ride was temporarily closed for refurbishment. This new version contains unique special effects and background music.

Boats

There are 13 vehicles, with a maximum of 12 in operation at any given time. All boat names, except Orinoco Ida, are

alliteration Alliteration is the repetition of syllable-initial consonant sounds between nearby words, or of syllable-initial vowels if the syllables in question do not start with a consonant. It is often used as a literary device. A common example is " Pe ...

s. * Amazon Annie * Ganges Gertie * Irrawaddy Irma * Kwango Kate * Mekong Maiden * Nile Nelly * Orinoco Ida * Rutshuru Ruby * Sankuru Sadie * Senegal Sal * Volta Val * Wamba Wanda * Zambezi Zelda ;Retired boats * Congo Connie (Retired in 2020)

Hong Kong Disneyland

The shape of Hong Kong Disneyland's route is significantly different compared to the others, and circumnavigates Tarzan's Treehouse. A grand finale is included with a battle between angry fire and water gods. Three languages are regularly available: Cantonese, English, and Mandarin. Each language has a separate queue, allowing visitors to experience the journey in their preferred language. This has however been removed at an unknown date, as there is now only one queue for all languages. In 2024, the three languages have been merged into a single script and one queue. The overall script remains similar, but the languages alternate between lines.

Attraction summary

The queue takes place in a small boathouse of The Jungle Navigation Co. that is less elaborate than the 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, which are the official

languages of Hong Kong During the British Hong Kong, British colonial era, English was the sole official language until 1978. Today, the Hong Kong Basic Law, Basic Law of Hong Kong states that English_language, English and Chinese_language, Chinese are the two offic ...

. The boats then depart and head down the 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 an 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 have 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, while a school of hungry piranha are jumping in the hopes of attacking the guests. The boats escape into Africa and pass a large safari camp where several curious gorillas have discovered clothes, guns, hammocks, and books, as the "Trashin’ the Camp" song from ''

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...

'' plays on a nearby 1930s 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 unusual rock formations that look like faces, revealed by the skipper to be the fire god and the water god who constantly feud over 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.

Boats

There are 9 vehicles, with a maximum of 8 in operation at any given time. * Amazon Annie * Congo Queen (Wheelchair accessible) * Ganges Gal (Wheelchair accessible) * Irrawaddy Irma * Lijiang Lady * Mekong Maiden * Nile Nellie * Yangzi Ying Ying * Zambezi Zelda

Albert Awol

Albert Awol is a fictional Jungle Cruise boat captain and

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

for the Disney Broadcasting Company. Considered the "Voice of the Jungle", he broadcasts everything from news, to quizzes, reminders, weather, etc. on the DBC (Disney Broadcast Company). He also serves as a period disc jockey for the station, filling the airwaves with music from the 1930s depression era. Albert Awol was added in 1991 to the Jungle Cruise during a refurbishment. According to one report: Albert's broadcast is projected not just over the Jungle Cruise queuing area, but over Adventureland as a whole, setting the time period. In Disneyland, Albert is replaced by "Jungle Radio". Various air personalities comment on the environment, the luminaries who are in the area (including references to the designers of the attraction - Harper Goff, Bob Mattey, Winston Hibler rue-Life Adventure films, upon which Jungle Cruise is based. The music is a good deal slower in pace and tempo than the tracks used at Walt Disney World. The music was previously linked with the outdoor speakers at the Temple of the Forbidden Eye (Indiana Jones Adventure), however, two separate tracks of material with similar tone and some songs now exist. The Jungle Radio at Disneyland does connect the setting with the nearby Indiana Jones attraction, and ties in announcements that reference Indiana Jones and the temple in which the ride is set.

Major changes

Throughout the history of the attraction, Jungle Cruise has undergone many technical changes, as well as some story and content adaptations. In March 2001, ride skippers at Disneyland were "disarmed" of their pistols and no longer fired shots at animals during the ride. The skippers were rearmed in October 2004. In 2010, with the environment having undergone fifty-five years of growth and care, Disneyland's man-made jungle was declared to be "real" thanks to its own self-sustaining ecosystem. In the 2013 Holiday season, an overlay called the "Jingle Cruise" began running at the Jungle Cruise attractions at Disneyland Resort and the Magic Kingdom. This overlay included new decorations on the boathouse, Christmas lights on the boats, and a holiday-themed script, but few changes to the jungle itself. In 2014, the "Jingle Cruise" overlay returned, but with significant changes. Unlike the previous year, the boats and boathouse had few decorations, but the show scenes became themed. The script was rewritten to reflect a story of lost holiday supplies in th
jungle
2015's holiday overlay continued in the vein of 2014's, but added a new scene with giant snowmen. In January 2016, the Disneyland attraction underwent a four-month refurbishment and reopened in May. This included a new dock designed to stabilize the boats while loading and unloading, as well as some mechanical animal repairs, replacement of the on-ride audio systems, and tree replacement. In January 2021, Disney announced one of the most major refurbishments of the attraction. In response to increasing scrutiny of Disney attractions, the attraction's final scene of tribal people would be removed in the spirit of removing "negative depictions of native people". These scenes would then be replaced in both the

and

Magic Kingdom Magic Kingdom Park is a Amusement park, theme park at the Walt Disney World, Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It opened on October 1, 1971, and is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company through its Disney Experiences, Expe ...

versions of the ride. Despite previous reports that the attraction would now include or reference content from the 2021 film adaptation, these new refurbishments will only include the removal of "

imperialist Imperialism is the maintaining and extending of power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power (military and economic power) and soft power ( diplomatic power and cultural imperialism). Imperialism fo ...

" and "racist" content. The updated storyline emphasizes the re-imagined Trapped Safari characters consisting of Felix Pechman XIII, the unlucky skipper; Siobhan "Puffy" Murphy, an Irish

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

; Leonard Moss, a Black Canadian

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

; Kon Chunosuke, a Japanese

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

in the Society of Explorers and Adventurers; and Rosa Sota Dominguez, a Latina

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

, with the remains of their boat and supplies being taken over by a group of chimpanzees.

In popular culture

*In a Disney Sing Along Songs video volume called Disneyland Fun, the Jungle Cruise ride makes an appearance during "Following the Leader", a song from the 1953 Disney film '' Peter Pan''. *Jungle Cruise was parodied as ''Timon and Pumbaa's Virtual Safari'' on '' The Lion King'' Special Edition DVD (as their Nighttime Safari Boat Tour). A similar bonus feature called ''Baloo’s Virtual Swingin’ Jungle Cruise'' is featured on the 40th anniversary special edition DVD of the 1967 animated Disney film, '' The Jungle Book''. *The Maverick Theater in Fullerton, California, once hosted a reoccurring stand-up comedy show called the "Skipper Stand Up Show" featuring Jungle Cruise skippers. *

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American comedy musician, writer, and actor. He is best known for writing and performing Comedy music, comedy songs that often Parody music, parody specific songs by contempo ...

wrote and recorded a song titled "Skipper Dan" about a failed actor who ended up as a tour guide on the Jungle Cruise ride. The song is included on his 2009 digital '' Internet Leaks'' EP and his 2011 album, '' Alpocalypse''. *The cruise boat and the "River Expedition Company" boathouse were incorporated into an original painting and limited edition print offering by artist Randy Souders titled "Jungle Cruise", created for the 1999 Official Disneyana Convention at

. * ''Tales from Adventureland'', a 2017-2018 book series by Jason Lethcoe, would prominently incorporate elements from the Jungle Cruise within its narrative, with the Jungle Navigation Company being the primary means of transportation for the Jungle Exploration Society and Albert Awol being a crucial supporting character alongside his daughter Abigail Awol. *In 2022, Disney Television Animation's short series '' Chibi Tiny Tales'' featured a short with the '' DuckTales 2017'' characters visiting the ride. *In the StrongBad email "theme park" on the Homestar Runner web series, StrongBad operates "Strong Badian Riverquest Safariventure", a lampoon of Jungle Cruise where he reacts in deadpan style to fake dangers and chats with another tour guide. *In the '' Chowder'' cartoon episode "The Poultry Geist", the characters sail down the River Pretzel Styx in a boat with a guide who makes pun-filled remarks regarding the sights along their journey in a deadpan style (punctuated by a "Hey-yo!").

Soundtrack

A studio recorded soundtrack of the ''Jungle Cruise'' was released in 1968 by Disneyland Records included as the B side of the album ''Walt Disney Presents The Enchanted Tiki Room and the Adventurous Jungle Cruise'' (ST-3966). The Jungle Cruise attraction has always featured narration by a live Disney Cast Member; for the release the narration was provided by Thurl Ravenscroft. This soundtrack was also used in Disneyland television features as early as 1964.

Film adaptation

For years, Walt Disney Pictures contemplated the idea of making a full-length, action adventure film loosely inspired by the

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

attraction. Early planning set a production starting date in 2006 with a planned theatrical release in 2007, but multiple changes to the script and other issues delayed film production. The original

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

by Josh Goldstein and John Norville was reportedly rewritten by Al Gough and Miles Millar. Initially announced to star ''

Toy Story ''Toy Story'' is a 1995 American animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the first installment in the Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' franchise and the Firsts in animation, firs ...

'' duo Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, a later iteration of the project selected

Dwayne Johnson Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on a part-time basis. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional w ...

for the starring role. The film was described by ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' as a "period piece in the vein of

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart ( ; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart ...

's '' The African Queen''". Johnson also signed on as a producer, and production began in 2018. The film's release was delayed from 2019 to 2020 originally, and it was postponed again to 2021 during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The world premiere for '' Jungle Cruise'' was held at Disneyland on July 24, 2021, followed by a theatrical release in the United States on July 30, 2021. The film's plot focuses on a group's riverboat journey through a jungle in search of a cure for many diseases.

References

External links

Disneyland - Jungle Cruise

Magic Kingdom - Jungle Cruise

Tokyo Disneyland - Jungle Cruise: Wildlife Expeditions

Hong Kong Disneyland - Jungle River Cruise
{{Disney Theme Park Adaptations Amusement rides introduced in 1955 Amusement rides introduced in 1971 Amusement rides introduced in 1983 Amusement rides introduced in 2005 Walt Disney Parks and Resorts attractions Disneyland Magic Kingdom Tokyo Disneyland Hong Kong Disneyland Walt Disney Parks and Resorts gentle boat rides Adventureland (Disney) Audio-Animatronic attractions Adventure travel 1955 establishments in California Works set in Africa Works set in India Works set in Brazil

Inspiration and design

Disneyland

Attraction summary

Boats

Magic Kingdom

Queue

Attraction summary

Boats

Tokyo Disneyland

Boats

Hong Kong Disneyland

Attraction summary

Boats

Albert Awol

Major changes

In popular culture

Soundtrack

Film adaptation

See also

References

External links