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Disneyland | Jungle Cruise: Scene-by-scene preview of…

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Disneyland | jungle cruise: scene-by-scene preview of changes coming to classic disneyland ride, disneyland will reopen jungle cruise on july 16 after the boat ride undergoes a major makeover to remove outdated cultural depictions..

Disneyland will reopen Jungle Cruise on July 16 after the boat ride undergoes a major makeover to remove outdated cultural depictions and add a woman of color at the center of the revamped backstory of the attraction . The classic 1955 attraction remained closed when Disneyland returned on April 30 following a yearlong coronavirus closure.

SEE ALSO: Disneyland brings back single rider lines for most popular attractions

Walt Disney Imagineering is updating Jungle Cruise scenes at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom in Florida featuring tribal dancers, attacking natives, shrunken head dealer Trader Sam, a rhino chasing a safari group up a pole and other “negative depictions of native people” while adding several new scenes.

The Jungle Cruise updates will build on the history of the opening day Disneyland attraction with new adventures that stay true to the story and pay homage to skipper culture. More wildlife and humor will be added to the river voyage along with a new story line following a Jungle Cruise skipper whose journey goes awry.

The Magic Kingdom has kept the Jungle Cruise open during renovations — revealing new scenes in stages since early June. WDW News Today has documented each step of the Jungle Cruise renovations at Disney World — which are expected to serve as a guide for the upcoming Disneyland changes.

Consider this your spoiler alert as we take a closer look at what’s expected to be removed and added to the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland.

SEE ALSO: Disney reveals more details about Quinjet E-ticket ride coming to Avengers Campus

Attraction queue

Imagineering has made a woman of color the central character of the revamped Jungle Cruise rides at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Alberta Falls is the free-spirited adventuress and descendant of world explorers from India and England who will serve as the fictional heroine of the renovated Jungle Cruise attraction.

A skipper and four tramp steamer passengers have been added to the backstory of the updated Jungle Cruise attraction. They include:

• Felix Pechman XIII, an unlucky Jungle Cruise skipper
• Rosa Soto Dominguez, a painter from Mexico
• Leonardo Moss, a botanist from Canada
• Kon Chunosuke, an entomologist from Japan
• Siobhan “Puffin” Murphy, a birdwatcher from Ireland and Alberta’s cousin

The revamped backstory of the Jungle Cruise ride will also dive into the mysteries of Disneyland’s Mekong Maiden and the Magic Kingdom’s Kwango Kate — tramp steamer boats that were decommissioned on each coast.

SEE ALSO: ‘Jungle Cruise’ movie pays tribute to classic Disneyland ride with hippos, headhunters and the ‘backside of water’

Props in the Jungle Cruise queue at the Magic Kingdom have been updated to reflect changes to the ride’s backstory, according to WDWNT .

Jungle artifacts in the shipping office have been removed, relocated and replaced. Tribal masks, spears and hunting helmets once featured in the Jungle Cruise queue have been taken down, according to WDWNT. Some storytelling props like binoculars and a cup of drafting pencils have been given more prominent display while others like a typewriter and kettle have disappeared.

Trapped safari

The trapped safari scene has been updated with new inclusivity changes on the Jungle Cruise at the Magic Kingdom, according to WDWNT .

A new culturally diverse group of audio-animatronic boat passengers are now stuck up a pole — including the previously mentioned skipper, painter, botanist, bird watcher and butterfly collector. An animatronic rhino threatens the passengers from below.

Sunken Tramp Steamer

A sunken tramp steamer boat has been added to the Jungle Cruise hippopotamus scene at the Magic Kingdom, according to WDWNT .

A steamer trunk labeled “Property of La Rosa” and black trunk bearing the name “Puffin” float in the water — referring to safari members Rosa Soto Dominguez and Siobhan “Puffin” Murphy.

Nearby, a tarp covers what is expected to be a wrecked boat scene with monkeys, according to WDWNT .

Concept art shows five chimps taking over a half-sunken boat — splattering paint on the rooftop canopy of the tramp steamer and releasing butterflies from a cage. One chimp with a parasol sits on the roof of the boat while another has taken over the helm and the skipper’s microphone. Some of the new figures will feature animatronic movements.

Another new scene featuring monkeys catching butterflies will be added to the Jungle Cruise attractions. Concept art shows a pair of monkeys rummaging through overturned crates labeled “Fragile Live Insects.” One monkey wields a butterfly net while another chomps on one of the brightly colored flying insects.

A “native celebration” scene with tribal dancers and an ambush scene with attacking natives have also been removed from the Jungle Cruise at the Magic Kingdom, according to WDWNT .

Trader Sam’s

The audio-animatronic Trader Sam the headhunter has been removed from the finale scene of the ride at the Magic Kingdom, according to WDWNT .

In a new scene, Trader Sam will become an unseen Jungle Navigation Company manager who has converted the river tour company’s thatched-roofed hut for lost and found items into the Trader Sam’s Gift Shop.

SEE ALSO: Less than half of 32,000 Disneyland employees have returned to work

Boats, Baits and Bites

The Jungle Cruise rides at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom are similar but not identical. The Florida version of the ride has updated one scene that doesn’t appear in California.

A new Boats, Baits and Bites shack has replaced a “Pygmy Welcoming Party” hut on the Jungle Cruise at the Magic Kingdom, according to WDWNT .

Spears topped with skulls and pygmy canoe masks have been removed from the scene.

The Boats, Baits and Bites shack has a Gone Fishin’ sign posted by Skipper Sully. The riverside food hut is decorated with a fishing net, menu board and fish drying on a line.

It remains to be seen if the new Boats, Baits and Bites scene will be incorporated into the Jungle Cruise ride at Disneyland.

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Disney making changes to Jungle Cruise ride, removing 'negative depictions' of native peoples

Disneyland and Disney World will open reimagined versions of the classic boat ride.

Both Disney parks in the United States are set to remove negative cultural depictions from another classic attraction.

Following last year's news that the iconic flume ride Splash Mountain would undergo a massive overhaul to include theming from the Princess and the Frog film while removing Song of the South 's stereotypical character depictions, the Disney Parks Blog announced Monday that the Jungle Cruise ride at both Disneyland and Disney World will incorporate similar changes that "reflect and value the diversity of the world around us."

The reimagined ride will preserve humor from the boat-based journey's classic skippers, but instead of sending guests through unrelated scenes through the jungle, the attraction will now operate with a fully formed story connecting each vignette.

Changes include introducing new characters for guests to follow along with: a birdwatcher, an entomologist, a wildlife painter, and a photographer will now take up residence on the iconic rhino pole scene, replacing the existing animatronic explorers currently on the pole. The band's trek takes a wild turn when they exit their boat and enter the jungle, and riders will also see a group of primates that have taken over the explorers' raft.

"This is not a re-envisioning of the entire attraction. It's the Jungle Cruise you know and love, with the skippers still leading the way, and at the same time, we're addressing the negative depictions of 'natives.' So that's one of the scenes we're going to go in and change," said Disney Imagineering Creative Portfolio Executive Chris Beatty in an interview with D23 , the official Disney fan club. "We're keeping a lot of the classic jokes that the fans know and love, like the backside of water. But it will give our skipper some new material to play off of. So that's exciting for them. They were really excited about having some new source material."

Originally opened at Disneyland in 1955, the Jungle Cruise ride has been adapted for three other parks around the world, with Disney World's version opening in 1971, followed by Tokyo Disneyland's opening in 1983 and Hong Kong Disneyland's in 2005. A feature film based on the ride (starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt ) is slated to premiere later this year, though Beatty indicated neither actor (or the plot from the film) will be part of the ride's refurbishment.

Disney has not revealed a timeline for when the changes will be implemented, though Beatty confirmed the Imagineering team is working hard to "make sure we can get everything in this year."

Watch Disney's Jungle Cruise refurbishment preview video above.

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Disney Revamps Jungle Cruise Ride To Remove Racist Depictions Of Indigenous People

Danielle Prieur

Visitors take photos at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., in March 2020. Jungle Cruise, one of the original Disney parks' rides, is getting a 21st century remodel by "imagineers" at the Disneyland park in California and the Magic Kingdom park in Florida with a new storyline and characters that "reflect and value the diversity of the world around us," Disney said in a blog post last week. Amy Taxin/AP hide caption

Visitors take photos at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., in March 2020. Jungle Cruise, one of the original Disney parks' rides, is getting a 21st century remodel by "imagineers" at the Disneyland park in California and the Magic Kingdom park in Florida with a new storyline and characters that "reflect and value the diversity of the world around us," Disney said in a blog post last week.

It's 5 p.m. at the Disney Springs shopping complex near Orlando, Fla., and guests are streaming in after a busy day at the theme parks. Among them are Corey Schleining from Indiana, and his 4-year-old grandson Tristan.

Over a steaming bowl of poutine from The Daily Poutine, Schleining runs down the list of rides he took Tristan on.

"We did Peter Pan and we did some of the important ones like that. Barnstormer and some of the stuff that he could ride for his first time," Schleining said.

They had to skip the Jungle Cruise at the Magic Kingdom because it was too crowded even with extra health and safety protocols put in place during the pandemic.

On Jan. 25, Disney announced it planned to change the Jungle Cruise ride to address negative depictions of Indigenous people. Schleining has heard about changes to the ride to make it more inclusive for guests, and said it's something he welcomes.

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"As a culture. We have to change. I mean we have to change. These are things that really probably should have never existed in the first place," Schleining said.

The 10-minute ride described as a "scenic and comedic boat tour of exotic rivers" on Disney's website, takes guests on a winding 10,000-mile cruise across Asia, Africa and South America. At the very end is one controversial part: an indigenous man named Trader Sam holding up several shrunken heads. Guides quip about how Sam is the "the head salesman" whose "sales have been shrinking lately."

"Either way you slice it or dice it you won't come out ahead," one guide said jokingly.

Rollins College English professor Anne Zimmermann says that's not the only part of the ride that's problematic. She studies the stories Disney tells its guests on rides like the Jungle Cruise. The first time the boat encounters Indigenous people guests are told they're entering headhunter territory and that sometimes the natives attack crews.

"They had the union Jack flying in the boat and you have these colonizers getting attacked by a tribe of indigenous people in part of the original narrative," Zimmermann said.

Updating rides based on evolving cultural norms isn't new and it isn't new for Disney.

Ady Milman teaches theme park and attraction management at the University of Central Florida.

Milman said Disney updated its Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney World and Disneyland in 2018 by taking out a scene of a bride auction.

"Several years ago a show in the Pirates of the Caribbean or a scene removed a scene depicting a woman being sold as a slave," Milman said.

Now, the "Take a Wench for a Bride" sign is gone and it's only chickens that are for sale.

The character named Redd who was being sold off is a pirate.

Milman said if anything technology and a nationwide reckoning around race are speeding these changes.

In June Disney announced changes to Splash Mountain after 20,000 people signed an online petition.

The ride will get a new "The Princess and the Frog" theme based on the 2009 movie. Visitors will follow Princess Tiana and Louis on a musical journey through New Orleans as they perform in their first Mardi Gras. Music for the ride will come from the film's award-winning score. The original ride is based on the movie, Song of the South which draws on caricatures of enslaved Black people.

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"And they want to stay contemporary, they want to stay current. And not to offend anybody as you probably know social media is a very quick way to criticize any type of experience," Milman explained.

A theme park is not a time capsule, said Rick Munarriz, economic analyst with the Motley Fool. Walt Disney himself embraced progress and built it into his company's business model, Munarriz said, and the new rides and attractions inspire renewed interest in the parks which translates to turnstile clicks and merchandising opportunities. Even if some fans are upset by these changes, he said, they won't be for long.

"They succumb to it. They can be angry about the change at the Pirates of the Caribbean ride a couple of years ago, but they're on the ride again they're having fun," Munarriz said.

Munarriz said new rides that Disney's planning like the Guardians of the Galaxy, Cosmic Rewind roller coaster at Epcot in Orlando are already built with inclusion in mind.

A crew consisting of all varieties of species and all types of people working together on a shared mission is the right kind of message to be sending, he said.

Back at Disney Springs, Corey Schleining is excited to take his grandson on the Jungle Cruise when they return even if it is different from how he remembers it as a kid.

"We should all be evolving and doing those things. Those are things that should be left in the past so it won't bother me at all," Schleining said.

Disney hasn't released a timeline yet for when changes to the Jungle Cruise at Disney World or Disneyland will be complete.

The company did not respond to a request for a comment on this story.

But in a statement on the Disney Parks blog , Walt Disney Imagineering Executive Carmen Smith said, "it is our responsibility to ensure experiences we create and stories we share reflect the voices and perspectives of the world around us. With Jungle Cruise, we're bringing to life more of what people love — the humor and wit of our incredible skippers, while making needed updates."

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Though a theme park ride inspires Disney's  Jungle Cruise , vast differences exist between the film and the Disney attraction. In  Jungle Cruise , Emily Blunt plays Dr. Lily Houghton, a botanist with some Indiana Jones-like flair. Lily has spent years searching for Tears of the Moon, a mythical tree with magical healing powers. Unfortunately, an explorers association denies Lily and her brother,  McGregor (Jack Whitehall) , the chance to use an arrowhead that could help find the legendary tree. So Lily takes things into her own hands. She steals the arrowhead and takes her brother to the Amazon to look for the tree. To travel on the Amazon River, they acquire the services of Frank Wolff (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson), who's also after the Tears of the Moon. The group faces several adversaries along the journey, including cursed, immortal Spanish conquistadors and Prince Joachim (Jesse Plemons), a German aristocrat trying to use the tree to bring glory to his country during World War I.

Disney has a long history of pairing rides with films. From  The Tower of Terror to   Eddie Murphy's  Haunted Mansion , Disney's marketing scheme brings new excitement to its rides while giving its IP bankable brand extensions. Most notably, Disney's  Pirates of the Caribbean  films brought new life to its theme park attraction while giving the studio a $4 billion-plus franchise. With a Jungle Cruise sequel already in the works, it seems Disney wants to have The Rock and Emily Blunt continually cruise through the wilderness well into the future.

Related:  Jungle Cruise Turns The Disney Ride's Biggest Lie Into A Reality

Despite the source material for  Jungle Cruise , the movie differentiates itself from the theme park ride. For instance, Trader Sam's story is completely changed, and The Rock isn't like the regular skippers seen on the Jungle Cruise ride . On the other hand, the movie does include small details, such as a backstory for Dr. Albert Falls, which keeps it connected to the Disney attraction. Given the film's inspiration, there are some notable similarities. However,  Jungle Cruise doesn't let its ride limit it, and it often goes off in wild directions.

Jungle Cruise Changes The Setting To The Amazon

At Disney's Jungle Cruise, passengers don't explore just one jungle. Instead, the ride takes Disney guests on an exotic tour down multiple rivers of the world, including the Nile in Africa, the Mekong River in Asia, and South America's Amazon. However, Disney's new film strictly focuses on the Amazon, with Lily, McGregor, and Frank traveling down the river searching for the mythical Tears of the Moon. Disney allows the film to build a more in-depth story around one specific location by focusing on the Amazon River. It also leaves room for Jungle Cruise sequels to travel to other rivers of the world in the future.

Trader Sam Is Drastically Changed

The Trader Sam portion of Disney's Jungle Cruise ride created controversy over its insensitive depiction of Indigenous people. In a previous version of the ride, Trader Sam would hold shrunken heads, and the skippers would joke to the guests that the character had a sale going on: two of Sam's heads for one of the guests' heads. Other portions of the ride included natives seemingly attacking the boats. Disney has since removed the controversial depiction of Trader Sam in an updated version of its 66-year-old ride, and the movie changes Sam's story even more.

In Jungle Cruise , Trader Sam is gender-swapped and played by Mexican actress Veronica Falcón. Sam is part of a local tribe that helps Frank try to trick Lily out of the arrowhead that leads to Tears of the Moon. However, Sam gives up the ruse when she realizes things are going too far, revealing Frank was lying. Trader Sam also helps translate the arrowhead, which is the key to Lily and Frank eventually making their way to the legendary tree.

Related:  Jungle Cruise Ending & Meaning Explained

The Rock Isn't An Average Jungle Cruise Skipper

When it comes to Jungle Cruise , The Rock isn't like the regular skippers on the ride. He does have some similarities, constantly cracking one-liner jokes and puns throughout the movie; however, he also gets an incredibly complicated backstory. The film reveals that Frank is also one of the cursed Spanish conquistadors who set out for the Tears of the Moon hundreds of years ago. After being cursed, he is forced to live along the Amazon River, constantly searching for Tears of the Moon so its petals can free him, and he can die in peace. The story is a vastly different depiction of the wise-cracking skippers that generally lead the ride.

The Movie Changes Dr. Albert Falls' Backstory

Albert Falls was originally a joke in the Jungle Cruise ride, being the name given to the discoverer of Schweitzer Falls. But, of course, the actual namesake is Nobel Prize winner Albert Schweitzer. Disney's Jungle Cruise  creates a mystery around Albert Falls . According to the film, Falls originally acquired the legendary arrowhead, which helps find the Tears of the Moon. He leaves the arrowhead in possession of the explorers association that rudely rejects Lily and her brother early in the movie. There are many questions about Falls' journey and how he got the arrowhead, but the movie doesn't add a lot of details.

Jungle Cruise Adds New Creations For The Movie

The ride doesn't hinder Disney's Jungle Cruise film in the least. In addition to the legendary healing tree, Tears of the Moon, the film brings in Aguirre (Edgar Ramirez) and his Spanish conquistadors. The men were cursed to live along the Amazon after trying to force a local tribe to reveal the tree's location, eventually turning into monsters when Frank (also a cursed conquistador) traps his former friends away from the river's water. Emily Blunt's  Jungle Cruise  heroine , who wants to help rid the world of disease; The Rock's boat skipper, who is secretly hundreds of years old and wants to die; and Plemons' nefarious prince, who is out to exploit the healing tree for war, are all new inventions for the film. All the new creations help give the plot more twists and turns than any river.

Jungle Cruise Also Has Similarities To The Ride

Though the film takes its Jungle Cruise inspiration in wild directions, it starts with a deep connection to the ride. For instance, before The Rock reveals his secret identity as a cursed Spanish explorer, he is introduced as a typical Jungle Cruise skipper. He even takes guests on a jungle cruise, using the same pun-filled jokes from the latest version of the classic Disney ride  at the parks. And, of course,  Jungle Cruise  gives viewers the one thing all guests look forward to in Disney's boat tour, a glorious view of the backside of water.

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Disneyland Shares More Jungle Cruise Photos and Video With a Look at What’s New

Hi everyone!

Disneyland has shared even more information about the reimagined Jungle Cruise, including video of some of the changes and interviews with Imagineers Kim Irvine and Chris Beatty. The Disneyland Jungle Cruise reopens officially on July 16th, and the Walt Disney World version will be complete this summer (with the same changes). The Disneyland version is in soft opening now. Read more below from Disney!

The world-famous Jungle Cruise at Disneyland Park officially reopens on July 16, 2021, with new adventures, an expanded storyline and more humor as skippers take guests on a tongue-in-cheek journey along some of the most remote rivers around the world. The new creative concept is original to Walt Disney Imagineering, just like the classic attraction itself.

Changes to this attraction also are underway in Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort, with completion expected later this summer.

Here is video that Disneyland has shared, with a look at the reimagined scenes and the interviews.

“We’re excited to be building on the story of the Jungle Cruise to include new adventures that stay true to the experience we know and love, while adding more humor, more wildlife, and an interconnected story,” said Chris Beatty, an Imagineer who led creative development of the enhancements. “As part of creative development, we’ve also introduced characters from around the world and took a thoughtful approach to ensure accurate representation of cultures in our story.”

The world-famous Jungle Cruise skippers return to share the unique adventure and interactions that guests expect on this expedition in Adventureland. New scenes have fun with the legendary comedic tone of the attraction, and some unexpected scenarios give the jungle and the animals the last laugh!

What’s new: Disney Imagineers have a longstanding history of updating attractions at the Disneyland Resort and Disney Parks. The expanded backstory centers around Alberta Falls, the granddaughter of the world-renowned Dr. Albert Falls, who is now proprietor of the Jungle Navigation Company Ltd. New scenes include:

• A safari of explorers from around the world finds itself up a tree after the journey goes awry
• Chimpanzees have taken over the expedition’s wrecked boat
• A Lost & Found location has turned into a Gift Shop run by Alberta’s longtime friend, Trader Sam

Don’t miss: Jungle Cruise skippers incorporate plenty of gags as they narrate “wildlife” scenes for guests who have boarded a canopied tramp steamer, leaving civilization behind.  Those scenes include:

• Ancient Cambodian Shrine with leaping tigers, lethal cobras and snapping crocodiles

• Jungle Cruise Safari Camp is a former camp overrun by “explosively” curious gorillas
• Indian Elephant Bathing Pool where bathing Indian elephants have their “trunks on”
• The African Veldt where angry hippos and hungry lions are guarding a “sleeping” zebra
• Schweitzer Falls, where skippers introduce guests to something they may have never seen before – the “back side of water”!

Changes through the years: The tone of the attraction was more serious when it opened, on the first day Disneyland Park welcomed guests in 1955. The river has changed course through the years and additions included the elephant bathing pool, gorillas in the safari camp and a new piranha scene.

Imaginative landscaping : The foliage is designed to look as if it had been created by nature. Since 1955, the Jungle Cruise vegetation has evolved into its own tropical jungle with three levels: the upper canopy, the understory and the forest floor. The “father” of the attraction’s jungle was horticulturist and Disney Legend Bill Evans, who directed the landscaping of much of Disneyland in the 1950s.

Did you know?

• The skippers of the Jungle Cruise lead a humorously irreverent expedition, carrying passengers along four rivers: the Nile of Africa, the Amazon of South America, the Irrawaddy of Southeast Asia and the Ganges of India.
• Guests will enjoy the return of the Jungle Cruise and also something new at The Tropical Hideaway – a Pineapple Split! Starting July 16 and while supplies last, it will be served in a souvenir container that looks like a Jungle Cruise boat with a red-and-white striped canopy. This “pineapple split” comes with DOLE Whip® , blueberries, strawberries and Mandarin oranges, topped with coconut-caramel sauce, crushed plantains, dried hibiscus and toasted coconut.

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Disneyland Unveils New Jungle Cruise Ride After Removing Racially Insensitive Depictions

The attraction previously included racially and culturally insensitive features like Indigenous peoples being depicted as tourist attractions

Disneyland's Jungle Cruise is ready to sail out the past and into today.

The long-running ride is slated to reopen at Disneyland on July 16 after undergoing a makeover , and the California theme park gave fans a first look at the new changes to the attraction on Friday.

Jungle Cruise follows the captain of a ship, called a skipper, who gives tours along rivers in Asia, Africa, and South America that sometimes go awry.

The ride was changed in a bid to remove culturally and racially insensitive depictions — like Indigenous peoples being portrayed as tourist attractions.

The Jungle Cruise has now been updated with new scenes that guests can tour, including one depicting explorers from around the world and another with chimpanzees taking over a wrecked boat.

The skipper, who is played by a live Disney cast member, remains an integral part of the experience, though the ride itself will now have an expanded backstory centering around Alberta Falls , the granddaughter of the proprietor of the Jungle Navigation Company Ltd.

"We're excited to be building on the story of the Jungle Cruise to include new adventures that stay true to the experience we know and love, while adding more humor, more wildlife, and an interconnected story," Chris Beatty, creative executive at Walt Disney Imagineering, said in a statement. "As part of creative development, we've also introduced characters from around the world and took a thoughtful approach to ensure accurate representation of cultures in our story."

Changes to the Jungle Cruise ride in Walt Disney World in Florida are still underway and should be completed later this summer, according to the company.

Jungle Cruise was first unveiled at Disneyland in 1955. Though the ride initially had a more serious tone, it was changed throughout the years with a more playful, tongue-in-cheek storyline with additions like an elephant bathing pool and piranhas in the river.

Other versions of the attraction have since been built in Florida's Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland.

A film adaption of the ride starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Emily Blunt is slated to premiere on July 30.

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Disney first announced plans to revamp Jungle Cruise in January, saying at the time that its Imagineers have "created a storyline that builds upon what people love the most while addressing negative depictions simultaneously."

The announcement came a year after the company said it was designing Splash Mountain at both the California and Florida parks to depict scenes from The Princess and the Frog rather than the problematic 1946 film Song of the South .

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Jungle Cruise Closing for Post-Summer Project

We’ve been warning you that Walt Disney World is likely going to accelerate several simultaneous ride refurbishments and reimaginings, and now there’s another major project on the calendar for the post-summer season in Magic Kingdom. This share dates & details of the Jungle Cruise closure, plus what else to expect around the same timeframe in Magic Kingdom. ( Updated August 9, 2024 .)

Let’s start with the pertinent details. Walt Disney World has quietly added a closure of Jungle Cruise to the refurbishment calendar that’s slated to start on August 26, 2024. Although that’s technically still summer per the Farmer’s Almanac or season scientists or whatever, Walt Disney World’s summer essentially ends once the calendar turns to August. (I’d say the second week of August, if we want to get technical. Some point to Labor Day, but summer is long over by then–that’s Halloween season!)

UPDATE: According to a calendar update in the My Disney Experience App, Jungle Cruise is set to reopen on October 18, 2024. This is not yet reflected on the attraction page or calendar of the official website, but that’s not cause for alarm. For some reason, the Disneyworld.com calendar doesn’t go as far out as the app-based calendar, so this is par for the course.

The official attraction page still has the following statement: “Beginning August 26, 2024, Jungle Cruise will temporarily close for refurbishment. The attraction is scheduled to reopen for Guests before the winter holidays begin at Walt Disney World.”

Jungle Cruise had been removed from both the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party attraction lists, but Jingle Cruise is still listed as an attraction overlay for the Christmas season. It’s our expectation that Jungle/Jingle Cruise will be open for both MNSSHP and MVMCP starting October 18, 2024 and all parties thereafter–but this is not yet confirmed.

As you might recall, Jungle Cruise was reimagined a few years ago . In case not, the attraction remained open at Magic Kingdom during the reimagining, as Imagineering utilized a “phased approach” to the project. Basically, they removed and installed a bunch of stuff overnight–mostly monkeys.

The way the Jungle Cruise’s scenes are staged makes it more conducive to changes that can be accomplished overnight or in the span of a day or two. This is exactly how the annual Jingle Cruise overlay for Christmas works. It also helped, I guess, that a lot of “changes” to the Jungle Cruise were copious amounts of backstory and lore that were added for no particular purpose. Doesn’t take much doing to “install” backstory.

From my perspective, the end result with Jungle Cruise reimagining was a positive one. Those backstory details are peppered around the queue, and there for the discovery of guests. That’s an asset, as it gives guests something to engage in that previously basic and sometimes very long standby line.

You can uncover nuggets of information that illuminate and connect to other adventurous experiences, but are not the least bit necessary to enjoying the attraction. Or not. You can ignore them and don’t lose anything from the ride-through experience. The jokes are still funny (or not) and the animals are still there. Enjoyment doesn’t hinge on the backstory.

As for the ride itself, the big change to Jungle Cruise is that they added a plethora of primates. It might as well be called Jungle Cruise: Monkey Madness. I’m sorry, but if you dislike that, you’re distinctly unpatriotic. Monkeys doing ape antics are awesome, and that’s just a fact. For all of the hand-wringing about changing Jungle Cruise, the end result is basically just that–more monkeys. Other stuff did change for ‘contemporary audiences,’ but the big discernible thing is the monkeys. It was a big win for lovers of simian shenanigans, which should be everyone.

Given all of the changes that already occurred, I wouldn’t expect much to change with the show scenes in Jungle Cruise. They might be spruced up or enhanced in small ways with the addition of Easter Eggs and that sorta thing, but we probably aren’t getting project mapping or special night lighting a la the reimaging at Tokyo Disneyland from several years ago.

It’s our understanding that this is a routine refurbishment rather than a reimagining, with work needing to be done on underwater infrastructure as well as some of the facades and other elements of the attraction. I know that’s not as sexy or exciting as reimaginings, but this type of work is also very necessary to ensure reliability and longevity. (And who knows–maybe they’ll install a nicer lighting package–Jungle Cruise could use one!)

Now let’s turn to the other projects in Magic Kingdom and how these pieces of the puzzle fit together. As covered in our latest update to Magic Kingdom Ride Refurbishment Rumors Realities , Peter Pan’s Flight is now closed for refurbishment through August 20, 2024. The attraction is currently expected to reopen on August 21, 2024.

That was a very last-minute addition to the closure calendar by Walt Disney World standards, but construction permits for the work were filed two months before the closure was added to the calendar. Our suspicion was and is that Walt Disney World was waiting for other pieces of the puzzle–the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad closure timeline as well as Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opening and operating reliability–and was backed into this corner by those timeframes.

Speaking of which, there’s also a Big Thunder Mountain Railroad closure on the horizon. This has not been acknowledged by the company–meaning it’s neither announced nor added to the official calendar–but it is happening. Permits have been filed and it’s an open secret that the roller coaster is closing for roughly one-year.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad needs a significant refurbishment involving major work on the ride system and retracking. This long-planned project is viewed as preventative work that’s crucial to extend the useful life of the roller coaster, ensuring the ride’s longevity and operational status for decades to come. But unlike Jungle Cruise, we also expect some big “plussings” to occur to Big Thunder.

With the Jungle Cruise closure, we start seeing how these pieces of the puzzle fit together. Peter Pan’s Flight reopens, Jungle Cruise closes. Jungle Cruise reopens and, presumably, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad goes down for its long closure. As mentioned before, I wouldn’t be surprised if Walt Disney World tries to squeeze as many necessary closures in front of the the BTMRR closure as possible to avoid having other key attractions down during peak dates of the Big Thunder project.

I also wouldn’t rule out the possibility of overlap between the Jungle Cruise and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad refurbishments. September is historically the off-season, although the last couple of weeks will probably see spikes because of the ticket deals ending. (The thing is, whoever is doing Magic Kingdom scheduling probably is oblivious to that.)

Given all of this, I think it’s possible that BTMRR closes around mid-September and Jungle Cruise does not reopen until after that. It really depends upon how long each project is expected to take, and when Walt Disney World wants both operational.

This also explains Walt Disney World’s approach with Lightning Lane Multi Passes. I thought it was kind of weird that Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was a top tier selection, but now that kind of makes sense. There’s always going to be one tier 1 ride out of commission for the next year.

Regardless, this makes testing Lightning Lane Multi Pass in Magic Kingdom kind of a lost cause until Jungle Cruise reopens, as ‘results’ in late July through August won’t be representative of the following year when BTMRR is down. (Not only that, but Party Season throws a monkey wrench into things, anyway, so whatever you see for the remainder of this year won’t apply to 2025, anyway.)

Ultimately, it’s interesting that Peter Pan’s Flight, Jungle Cruise, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will all go down for extended closures (of varying degrees) in the coming months. As we’ve been saying for months now, we’d expect more  reimaginings and refurbishments of this nature for a couple of reasons.

The first is that there was a lot of deferred maintenance and proportionately fewer closures in the last few years due to pent-up demand and budget cuts. So several attractions are overdue for refurbishments and will probably get them later this year or in 2025.

Second, the money spigot is about to be turned on for Parks & Resorts, allowing for more projects of this nature to ( finally! ) happen. Sure, it’s not as exciting as brand-new attractions–and many of you may lament more rides being closed during your vacation–but refurbishments are very much a necessity for maintaining appropriate attraction standards and ensuring that breakdowns don’t continue to happen at a more frequent rate. So here’s hoping we see more on this front!

From my perspective, it was the deferred maintenance that was bad–not the current and upcoming closures. Walt Disney World has extensive downtime and reliability woes in the last couple of years, and this is precisely why. That absolutely needs to be addressed, and this is the way that happens.

I’m somewhat sympathetic to Walt Disney World fan complaints about ride closures. It sucks when it happens on your trip, especially these closures that aren’t added to the schedule until the last minute. If you ask me, the announcement protocol is what needs to change, so people can plan accordingly, not the number of closures. (If anything, there need to be even more simultaneous refurbishments!)

I also know that Walt Disney World fans envy Tokyo Disney Resort and often ask why our parks can’t be like those, or why Disney doesn’t do things like OLC. Well, this is how OLC does things–here’s the current Tokyo Disney Resort refurbishment calendar . Spoiler: there are many, many more attraction closures on that list than at Walt Disney World. American fans cannot have it both ways–we can’t expect maintenance standards of Tokyo Disney Resort… without the closure calendar of Tokyo Disney Resort . That’s how maintenance gets done!

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YOUR THOUGHTS

What do you think about the ride refurbishments/reimaginings of Peter Pan’s Flight, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and now Jungle Cruise? Hope these classics are updated to ensure their longevity for decades to come? Do any attractions at Walt Disney World strike you as being prime candidates for ride reimaginings? Do you agree or disagree with our choices? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!

Written by Tom Bricker

The pictures and descriptions of the new Cars ride sure look and sound like a reimagined Big Thunder.

So how much notice will we get for BTMRR going down? I’m picking lightning lanes in a couple weeks and I don’t want to grab and early time slot just to lose it later.

It seems so silly that they can’t commit to a date.

So, now with this update, it seems less likely that Thunder Mountain will close this year?

Everything I’ve heard suggest BTMRR is still going down this off-season (so August or September), but that the Magic Kingdom refurbishment situation is “fluid.”

Still my understanding that more is to come, but those projects might slip into 2025.

I haven’t seen if they filed any permits, but might this also be for prep work for the proposed expansion (rumored to be Moana) of Adventureland south of the Pirates building? The walkway to reach the expansion pad would have to pass between Pirates and the Amazon area/ Inspiration Falls/bait and boat scene of the Jungle Cruise.

I suppose we’ll find out in a few weeks at D23.

Any idea how Jungle Cruise being closed affects Keys to the Kingdom Tour? Do they replace with another ride or just skip this portion of the tour?

I hope they can upgrade the JC boat speakers/microphones while they’re at it! This is my husband’s favorite attraction (yes, really) and the last time we rode, after a 45 minute wait, we couldn’t hear half of the skipper’s jokes because the audio equipment was so terrible. He was so disappointed.

I agree! We have stopped bothering to ride because we can’t understand much of what is being said. Our kid had no idea what was being said and kept asking what was going on. The audio situation in the boats should be remedied, especially considering how long people wait for this.

Hi Tom! It really sucks when major attractions like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad shut down for such a long period. This will be our first trip in nearly 10 years and you should be more than « somewhat sympathetic » because it’s not everyone who can afford to be at Walt Disney World very often… With that said, we really appreciate your work. Thank you!

Refurbishments have to happen sometime, otherwise standards start slipping and Disney isn’t Disney. Every single day, there’s a huge number of one-and-done visitors at Walt Disney World. There’s no possible way to reconcile those things. Attractions will always be down during someone’s first or infrequent trip. So what I mean with the ‘somewhat sympathetic’ line is that yes, it sucks. But it’s also unavoidable–the nature of the beast. On the one hand, we’ve been “lucky” with not many refurbs in the last few years…but unlikely that maintenance standards have slipped. It’s a double-edged sword.

Again, I really think Walt Disney World should do a better job of communicating closures well in advance–we’re talking 6+ months, ideally.

To Tom’s point, we didn’t get to go on Indiana Jones last summer in DL because it was down the only day we were there. Even if there isn’t a planned closure, you may still not be able to ride because maintenance issues of these rides are a serious issue. I’m very sympathetic, Big Thunder is my favourite ride, and I likely won’t be able to ride the next time I’m there. But if it’s not running because the ride is down because it’s being held together with gum and tape I also can’t ride it.

I am sympathetic to you but also ultimately agree with Tom’s point. And this is as someone who has been on the unlucky end of the maintenance schedules.

I have been to Disneyland exactly once, didn’t get to go on Indiana Jones Adventure (the rides pretty much every site mentions as a highlight and that doesn’t exist at Disney World) because of refurbishment. During our only visit to Disneyland Paris, both Big Thunder (which looked awesome) and it’s a small world were down for the entire year.

The good news is I had a fabulous time at both resorts despite the closures; my memories of both and my feeling while there was overwhelmingly positive. For me at least, knowing beforehand gave me time to be bummed ahead of arrival so that when I arrived, I could focus on everything I did get to do.

I hope you and your family enjoy your trip!

Loading people with assistive needs onto Jungle Cruise feels like it makes that ride’s throughput MUCH slower. Extra service is required to position a ramp, wheel the guests onto a special boat, tie them in their assistive device down so they don’t slide around the deck, then later reverse all the steps to unload. Meanwhile, most of the queue is watching and presumably hoping they load/unload the non-themed assistive device as fast as possible. It’s more “public transit bus” in those moments, than it is “jungle cruise”. So anything that helps that ride become faster and/or more reliable seems worthwhile. I wasn’t expecting such a long wait, given the line size, but there happened to be a bunch of families in line with grandmas. Maybe I’m just not enough into tryout-level comedians, but I don’t feel the typical guest’s desire for repeat visits to the JCruise. Once was definitely enough.

Yeah, I think a lot of the Jungle Cruise’s increased “popularity” (air quotes) in the post-reopening period is less about the boost from the reimagining and more the result of decreased efficiency.

What you mention is one thing, but the attraction just isn’t dispatching as many boats as it used to. Someone sent me an ops guide for Jungle Cruise and it was quite illuminating as to just how inefficient the ride has become in actuality versus theoretically.

Can monkey’s even do ape antics? Wouldn’t that make them monkey antics? Although I think there are Chimpanzees in the ride and they are definitely apes. (I know that’s not the gist of the post, but not I’m stuck thinking about how many apes vs. monkeys are on the Jungle cruise…)

Full disclosure: primate phrases are purely for alliterative effect.

May I humbly suggest “monkey machinations” as an alliterative alternative? 🙂

During the Jungle Cruise rehab, I’d love to see WDI devote it’s resources to the one element that has been ignored since 1955- THE SEATS! I’ve always wondered why guests are forced to sit facing each other, along the perimeter, rather than facing forward. We are paying to see the activity along the shore. Why do we hace to sit sideways? Every other boat ride, such as Oirates and small world, has forward-sitting seats. Not only would guests finally see what’s going around them, but the process of loading and purging at the dock would be radically accelerated! Thus, hourly capacity rises and wait times shrink!

As an electrical engineer and Wannabe Imagineer who knows people in my field working on the rides in Orlando, rides like Jungle Cruise and Splash Mountain are a torture test for the worst possible conditions to keep electronic controlled mechanical hardware working reliable for millions of visitors a year. And for anyone who tries to make the case that the rides have become less reliable, I would point them at the stories of park operations managers sending out employees to manually move the animals on Jungle Cruise whenever Walt decided to take a ride, not to mention the scads of other ride issues that plagued Disneyland in the supposed golden years.

In Florida, not only do they have to contend with ~20,000 riders a day, but that have to do it 7 days a week in what I consider to be the worst climate on the planet: central Florida, where the humidity in the summer is usually 90+ if not higher while temperatures are 95F and up. Can you imagine how hard it is to convince trained engineers who could be working a nice, cushy 9-5 job in air conditioning to work the night shift tracking down a tricky electrical or mechanical problems and never get to see their families?

Thanks for pointing out the necessity and upside for these planned reburbishments. Keeping these rides looking good and working every day is an incredible feat.

“And for anyone who tries to make the case that the rides have become less reliable, I would point them at the stories of park operations managers sending out employees to manually move the animals on Jungle Cruise whenever Walt decided to take a ride, not to mention the scads of other ride issues that plagued Disneyland in the supposed golden years.”

While I can appreciate the general gist of your sentiment that Disney fans view the past through rose-colored glasses, ride reliability as measured by daily downtime has become measurably worse than it was in 2018 or 2019–not some date back decades ago (for which we wouldn’t even have data anyway).

I’m actually fairly forgiving of a lot of this! A lot of maintenance was deferred for good (or at least justifiable) reason. Disney–both coasts–lost a *lot* of institutional knowledge during the closure thanks to early retirements. That made preventative maintenance and repairs more difficult. A lot of construction projects suffered delays due to staffing shortages, supply chain disruptions–or both! So that probably discouraged Disney from doing more refurbishments, knowing that no matter what the timeline was, it could be delayed.

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Disneyland to make the Jungle Cruise more inclusive after years-long complaints of racism

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Disneyland’s Jungle Cruise has set sail in the park’s Adventureland area consistently since 1955, and it stands today as one of the remaining opening day attractions overseen by Walt Disney himself.

But culture often moves faster than decades-old mechanical hippos.

On Monday, the Walt Disney Co. announced that it’s embarking on what many view as a long-overdue course correction for the Jungle Cruise. Numerous changes will make the attraction feel more inclusive and less racially insensitive in its depiction of other cultures.

The move follows updates to other older attractions such as Splash Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean , all done to remove now-outdated tableaus that can be cringe-inducing at best and racist at worst. The company had already announced that Splash Mountain, originally inspired by the critters in the racist film “Song of the South,” would receive a makeover themed to “The Princess and the Frog,” the movie that featured Disney’s first Black princess.

Entertainment & Arts

Photos show an adventure at Disney’s updated Jungle Cruise ride

Skippers at the newly updated Jungle Cruise ride at Disneyland entertained some park attendees Friday while on a first look journey.

July 10, 2021

The Jungle Cruise, with its ties to the park’s patriarch, is likely to be viewed with a more protective lens by the company’s vast fanbase. Yet the ride has also been one under near-constant evolution since its inception. Its early influences were Disney’s own nature documentaries and the 1951 film “The African Queen,” a favorite of early Disneyland designer Harper Goff.

Its initial conception as “The Jungle Rivers of the World” leaned slightly more educational than today’s more humor-driven take. The ride’s unsavory tribal depictions, largely inspired by images from Papua New Guinea, were added in the years after its opening. These vignettes essentially depict Indigenous people as tourist attraction, attackers or cannibals.

“Horrifyingly racist” is how one of Disney’s peers in the theme park design community, the Thinkwell Group, characterized various Jungle Cruise scenes in an essay published shortly after Disney announced the changes to Splash Mountain.

A spear-waving war party was added to the Jungle Cruise in 1957, as was the “Trader Sam” character, a dark-skinned man today outfitted in straw tribal wear. Disney tiki bars — one on each coast — are named for the character that traffics in stereotypes. He’ll trade you “two of his heads for one of yours.”

“As Imagineers, it is our responsibility to ensure experiences we create and stories we share reflect the voices and perspectives of the world around us,” Carmen Smith said in a statement provided by Disney. Smith is the creative development and inclusion strategies executive at Walt Disney Imagineering, the company’s division responsible for theme park experiences.

Concept art previewed by Disney showed a reworking of the “trapped safari” scene, in which adventurers scurry up a tree to avoid the horn of a rhinoceros. In its current state at Disneyland, a white traveler is at top while native safari guides are in a more perilous position. The reimagined scene, one initially dreamed up by master Disney animator-designer Marc Davis as an advertisement for the ride, solely features hapless participants of a previous Jungle Cruise boat tour.

Changes, Disney stressed, are being made independent of an upcoming Jungle Cruise-inspired film starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt. Expect all scenes that feature unsavory depictions of Indigenous characters to be updated, said a Disney spokesperson, although details on potential tweaks to the war party scene and the Trader Sam finale have not yet been shared.

As silly and overly pun-filled as the Jungle Cruise may be, it has long been criticized as viewing adventure through an imperialist lens. Non-Americans are depicted as either subservient or savages. Although the ride is meant to be a collage of Asia, Africa and South America, human figures of the regions are presented as exotic, violent and dimwitted, humor that in the 1950s and 1960s was troublesome and today reeks of racism.

It’s also a point of view that clashes with the broader cultural Disney theme park mission, which over the decades has shifted from cartoonish and simplistic depictions of other cultures to a brand with a more global perspective. When Walt Disney World opened Animal Kingdom in 1998, Africa and Asia were shown in a more revered light, which only served to heighten the outdated cultural depictions of the Jungle Cruise.

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Disney expects the changes to be completed this year at both Disneyland and Florida’s Walt Disney World, where the ride is currently open. The company adds that timelines could be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to Disneyland’s closure nearly a year ago. Even with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s lifting of stay-at-home orders this week, Disneyland may remain closed for some time.

As part of the changes, the story of the attraction will be tweaked. Guests will follow the exploits of a Jungle Cruise tour gone awry and throughout the ride catch glimpses of this past expedition. Expect, for instance, to see an old Jungle Cruise boat overtaken by chimpanzees, as the new scenes are designed to add fresh life, activity and characters to the attraction, while also fueling more corny jokes from the ride’s tour guides.

“When we consider making changes to a classic attraction, we focus on ways to ‘plus’ the experience,” said Chris Beatty, creative executive at Walt Disney Imagineering. “The skippers of the Jungle Cruise bring irreverent humor to guests of all ages, and we’re excited to be adding to that legacy — along with a new animated skipper figure — by celebrating their adventures and influence.”

Although the ride has long featured nods to past excursions that ended poorly, Disney is planning to add figures that will represent other tourists and, as Beatty noted, a not-so accomplished skipper. This move will help accomplish Disney’s goal of removing tribal caricatures and, in the words of Disney, “negative depictions of native people.”

“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,” said Kevin Lively, a story editor with Walt Disney Imagineering.

Disney to replace Splash Mountain ‘Song of the South’ theme with ‘Princess and the Frog’

Disney announced a new theme based on “The Princess and the Frog” for Splash Mountain, long criticized for its association with the racist film “Song of the South.”

June 25, 2020

To those who follow the parks, the changes shouldn’t be entirely unexpected, especially with a movie starring Johnson and Blunt destined for theatrical distribution. “The Jungle Cruise,” like many other films affected by pandemic-related closures, was postponed from its 2020 release date to one this summer.

Worth noting, however, is that in this instance, Disney is not waiting to see how audiences respond to the picture. Consider it an indication that Disney is aware that the ride’s cultural makeover is a necessity more urgent than what marketing calendars may allow. Additionally, a Disney spokesperson says the new figures will not represent characters in the film.

None of the amended scenes were in the Jungle Cruise on Disneyland’s July 1955 opening, although that ride would look vastly different to today’s audiences.

Animals were then scarce — just seven hippos and eight crocodiles were present in the water, according to documentation of the park’s opening year — and the vast vegetation had not yet grown to mask nearby buildings. Many of the ride’s most beloved scenes, such as the elaborate elephant bathing pool, were dreamed up by animator-turned-Imagineer Davis and added in the 1960s.

Longtime fans of the attraction can expect to see some nods to retired boats in the new scenes, but the goal is a more inclusive ride that doubles down on silliness. Says Lively, “Ultimately, the jungle gets the last laugh.”

More to Read

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Todd Martens is a features columnist at the Los Angeles Times who writes about theme parks and West Coast Experiences, among other topics. Martens joined the Los Angeles Times in 2007 and has covered a mix of interactive entertainment as its game critic and pop music as a reporter and editor. Previously, he reported on the music business for Billboard Magazine. Martens has contributed to numerous books, including “The Big Lebowski: An Illustrated, Annotated History of the Greatest Cult Film of All Time.” He continues to torture himself by rooting for the Chicago Cubs and, while he likes dogs, he is more of a cat person.

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PHOTOS: MORE Jungle Cruise Changes Debut in Disney World

By Taylor 4 Comments

We’re continuing to follow the progress on the Jungle Cruise’s reimagining in Disney World!

Jungle Cruise

This classic ride is getting a brand-new story line and characters , and we’re slowly seeing the project take shape! Most recently, scenes were being removed as that iconic rhino scene got a refresh with our new animatronic cast . And now, we’ve got another update !

Earlier this month, that rhino scene was modified to include the new characters : skipper Felix Pechman XIII and the rest of his motley crew .

Hello, new characters!

And now, we know exactly WHY they’re in such a tricky situation! A little before they encounter the rhino, guests can now see Felix’s sunken boat .

Now THAT’s unfortunate, right?! And of course, the (real) skipper steering us through the jungle had plenty of fix-it Felix jokes to spare . This mishap ties right into the ride’s new storyline of the crew’s misadventures through the jungle.

And further down the river, guests will also notice a new addition to the canoe scene: a “Boats and Baits and Bites” shack !

Anyone hungry?

The decor on the canoes has been removed , too. As a reminder, here’s what it looked like before.

The Canoes Before

Guests are also now being seated differently in their boats , due to changes to Disney World’s safety guidelines effective today . There is no longer plexiglass in the queue, masks are no longer required onboard, and guests are now able to sit in the middle row of benches.

Time to head into the Jungle!

Disney has announced that the reimagining will be complete this summer ! And over in Disneyland, the Jungle Cruise will open with all of these changes on July 16th . We’ll keep an eye out for any more progress and keep ya posted, so stay tuned to DFB!

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June 15, 2021 at 12:53 pm

Ridiculous changes. Whatever.

June 16, 2021 at 2:34 pm

Much adue about nothing

June 19, 2021 at 12:11 pm

Lame and lazy

June 19, 2021 at 2:21 pm

One change that needs to be made is the PA systems used on boats. Can’t hardly hear or understand what is spoken by boat captain.

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FIRST LOOK: Jungle Cruise Changes at Disneyland and Disney World

Disney has announced an addition to the storyline of the classic attraction the Jungle Cruise. These changes will replace the negative depictions of indigenous people in the ride which according to Disney aims  “to reflect and value the diversity of the world around us.” Disneyland has soft opened the Jungle Cruise and we have first look photos below!

Imagineers are reimagining part of the story to focus on that of a skipper's Jungle Cruise boat trip gone wrong with boat wreckage and featuring the first animatronic skipper ever inside the attraction. The classic Jungle Cruise jokes will remain! This refurbishment is happening in stages at Walt Disney World while the ride remains open. At Disneyland the ride has been closed, but will reopen this summer – date below.

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Disneyland's Jungle Cruise has Reopened With Soft Openings

Though the attraction is officially scheduled to reopen on July 16, Disneyland had a soft opening of the newly renovated Jungle Cruise attraction this week.

Here are some photos that Disney provided of the changes to the attraction.

The work on the new attraction is still ongoing.

Here's a look at photos from the new rhino scene that was just installed in Walt Disney World. This same scene will also be coming to Disneyland.

Jungle Cruise's New Story Update

Imagineer, and former Jungle Cruise skipper, Kevin Lively shared an update to the classic Jungle Cruise on the Disney Parks Blog. The Jungle Cruise will get a story update that for the first time ever will feature a skipper show figure inside the attraction and not just as your river tour guide! Guests will follow the story of a skipper's boat with an adventure gone wrong resulting in a boat crash with chimps boarding the leftover wreckage of their boat and the travelers on the boat chased up a tree by a local rhino. Guests will also see the return of boats that used to travel the river such as the Mekong Maiden and the Kwango Kate.

Disney also shared concept art showing some of the changes including updates to this classic rhino scene.

Guests will also sail by their wrecked Jungle Cruise boat which has now been taken over by chimps:

New Ride Ending

The new ending of the Jungle Cruise will now feature Trader Sam's new “Lost & Found Location” turned into a… gift shop! According to the Disney Parks Blog, all the best rides end with a gift shop, right?

This ride ending replaces the current Trader Sam animatronic at Walt Disney World and will also be coming to Disneyland!

New Jungle Cruise Characters

Disney is expanding the attraction's backstory centering around Alberta Falls, the granddaughter of Dr. Albert Falls, the original proprietor of the Jungle Navigation Company Ltd. The Disney Parks Blog shared this clip of an “interview” with Alberta Falls so guests can get a glimpse of this new character's personality:

This most recent update Disney shared in March regarding the Jungle Cruise changes mentioned we will get details ‘later this year' about the renovation which gives us a vague idea of when we might expect the ride changes.

Disney Imagineers Describe Upcoming Changes

Imagineers will invite current Jungle Cruise skippers at Disneyland and Magic Kingdom to a Jungle Navigation Company Roll Call where they will be among the first to hear more about the new updates to the ride!

You can also read quotes from Disney Imagineers on how this update is meaningful to them below:

Reading the below comments from Disney Imagineer Kim Irvine give great context for the changes to the Jungle Cruise. Did you know that when Disneyland first opened the attraction was not focused on humor? It wasn't until Disney Imagineer Marc Davis designed the classic vignettes that are still in the ride today that the ride was changed.

The Disneyland attraction was changed again substantially when the Indiana Jones Adventure was added to the park in 1995. Read more about the history of the changing attraction in an interview from  D23 with Imagineer Chris Beatty .

You can watch the full video released from the Disney Parks Blog with insights from Imagineer Kevin Lively and current Jungle Cruise skippers:

We will continue to share updates as we learn more about when the ride will close for this refurbishment along with any other news in relation to this update! It's not altogether surprising to see Disney reimagine this portion of the ride after they announced the retheme of Splash Mountain to a Tiana's Bayou Adventure Princess and the Frog ride . Either way, I cannot wait to see an animatronic skipper take center stage in this classic attraction.

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Lindsay is a college English instructor and has years of writing experience through various nonprofits, charities, newspapers, and online magazines. As the content director of Mickey Visit, she oversees article content and leads our fantastic team of writers to meet guest vacation needs. You can still find her writing weekly content to help make your Disney Parks trip fantastic here on Mickey Visit and Disney Dose- you can also view her recently featured posts on Disney Parks travel on Visit Anaheim, Nerd Wallet and SFGate. Lindsay comes from a dedicated Disney family and enjoys taking her son to the Disney parks as often as possible.

Please don’t take away the puns and drivers of the boats. That ride was the funniest ride no matter how many times you rode it and it is not offensive to anybody really. Although the animals might be offended like the lions which are doing what lions do eating a zebra… 🙂 or the zebras might be offended that they are being portrayed as weak and catchable … (real life happens.) I hope you keep it fun and still have the funny people that drive the boats. Please don’t change up all the traditional rides. The artist renderings look fun. Nicely drawn and all-inclusive, which is what you are striving for I guess… By the way, I was kidding about the animals. They don’t know, I promise. 🙂 Are you going to respond to my email?

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New trailer released for disney’s “jungle cruise” starring dwayne johnson and emily blunt  coming to theaters and on disney+ with premier access july 30 .

This morning, Good Morning America gave fans an exclusive look at the new trailer for Disney’s “Jungle Cruise,” and now the full trailer—bursting with thrills, laughs and surprises—is available, along with a new poster and images from the trailer. “Jungle Cruise” will release simultaneously in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access on Friday, July 30. 

Inspired by the famous Disneyland theme park ride, Disney’s “Jungle Cruise” is an adventure-filled, rollicking thrill-ride down the Amazon with wisecracking skipper Frank Wolff and intrepid researcher Dr. Lily Houghton. Lily travels from London, England to the Amazon jungle and enlists Frank’s questionable services to guide her downriver on La Quila—his ramshackle-but-charming boat. Lily is determined to uncover an ancient tree with unparalleled healing abilities—possessing the power to change the future of medicine. Thrust on this epic quest together, the unlikely duo encounters innumerable dangers and supernatural forces, all lurking in the deceptive beauty of the lush rainforest. But as the secrets of the lost tree unfold, the stakes reach even higher for Lily and Frank and their fate—and mankind’s—hangs in the balance.

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Entertainment | Disneyland spends $600,000 to replace Jungle…

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Entertainment

Entertainment | disneyland spends $600,000 to replace jungle cruise animatronic tiger scene, the jungle cruise will close sept. 16 to oct. 3 for a seasonal refurbishment..

Disneyland has filed building permits valued at $600,000 with the city of Anaheim to replace the audio-animatronic tiger structure on the Jungle Cruise attraction, according to city records.

The permits filed in August call for new electrical, footings, steel frame and cement plaster rockwork on the Jungle Cruise tiger structure.

The Jungle Cruise will close Sept. 16 to Oct. 3 for a seasonal refurbishment, according to MiceChat .

The tiger scene was hidden behind green scrims until a wooden fence could be built around the animatronic animal to hide the necessary repairs. The temporary fence hid a rock shrine arch that frames the tiger. A quartet of animatronic crocodiles remain on the steps below the tiger.

Walt Disney Imagineering did its best to dress up the odd looking “ tiger in a box ” as part of an archaeological dig site with a “Restricted Access” notice warning that no items were to be removed without written permission from the “Board of Regents of the Archaeological Department.”

Jungle Cruise skippers occasionally worked the boxed tiger into their comedic repertoire of bad jokes and witty banter.

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