The Disney World Jungle Cruise ride is a Disney classic. It goes back to the days of Walt Disney, and is one of his original creations.
After hearing a mother tell her son that since they had already experienced the Jungle Cruise ride, they were not going to ride it again, Walt decided to always change, evolve, and improve the parks he built. As a result, the ride in Disney World is different from the original attraction at Disneyland and holds many secrets.
What is Disney World’s Jungle Cruise?
On Disney World’s Jungle Cruise ride inside of the Magic Kingdom, you board a boat for a “multi week” journey through rivers of Asia, Africa, and South America.
Through your journey, you’ll see animatronics of various animals including elephants, zebras, lions, monkeys, gorillas, and more. You’ll also see amazing world wonders, such as Schweitzer Falls and the “backside of water.” While taking in the magnifecent sights, your boat skipper will tell a slew of “punny jokes.
How Does Disney World Jungle Cruise Differ from the Disneyland Version
Disney World’s Jungle Cruise is based off of the original ride inside Disneyland, and that ride found its inspiration from a late 1940s True-Life Adventures series. As construction began on the Jungle Cruise ride in Disney World, there was a push to make it unique and to move beyond the original attraction at Disneyland. As a result, the two rides share a common theme and similar storyline, but some unique differences as well, including:
- The Queue: The queue at Disneyland encompasses 2 stories, requiring guests to climb and even stand on stairs. The queue at Disney World is flat and less elaborate.
- The Cambodian Temple: The Jungle Cruise ride at Disney World includes an eerie journey through a darkened Cambodian temple, where dangerous tigers and snakes wait to waylay unsuspecting passengers. This feature is not included in the Jungle Cruise ride at Disneyland.
- Schweitzer Falls: With more land available for building, Schweitzer Falls at Disney World is larger and appears with more grandeur that the same feature at Disneyland.
Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn Play a Role in the Jungle Cruise
The Jungle Cruise ride took its inspiration from a variety of sources. While we’ve already mentioned the documentary animal series that provided the original overall theme, the boats in the Jungle Cruise took a design nod from another film
The 1951 movie, The African Queen, starred Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn, and the boat sailed by these 2 stars bears a notable resemblance to the crafts piloted by Magic Kingdom skippers.
Water Color of Disney World’s Jungle Cruise
Have you ever ridden rides at Walt Disney World and noticed the color of the water? Disney often adds dye to the water rides to fit the theming as well as cover the ride tracks below.
In the Jungle Cruise, the water is dyed, and the color has changed over the years. Originally it was more green, then brown, and today it is a greenish/ brown color.
What is Under the Water on the Jungle Cruise?
Under the water of the Jungle Cruise ride are not alligators, hippos, or even fish. Instead, the dark water hides the track for the boats.
The skippers do drive the boats forwards and backwards, but they do not actually steer them. If you watch carefully, you can see some Skippers over or understeer. We even had one Skipper who repeatedly spun the wheel like he was on the Wheel of Fortune.
Nighttime Rides on the Disney World Jungle Cruise
When riding Disney World’s Jungle Cruise ride, don’t just take the tour during the day. A nighttime ride can be just as much fun, or even more.
In the dark, the skippers shine flashlights at the views in the tour. You’ll also get different jokes that only work at night.
The Jingle Cruise
The Disneyland and Disney World Jungle Cruise become the Jingle Cruise each holiday season. The boats and many of the animatronics are decked out for the holidays, and even the queue changes. Holiday themed jokes are added by the cast members during the boat trip as well.
Be sure to check out the new holiday names on the boats for a laugh.
Real Animals and Plants
When Walt Disney designed the Disneyland Jungle Cruise, which was later recreated as the Disney World Jungle Cruise, he wanted to utilize real animals and authentic plants to the location.
Unfortunately, the animals would be very costly to care for and purchase and ship to the park. Instead, the animatronic animals were used as a cost-friendly alternative.
Later on, the idea of exotic animals on display for guests became the Animal Kingdom park.
However, real plants are used at both parks.
Additionally, Walt wanted authentic plants inside of the Jungle Cruise. These plants were very costly and many did not grow well in the climate the park was in.
Instead, the Imagineers created a “Hollywood Jungle” using native and authentic plants that mimicked the real thing.
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Be a Guest Skipper on the Jungle Cruise
Caste members working at the Disney World Jungle Cruise can give guests the opportunity to become a Guest Skipper. This comes with a specialty souvenir card and the opportunity to skip the line.
Cast members typically pick a guest who has a birthday or anniversary pin, or is celebrating something.
True Life Scenes of the Disney World Jungle Cruise
Many scenes from the opening day Walt Disney World Jungle Cruise, and Disneyland version, were based off of some short films produced by Walt Disney Productions.
The True Life Adventures were a series of short documentary films about wildlife and nature. Many of the ideas for scenes depicted in the original Jungle Cruise come from scenes in these films.
Disney World Jungle Cruise and The Great Movie Ride
Disney World’s Jungle Cruise ride shares a secret with the now defunct Great Movie ride which used to reside in Hollywood Studios. The Great Movie Ride was a slow moving ride which took guests through scenes from classic movies, and even had some guest and cast member interaction in those scenes.
The ride was recently replaced by Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, but during its run, the Great Movie Ride had a scene from Casablanca, featuring an airplane.
The airplane is a Lockheed Model 12 Electra Junior plane, and the front half was used for the Casablanca scene. Airplanes are expensive, so to get more bang for their buck, Disney placed the back half of the plane in the Disney World Jungle Cruise ride.
Disney World Jungle Cruise Ride Wasn’t Always “Punny”
While well know for the Dad-joke style puns, Jungle Cruise skippers weren’t always imbued with a sense of humor. In fact, Walt’s original vision for this ride saw it as en educational experience, where guests learned about the animals they were seeing.
Unfortunately, Walt’s version was not a big hit with guests, so ten years later, the script was changed and the Jungle Cruise puns were born.
Pirates are Nearby
During parts of the Jungle Cruise ride, the show building for Pirates of the Caribbean can be scene through the foliage if you look closely. Most guests do not notice this because the skippers draw attention to animatronics and scenes in the opposite direction.
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