Jungle Cruise Reimagining Info & Reopening Date
Jungle Cruise at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World and Disneyland will receive a reimagining in 2021 with new characters, a continuous storyline, changes to show scenes, and more. This post will share timeline info & details, concept art, and commentary with our thoughts. (Updated May 27, 2021.)
Per the Disney Parks Blog, these new adventures will stay true to the Jungle Cruise experience fans know and love. The ride reimagining will add more humor, wildlife, and skipper heart, while also reflecting and valuing the diversity of the world around us.
The new creative concept for our river’s journey will be original to Walt Disney Imagineering, just like the attraction itself. Here’s a first look at some of the new things Disney is adding to the iconic Jungle Cruise…
Imagineers are adding more humor, wildlife and skipper heart to the classic attraction, and as part of a much larger effort, this update to Jungle Cruise will welcome new characters from around the world. The new scenes will be interconnected, and be heightened by Jungle Cruise Skippers’ legendary comedic tone.
Last month, Disney released new info about what this will entail. First, the attraction will remain open at Magic Kingdom during the reimagining, as Imagineering utilizes a “phased approach” to the project. This is not a huge surprise, as this is exactly how the annual Jingle Cruise overlay is accomplished each year at Christmas.
Disney has since announced that the Disneyland version of Jungle Cruise will reopen on July 16, 2021. The Magic Kingdom updates are progressing swiftly (with the Trader Sam Gift Shop scene described below now installed) and all changes will be completed this summer.
The way the attraction’s scenes are staged makes it more conducive to changes that can be accomplished overnight or in the span of a day or two. It’s likely many of the new scenes won’t be overly elaborate or substantial departures from what’s currently there, but rather one-for-one exchanges of figures and props. Most of that can be fabricated off-site, with old props removed and new ones installed overnight.
Above is concept art for the replacement scene, where Trader Sam has opportunistically “reimagined” lost & found as a gift shop as a quick and easy way to make some extra cash from tourists.
In this scene, Trader Sam is betting on an established reputation as the best merchant in the jungle, and while he’s out lost and finding some new inventory, the animals are getting the last laugh and “reclaiming” the jungle. Personally, I love this scene. It’s on-brand with the Jungle Cruise humor and self-deprecating, as Disney pokes fun at its commercialism and opportunism with rides exiting into gift shops.
There also appears to be a lot to see in this scene, which is always great for re-rideability as guests will want to revisit the attraction to spot all of the gags. Also, it’s tough to argue with any scene that features five (5) monkeys. Finally, and slightly ironically, the very scene that pokes fun at Disney’s commercialism also extends it via a new on-ride photo. All wins in my book!
I’m guessing some fans might object to Trader Sam no longer being a visible character, but I like it. For one thing, the two versions of Trader Sam looked very different at Disneyland and Magic Kingdom. For another, he’s also an invisible presence at the bar bearing his name, so this works as an extension of that. There’s a certain mystique about a character who has an outsized presence, but is never seen. Reasonable minds might disagree with that assessment, though.
Next, Imagineering has released a 1938 issue of The Daily Gnus about Alberta Falls and the World-Famous Jungle Cruise to tease the upcoming project. There are fun tidbits in there that reflect how Imagineering will be expanding the Jungle Cruise’s backstory. This will be centered around Alberta Falls, granddaughter of world-renowned Dr. Albert Falls, as the proprietor of the Jungle Navigation Company Ltd.
The article also introduces a number of new characters, including Victoria Marie Falls, Siobhan “Puffin” Murphy, Dr. Leonard Moss, Rosa Soto Dominguez, and S.E.A. Member Dr. Kon Chunosuke. If you’re interested in more info about these characters, check out the My Disney Experience app, which will give you detailed bios.
Most notably, this establishes a direct connection to the Society of Explorers and Adventurers, or S.E.A. That’s a secret society of fictional and real-life explorers that began at Tokyo DisneySea two decades ago and has grown into a shared universe of characters and story points that has spread as far as Typhoon Lagoon.
Notably, a Society of Explorers and Adventurers show was just announced for Disney+ as the first project for the Magic Kingdom Universe. Previously, an S.E.A. connection to Jungle Cruise was implied via other attractions and restaurants, but this will be the organization’s first appearance in Jungle Cruise itself (at least, to my knowledge).
It’s likely there will be plenty of other plot modifications beyond the S.E.A. connection. Here’s how Kevin Lively, Imagineer and former Jungle Cruise skipper described the storyline changes: “As part of this story update, we’ll get to follow a skipper and his passengers as their journey goes awry.
That’s right, 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. In fact, the expedition will be up a tree (literally!) after their sunken boat splits apart and chimps board the wreckage, with monkey business ensuing.”
“But that’s not even half of the hull story. Fans of the Jungle Cruise attraction may recall some boats that used to make their way around the river but haven’t been seen for a while–specifically the Mekong Maiden and Kwango Kate. Ever wonder what happened to them? Well, you might go ape when you find out! Ultimately, the jungle gets the last laugh.”
The reimagined storyline will begin with a trapped safari party that finds itself up a tree after their journey goes awry. Unexpected scenarios along the way will give the jungle and animals the last laugh!
Disney has stated that more details about the enhancements will be revealed soon, and that the Jungle Cruise reimagining is coming later in 2021. Kevin Lively also shared this video:
In an interview with D23, Imagineer Chris Beatty further clarified the nature of the Jungle Cruise update: “I want to make sure people know we are not changing the whole Jungle Cruise. 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.”
“And for the first time, we are actually linking scenes together…So we’re not really re-envisioning that scene, we’re just adding a narrative and storytelling to bring things to life and connect that moment with other happenings along the river.”
Chris Beatty explained that Jungle Cruise would be relying and building upon the hilarious scenes added by future Disney Legend Marc Davis and skippers’ spiels: “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.”
Additionally, the changes won’t be inspired by the upcoming film, said Beatty. “I’m excited about the movie, and having Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt be a part of that film. But these adjustments are really focused on enhancing the existing attraction storyline and addressing some areas that needed refreshing along the way. I’m sure the film is fantastic and we’re very excited about it, but integrating the film into our classic Jungle Cruise is not part of this effort.”
After the backlash and fan petitions in response to last summer’s announcement that that Splash Mountain will be rethemed to the Princess and the Frog at Walt Disney World and Disneyland, the company is undoubtedly aware that any changes to an iconic attraction will be controversial, even ones done carefully and with thematic integrity.
Accordingly, Disney has provided “testimonials” about that changes from Imagineers:
As with Splash Mountain at Tokyo Disneyland, it seems unlikely that Jungle Cruise will change in Japan. In part this is because Oriental Land Company–and not Disney–owns those parks, but also because that incarnation of the attraction changed a few years ago. It now has a different storyline, plus different day and night versions, unique lighting schemes, and projection mapping effects.
Hong Kong Disneyland could change eventually, although the story and show scenes there are also very different.
We don’t have a ton of commentary about the Jungle Cruise story rewrites and scene changes. In fairness, we are also most definitely not Jungle Cruise purists who view it among the pantheon of all-time classics. (Honestly, we prefer the Tokyo Disneyland version–even though we can’t understand it–thanks to superior visuals and effects.)
To the contrary, our view is that Jungle Cruise is way too taste-specific and skipper-dependent. It has a cult following among longtime fans and has achieved iconic status via longevity, but doesn’t have as much mainstream appeal. While that’s obviously not the impetus for these changes, we’re cautiously optimistic about anything that makes the attraction more coherent, consistent, and enjoyable to first-timers.
This appears to be part of Disney’s new focus on inclusion, but the changes also pretty clearly go well beyond that. As we’ve been saying for months now, there are a variety of updates in store for older attractions, many of which are small scale and could be accomplished overnight or with a brief closure.
No matter how much fans protest or petition, this was an inevitability for some of the scenes and script in Jungle Cruise. You might also recall the outrage to the Auction Scene Changes in Pirates of the Caribbean when that was announced a few years ago; the update happened anyway. Expect the same for other attractions in the not-too-distant future.
The bigger surprise to me is not that Jungle Cruise changing, but that there’s an accompanying announcement from Disney. I thought they would’ve learned their lesson on that one–but maybe the hope here is that hardcore fans will see there’s more substance to this overhaul (and it’s not outright replacing a fan-favorite with something different entirely), and will give Disney the benefit of the doubt or take a “wait and see” approach.
My expectation was that Jungle Cruise would close with mentions of “synergy” or enhancements related to this year’s Jungle Cruise featuring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and the problematic aspects would quietly change along with movie tie-ins being added. It’s pretty clear from the announcement my guess widely missed the mark with the Jungle Cruise changes. As much as I love the Rock, I’m not particularly eager to see him in Audio Animatronics form, so I’m happy that isn’t happening.
Between dodging that bullet and based on what we know thus far about this Jungle Cruise reimagining, I’m perfectly willing to withhold judgment until seeing the finished product. There’s definitely promise to the ideas, and plenty of potential for Jungle Cruise to improve.
The other interesting aspect of this announcement is that Imagineering indicates the changes (presumably for both Disneyland and Walt Disney World) will be added to the attraction in 2021. Given everything else, that means it’ll almost certainly be finished by October 1, 2021. That’s a fast turnaround time, and it also comes during a year when there’s no guarantee that physical distancing or barriers will be removed from boats. As it stands, the guest experience on Jungle Cruise is significantly impeded. (To the point that it’s the one attraction we avoid right now.) I’m surprised Disney would want to debut the changes with all of that still potentially in place.
Moreover, there’s still no timeline set for the Splash Mountain reimagining, and rumors that the finished project could be years away. Jungle Cruise being announced much later but being finished much earlier suggests to me that perhaps the changes aren’t as substantive as implied. Then again, the tone and appearance of Jungle Cruise can be dramatically changed in a limited amount of time–just look what happens each year literally overnight for Christmas with Jingle Cruise! We’ll keep you posted on future developments with Jungle Cruise, and other attraction updates at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of Jungle Cruise being reimagined? Excited for new show scenes and some script rewrites? Are you likewise cautiously optimistic, or apprehensive about the changes? Do you agree or disagree with our commentary? 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!
I am so glad Disney is adding more Magic to some of the classics, some people do not like change but a refresh is a good thing. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.” (Walt Disney)
It needs a redo. Badly. The people complaining about Disney can take their money elsewhere. No one is forcing them to go to a more inclusive park. More space for everyone else, which really is the idea of inclusion, isn’t it?
I do hope some version of Trader Sam exists. I don’t know what the non racist version looks like but I’m sure Disney can and will think of something.
I’d also hope a version of Trader Sam continues to exist. It’s the perfect opportunity to make the character consistent across versions of the attraction (instead of being totally different), and maybe to give him a S.E.A. connection in the ride itself.
Good for Disney. Has to be a thankless job to keep making the parks more inclusive when so many people assail them for it. Not many corporations do the right thing at the cost of popular opinion, and lord knows Disney is no angel (*cough* layoffs *cough* executive bonuses). But on these changes they have been making to fix problematic depictions in their attractions, they are going to be on the right side of history.
I should know better than to read the comments on this kind of story. Suffice to say that I don’t think the JRC will lose anything of value by having the scenes with the natives updated, and I say that as a longtime fan of the ride. If the ride can be made more more welcoming to people who have previously been made to feel like the butt of the joke, all the better. I want it to be something everyone can love as much as I do.
Where I will disagree with this post is the advice to avoid the ride during COVID due to the measures in place. I’d read an earlier entry here saying the same and almost didn’t go on it during my trip earlier this month–but I was really glad I decided to give it a shot! I had a fantastic skipper who really carried the show, and with the microphone I had no problem hearing her. Views weren’t any more impeded by the plastic than they usually are by other passengers. I’m not really clear on what you mean by saying the experience is “significantly impeded” since I had as much fun with it as ever.
To be Blunt, The Jungle Cruise will still be a Rock-solid attraction even after the Imagineers are finished floating their new ideas around.
Personally, I’ll save my vitriol for the restoration of royal purple pigmented glory, reviving a Himalayan cryptid’s vigor, and wishing for affordable churros!
Why have the churros at WDW NEVER have been as good as the churros at DL?
Yeah, when is Himalayan Cryptid coming out of B mode? We demand A mode be restored.
AND cheeseburger egg rolls untainted by mustard!
More Disney pandering. Pander to cater to the lower tastes and desires of others or exploit their weaknesses
I’m so glad to hear this! My husband’s family is from South America and he was so offended by the racist depictions that he forbade us from riding on it. This makes me so happy that we will be able to enjoy it with our family again!
I enjoy the Jungle Cruise. I enjoy Splash Mountain. When are they going to shut down Trader Sam’s at the Polynesian and when are they going to remove all the tikis at the Polynesian and the Tiki Birds. Making fun of dwarfs should be banned as well, especially non-speaking dwarfs. Fat shaming Pooh needs to end. The glorification of murder in the Haunted Mansion should be eliminated. Donald Duck needs Anger Mgmt courses and he needs to wear pants.
Well done
Joking about things that don’t actually offend you doesn’t invalidate the things that really do offend other people.
Put yourself in other people’s shoes in good faith and consider their feelings.
What-aboutism doesn’t actually prove your point. It just shows a lot of deflection.
DebC – I love your comments!! You are of course pointing out that all of this is a choice, if people CHOOSE to be offended they will inevitably find SOMETHING to be offended at. STOP!!! Leave it all alone!!
Yes! You are “spot on”! “Negative” things can be found with just about everything; “Cancel culture” is alive and well at Disney. SMH
At least get rid of Starsucks. I’m offended every time I see one, ESPECIALLY within WDW… It’s bad enough they are a visual and olfactory pollutant, not to mention litter generator, all over the place.
Well said, DebC! I agree 100%!
Jungle Cruise is probably my least favorite ride that always has a long wait. Most trips we don’t even bother using a fast pass for it. I remember loving it as a kid but I think it was because it was something different because I doubt I paid THAT much attention to the skippers dialogue. I think it’s one of those rides you “have” to do, but once you’ve done it…I don’t really find the need to do it again.
I hope the Disney World version gets the piranhas from the Disneyland version. (I rode this at Magic Kingdom in September and didn’t see them, but I could be wrong.) They are so cheezy and completely make the ride for me. I laugh every time.
The common characteristic of all these controversial changes (Pirates Red, Splash Mountain, Jungle Cruise) has been political correctness. Not quality, not creativity, not storytelling, or theme, but politics. They have even added a new “key” for “inclusiveness” which will inject more politics into the parks. When I go to WDW I’m looking for an escape from the real world not indoctrination or a re-education camp.
In my view, that’s a more compelling argument when the things being removed themselves are of quality. The scenes that immediately jump to mind as “problematic” in Jungle Cruise are not strong to begin with, and there’s almost zero chance of the changes to those being a step backwards for the attraction.
I’m guessing many share this view, hence far fewer people being outraged by this announcement. Disney could certainly bungle it in other ways (a contrived storyline, for example), but that’s a possibility with literally any attraction “plussing.”
In short, it just seems like what we stand to lose v. what we stand to gain is very different here than with Splash Mountain. There’s a lot of room for improvement to Jungle Cruise and the changes seem pretty low risk, all things considered.
I can only imagine how angry all the real-life natives must be every time they visit Disney World on vacation!
Bill: How were the recent changes to Pirates “political” in nature?
How is “a family-oriented attraction probably shouldn’t depict helpless women being tied up and sold at auction as brides” a political statement? Does only the left or right think that depicting helpless women being tied up and sold at auction in a family-friendly environment is bad?
What’s the political position that would argue that Disney SHOULD depict helpless women being tied up and sold at auction?
Trying not to offend people is NOT “politics.” It’s just being considerate of people’s feelings and making reasonable efforts not to offend them.
The best part of this is that they are NOT trying to tie it into what will most certainly be a cheesy movie that is far worse than any skipper puns. The Rock can be entertaining, but I don’t want to see him in WDW attractions. Depp is more than enough.
Sorry this is just getting so crazy it just keeps on going with this racist theme so sad we are not racist and having this shoved down our throats on a daily basis sure is getting old. Sad times we live in used to think Disney was the happiest place in the world never worried about offending anyone because politics never was a part that we experienced at Disney but it is now an everyday occurrence!
Exactly right
Rhonda, nobody is saying that YOU are a racist. Disney is conceding that the “natives” on the Jungle Cruise reflect a racist stereotype that offends people.
Make no mistake, those natives were always racist and have always offended people. The difference is that, back in the day, Disney “never worried about offending anyone” because they DIDN’T CARE if people were offended. Now they do care, and caring about other people’s feelings is not a bad thing.
Let Disney be the happiest place on earth for EVERYONE.
If Shanghai Disneyland had a scene of “Americans” that were all stupid and armed and injecting insulin, wouldn’t you be offended at being stereotyped?
The ride does seem a bit bit stale and dated. MANY rides at the Magic Kingdom seem stale and dated.
I did the ride in January. I was not impressed. For some reason I had very fond memories of it when I was a kid. Other than the clever dialog of the skipper there is not much else to recommend it.
That could be childhood nostalgia, but Jungle Cruise is flat-out less enjoyable right now because it’s harder for skippers and guests to connect and develop rapport. Even before the barriers were put up, Jungle Cruise could either be very good or very bad depending upon the skipper. Right now, the ceiling is much lower IMO.
Glad to see the “natives” being addressed with some taste. I remember seeing PotC 2 in the theatre in 2006 and thinking “Really?!? Scary natives with bones in their noses?!? Still?!?”
My main concern reading about this is a reduction in variability. Part of the appeal of riding the Jungle Cruise again and again over the years was that different skippers would have different jokes, rhythms, personas, etc that kept things fresh. It was also fun that they were allowed to be self-aware, and joke about how we are obviously on a theme park ride. With a more coherent “storyline” to be followed, I fear the Jungle Cruise veering over to Great Movie Ride territory, where our live human hosts are completely interchangeable, reciting a script verbatim, and NOT winking at the audience.
I know that most rides are exactly the same every time, but the great thing about Jungle Cruise is that it’s NOT the same every time. I hope that isn’t lost.
I think your fears are legit, but I also think there’s a way to make things a bit more consistent and predictable while staying self-aware and repeatable. Make the ride work on multiple levels, and not a total dud if you have a subpar skipper.
Both the HKDL and TDL versions work on their own without understanding the dialogue; I don’t think the same can be said for the stateside versions.
What is racist about that? There are literally people in this world who bones in their noses and an array of other things as well. Are we supposed to ignore there are still primitive tribes in the world? Is that actually making fun of them? Jeez. You all need to get a grip on reality. I like the natives. Perhaps you would rather see people sitting around drinking starbucks in the attraction as that is more “real”. Perpetually offended people. Same with when they changed the beginning of the mexico ride at epcot. Every place I’ve been in mexico there have been pushy people pushing their chinese wares on everyone. How is that racist if it is true?
Lisa, if you are going to places in Mexico where people are pushing cheap junk at you, you are seeing the cruise ship parts of Mexico.
I don’t think the changes were made at the Mexico pavilion of Epcot because people were offended by it, but because there is a better way to represent Mexican culture.
If, for example, the American pavilion of Epcot was represented by a superstore full of overweight people wearing camouflage, I wouldn’t find it offensive but I sure would want it changed.
The boat ride in the Mexico pavilion is actually possibly offensive in the scene depicting the people as a bunch of smiling dolts just partying. And having been to parts of Mexico far away from any cruise ships, you’ll still be offered trinkets no matter where you go!
The natives in JC look a lot like the pictures in National Geographic of primitive tribes unmolested by our so-called ‘modern’ world. And if the ride pokes fun at myths about tribal life, like the classic shrunken heads offer, that’s good.
I’m really curious about these new animatronics. The current ones definitely show their age, but it doesn’t sound like they are being replaced, so I imagine the new ones might be low key so they don’t stick out too much? Honestly part of the charm is that the whole thing is kind of janky, which combined with all the puns makes it campy and hilarious.
I cannot imagine Disney spending a ton of money right now on next-gen Audio Animatronics. That, plus the outdoor nature of the attraction and nature of the other figures would lead me to believe these will be fairly simplistic.
For as long as I’ve been going to Magic Kingdom, I have never been on the Jungle Cruise. Not sure how that happened as I did make it on 20,000 Leagues and Mr. Toad’s. I wanted to go during the Mickey’s Christmas Party in 2019, but the line was longer than we were willing to wait after a very long and exhausting day at AK. (We opted to SIT and enjoy the Orange Bird Party Exclusive dessert instead) Having watched POV videos of the ride with my kids, I think it’s a good idea that it’ll get an update. However, my son does feel that the Pirates update messed with its overall pacing, but understands the necessity of the update. Jungle Cruise is a different kind of ride, so that won’t be as much of an issue. I’ll make it a priority to go on it the next time we go.
Let’s debate all day whether Epcot and DHS are better or worse for abandoning their original missions. Indulging outrage over people not being encouraged to laugh at racially and sexually oppressive content is boring. Disney isn’t bowing to political correctness – they are recognizing that demographics continue to shift and they cannot only hope to make money selling tickets to structurally empowered, white, heterosexuals. Jungle Cruise, in particular, has been in need of a refresh in all the ways. Can’t wait to see some fresh scenes!
The worst changes to Pirates were adding Johnny Depp to multiple scenes. That detracts way to much from the story and really doesn’t make a lot of sense. It was funny when they changed a couple of scenes to have women chasing the pirates with brooms instead of being chased while carrying a plate of food.
I’m sure it’s not a popular opinion, but I think Jungle Cruise could be my least favorite boat ride at the Florida parks (maybe it could duke it out with Navi).
We almost always skip it because I won’t wait more than 5-10 minutes for it, and it always has crazy waits. Other than it being in MK and being accessible for all ages, I don’t get the appeal. My kids never really liked it or ask about not skipping it either.
You’re right about it being very “skipper-dependent” and really, how many times can you get a chuckle out of “the backside of water” (even though I remember finding it hilarious in 1978)?
I’m looking forward to seeing how far the changes go.
I enjoy all the humor and bad puns, so I hope the refresh keeps that theme. I actually remember when I was young, it was a much more serious “authentic” experience with the skipper even pulling a gun and shooting (blanks) to ward off the wild animals.
Do you think the infamous “back side of water “ line is in jeopardy?
I just updated the article after reading the D23 article. Backside of water, in particular, is staying.
For anyone skeptical of this reimagining/update, I’d highly recommend this interview: https://d23.com/enhancements-coming-to-the-jungle-cruise/ I’m not the biggest Jungle Cruise fan to begin with, but I found that reassuring. More of that detail should’ve been included in the original announcement.
Thanks for the link to that article. I agree about the negative depictions of natives. That has bothered me a bit, so I am glad they will change it. I look forward to what they come up with.
What negative depiction of natives? Wild animals DO attack people, and lions DO eat zebras…
It’s a good idea. So long as we’re still getting the backside of water and some cringey, silly puns, I’m happy.