As we have previously reported, the Jungle Cruise attraction at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World will be getting a makeover in the run up to the release of the feature film of the same name. While the main idea of the ride, a humorous cruise through the jungle, will stay the same, this refurbishment will be more than just a few paint touchups and light bulb changing.
Disney Parks just released new concept art for the upcoming changes, along with a video that shows the reactions of Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom cast members that work the classic ride.
Guests be taken on the Jungle Cruise as it tours an accident where a previous skipper’s boat has split apart and chimps take over the damaged boat. The fictional skipper and guests will be seen climbing a tree to avoid getting attacked by a rhinoceros.
Here is the video from Disney Parks:
There will be more details to come from Walt Disney Imagineering about this upcoming refurbishment. We had previously reported that, following Disneyland’s recent update to the Snow White attraction (upgrading the effects, eliminating scarier elements, and changing the name from Snow White’s Scary Adventures, to Snow White’s Enchanted Wish) the team was going to focus on Jungle Cruise.
The ride was an opening an opening day attraction in both Disneyland in 1955 and Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom in 1971. Both attractions have obvious offensive cultural depictions that the company promised to address. With the upcoming attention the ride will receive with the upcoming Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt summer film, there is no better time than right now to make these changes.
Here are statements from the team at Walt Disney Imagineering:
Disney promises the ride will maintain the humorous elements and will be adding new jokes to the script. There was no date given for this update.
