Disney’s Jungle Cruise has been around since the start. It’s getting a ‘diversity’ makeover
In its quest to “enhance classic attractions,” Walt Disney World announced Monday that the Jungle Cruise at Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California will get a makeover later this year.
The changes will “reflect and value the diversity of the world around us,” the park said.
The ride, which is piloted by a skipper, is about a 10-minute “tongue-in-cheek” journey through treacherous rivers where riders encounter various wildlife and other surprises. It made its debut on July 17, 1955, at Disneyland and in 1971 at the Magic Kingdom. The changes are expected to be completed later this year.
Kevin Lively, an Imagineer, said in a video that the changes will only enhance the current story line.
“As part of the story update, we will get to follow a skipper and his passengers as their journey goes awry,” Lively said in a video posted to the park’s Twitter page. “In fact, the expedition will be up a tree after their sunken boat splits apart and chimps board the wreckage with monkey business ensuing.”
Disney shared a photo of a group of explorers clinging to a tree. It also shared a photo of a doomed boat overtaken by chimps.
Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Portfolio Executive Chris Beatty told D23, the Official Disney Fan Club, that the changes will address the negative depictions of “natives.’”
“So that’s one of the scenes we’re going to go in and change,” he told the fan club.
Said one skipper of the enhancements: “This is just super cool to see all these changes coming and in a way that keeps the story of the Jungle Cruise alive.”
This story was originally published January 25, 2021 at 9:42 PM.
