Modifications to the Jungle Cruise

[tonythetigerasn]

Many rumors seem to point to the idea that the Jungle Cruise and Space Mountain are to follow the Haunted Mansion on the list of long-needed Magic Kingdom refurbishments. MAJOR refurbishments.

So I'm interested to know, what creative ideas for new or imaginative Jungle Cruise scenes can we come up with? To be honest, the animatronics are tired, the humor is old, and the attraction itself is not what it used to be. With the upcoming Jungle Cruise movie, what could be done to the ride in a Refurb?

I'd like to see a scene prominently featuring a spectacular tiger audio-animatronic jumping at the boat in the cave. I feel the entire cave could use a bit more action in terms of scale. Right now, the boat basically rides past openings in the cave featuring animals. How cool would an entire large-scale tiger animatronic be with life-like movement???

 

[Pabgo]

I guess that would be pretty cool. I'm sure Disney will come up with some good stuff. I hope they at least add some of the effects that they have Disneyland.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

I've heard quite a few times on this forum about adding Timon and Pumbaa to it.........that's all I know.

 

[Simba1]

I heard from a reliable source this weekend that the only way the Jungle Cruise will see a refurb is if the purported JC movie brings in $300 million like the Pirates franchise did. I know it sounds crazy - but people the same thing before the first Pirates came out...

 

[ToTBellHop]

I would imagine many of the updates would be the ones you'll find out at Disneyland. Monkeys shooting at your boat (and throwing dynamite)...piranhas...etc. If they do add Timon and Pumbaa, I hope it's subtle, and we don't have them appearing repeatedly, ruining the ride. That would be a real shame.

 

[tonythetigerasn]

I've heard quite a few times on this forum about adding Timon and Pumbaa to it.........that's all I know

No matter how subtle it is, if Timon and Pumbaa are recognizably apparent on the Jungle Cruise in cartoon form, I would be extremely disappointed with Disney. When the park gets to the piont that an E-ticket has to be MODIFIED to INCLUDE cartoon characters that weren't generated as a part of its original scope, then I will be extremely extremely disappointed. I feel that they would take all the fun of a "real" jungle expedition completely out of the ride. Any sense of reality for children would become another childish fantasyland ride.

In response to the hopes for Disneyland effects, I would hpoe for those and much much more. I am sick of having exactly the same clones all over the world! I would like to see some real originality come from WDW Imagineers!

 

[CThaddeus]

So I'm interested to know, what creative ideas for new or imaginative Jungle Cruise scenes can we come up with? To be honest, the animatronics are tired, the humor is old, and the attraction itself is not what it used to be. With the upcoming Jungle Cruise movie, what could be done to the ride in a Refurb?

I'd like to see a scene prominently featuring a spectacular tiger audio-animatronic jumping at the boat in the cave. I feel the entire cave could use a bit more action in terms of scale. Right now, the boat basically rides past openings in the cave featuring animals. How cool would an entire large-scale tiger animatronic be with life-like movement???

First, I pretty much disagree with all of the statements in the first paragraph. I see nothing wrong with the current Jungle Cruise. I enjoy riding it immensely, and the 40 minute lines I'm always encountering seem to echo that feeling. As a Disneylander, I was extremely impressed with the temple when I rode it the first time, and I still want something similar here in Southern California. It is neither tired nor old...at least not in my opinion.
Now, could it be plussed? Absolutely. Any attraction is plussable, if they don't screw with what made it enjoyable to begin with. Small changes and additional scenes would be great; turning it into the Timon and Pumbaa show would be inane. The idea strikes me the same way the current Pirates overlay does - ruining an already good attraction by adding currently famous characters to it. In this case, the idea is even worse as they're putting cartoon characters alongside relatively realistic animals.
But, I also don't want them to turn the attraction into something frightening for kids. The idea of a jumping tiger seems a bit much to me. More animals with more lifelike movement would be perfect additions. But, while they shouldn't be more cartoony, they should still be doing humorous things, the way Marc Davis thought it should be.

 

[primetime52]

First, I pretty much disagree with all of the statements in the first paragraph. I see nothing wrong with the current Jungle Cruise. I enjoy riding it immensely, and the 40 minute lines I'm always encountering seem to echo that feeling. As a Disneylander, I was extremely impressed with the temple when I rode it the first time, and I still want something similar here in Southern California. It is neither tired nor old...at least not in my opinion.
Now, could it be plussed? Absolutely. Any attraction is plussable, if they don't screw with what made it enjoyable to begin with. Small changes and additional scenes would be great; turning it into the Timon and Pumbaa show would be inane. The idea strikes me the same way the current Pirates overlay does - ruining an already good attraction by adding currently famous characters to it. In this case, the idea is even worse as they're putting cartoon characters alongside relatively realistic animals.
But, I also don't want them to turn the attraction into something frightening for kids. The idea of a jumping tiger seems a bit much to me. More animals with more lifelike movement would be perfect additions. But, while they shouldn't be more cartoony, they should still be doing humorous things, the way Marc Davis thought it should be.

Agreed.

They definitely don't need to make drastic changes. Don't tamper with the basic premise or storyline. Replace some or many of the current animals with more realistic, modern AA versions. Perhaps add a new surprise or 2 (like piranhas). It's a classic ride and still immensely popular. It could stand to be freshened up a bit but I don't think it needs drastic changes.

 

[majortom1981]

hmm

The thing I hate is that disney seems to be getting away from the realistic non tie in rides. Can they do one ride without having disney cartoon characters or movie tie ins? try to keep atleast the jungle Cruise tie in free.

 

[jmuboy]

I can say that the simple, but very impactful, changes made to DL's Jungle Cruise could easily be added to WDW's JC and would probably make just as big of an impact. The simple changes breathed new life into a 50 year old ride in some pretty simple (and cheap) ways.

 

[cb3k]

I've heard quite a few times on this forum about adding Timon and Pumbaa to it.........that's all I know.

Please God NO...I have a hard time believing that they would take an original attraction from 71 and completely vandalize it like this. With Pirates I could understand because they were incorporating realistic AA's with other realistic AA's, the ride overhaul was not too extensive and to be honest I think they did a fair job in incorporating what was popular without compromising too much of the original layout. Jungle Cruise on the other hand....this would just be a travesty. I think that added effects (monkeys, piranhas, bears, lions...etc.), enhanced audio (it is definitely in need of this), and a little bit of new fresh material (which would naturally come with added effects) is plenty for this ride. I think that adding more eerie effects to the temple would be an excellent idea, perhaps a situation could occur such as the cave walls starting to crumble and an adrenaline racing lunge forward gets you out safely (similar to bridge shaking on Kilimanjaro Safaris). These are just little things that would preserve its original grandeur as well as keep it fresh and appealing. On that note, I wanted to add that although it is loved by the diehard fanatics, I often see many first time visitors riding it and looking confused, and bored. EVERY time I ride it I hear "That was the stupidest ride, etc..". I feel that many are under the impression of a thrill/live animal adventure...and instead they end up seeing plastic animals with corny jokes that are not funny to them.

 

[WDWFigment]

First, I pretty much disagree with all of the statements in the first paragraph. I see nothing wrong with the current Jungle Cruise. I enjoy riding it immensely, and the 40 minute lines I'm always encountering seem to echo that feeling. As a Disneylander, I was extremely impressed with the temple when I rode it the first time, and I still want something similar here in Southern California. It is neither tired nor old...at least not in my opinion.
Now, could it be plussed? Absolutely. Any attraction is plussable, if they don't screw with what made it enjoyable to begin with. Small changes and additional scenes would be great; turning it into the Timon and Pumbaa show would be inane. The idea strikes me the same way the current Pirates overlay does - ruining an already good attraction by adding currently famous characters to it. In this case, the idea is even worse as they're putting cartoon characters alongside relatively realistic animals.
But, I also don't want them to turn the attraction into something frightening for kids. The idea of a jumping tiger seems a bit much to me. More animals with more lifelike movement would be perfect additions. But, while they shouldn't be more cartoony, they should still be doing humorous things, the way Marc Davis thought it should be.

Agreed. Timon and Pumba in cartoon form would be an atrocious idea. What about a realistic warthog AA next to a realistic meerkat AA? The skippers would be able to make plenty of jokes and allusions to the Lion King, and some kids might still say, "Timon and Pumba!" but it would not bastardize the original.

 

[Mr_Tom_Morrow]

I vote for the pirahna sceen

 

[cb3k]

Agreed. Timon and Pumba in cartoon form would be an atrocious idea. What about a realistic warthog AA next to a realistic meerkat AA? The skippers would be able to make plenty of jokes and allusions to the Lion King, and some kids might still say, "Timon and Pumba!" but it would not bastardize the original.

I completely agree, if Imagineers are "set" on putting these two into the attraction, then I think that realistic ones are the way you have to go. They would fit in perfectly at the "Original Hard Rock" somewhere in between the 71 Impala, and the nice lions protecting that sleeping zebra.

 

[DisneyNut2007]

The idea strikes me the same way the current Pirates overlay does - ruining an already good attraction by adding currently famous characters to it.

I disagree. The Pirates overlay did not ruin the attraction--it made it better, especially the WDW version.

they should still be doing humorous things, the way Marc Davis thought it should be.

FYI, they STILL do humorous and will continue to do so.

 

[DisneyNut2007]

The thing I hate is that disney seems to be getting away from the realistic non tie in rides. Can they do one ride without having disney cartoon characters or movie tie ins?

Why is it that so many of you folks set out to make tie-in attractions come across as a new practice at the company?

Disney STILL creates quite a few non-tie-in attractions (Everest being a perfect example). Therefore, I disagree with the thought of Disney moving away from realistic non-tie-in attractions.

Remember: Walt originally created Disneyland to have tie-ins to his movies and TV shows (Peter Pan, Snow White, Mr. Toad, Dumbo, Davy Crockett, the True-Life Adventures, etc.). Having completely original ideas going into the parks with non-film characters is just extra icing on the cake.

Besides, film-based attractions give guests a rare opportunity to step into worlds that they can only read about or see from afar at home and become a part of those adventures.

So, please look at this as a good thing for once.

 

[bork]

Jungle Cruise: Under New Management? :hurl:

 

[RiversideBunny]

I heard a while back that, due to Animal Kingdom's being in place now, with real animals, the Jungle Cruise ride may be considered obsolete and that space could be used for some newer ride.

Just pure Class D rumor.

 

[CThaddeus]

I disagree. The Pirates overlay did not ruin the attraction--it made it better, especially the WDW version.



FYI, they STILL do humorous and will continue to do so.

Well, okay, I'll give you the WDW version of Pirates. I don't care much for it anyway, since it has been reduced to the bare bones of what Disneyland's was. I'm still not thrilled at how they changed the whole thrust of the atrraction from just general looting and plundering to the "let's get Jack" plotline they use now. I don't mind new AA's and new scenes, but not at the expense of the original attraction.
And as for Jungle Cruise still being humorous...yes, I know. I wasn't saying it had changed. I was saying if they decide to add something to it, it shouldn't be frightening to kids (or adults, for that matter). Keep it light, as it has been for over 30 years. Don't turn it into something mean-spirited.

 

[Epcotian]

The thing I hate is that disney seems to be getting away from the realistic non tie in rides. Can they do one ride without having disney cartoon characters or movie tie ins? try to keep atleast the jungle Cruise tie in free.

Well, EE, Mission:Space, Soarin are a few new ones that come to mind. I'm sure I'm in the minority, but I think Disney is actually striking a good balance in this regard.

JC is still very popular with at least the younger set in my family. I, too, hope it can be plussed without being altered drastically, and do agree with you in that I don't think adding cartoon characters would be appropriate for this classic. On the movie tie-in, I personally liked the changes to Pirates (subtle, yet noticeable, with the Davy Jones effect being brilliant IMO); but I'd hate to see changes to the HM to incorporate the poor movie effort there. So, I'm waiting to see what kind of JC movie actually comes out before deciding on whether or not I'd like to see a tie-in here. In no way would I want the tie-in addition to be anything more than subtle though.