Yes, I knew about the Jungle Cruise refurbishment before it was announced. Heck, I even alluded to it here before it was announced if you go through my post history.
There is an alternative. For both US Splash Mountains. But it’s likely that alternative will never see the light of day. And for what it’s worth, I actually prefer PatF over that other alternative. As far as a WDW-only alternative, I’m not sure at this point. I know the theme is still a problem with getting it to fit into Frontierland, but I don’t think much is going to change on that front. Besides, Splash Mountain’s placement never made sense in Frontierland anyway.