Walt Disney World Jungle Cruise  Adventureland
Boat ride where you see exotic animals, zany explorers and ancient ruins as your skipper leads you deep into the jungle...
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Location: Adventureland, between Indy and Aladdin's Oasis.
Crowds: Line can get fairly long in the middle of the day. Ride it at night for the shortest lines.

Still a classic, but your experience really depends on how good your guide is. Still, I'd say it's a must-ride attraction. Travel the rivers of the world, seeing some "wild" animals along the way.
Travel on the rivers of four different continents. See exotic animals, zany explorers and ancient ruins as your skipper leads you deep into the jungle. Be prepared for surprises along the way; your skipper's sure to regale you with humorous tales of danger.

Some Jungle Cruise Facts and Rumors:

• Each of the scenes in the Jungle Cruise attraction is taken from the True-Life Adventure Film Series that Walt Disney produced in the early 1960's.

• The Jungle Cruise and River of America used to be connected by an open waterway

• There is a live Macaw in a cage in one of the second floor windows above the entrance.

• Film star Kevin Costner was once a wisecracking Jungle Cruise skipper.

• Walt Disney originally wanted live animals for this attraction. However, zoologists advised him against it because the animals would be asleep or hidden much of the time.

• As you enter the boathouse (Queue) on your left is a "ticket office" on the desk is a departure book containing each skipper's name and first day as a skipper (day and month, not year)

On the side facing the jungle during boarding you may notice near the repair-dock you might see a propeller from an airplane. When the Jungle Cruise first opened Walt and the imagineers believed that the plants in the jungle would not survive without a heater, the propeller would blow heat through the jungle to keep the climate perfect for the plants the heater was later removed and was never used, castmembers asked to keep it as a reminder of the original Jungle Cruise!

When Disneyland first opened, there wasn't much of a jungle. Walt had them take off all of the oranges from the orange trees to make it look more like a jungle. He had also planted other plants. I am not sure if the trees are still standing.
At one of the points in line for the Jungle Cruise you pass what is either a mock up of a ticket booth or mail booth, I can't remember which. Inside on the desk you can see a hand written letter. The hand writing is very small but I was able to read enough of it. It is a letter reporting the news that Indiana Jones has found a lost temple deep in the jungle up the river from the loading area. I saw it in April 2000 when I was visiting Disneyland. Just an interesting little tidbit.
If the operator of a Jungle Cruise boat backs off the throttle in two locations along the ride after accelerating, the boat will jump the rail.
It has worked in the past, but only in certain situations:

• at Schweitzer Falls, two boats must be approaching from either side (forward and backside) at full speed, and turn at the same point for there to be a significant wake in the water to allow the boat to go full throttle reverse and be picked up off the track.

• at the snake in the tree, if a boat is going too fast in reverse, the turn can be too sharp and cause the boat to derail.

• if the water level is too high, any turn taken too fast can cause the boat to derail.

There are two islands on the Jungle Cruise nicknamed "Catalina" and "Manhattan".
The unofficial mascot of the Jungle Cruise is "Trader Sam".

Trader Sam, the mascot of the Jungle Cruise, is the old head-hunter with the bargain sale "two of his heads for one of yours."
The head salesman on the Jungle Cruise has been unofficially nicknamed "Trader Sam" for years by Cast Members-- and on the 45th Anniversary poster map, he's officially designated as such!
Does anyone remember the days of KNGO (Congo) radio? Members of the Disneyland band dressed in safari outfits and played on the top of the Jungle Cruise when the queque area was first rehabed. They would play great songs and tell some corny jokes such as, "KNGO Radio! Brought to you by Snow White and the Seven Dwarves Bank: where to go when you're a little short." My father played trombone for the group, which hasn't played there since. They were quite entertaining.
J.P. and the Silverstars play above the Jungle Cruise and is an authentic Caribbean Steel Drum Band performing exciting, uplifting material, directly influenced by the style of music and culture native to Trinidad, West Indies, home of this performing group.

The Jungle Cruise uses 1/2 to 1/4 pack starter pistol blanks in their fully functional 38 caliber hand guns. Guides of the famous 'Jungle Cruise' fire off almost 631,000 rounds of ammunition per year.
The guns used aboard the Jungle Cruise are authetic Nickel Plated Smith and Wesson .38 specials. They have been modified so that "live" ammo cannot be used in them. When an attraction boat is taken off at the end of the day or when it goes back into boat storage the gun must be checked back in. The ammo used on the ride consists of two types of blank cartridges. "Show" ammo is used to fire at the hippo pool only to discourage those buggers from attacking the boat. "Breakdown" ammo is used as you might guess. Its report is much louder and can be heard by the foreman at the front of the ride. Only enough break down ammo is issued for each boat and is returned at the conclusion of that boats operational day. Depending on the type of breakdown, the foreman may request that another operator take 'the skiff' (a small flat bottom boat equipped with an outboard motor) to check on the troubled boat. The foreman will bring out a schematic of the entire ride similar to those used aboard warships depicting all of the bends in the river as well as the position of all boats. Cast Members are very well versed in break down procedures.
Have you ever wondered why the Jungle Cruise Guides fire only two shots from their pistols? My Girlfriend and I decided to make the Cruise the last ride of the evening, as the Guides tend to get weirder as the night goes on. Halfway through the cruise directly across from the cannibal village, our boat ran out of gas. The Guide loaded different shells than the ones used on the hippos. We were sitting right next to him and he told us to cover our ears and then fired the pistol. The reports were loud even with our ears covered. The guide meant to fire three, but the third was a dud. Apparently, firing more than two rounds from the pistol is a distress signal, which in our case did not work! Eventually the boat behind us came along and pushed us forward slowly until another boat came in backwards from the dock and towed us in. All in all an interesting experience.
On the subject of the Jungle Cruise gunshot sequence, here is the story:

1.      Two shots: All Clear

2.      Three Shots: Mechanical Difficulty - can't move

3.      Four Shots: Medical or security emergency - everyone proceed at full throttle to the dock

4.      Six Shots: Derailed, can't move

Two of the above handguns have been lost in the history of the Jungle Cruise. The second incident spurned the addition of a Cardenas Clip to the pistol to ensure a would be robber would have to spend some time removing the clip before "removing" the weapon. The clip is named after the Cast Member from whom the gun was stolen.
Yes it is named after Mr. Cardenas, a friend of mine and former cast member. He pulled up to the dock and was giving his unload spiel. When he turned around, he noticed that his gun was gone - taken right off of the lanyard.
The new boats cost the Company $100,000 each. That price does not include the engine and other custumizations they make to the craft. The guide rails are made of stainless steel and cost $2,000 each (two for each boat). I'm pretty sure that when you're done with it, each boat costs about $160,000.
The Magdalena (Maggie) and the Mekong are the two boats currently off the water because with the new boats being so much bigger than the old, not all boats could fit. So two had to go, and management chose which ones it would be.
Almost every night divers have to perform maintenance on the hippos on the Jungle Cruise
Disney cut one of the old boats in two and sunk it in the lagoon across from the second dock. This is just for looks and helps the old and new skippers remember the main parts of the orginal ride.
The Jungle Cruise and Rivers of America water is actually clear as it is pumped in (after draining for refurbishing or the like) and is "muckified" by adding 55 gallon drums of green stuff.
Very little known fact - and one that isn't talked about, leeches. Yes, the famous Rivers of America and the Jungle Cruise (which share the same water) were infected back in the early days with the importation of plants from tropical climes for the Jungle Cruise. During a major rehab of the Jungle Cruise and the Rivers of America in the early 70's they were discovered when the rivers were down for some time. It was not a raging infestation, about 50 were found in total. At the same time they did have an infestation of a type of large slug which many people working on the rehab mistakenly identified as leeches, but the real articles were found too! I kept one in a jar of Formaldehyde on a shelf in my office for several years. The waters were routinely treated with a chemical agent during the early Spring. During this time it was not uncommon to see floating suds on the Rivers of America from the treatment. I am sure that this is one that will raise eyebrows, but I was there.
Strange that leeches should be mentioned existing in the waters of the Jungle Cruise, seeing as how Walt's inspiration for the ride was the Humphrey Bogart film, "The African Queen".
CONFIRMED: Chris 18 JAN 97
CONFIRMED: Tim Carter 18 APR 97
I and my fellow skippers have seen them first hand stuck to the sides of the boats. I was also chatting with one of our wonderful maintenance guys about leeches, he says that they get stuck in the large debris filter all the time. Remember, strange things happen deep in the jungles of Anaheim.
CONFIRMED: anon 04 DEC 97
CONFIRMED: Emily 06 MAY 01

 
The Jungle Cruise boats are on a track and they can be switched back to maintenance via a switch. The switch is called the Dominguez Switch, after former skipper, VP Ron Domingus.
In reference to the Dominguez Switch is incorrect. The switch in question was on the MINE TRAIN ATTRACTION, in Frontierland. The switch was used to transfer trains from the main line to storage. True, it is named in honor of Ron K. Dominguez, Vice President, Disneyland, Retired. Ron on more than one occasion left the switch open derailing the trains. The trains ran from 1956 to 1977 when it was replaced by Thunder Mountain. A club was formed in honor of the Mine Train called the "Order of the Red Handkerchief". There are over 215 former ride operators of the old attraction who attend an annual reunion when their time permits. At present they are spread throughout 17 states including Hawaii. Some, still with the company have seen duty in Japan, and France. We have therefore renamed the club - MINE TRAINS INTERNATIONAL It was first organized in 1964 by Ray McHugh, and Frank McNell. It is the oldest existing club at Disneyland, but not widely known by all Cast Members because one had to have worked on the attraction in order to belong. A membership card and certificate is issued to all members. New people as they are found receive theirs at the annual reunion.
I wish to confirm Ray McHugh's statement that the Dominguez Switch was on the old Mine Ride, and not on the Jungle Cruise. I know because I worked the Mine Trains for five years after Ron made Supervisor. Also worked the Jungle Cruise.
There are a total of 4 switches on the Jungle Cruise:

0.      "Front Switch" - located between the passenger load area and the jungle. Allows the operators to place a boat on or retrieve from an 'on-stage' storage rail parallel to the dock. Manually operated from near the old queue area. Failure to properly coordinate -> derailment, e.g. boats driving from the loading area in such a way that the underwater guide ceases to ride on the guide rail, causing loss of directional control and mandatory ride shutdown until the boat can be placed back on the rail.

1.      "Rear Switch" - located between the area where boats exit the jungle (i.e., return to civilization) and the passenger unload area. Allows boats to be placed in or pulled from 'off-stage' storage area behind 2 large doors. Manually operated from the on-stage storage dock. If inappropriately coordinated, can result in derailments of boats passing out of the jungle (not uncommon for a spieling skipper to not hear the warnings of other operators to "Hold it there, skip!") while storage activity takes place.

2.      "Storage Switch" - in off-stage storage, allows boats to be moved from one of two storage rails onto the main storage rail. Pneumatically operated.

3.      "Dominguez Switch" - Located at the exit of the jungle (before reaching the storage switch) allowing boats to pass from the ride's return to civilization directly to the on stage storage rail. Manually operated from an area near the storage doors. Very rarely used bcause of difficult coordination imposed by visibility, high probability of derailment, and ease of use of other storage procedures using other switches. Good sight for jungle hijinx; e.g., on a skipper's last trip (prior to quitting) it was a good trick to really get him and his crew exited about the significance of his last trip. Assuming there were no boats on the on-stage storage rail, one could place a ride operater at both the dominguez and front switches. When the skipper of interest was emerging with his crew from the jungle, returning from his "last trip ever", one would have the Dominguez switch thrown to the on-stage storage area, and the front switch also thrown to the the same, allowing the boat to pass from the jungle to the storage line and back into the jungle, completely bypassing the load and unload areas. The skipper and crew would get another "last trip ever". Needless to say, this was not s.o.p., and consequently a dangerous move for the indiscreet lead. But for the right skipper at the right time, it was worth the risk to see him grinning as he came out of the jungle, his crew often applauding given it was his last trip, and then to see the boat pitch to starbord as the rail slung it to the storage line, the look of initial fear on the skipper's face, then smirk of realization that he'd been had and cheers from the crew as they passed out into the jungle, was pretty cool.

Athough I am sure that Ray Mc Hugh and Bob McDonald are correct that the original Dominguez Switch was on the old Mine Train. The switch in question on Jungle is known by everybody, today, as the Dominguez Switch.
The Jungle Cruise boats are not on a track but rather have a guide rail on either side of the boat that keeps it from drifting from side to side. The Dominguez switch was eliminated in 1994 when the Disneyland Jungle Cruise was slightly modified to accommodate the Indiana Jones ride. Now there is simply a "front" and a "rear" switch.
The Disneyland boats run on a guide rail. The Disneyworld boats run in a concrete trough. It's better from a skipper's point of view to work at Disneyland. The boats derail there, (causing the ride to shut down) but the boats at Disneyworld rarely break down.
As you walk through the line just inside of the fort on the first story if you look to the left you will notice a set of plans for the jungle cruise boats on the wall to the left, look at who the plans were approved by in the lower right-hand corner and it says WED, Walt Disney's initials.
Just after you exit from behind the water fall and before you are about to make the last turn to head back to dock there is a rock that appears to look like a rino head in the water. It even has a hole cut into it where the eyeball would be. Very interesting. It's almost right across from the head hunter holding the heads in his hand.
The hole has a light in it to let approaching operators know whether the switch has been thrown for normal operation of whether it is open so that boats can be taken to and from boat storage or the spur track. There is another switch located at the front of the ride near guest loading that can allow boats to back onto the spur.
When I worked at the park, circa 1989-90, we Jungle Cruise skippers had a small stuffed Mickey that we would hide throughout the jungle. Intent upon breaking the other skippers concentration by making each other crack up mid-spiel, we'd put Mickey in the craziest places possible. Some Jungle Mickey locations were as follows: Peeking out from behind the dead zebra, on the falls behind 'Bertha', on the lap of the suicidal gorilla, hanging from a natives drum, at Trader Sams feet, and my favorite, sticking out of the backpack of the uppermost pole climber at the rhinos mercy. This kind of behavior would probably not go over well nowadays. Also, there was a spider monkey left over from the original J.C. that we did the same thing with. You can probably still find him but he is real hard to see. He hangs from his tail and is dark brown and kind of mossy as he has spent the last 40 something years in the jungle. The last place I saw him was hanging from a limb above the left shoulder of the tusked elephant that appears to be climbing out of the bathing pool to reach some tastier tree on shore. Happy hunting!
In the 70's, when supervisors were more lax, skippers used to fasten ropes to some of the trees in the jungle and swing barechested in front of the paths of oncoming boats.
Jungle Cruise Boat Names:

0.      Amazon Belle

1.      Congo Queen

2.      Ganges Gal

3.      Hondo Hattie

4.      Irrawaddy Woman

5.      Kissimmee Kate

6.      Magdalena Maiden [Maggie] (out of service)

7.      Mekong Maiden (out of service)

8.      Nile Princess

9.      Orinoco Adventuress

10.  Suwannee Lady

11.  Ucayali Una [Ucy]

12.  Yangtze Lotus

13.  Zambezi Miss

Normally there are two elephants on the Nile River (approaching the African Veldt). This past spring, due to all the rain and turbulence caused by the El Nino storms, the foundation that the second elephant sits on began to give way, and it started sliding down the river. An electronic cavity on the elephant's head became visible to the guests, and maintenance tried to cover it up with a little net hat. It didn't work, so the elephant had to be removed. It was lifted by helicopter. Quite a sight, seeing an elephant flying over Disneyland.
I just wanted to point out something about the Jungle Cruise. For the last few times that I've been to Disneyland my friends and I have gone on the Jungle Cruise late at night and I've kept noticing how creepy the ride becomes after dark. The animals look much more realistic and if you look behind you as your moving ahead the trail you leave behind is pitch black. Going at night adds a whole new dimension. You also notice that the water is level is lower than earlier in the day (this seems to be true of other water rides as well).
At least one of the Jungle Cruise boats sunk! I have another Jungle story for you. Back in the summer of 1996 then Disney still had the boats with the seat cushions. On this particular hot summer day, a skipper by the name of Jeff Jarrett (not the professional wrestler), was driving the old Suwannee Lady. After turning past Trader Sam on his way back to the dock, unbeknownst to everyone, the track switch was open. None of the indicator lights showed an open switch...they all indicated an all-clear. As he approached the catwalk, everyone heard a huge crashing noise. All of a sudden the bottom of the boat started filling up with water and it started sinking. The boat was still full of guests at this point. The boat sank as far as it could go (about 4 feet down). Because it was a hot day, the guests didn't mind too much cooling themselves off, though few were upset. Jeff was never held responsible. But everyone knows a boat did sink once.
Anyone remember when the Jungle Book was an E-Ticket ride? Once while standing in line, a very long line, and a very long time ago, one of the cast members was trying to lighten things up he announced, "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Jungle Book is an E -Ticket Ride. Please have your E-Tickets ready as you approach the turnstile. That is E as in Eight-hundred, Eighty Eight Elephants Enthusiastically Eating Eggplant Every Easter Evening."
There are 3 homing pidgeons that call the Jungle Cruise home. Wylie, Flash, and Laverne ( I think, I can't quite remember the 3rd name) live on the second story of the boathouse behind where the Steel Drum Band performs. You can't see the roost save when they open the second story all the way and divert the guests past this area.
It is now against SOP (standard operating procedure) to actually shoot at the hippos in the hippo pool. Since they are an endangered species, we (the skippers) cannot fire blank ammo at artificial audioanimatronic animals. Animal rights activists have spoken and Disney has answered!
According to the book, "The Disney Version," when Walt Disney was buying up the land to make Disneyland, one of the owners said they would sell on one condition, that the 2 palm trees that were on the property never be removed. By a happy concidence they are on the land occupied by the Adventure Land Cruise. I don't know exactly where they are though.
According to the cast members giving tours at the park, the last remaining trees from the "orchard days" of the property are actually the tall eucalyptus trees located behind City Hall and the Firehouse, along the back edge of the Jungle Cruise, and not palms as reported here. These trees were originally planted to protect the orange trees from gusting winds. Although the landscape architects sought to save as many of the original orange trees as possible, they've all died, many due to relocation in the early days. As far as I know, there is no special reason for keeping the euc. trees, besides the fact that Bill Evans, the landscape architect in charge, had wanted to save money and time by retaining what they could of the original vegetation.
I was out with my girlfriend, Sabrina and we went on the Jungle Cruise a couple of minutes before the park closed (usually the best time to get interesting information from a castmember). Our skipper gave us the option of listening to the normal dialogue or just taking a quiet cruise. We having been on the ride many times, opted for the quiet cruise. When we got to the part of the tour where you hear the natives try and attack the boat. For the most part all of what they are saying is gibberish but if you pay close attention, the very first native screams out, "I LOVE DISCO!!", our skipper slowed the boat down and sure enough we heard it being yelled out loud.
At the native uprising when the headhunters attack, you'll hear them say "oookalaoalak! Ookalokaloka!" Then one shouts very distinctly "I love disco!"
I have not heard the disco loving natives, but I am pretty sure it wasn't part of the original 1955 ride. However the ride has gone thru MANY overhauls and remodels and this could have easily been added later on.
My sister said that at one time, Chevy Chase and Steve Martin were both skippers for the Jungle Cruise. Some of those guests must have had a pretty entertaining show. . . especially since Jungle Cruise is the only ride where cast members ad lib it.
It was actually Robin Williams and Steve Martin who were past skippers.... Long before they were famous. This fact is included in the training material a new skipper receives upon arrival to the Jungle. It's also noteworthy to mention that Michael Fay, the kid "cained" in Singapore for vandalism, was a skipper briefly. I worked with him.
Steve Martin was never a Disneyland skipper. I was under this assumption until I met Steve Martin and asked him and he set me straight. Disappointing because I thought I was following in his footsteps.
Steve Martin did in fact work at Disneyland; not as a Jungle Cruise skipper but as a magician at the Magic Shop in Main Street. However, a member of LA-based rock band Oingo Boingo was in fact a skipper for the Jungle Cruise. I found this out through a castmember doing parade duty for the Main Street Electrical Parade back in 1996. The castmember wasn't sure which member of the band it was, but was sure that it wasn't Danny Elfman ;-)
Steve Martin was, in fact a magician at the magic shop. But before he did that, he sold park guide books at the main entrance. Apparently he was an amazing salesman, and could sell hundreds in one shift. He held the record for most sold for decades. Amazing since he was only around 13 at the time.
The skippers had a loose fraternity comprised of the funniest skipers called 'Phi Laffa Lotta'.
The huge rocks by the African Veldt are hollow and contain sound equipment.
A skipper I know built a hot tub on top of the Asian Temple (Shirley's Temple) when we were down for rehab.
Disney employees are not as clean cut as you'd expect. Especially on the Jungle Cruise.
The Cast Members definitely have a sense of humor as shown with the scripted lousy jokes of the tour guide as well as those on the docking bay. One brazen Cast Member decided to be cute when he took his adventurer's hat (Fedora) and wore it with a large "munch" in it's brim, hinting that an alligator or some jungle creature tried to eat him. Disney costume guidelines call for no rips or tears in any uniform or costume. If it is supposed to be ripped, the fabric has been sewn to look like a tear or rip. This guy almost got away with it until Mr. Eisner was there and tapped him on his shoulder and said "That is not appropriate." The Cast Member nearly had a heart attack. Therefore, even adventures will look clean shaven, fresh, and never eaten by an animal
The Skippers on the Jungle Cruise definitely become a little more liberal on late night cruises. As a college student I tend to ride the Jungle Cruise as the park is closing to get some of the older, more sarcastic jokes. A couple of times I was surprised to hear how raunchy the jokes can get especially about the rhino chasing the group up the pole. If this is your type of humor ride at night to get the classic jokes along with some ones you probably never thought you would hear in Disneyland.
Here's an interesting tidbit for all you Jungle Cruise lovers out there. Originally, when designers were coming up for the idea of Indiana Jones, they wanted the Jungle Cruise to take you to the Indiana Jones attraction. But doing that meant they had to change the atmosphere of the Jungle Cruise so the idea was abandoned.
There was a reference to the Jungle Cruise in the movie "Tarzan". When the gorillas begin shoving Clayton around and inspecting his personal belongings, one of them grabs his shotgun and sits back, peering into the barrels, exactly like the gorilla at the ransacked camp on the ride.