One of my earliest jobs was as a skipper on the Jungle Cruise. Its been 45 years and I can still do the spiel. It will never go away. I roughly estimate I gave the spiel around 15,000 times.
I'm surprised you didn't bring up the original design flaw of the Jungle Cruise, something that severely hurt it on day 1: the animatronics were apparently powered by a water pressure system that was also shared...by the nearby bathrooms. So any time someone used the bathrooms, the animatronics stopped moving. This was an issue that was rapidly addressed once found, but it apparently made Opening Day a nightmare. I remember reading about this in a biography on Walt Disney when I was growing up, but for some reason the Internet seems to have completely forgotten about this issue because I can't find it cited in a moderate Google search.
I've been on the hong kong version, its pretty fun actually. One interesting part is when you get in the line you actually have to choose from one of three, Mandarin, Cantonese, and English. Depending which one you get in decides what language your skipper will be speaking. Was a pretty clever idea since a lot of the ride relies on joke telling.
How easy would you say it is to visit HK Disney without speaking Mandarin? I’ve read Euro-Disney is a breeze however Tokyo Disney is fairly difficult if you don’t speak Japanese
@@BrickedUpp HK disney is the most english friendly disney at least it was when I went to visit it in 2019. Things like Mystic Manor are completely in English, as is most any ride with any kind of voice acting. Some one once described to me that HK Disney was built for foreign tourists (mostly english speaking) more than HK locals, and I can honestly see it when comparing it to the other parks. I would say Tokyo Disney is pretty non Japanese speaker friendly too, while translations share more of a 40/60 ratio (IE there is more untranslated stuff than not) compared to HK being very very English speaking, its still easy to get around and enjoy stuff. One of my favorite bits was going to the stitch tiki room (the Japanese version of the magic tiki room) some cast members gave me a little device that translated the dialogue and was in sync with the audio so I could essentially read subtitles in real time to the animatronic show.
@@jillybellies thank you! Have you been to shanghai Disney? I’ve only been to Disneyland and DisneyWorld. I really want to go to Euro, Tokyo and both Chinese Disney’s but my lack of knowledge in French, Japanese and Mandarin or Cantonese makes me very hesitant especially since I’d like to explore the surrounding cities in each respectable areas
I was disappointed in that as well; honestly, the script has been through so many revisions that it might warrant it's own mini-video; hopefully he'll address that in the future.
Seriously wondering this to. He kind of mentioned the change been then glossed over it. I’m really curious about this because I swear I remember going to Disneyland in the early 90’s as a kid and most of the jungle cruise rides still felt more serious but every now and then they would do a funny narrative which was great at the time because it was like riding a different ride when you did. I honestly don’t like how every time you ride jungle cruise now it’s the “funny” script. It doesn’t have the same delivery it had when I was a kid without the more “serious” cruises as well. Plus the fact that the two narratives made it feel like different rides. Getting the “funny” narrative back then made you feel lucky because it seemed like only one guide out of 3 or 4 would do it and they were actually good at delivering funny lines. Now everybody says the same “funny” script and without good delivery I feel awkward sometimes when I ride it
@@RossRob559 Yeah, I agree. The "funny" ride just makes you remember that it's all fake. I mean, you generally KNOW that, but the park is about letting the fantasy be real for awhile. THe last two times I went were in '91 and '99. '91, as I recall, had a more serious tour guide, while the '99 one was all jokes, all the time. Really annoyed my dad, lol.
@@TheBaggadonuts a) I never said I didn't like these things about the video. 2) I didn't notice, no, why should I have? would it have any bearings on my comment? iii) I doubt it.
It could of been a male and female, as back then both had long tusks. However it could of been taken out of context as two males now since elephants, especially females, are evolving to lose their tusks or have them be very short.
"Ok, guys, we're finally ready to encounter something wild...." ::sign reads "Coming Soon: JUNGLE CRUISE: THE MOVIE:: "Well, that explains the Dwayne Johnson animatronic."
I think back then it was about playing up the experience and selling you on people really enjoying their time in the park. Definitely a different world in the beginning with the only real exposure coming from world of mouth and The Wonderful World of Disney weekly TV Show. I remember seeing Hi - 8 ride films for sale in the park in the late 70's. We had slides and View Master Reels from various parks as kids, they make for interesting curiosities these days.
If you love vintage tiki, you might enjoy some of this Disney related trivia fact… By June of 1959, Exotica was the number one album on the charts and it stayed there for over four consecutive weeks. Soon it was used as background music by choreographers for aquacades, ice shows and became a frequent favorite of Chinese and Polynesian restaurants. Even Disneyland started using it for the entrance to its Jungle River Boat ride (The jungle Cruise). But, perhaps the most unusual place Exotica was heard was on the U.S.S. Nautilus where it became the crew's favorite record during their historic journey as the first submarine to go beneath the North Pole.
I thought of them telling Walt Disney that he couldn’t use live animals on the jungle cruise when I went on the Kilimanjaro Safaris at Disney’s animal Kingdom because if you think about it Kilimanjaro safaris is what he wanted . It is to bad that he didn’t get to see it
I think because of that, Kilimanjaro safari had the unintended effect of making Jungle Cruise seem more dated. Why go on it when you could hop over to Animal Kingdom and get a real safari? The skippers really save that attraction.
Kilimanjaro Safaris is, by far, the largest attraction at any Disney park taking in a whopping 110 acres. That's bigger than the entire Magic Kingdom (105 acres) or Disneyland Park (85 acres). That's the amount of space required to care properly for live animals.
Well by the 90's, we had a much better understanding of animal husbandry so we could better design an animal attraction in this style. You would also need a ton of space for not just the animal exhibits but their night houses and keeper facilities.
I really enjoyed this video! However, you never made it clear when the ride transitioned from being a serious tour of the jungle to the pun-filled version we know today. It seems like the Marc Davis additions in the early 60s added some humor and lightheartedness - would the jokes have been added around this time as well?
Based on a conversation I had with Leon Janzen of The "E" Ticket, that came about gradually and of course culminated with Marc Davis's elephant pool and the the lost safari in the veldt.
Yesterworld, thanks for another GREAT video! Loved it! -- For those asking about when the comedy was officially added into the attraction, it was the summer of 1963. I'm currently finishing my father's biography (Chuck Burnes) which includes the years he worked at Disneyland. (The book should be out in late 2020 or early 2021.) He was with Ringling Bros. during the '50s and early '60s as one of their iconic clowns. He then moved to Hollywood and worked on "The Magic Land of AllaKazam" tv series. Following that he got married and auditioned for The Jungle Cruise ride, as they were looking for actual actors instead of just typical ride operators who could work and 'sell' the new script being created. (Disney, thankfully, understood that timing and showmanship were essential to keeping the entire experience fresh and funny.) It was the beginning of really letting them develop their own jokes and bits as well, many of which were added to the script as time went on. During this period, the costuming was changed to include a Hawaiian style shirt, shorts, and FLIP-FLOPS! The footwear didn't last very long, as they weren't the safest thing to wear jumping in and out of the boats, etc., and they eventually went back to wearing actual shoes. My father quickly moved up thru the ranks and into the Ent. Dept., which at the time only had 6 people in an office on Main Street. In those early days of his time there he was also part of the team that worked the Disney attractions at the World's Fair in NY, in '64 and '65. (Even rode on Walt's private plane at one point!) Thank you again for your terrific videos! Much appreciated! :)
Man. I don't understand how you can possibly not enjoy pointing out the back side of water. That is absolutely the best part of any sort of Jungle Cruise.
2:41 the indigenous people? "I don't know. But... I'm sorry, but... but can you just say "savages"? I am from a time when people said things like that. It was cruel, but it was faster. You know, like, "What is it, the savages?" See how fast that is." --Marquess of Queensbury
@@lynniewood it's from the show Mike Tyson Mysteries in the episode "A River Runs Through It Into a Heart of Darkness" the team is hired to help convince a native Nicaraguan tribe to vacate their land in order to allow the construction of a Chinese businessman's new super canal. Obviously, the team eventually decides to side with the natives. But on their way travelling upriver, the ghost of the Marquess of Queensbury is annoyed by having to use the word "Indigenous People" in every sentence, and prefering the language of the 19th century for the sake of expediency
Thank the gods you got footage of the frogs. I saw them on my first visit and had been trying to explain them to people for years. Started doubting myself for a while.
Honestly the Jungle Cruise is one of my favorite rides in all of Disney, and I will frequently ask my family to make time for this Satirical Safari. I do love that the original was meant to be serious, but it evolved with the changing times. I can't wait to rewatch the classic Jungle Cruise movie, Congo Queen. And hope the new one is half as good
I remember the very first time I rode the Jungle Cruise here in MK. I was about 11, and the skipper picked me to “drive” the boat through the temple. At the end when we all survived our trip through the ruins, he gave me an official Jungle Cruise license that gave me permission to drive any Jungle Cruise boat in the world... except in California. Or Paris. But Hong Kong was okay! To this day, I haven’t met anyone else who recalls this being a thing, so it genuinely feels like a little secret magical experience I was lucky enough to have :)
oh my gosh!! i experienced something similar at the haunted mansion, me and my little brother were waiting at the exit and a cast member came over and gave us each an honorary caretaker certificate. it had a picture of mickey and pluto recreating the scene of the caretaker and his dog from the ride and i’ve never been able to find anything about it ?!! i think mine has been lost though :(
Another great video!!!!! Regarding the crocodile with the gorilla, and the crocodiles with the hornbill, they would snap their heads into the water, and snap back, making a dramatic splash with their tails. I think they had maintenance issues, which is why the gorilla is now reaching for bananas. The other crocodiles also disappeared for good. Like there wasn't another place in the jungle for some crocodiles???? That hornbill scene was my all time favorite!
I remember seeing the The Jungle Cruise Disneyland ride on the old Disneyland series. It's one of the old original rides still operating at Disneyland. In fact, you should do a video topic about "The History of Walt Disney's Disneyland TV series". That would be an interesting one to see, since that old TV show series went through so many changes in title and theme over the years. I believe I suggested this series to you before.
YES! I've only gotten to see such a TINY bit of the show through uploads here and it's AMAZING how it changed over the decades, so a complete history of it would be PERFECT:)
I miss when rides with live actors were more commonplace. There was nothing quite like getting actual interactions with a real human as part of a ride. Even as a rehearsed spiel it helped a ton with the immersion
After watching this again, it occurs to me that it missed another significant change: when in 1995 (if my hasty research is correct) the ride began to feature at least the occasional female skipper. Before that, they were all male. (I believe at the same time they also began to use some male guides on the Storybookland Canal Boats, who had previously always been female.) Sorry if someone mentioned this earlier, I didn't wade through all 800 comments. :)
Last time I rode the Jungle Cruise (which was back in 2017), during the rhino/explorer scene, the rhino wasn't there (probably for maintenance purposes), but the hyenas were. I can't remember the joke the skipper made, but I just pretended that the hyenas were being jerks and chased those explorers up the tree and now they're laughing at them.
Mark you’ve done it again! Who knew that The Jungle Cruise has evolved in so many fascinating ways? Like visitors riding the ride multiple times to keep up with all of the changes I had to watch multiple times to keep up with the facts presented in this video! Here’s to all of your hard work and hoping you take on more rides that have evolved at both Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom! Can’t wait for the next one!
No coverage on when the tone started to shift to jokes, and why it was embraced instead of clamped down on? That seems a bit of an oversight, considering the Jungle Cruise survives today solely as a parody of itself.
My friends and I rode the Jungle Cruise over and over again while waiting for our Indiana Jones Fast Passes to kick in, and it turned into my favorite ride. Love the puns. Love the jokes.
Great video as always. Though I would def be interested in a part two which talks about the transition of the original tone into the comedic Skipper routine we have now. And you missed an opportunity to show that the gun shots are still present at Trader Sams when ordering a Hippopoto-MaiTai! (“Two shots of rum!”). I vote for a part two to show the rides evolution into comedy and the culture that has sprung up around that.
I do agree, in hindsight, It was an oversight to not cover the transition from "humor but pun-free" to how it is today in more depth...I think in the back of my mind, I felt the clips showcasing the change in Narration, combined with a few comments I make here and there, would be enough...I was also initially having trouble tracking down some of the specifics, but I'm now seeing it needed its own section and deep dive.
16:10 The camp scene also added some water explosions. I always thought that and the piranhas were nice little additions for the 50th, and gave it a little more life.
My Great Great grandparents owned the orange grove which would eventually become Tomorrowland and part of Main Street! They were very old at the time and ready to retire from farming, so they sold their land to Disney!
If you're going to lie, at least make it believable with names that actually exist in the Disney history database, because I'm sure as shit you're in no way related to the Dominguez family.
Ice Ice Booey how about this, I have the lost title card for the 2011 Spongebob episode “Frozen Face-Off” back when it was called “The Great Sleigh Race”. We got it at the Studio that year when visiting as one of my mom’s friends in gig school was the girlfriend of the prop designer, Derek L’estrange.
Great look in to the history of the ride. I think we have to accept the changes as they come and remember this is a ride about the wonder of adventure thru far away lands and as long as that stays then the heart of the ride is unchanged
The bannanas replacing the alligator were nost likely orginaly supposed to be temporary and covering up a broken or somthing animtronic. As its totaly the way disney normally handles a broken animtronic. And if it proved to hard to fix/maintane thats why it never came back.
The Skipper Canteen is one of my favorite restaurants at WDW and it actually has a bit of Jungle Cruise lore! 3 of the “upstairs” doors are tributes to the main imagineers who shaped the Jungle Cruise!
I was having a difficult time finding specifics beyond "they started with puns in the late 60s". And even then I kept reading conflicting information on exactly when and why they began. The attraction always had "humorous" dialogue, such as what's present in the clips, but my guess is that it was just a way to: A. As I mention, diffuse some of the more controversial show scenes of violence/stereotypes B. Keep people entertained once the animatronics lost their "wow" factor from the 50's.
@@YesterworldEntertainment oh okay I completely understand. Thank you for the reply with more insight. Love your videos and the work you put into them, keep up the great work!
This was great to watch after the recent announcement! I'm excited for the changes even more after seeing the evolution it's been through thus far. Thank you!
Finally, I was hoping you were going to look at this attraction. Plus it's ironic for the changes you brought in the opening skit since Disney's Animal Kingdom does have plans for an upcoming Lion King and Jungle Book ride.
It would be nice if they could incorporate an accurate indigenous people section. Like the dancing tribe, but without stereotypes. Maybe using an actual existing tribe as a model. It would be nice to get some educational aspect into it without "roasting the lion" or "Dangerous headhunters".
Jungle Cruise is the best. I was in college with a guy who was a jungle cruise operator…he said it was the only ride in all of Disney that gave individual operators the ability to go off script. It was the best ride to work at because it was not boring to operate
i remember this ride from when i was a kid i "captained" the boat thru the tunnel part & i do remember seeing the dragon on a sign somewhere in the ride tho thanks for uploading this video so we can be nostalgic about it
Great video, I do have to say I’m a little disappointed you didn’t mention when they started adding in the jokes, as I was really looking forward to that.
I'm genuinely shocked those tribes are still part of the cruise, even as late as the 2000's. Also, am I the only one here who feels a deep, primal fear from these giant animatronics? Something about this video was deeply disturbing to me.
The tribe is just a tribe peddling heads to tourists now, which is pretty much a reality. Europe went crazy for them, thus the tribes had ramp up "production" by warring with other natives.
@@dom-perignon720 I never said you hurt my feelings, just that you took a inconsequential comment and had to insult my knowledge of a situation I never addressed. Typical keyboard warrior.
I look forward to and updated jungle cruise some day. I've grown board with the ride. It's time to follow Walt's tradition and ideas to keep the rides ever evolving
Everyone gets mad at Song of the South featuring slaves but technically the movie doesn't feature slaves. The movie takes place after the Civil War so they were considered free men and that's why at the end of the movie they were able to retire and move away as they pleased.
I have a funny story involving the jungle cruise: When I was a freshman, I got a chance to go to Disney with my high school marching band. We were in the backstage zone, waiting behind the Jungle Cruise to go out and perform in the streets of Magic Kingdom. We had to stay quiet, to not break the magic for the people on the Jungle Cruise. As we were heading out, a person from the drumline (behind me) accidentally dropped his symbols, making a loud "Crash!" We all looked at the guy and the girl next to him said in quote "That was part of the Jungle experience!" Btw, we also passed by some decommission animatronics from the jungle Cruise (possibly for repair) and the same girl quoted "Disney deports fake animals!" That was those times I will never forget.
I don't think this is necessarily true. Bear is supposedly delicious, particularly in a stew. Alligator and crocodile is also delicious. Not to mention the many carnivorous fish that we eat.
@@kenziehurlock Lions, or any cat for that matter, are very uncommonly eaten by man. Only in some parts of China and maybe a few other places in the world is domesticated cat considered a delicacy. I suppose it's not an unreasonable assumption that it is because the taste is inferior to other meats. In Africa and Asia, cat relatives like civet and mongoose are sometimes caught for bushmeat.
One of my teachers used to work there. Since she memorized where all the little sensors are on the cruise, she was able to have a little fun with her co-workers and the audience by pretending to be Darth Vader using “the force” to make Puranas appear. At the end she had one of her co-workers fall to the ground in pain, acting like she was using the force on him. The audience may have loved it, but her boss didn’t.
I have friends who saw a screening of the movie two years ago at the Disney Studios and they hated it. I think there's a reason why it's been delayed two years.
Yo. Been watching you for years. I have to know what your main background music is. You gotta tell me. It fits so perfectly with everything you talk about, and while you don't use it as much anymore, it always makes my ears happy when it shows up..
One of my earliest jobs was as a skipper on the Jungle Cruise. Its been 45 years and I can still do the spiel. It will never go away. I roughly estimate I gave the spiel around 15,000 times.
Sorry if I sound rude, but is there proof that you were even a skipper for the ride? I'm confused.
@@Dylan-Hooton Yes, 1975-1977.
@@richardperhai8292 Oh, sorry if I was being skeptical.
Wow
Spiel pls
I'm surprised you didn't bring up the original design flaw of the Jungle Cruise, something that severely hurt it on day 1: the animatronics were apparently powered by a water pressure system that was also shared...by the nearby bathrooms. So any time someone used the bathrooms, the animatronics stopped moving. This was an issue that was rapidly addressed once found, but it apparently made Opening Day a nightmare.
I remember reading about this in a biography on Walt Disney when I was growing up, but for some reason the Internet seems to have completely forgotten about this issue because I can't find it cited in a moderate Google search.
This sounds hilarious. It should be a sitcom.
@@deadpilled2942 1:31 What kind of Music is this?
I've been on the hong kong version, its pretty fun actually. One interesting part is when you get in the line you actually have to choose from one of three, Mandarin, Cantonese, and English. Depending which one you get in decides what language your skipper will be speaking. Was a pretty clever idea since a lot of the ride relies on joke telling.
How easy would you say it is to visit HK Disney without speaking Mandarin? I’ve read Euro-Disney is a breeze however Tokyo Disney is fairly difficult if you don’t speak Japanese
@@BrickedUpp HK disney is the most english friendly disney at least it was when I went to visit it in 2019. Things like Mystic Manor are completely in English, as is most any ride with any kind of voice acting. Some one once described to me that HK Disney was built for foreign tourists (mostly english speaking) more than HK locals, and I can honestly see it when comparing it to the other parks.
I would say Tokyo Disney is pretty non Japanese speaker friendly too, while translations share more of a 40/60 ratio (IE there is more untranslated stuff than not) compared to HK being very very English speaking, its still easy to get around and enjoy stuff. One of my favorite bits was going to the stitch tiki room (the Japanese version of the magic tiki room) some cast members gave me a little device that translated the dialogue and was in sync with the audio so I could essentially read subtitles in real time to the animatronic show.
@@jillybellies thank you! Have you been to shanghai Disney? I’ve only been to Disneyland and DisneyWorld. I really want to go to Euro, Tokyo and both Chinese Disney’s but my lack of knowledge in French, Japanese and Mandarin or Cantonese makes me very hesitant especially since I’d like to explore the surrounding cities in each respectable areas
YW: "Featuring a lion... roasting over a fire pit. Boy, that's dark."
Simba: "Dad?"
Me: "NOPE. NOPE. NOPE. NOPE."
NOPE
I'm traumatized by that
I spit out my drink when "Dad?" came on
You didn’t mention how and when the jokes got added in, and the significance of them that is so important they got their own song “skipper dan”
I was disappointed in that as well; honestly, the script has been through so many revisions that it might warrant it's own mini-video; hopefully he'll address that in the future.
Part two? Maybe, hopefully?
Seriously wondering this to. He kind of mentioned the change been then glossed over it. I’m really curious about this because I swear I remember going to Disneyland in the early 90’s as a kid and most of the jungle cruise rides still felt more serious but every now and then they would do a funny narrative which was great at the time because it was like riding a different ride when you did. I honestly don’t like how every time you ride jungle cruise now it’s the “funny” script. It doesn’t have the same delivery it had when I was a kid without the more “serious” cruises as well. Plus the fact that the two narratives made it feel like different rides. Getting the “funny” narrative back then made you feel lucky because it seemed like only one guide out of 3 or 4 would do it and they were actually good at delivering funny lines. Now everybody says the same “funny” script and without good delivery I feel awkward sometimes when I ride it
@@RossRob559 Yeah, I agree. The "funny" ride just makes you remember that it's all fake. I mean, you generally KNOW that, but the park is about letting the fantasy be real for awhile.
THe last two times I went were in '91 and '99. '91, as I recall, had a more serious tour guide, while the '99 one was all jokes, all the time. Really annoyed my dad, lol.
@@TheBaggadonuts a) I never said I didn't like these things about the video.
2) I didn't notice, no, why should I have? would it have any bearings on my comment?
iii) I doubt it.
Hippo: *yawns*
Tour guide: "So you have chosen death"
Actually, when a hippo yawns, it's a warning before an attack, so it explains why the skippers used to shoot it.
@@noxidgaming1114 huh. You learn something new everyday.
@@montague8878 Hippos account for more human deaths than any other land animal by a huge margin. They're super aggressive and territorial.
6:02
"two bull elephants"
"now let's leave the happy couple and head on"
50's disney accidentally said gay rights, you heard it here first folks!
Wrong timestamp
@@ratman5538 fixed it, thanks for the heads up 🐘
Those elephants were in compliance with the pre-Videopolis rules since they weren't engaged in any homosexual fast dancing.
Accidental gay elephant couple on 1950's Jungle Cruise just made my day
It could of been a male and female, as back then both had long tusks. However it could of been taken out of context as two males now since elephants, especially females, are evolving to lose their tusks or have them be very short.
"Here comes the head hunter"
::a Micheal Eisner animatronic pops up:::
Hol' up
@@hownot2junk803 You have to sing or they will put you in a Christmas movie with Tim Allen!
You mean Bob Iger?
Un, you think so,@@Clay3613 ?
I'm pretty sure Neil Patrick Harris would be more fitting.
"Ok, guys, we're finally ready to encounter something wild...."
::sign reads "Coming Soon: JUNGLE CRUISE: THE MOVIE::
"Well, that explains the Dwayne Johnson animatronic."
What
They added Johnny depp to pirates so it’s not impossible 👀
The live action reboots are starting to manifest the rides.
It's a reused animatronic from Superstar Limo.
The man graduated from the same high school as me as a FBLA member I think him becoming a Disney robot is cool.
It’s funny how these days, we try to avoid ride spoilers, but back then they just put out video of the whole ride to market it.
I think back then it was about playing up the experience and selling you on people really enjoying their time in the park. Definitely a different world in the beginning with the only real exposure coming from world of mouth and The Wonderful World of Disney weekly TV Show. I remember seeing Hi - 8 ride films for sale in the park in the late 70's. We had slides and View Master Reels from various parks as kids, they make for interesting curiosities these days.
I think alot of the footage was stuff they showed to shareholders and investors.
If you love vintage tiki, you might enjoy some of this Disney related trivia fact…
By June of 1959, Exotica was the number one album on the charts and it stayed there for over four consecutive weeks. Soon it was used as background music by choreographers for aquacades, ice shows and became a frequent favorite of Chinese and Polynesian restaurants. Even Disneyland started using it for the entrance to its Jungle River Boat ride (The jungle Cruise). But, perhaps the most unusual place Exotica was heard was on the U.S.S. Nautilus where it became the crew's favorite record during their historic journey as the first submarine to go beneath the North Pole.
I honestly enjoy the cheesy jokes that are told throughout the ride
Who doesn’t?
“Bengal Tigers can jump over 20 feet”
“That’s an African Bull Elephant”
“There it is, the back side of water!”
“What have I done with my life”
Depends on how well the cast member sells it. I remember one who acted like they hated every joke and that just made it even worse.
Spencer Williams fair enough, it does really depend on the cast member
Dosware Pictures I don’t get the tiger one
I thought of them telling Walt Disney that he couldn’t use live animals on the jungle cruise when I went on the Kilimanjaro Safaris at Disney’s animal Kingdom because if you think about it Kilimanjaro safaris is what he wanted . It is to bad that he didn’t get to see it
I think because of that, Kilimanjaro safari had the unintended effect of making Jungle Cruise seem more dated. Why go on it when you could hop over to Animal Kingdom and get a real safari? The skippers really save that attraction.
Kilimanjaro Safaris is, by far, the largest attraction at any Disney park taking in a whopping 110 acres. That's bigger than the entire Magic Kingdom (105 acres) or Disneyland Park (85 acres). That's the amount of space required to care properly for live animals.
Well by the 90's, we had a much better understanding of animal husbandry so we could better design an animal attraction in this style. You would also need a ton of space for not just the animal exhibits but their night houses and keeper facilities.
@@BrandtRedd and then you need to add the price of feeding and caring for the animals. It’s an insane amount.
Imagine, if you will, boats + hippos + small children.
...Imagine the amount of injuries/deaths that might happen.
I really enjoyed this video! However, you never made it clear when the ride transitioned from being a serious tour of the jungle to the pun-filled version we know today. It seems like the Marc Davis additions in the early 60s added some humor and lightheartedness - would the jokes have been added around this time as well?
True
Based on a conversation I had with Leon Janzen of The "E" Ticket, that came about gradually and of course culminated with Marc Davis's elephant pool and the the lost safari in the veldt.
@@FreedomforHaiti Thanks very much!
Yesterworld, thanks for another GREAT video! Loved it! -- For those asking about when the comedy was officially added into the attraction, it was the summer of 1963. I'm currently finishing my father's biography (Chuck Burnes) which includes the years he worked at Disneyland. (The book should be out in late 2020 or early 2021.) He was with Ringling Bros. during the '50s and early '60s as one of their iconic clowns. He then moved to Hollywood and worked on "The Magic Land of AllaKazam" tv series. Following that he got married and auditioned for The Jungle Cruise ride, as they were looking for actual actors instead of just typical ride operators who could work and 'sell' the new script being created. (Disney, thankfully, understood that timing and showmanship were essential to keeping the entire experience fresh and funny.) It was the beginning of really letting them develop their own jokes and bits as well, many of which were added to the script as time went on. During this period, the costuming was changed to include a Hawaiian style shirt, shorts, and FLIP-FLOPS! The footwear didn't last very long, as they weren't the safest thing to wear jumping in and out of the boats, etc., and they eventually went back to wearing actual shoes. My father quickly moved up thru the ranks and into the Ent. Dept., which at the time only had 6 people in an office on Main Street. In those early days of his time there he was also part of the team that worked the Disney attractions at the World's Fair in NY, in '64 and '65. (Even rode on Walt's private plane at one point!) Thank you again for your terrific videos! Much appreciated! :)
GREAT INFO! Thank you for sharing!!!
Man. I don't understand how you can possibly not enjoy pointing out the back side of water. That is absolutely the best part of any sort of Jungle Cruise.
Missed opportunity by the Imagineers /WEDWorks to call their mechanical animals "Mechanimals"...
Or animaltronics
Not to be confused with animal mechanicals.
There was a actual South African tribe that heard of the ride and wanted their tribe represented but it never happened
I can totally see the Zulu nation doing that.
2:41 the indigenous people?
"I don't know. But... I'm sorry, but... but can you just say "savages"? I am from a time when people said things like that. It was cruel, but it was faster. You know, like, "What is it, the savages?" See how fast that is." --Marquess of Queensbury
@@Viking_Luchador uh, is there a reason for the racist qoute i don't get it
@@lynniewood it's from the show Mike Tyson Mysteries
in the episode "A River Runs Through It Into a Heart of Darkness" the team is hired to help convince a native Nicaraguan tribe to vacate their land in order to allow the construction of a Chinese businessman's new super canal. Obviously, the team eventually decides to side with the natives. But on their way travelling upriver, the ghost of the Marquess of Queensbury is annoyed by having to use the word "Indigenous People" in every sentence, and prefering the language of the 19th century for the sake of expediency
@@Viking_Luchador uh, again, why reference the racist qoute here?
Damn I really needed this today... Yesterworld always makes the day better.
Thank the gods you got footage of the frogs. I saw them on my first visit and had been trying to explain them to people for years. Started doubting myself for a while.
Honestly the Jungle Cruise is one of my favorite rides in all of Disney, and I will frequently ask my family to make time for this Satirical Safari. I do love that the original was meant to be serious, but it evolved with the changing times.
I can't wait to rewatch the classic Jungle Cruise movie, Congo Queen. And hope the new one is half as good
Isn't Apocolypse Now the classic jungle cruise movie though
@@daltonbedore8396 lol. It's based off Jungle Cruise.
Don't ask. Make them do it, and set the dial to "Super Racist" version, to make your uncle big mad.
Two minutes in and without a doubt I could tell it’s going to be a great video as always .
And it was*
I went south from there. It was some pc crying after that.
I remember the very first time I rode the Jungle Cruise here in MK. I was about 11, and the skipper picked me to “drive” the boat through the temple. At the end when we all survived our trip through the ruins, he gave me an official Jungle Cruise license that gave me permission to drive any Jungle Cruise boat in the world... except in California. Or Paris. But Hong Kong was okay!
To this day, I haven’t met anyone else who recalls this being a thing, so it genuinely feels like a little secret magical experience I was lucky enough to have :)
oh my gosh!! i experienced something similar at the haunted mansion, me and my little brother were waiting at the exit and a cast member came over and gave us each an honorary caretaker certificate. it had a picture of mickey and pluto recreating the scene of the caretaker and his dog from the ride and i’ve never been able to find anything about it ?!! i think mine has been lost though :(
I love watching his videos and his voice is so soothing to me
Another great video!!!!!
Regarding the crocodile with the gorilla, and the crocodiles with the hornbill, they would snap their heads into the water, and snap back, making a dramatic splash with their tails. I think they had maintenance issues, which is why the gorilla is now reaching for bananas. The other crocodiles also disappeared for good. Like there wasn't another place in the jungle for some crocodiles????
That hornbill scene was my all time favorite!
I remember seeing the The Jungle Cruise Disneyland ride on the old Disneyland series. It's one of the old original rides still operating at Disneyland.
In fact, you should do a video topic about "The History of Walt Disney's Disneyland TV series". That would be an interesting one to see, since that old TV show series went through so many changes in title and theme over the years. I believe I suggested this series to you before.
Raptormon OneThreeTwo good idea
YES! I've only gotten to see such a TINY bit of the show through uploads here and it's AMAZING how it changed over the decades, so a complete history of it would be PERFECT:)
That would be more suited for Defunctland.
@@cesariojpn YES, you're right! Everyone flood Kevin with the suggestion ASAP!
the intro was so funny!! hungry hungry hippos the live action version seems like an...interesting movie... 😂
Coming Soon to Disney+
It could be a horror movie about man-eating hippos
@@rattyeely I'd watch a horror movie reboot of. Hungry hungry hippos tbh
“I’m a tour guide on the Jungle Cruise ride...Disney Dan is my name...”
“And I’m doin’ 34 shows everyday”
Every time it’s the same.
Look at those hippos they're wiggling their ears.
Just like they've done for the last 50 years
Now I’m laughing at my own jokes but I’m crying inside
My biggest problem with this comment section is the fact that not enough people are referencing Skipper Dan.
As a former Skipper, the one thing that never changed was the script. In the late 80s the script stilled had Burma Shave jokes.
You get a like
Just for knowing
Some jokes that bite
Perhaps in spite
Of your age showing
_Burma Shave_
I miss when rides with live actors were more commonplace. There was nothing quite like getting actual interactions with a real human as part of a ride. Even as a rehearsed spiel it helped a ton with the immersion
After watching this again, it occurs to me that it missed another significant change: when in 1995 (if my hasty research is correct) the ride began to feature at least the occasional female skipper. Before that, they were all male. (I believe at the same time they also began to use some male guides on the Storybookland Canal Boats, who had previously always been female.)
Sorry if someone mentioned this earlier, I didn't wade through all 800 comments. :)
That’s wild!
Last time I rode the Jungle Cruise (which was back in 2017), during the rhino/explorer scene, the rhino wasn't there (probably for maintenance purposes), but the hyenas were. I can't remember the joke the skipper made, but I just pretended that the hyenas were being jerks and chased those explorers up the tree and now they're laughing at them.
Finally I can now learn about those frogs from the Magic Kingdom version that was removed before the park opened
RetroWDW also hunted those down.
Mark you’ve done it again! Who knew that The Jungle Cruise has evolved in so many fascinating ways? Like visitors riding the ride multiple times to keep up with all of the changes I had to watch multiple times to keep up with the facts presented in this video! Here’s to all of your hard work and hoping you take on more rides that have evolved at both Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom! Can’t wait for the next one!
we get so caught up looking for hidden gems to research and learn about, but I really appreciate this deep dive into a cornerstone ride!
No coverage on when the tone started to shift to jokes, and why it was embraced instead of clamped down on? That seems a bit of an oversight, considering the Jungle Cruise survives today solely as a parody of itself.
Very true
probably as the animatronics aged, there were a couple of guides who decided to lampoon it and it evolved into the standard practice. That's my guess
“the laughing hyenas at last have something to laugh at” clip has a lot of potential
Me: sees aerial footage of Jungle Cruise construction. "Isn't this the opening of M.A.S.H?'
Pffff lol you're right!
When you said “the opening of Disneyland was just around the corner” you totally missed your shot at saying “just around the riverbend”
😂😂😂😂
You are easily one of my favorite content creators. Keep up the good work. Oh and are you still making the antz vs a bugs life video?
There is a reason there are no dislikes too!
16:04 for whatever reason, extremely young me remembers the skipper shooting at the hippos as it seemed so cool at the time
3:45 The Rhino on the cart looked amazing, more so considering the year. The shape, painting, and floppy ears just make it so realistic.
This video was amazing! The intro was really, really good, Mark. Everything was fantastic.
Had a blast working there summer of '73 at WDW. The stories I could tell!
You missed the addition of a new scene at the Disney world location of the 2020 sinking boat!!!
You mean I’m early for once?! This is fantastic!!! I can NOT wait to surprise my sister by taking her to Disney for her sweet sixteen.
My friends and I rode the Jungle Cruise over and over again while waiting for our Indiana Jones Fast Passes to kick in, and it turned into my favorite ride. Love the puns. Love the jokes.
I have never seen the giraffes on Jungle Cruise but I DID get to see the world's cutest baby giraffe live at Animal Kingdom last December.
Great video as always. Though I would def be interested in a part two which talks about the transition of the original tone into the comedic Skipper routine we have now. And you missed an opportunity to show that the gun shots are still present at Trader Sams when ordering a Hippopoto-MaiTai! (“Two shots of rum!”). I vote for a part two to show the rides evolution into comedy and the culture that has sprung up around that.
I do agree, in hindsight, It was an oversight to not cover the transition from "humor but pun-free" to how it is today in more depth...I think in the back of my mind, I felt the clips showcasing the change in Narration, combined with a few comments I make here and there, would be enough...I was also initially having trouble tracking down some of the specifics, but I'm now seeing it needed its own section and deep dive.
16:10 The camp scene also added some water explosions. I always thought that and the piranhas were nice little additions for the 50th, and gave it a little more life.
Thank you for all of the research and effort you put into these, Mark! This one was fantastic
My Great Great grandparents owned the orange grove which would eventually become Tomorrowland and part of Main Street! They were very old at the time and ready to retire from farming, so they sold their land to Disney!
If you're going to lie, at least make it believable with names that actually exist in the Disney history database, because I'm sure as shit you're in no way related to the Dominguez family.
@@cky1088 you do realize there were other orange groves that made up Disneyland! It was not just one single property owned by one person.
@@cky1088 Gerhard Claussen. That was my great great grandfather
Ice Ice Booey how about this, I have the lost title card for the 2011 Spongebob episode “Frozen Face-Off” back when it was called “The Great Sleigh Race”. We got it at the Studio that year when visiting as one of my mom’s friends in gig school was the girlfriend of the prop designer, Derek L’estrange.
Alright Jungle Cruise, I love this ride! Cheesy puns and retro animatronics are my jam!
So trashin' the camp in Tarzan was a reference to Jungle Cruise, maybe? Hmmm thinking thoughts about that one.
Likely!
Great look in to the history of the ride. I think we have to accept the changes as they come and remember this is a ride about the wonder of adventure thru far away lands and as long as that stays then the heart of the ride is unchanged
The first minute of the video goes.
Me: STAHP DONT GIVE DISNEY IDEAS!!!!
YW: *Calls the crocodiles "alligators"*
Me: Your days are numbered, Funny Theme Park Man
The bannanas replacing the alligator were nost likely orginaly supposed to be temporary and covering up a broken or somthing animtronic. As its totaly the way disney normally handles a broken animtronic. And if it proved to hard to fix/maintane thats why it never came back.
A Yesterworld video in our subscription box means it's going to be a great day! Thank you sir.
Been waiting for this one, thanks Mark!
(Edit) the piranhas do occasionally go on but its not really commented on.
This is awesome. Some youtubers just broke the mold. I really enjoy these documentaries
I would love to know what did Claude Coats' darker Haunted Mansion looked like before it was scrapped. ^^
Bring back the jingle cruise! I still cannot believe they stopped decorating for the holidays
The Skipper Canteen is one of my favorite restaurants at WDW and it actually has a bit of Jungle Cruise lore! 3 of the “upstairs” doors are tributes to the main imagineers who shaped the Jungle Cruise!
Dude, the missing animatronics in the boat were PERFECT!
My true friends...
MOM: We rode that last time
WALT DISNEY: "So I took that personally"
Jungle Cruise is my favorite and I feel like there is such a lack of content around it. I am so excited!!!
Great video, although I do wish you talked a bit more about when they transitioned over to telling jokes
I was having a difficult time finding specifics beyond "they started with puns in the late 60s". And even then I kept reading conflicting information on exactly when and why they began. The attraction always had "humorous" dialogue, such as what's present in the clips, but my guess is that it was just a way to:
A. As I mention, diffuse some of the more controversial show scenes of violence/stereotypes
B. Keep people entertained once the animatronics lost their "wow" factor from the 50's.
@@YesterworldEntertainment oh okay I completely understand. Thank you for the reply with more insight. Love your videos and the work you put into them, keep up the great work!
This was great to watch after the recent announcement! I'm excited for the changes even more after seeing the evolution it's been through thus far. Thank you!
Simba saying "Dad" lamooooo, you made me spit out my cereal
Finally, I was hoping you were going to look at this attraction. Plus it's ironic for the changes you brought in the opening skit since Disney's Animal Kingdom does have plans for an upcoming Lion King and Jungle Book ride.
It would be nice if they could incorporate an accurate indigenous people section. Like the dancing tribe, but without stereotypes. Maybe using an actual existing tribe as a model. It would be nice to get some educational aspect into it without "roasting the lion" or "Dangerous headhunters".
Jungle Cruise is the best. I was in college with a guy who was a jungle cruise operator…he said it was the only ride in all of Disney that gave individual operators the ability to go off script. It was the best ride to work at because it was not boring to operate
i remember this ride from when i was a kid i "captained" the boat thru the tunnel part & i do remember seeing the dragon on a sign somewhere in the ride tho thanks for uploading this video so we can be nostalgic about it
Same!
Great video, I do have to say I’m a little disappointed you didn’t mention when they started adding in the jokes, as I was really looking forward to that.
Well what do you know? After hearing the Jungle Cruise overhaul announcement, this video gets recommended to me XD
7:15 after the fateful day, little Nora could never look at hippos the same way again
I'm genuinely shocked those tribes are still part of the cruise, even as late as the 2000's.
Also, am I the only one here who feels a deep, primal fear from these giant animatronics? Something about this video was deeply disturbing to me.
The tribe is just a tribe peddling heads to tourists now, which is pretty much a reality. Europe went crazy for them, thus the tribes had ramp up "production" by warring with other natives.
@@Clay3613 That's equal parts sad and gross. What the fuck, Europe.
Ooh the ones in the water always give me an uncomfortable feeling. Submechanophobia is real and it haunts me lol
@@dom-perignon720 Way to turn "racism bad" into a personal attack. Congratulations, I hope you're proud.
@@dom-perignon720 I never said you hurt my feelings, just that you took a inconsequential comment and had to insult my knowledge of a situation I never addressed. Typical keyboard warrior.
To this day I’m traumatized by the shooting of the hippos . When it happened , I screamed and hid on the floor. This was in 1959
This is my favorite ride! I remember when I was a little kid and I would ride it with my parents 😊 😪
I love these videos, and I'm glad to see more and more people are watching the videos on this channel.
I look forward to and updated jungle cruise some day. I've grown board with the ride. It's time to follow Walt's tradition and ideas to keep the rides ever evolving
I too have grown wood
Let’s gooo new yesterworld video! Love when you upload a new video great video mark!
Jungle Cruise Now Featuring Real Animals! "Half as many maulings as before!"
Heck yes! Thank you so so much! I love what you do so much and am so thankful for your videos!
Everyone gets mad at Song of the South featuring slaves but technically the movie doesn't feature slaves. The movie takes place after the Civil War so they were considered free men and that's why at the end of the movie they were able to retire and move away as they pleased.
I think you're absolutely correct, only a matter of time before the natives are removed from the ride!
Yay!
Hey Mark the original Swiss Family Robison Treehouse in Disneyland was actually rethemed into Tarzan's treehouse.
Florida and Tokyo still have the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse.
I have a funny story involving the jungle cruise:
When I was a freshman, I got a chance to go to Disney with my high school marching band. We were in the backstage zone, waiting behind the Jungle Cruise to go out and perform in the streets of Magic Kingdom. We had to stay quiet, to not break the magic for the people on the Jungle Cruise. As we were heading out, a person from the drumline (behind me) accidentally dropped his symbols, making a loud "Crash!" We all looked at the guy and the girl next to him said in quote "That was part of the Jungle experience!"
Btw, we also passed by some decommission animatronics from the jungle Cruise (possibly for repair) and the same girl quoted "Disney deports fake animals!"
That was those times I will never forget.
Ah yes, the backside of water is strong with this one
02H! 02H! 02H!!!
Good one. I’d love to see a story showing the overall map change. The growth and expansions over time.
In all seriousness they probably wouldn't want to eat a lion. Carnivores aren't know to taste very good. A zebra or antelope would be a better choice.
I don't think this is necessarily true. Bear is supposedly delicious, particularly in a stew. Alligator and crocodile is also delicious. Not to mention the many carnivorous fish that we eat.
@@porsche911sbs good point. Lion on the other hand idk
@@kenziehurlock Lions, or any cat for that matter, are very uncommonly eaten by man. Only in some parts of China and maybe a few other places in the world is domesticated cat considered a delicacy. I suppose it's not an unreasonable assumption that it is because the taste is inferior to other meats. In Africa and Asia, cat relatives like civet and mongoose are sometimes caught for bushmeat.
As always.... very well researched.... very well produced... and great history tidbits. 🥰😍
One of my teachers used to work there. Since she memorized where all the little sensors are on the cruise, she was able to have a little fun with her co-workers and the audience by pretending to be Darth Vader using “the force” to make Puranas appear. At the end she had one of her co-workers fall to the ground in pain, acting like she was using the force on him. The audience may have loved it, but her boss didn’t.
I almost spat my food out at that intro! I love your intros!
Also, I wouldn't be surprised if it changed to fit the up coming movie...if it is amazing
I have friends who saw a screening of the movie two years ago at the Disney Studios and they hated it. I think there's a reason why it's been delayed two years.
Yo. Been watching you for years. I have to know what your main background music is. You gotta tell me. It fits so perfectly with everything you talk about, and while you don't use it as much anymore, it always makes my ears happy when it shows up..
when i went as a kid was the era when the bird was relocated into the queue, i remember that for some reason
"That Bengal Tiger can weigh over 2000 lbs. and leap over 25 feet! Ooo! Wow! What an adventure!" ^_~