by Lisa Green
“Only a true connoisseur of puns can appreciate the perfect execution, the art, the comic genius of the Jungle Cruise skipper.” – Lisa Green (yep, me!)
Puns are the most revered form of humor in my family.
I’m not sure what that says about us, but it’s true nonetheless.
Joseph has inherited the pun-appreciating gene and he and my sister,
Sandy, are the undisputed family champions. This love for all things
pun-ny has a lot to do with our love for The Jungle Cruise in Magic
Kingdom’s Adventureland! If you consider the Skipper on every boat a
comedic artist – The Pun is their medium of choice. And that is, after
all, what makes The Jungle Cruise
special and unique – the quality of the entire experience depends
solely on the talent of the Skipper and their ability to deliver their
pun-intensive dialogue with just the right timing!
Just a couple of weeks ago, we rode the Jungle Cruise at Walt Disney World
and Skipper Jeff (who was excellent) reminded us once again why this
ride is charming, classic, and SO darned funny (well, to this family
anyway). I love every single thing about it!
Here are my favorite things about the Jungle Cruise, an Adventureland classic!
1. While waiting in line, guests are treated to both sight gags
(on the walls, overhead, on standing crates and cages) and sound gags.
As you get closer to the boarding area, you can watch the boats (they
have cute names) come in and go out.
2. The design of the boats was based on the steamer in the movie African Queen (one
of my all time favorites!). While you wait, listen carefully to the
announcements! The dock manager’s notices over the P.A. set the tone
for the rest of the experience.
“Any travelers who may need to exchange foreign currency during
their voyage needn’t worry. There are banks all along our rivers.” – Jungle Cruise Dock Announcer
3. Once you board your boat, you’ll meet your skipper and set off on your journey around the world
(along famous rivers). Here’s where this attraction will capture your
heart! Yes, the jokes are cheesy! Yes, the animals are fake! Be ready
to embrace the experience in the spirit it was intended – not to
impress and delight, but to charm and entertain. To truly appreciate
all the Jungle Cruise has to offer, you must be willing to give both the
skipper’s dialogue and your surroundings your complete and
undivided attention!
4. The scenery is a masterpiece of real plants and totally fabricated situations. In caves, floating
along quiet pools, among ruins, viewing the backside of water! The
Disney details (like the puns) are plentiful!!! Pay attention to the
plane wreck – you’ll see only half the plane. Why? Because the other
half (the front) is over in the Studios in the Great Movie Ride! Do you
know what scene it’s in?
“We’re in the Amazon in South America, where things grow larger than life, such as the butterflies on our left and on our right. Their wingspans grow from 12 inches to a whopping 1 foot!” – Jungle Cruise Skipper
“We’re in the Amazon in South America, where things grow larger than life, such as the butterflies on our left and on our right. Their wingspans grow from 12 inches to a whopping 1 foot!” – Jungle Cruise Skipper
“See my jeep? I had a little trouble getting it started this morning, but I don’t know how they got it to turn over… oh well.” – Jungle Cruise Skipper (The jeep has been turned upside down…get it?!?)
5. The jokes just keep coming, the
adorable animal animatronics surround you, the skipper guides the boat
along the river until you’re back at the dock once more – Friends, this
is Disney at its finest! Some famous people got their start as Jungle
Cruise skippers – Kevin Costner and John Lasseter among them. Yes! Even
Weird Al Yankovic sang a song about the Jungle Cruise called “Skipper
Dan” – check it out on YouTube here.
The Boulder Side of the Jungle Cruise
We can’t be the only super-fans of the Jungle Cruise – shout
out now and leave a comment if you love the Jungle Cruise like we do!
She can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LivingaDisLife and on Twitter at
Please be sure to check out Lisa along with me and David Hodges on The Disney Exchange Podcast!
I love the Jungle Cruise, it is often the first ride of the day.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone says they don't like the ride, they aren't lying, they are just in de-Nile.
I love the jungle cruise too, we went on it for the first tie when we were on the Keys to the Kingdom tour and really loved how full it was of hidden mickeys too. x
ReplyDelete