Jungle Cruise From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia   The Jungle Cruise is an attraction at the following Disney theme parks: Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland (under the name Jungle River Cruise). Disneyland Paris is the only Magic Kingdom-style Disney theme park that does not have the Jungle Cruise in its attraction roster, though an indoor jeep ride called Jungle Expedition was originally planned instead. Ride description The attraction simulates a riverboat cruise down several major rivers of Asia, Africa and South America. Park guests board replica tramp steamers and are taken on a voyage past many different animatronic jungle animals. The tour is led by a live Disney Cast Member delivering a humorous preset narration. Inspiration & Design Sources of inspiration for the attraction include a 1955 True-Life Adventure about a pride of lions, and the movie “The African Queen”. Imagineer Harper Goff referenced the African Queen frequently in his ideas; even his designs of the ride vehicles were modeled after the steamer used in the film.[1] The project was placed on the schedule to open with the July 17, 1955 debut of Disneyland. When plans began to develop, Bill Evans, the Imagineer responsible for landscaping Disneyland (DL) and most of Walt Disney World (WDW), faced the daunting task of foresting an entire jungle on a limited budget. Aside from importing many actual tropical plants, he made wide use of “character plants” which while not necessarily exotic could give the appearance of exoticism in context. In a particularly well-known trick, he uprooted local orange trees and "replanted" them upside-down, growing vines on the exposed roots. The clean water was dyed brown to prevent visitors from seeing the bottom of the “river”, which varies between three and eight feet deep. Although Goff and Evans can be credited with the creation and initial design of the ride, Marc Davis (recognized for his work on venerable attractions such as the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean) added his own style to the ride in later versions and DL-version updates. The "Indian Elephant Bathing Pool" and "Rhinoceros Chasing Explorers up a Pole" were among his contributions. Effect on Walt Disney In a popular story recounted by Jeff Lange, a writer for weblogging site Jim Hill Media, an experience at the Jungle Cruise helped bolster Walt Disney's obsession with the concept of 'plussing', or continuous improvement. The story claims that Walt overheard a mother visiting Disneyland telling her child that since they had been on the ride the last time they visited the park, they didn't need to ride it again. In horror, he put his Imagineers to work designing upgrades to the ride. Many similar variations of this story exist At the Magic Kingdom & Tokyo Disneyland The Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland versions are similar to each other, the main difference being direction; the Magic Kingdom river flows counter clock-wise, while Tokyo Disneyland's operates clock-wise. Also, the spiels in Tokyo are delivered in Japanese. Magic Kingdom The skippers at the Magic Kingdom don't carry revolvers with blanks in them anymore. The real guns have been replaced with realistic looking props that trigger an electronic gunshot sound through the boat's audio system. Near the Hippo Pool, a piece of a downed airplane can be seen along the shoreline. This is the back half of the Lockheed L-12 Electra Junior that can be seen in Casablanca scene on The Great Movie Ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Boats There are 16 vehicles, with a maximum of 10 in operation at any given time. The article above is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Jungle Cruise".