Heads have turned to Splash Mountain, Disney’s next reimagined Theme Park attraction. Fans have petitioned one way and another to get the ride changed, and even a current Cast Member has come forward with his long-thought-out armchair Imagineering plans to change the ride.
When Disney confirmed the upcoming “re-skin” of The Princess and the Frog, fans had mixed reactions, with many in favor. But of course, with previous changes to Pirates of the Caribbean and now Splash Mountain, Disney fans are wondering, is Jungle Cruise next to be reimagined? We may have proof that it will be…
Is Jungle Cruise Next To Be Reimagined?
IGN recently reported on fan’s unrest over several Disney attractions as Splash Mountain was stripped of its racist origins in Song of the South. Not long after the changes were announced, Disney fans started discussing changes to The Jungle Cruise and the removal of the insensitive language and depictions of the natives.
Related : Guide to Disney’s Jungle Cruise Attraction
Disney Reveals Why Jungle Cruise’s Water “Magically” Turned Pink
IGN sheds light on the conversation surrounding Jungle Cruise:
Jungle Cruise has been a Disneyland staple since 1955, with versions also appearing at Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Tokyo Disneyland, and Hong Kong Disneyland. The cruise — which takes park visitors down several rivers in Africa, South America, and Asia — includes animatronic human characters, depicting some native populations as headhunters and including insensitive period language (the ride is set during the 1930s) from white characters who refer to the indigenous characters as ‘savages.'”
Discussions have also included the Native Americans in Peter Pan’s Flight, among other issues, but the pack’s leader has been Jungle Cruise Expedition. If you’ve been paying attention to the social media posts that preceded the trailers for The Jungle Cruise (the upcoming film inspired by the classic Disney attraction), you may have noticed The Rock announcing involvement in Disney projects on more than one occasion.
Before the Jungle Cruise film crew even opened a camera lens, The Rock was hijacking a boat in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in 2017. It became clear to many that his heart was in the right place as he researched to see how the ride exists in its current state, wanted to attempt to put that essence into the film, and then, in turn, inject that soul back into the attraction.
If you read this post carefully, you might not be sure whether The Rock is talking more about the upcoming Jungle Cruise film or the attraction itself. But more details came later.
The Rock’s Instagram post from April 2017 says:
“(I think the lady to my right is snapping a pic of my bootaaaay)
Surprise! Once I committed to our Disney partners to make the movie based off the JUNGLE CRUISE ride, I wanted to dive head first into the research.
So I headed to Walt Disney World and surprised tourists by commandeering the JUNGLE CRUISE boat.
It was a GREAT day on the river. Learned a lot.. for example, it takes approximately 12.6 minutes for all the passengers to get over the shock of me jumping on the boat and thinking I’m a DJ look-a-like. One passenger even said, “Oh the real Rock is much smaller than this guy”. I threw his ass off the boat.
Jokes aside (and yes, with me as the Cruise Skipper there will be an abundance of puns) this is such an amazing, fantastical and cool world to build out. Best part about this surprise research day was knowing how FUN of an experience we’re gonna work hard to create for families around the world. That’s the part that gets my excited the most.
The movie. The ride. The experience.
It’s the cruise of a lifetime. And trust me, you’ll want me as your Skipper. Just don’t forget to bring the Skipper’s beer.
Next step… we find our visionary director.“
Signs Point to Yes… Jungle Cruise Will be Retouched
Check out this quiet post from a few weeks later, posted only on Dwayne Johnson’s Instagram. It takes place at Disney’s highly secure R&D facilities, showing Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia, chairwoman of Seven Bucks Productions company. After a very endearing imagining of how Walt Disney may have pitched the concept of Disneyland to his bankers, Dwayne Johnson announces explicitly that he will star in and produce The Jungle Cruise and reimagine the ride.
He is quoted below with, “Well, clearly I don’t know how the hell men were talking in the 50s, but what I do know is being able to star in and produce #JungleCruise is a dream come true. But what takes this to the next level is that we’ll partner with Disney’s brilliant Imagineers to help re-engineer and re-design the #JungleCruise ride in all the Disney theme parks worldwide.”
So based on The Rock’s caption and photo, it looks like changes will come to the Jungle Cruise attraction. However, it is worth noting that Disney has not recently shared any information about reimagining Jungle Cruise in Disney Parks. We continue to wait for Disney’s official announcement regarding this attraction, but after revisiting Johnson’s Instagram posts, it’s clear that many fans are excited to learn more.
Grateful SOB to have Walt and Mickey watching over my shoulder as @danygarciaco and I embark on this amazing project.
For our big #JungleCruise creative meeting at DISNEY’s highly secure R&D facilities, me and @danygarciaco were escorted into THE VAULT. A legitimate vault where all of Disney’s biggest secrets and plans are kept.
Curtains were pulled back for us to reveal the actual drawn up plans that Walt Disney had his brother, Roy Disney take to New York to present to the bankers in 1950 for the potential loan to build what’s now known as Disney Land.
Cant imagine what that meeting with bankers was like.
Roy: Alright gentlemen, so me and my brother Walt, want to build the greatest multiple theme park attraction in the world.Banker: Oh that seems fun, Mr. Disney.
Roy: *smiles in a playful mischievous manner, Oh yes my good man, it will have a few things that are in fact, fun.
Well, clearly I don’t know how the hell men were actually talking in the 50’s, but what I do know is being able to star in and produce #JungleCruise is a dream come true. BUT what takes this to the next level, is that we’ll partner with Disney’s brilliant Imagineers to help re-engineer and re-design the #JungleCruise ride in all the Disney theme parks around the world. A very special opportunity for us and our @sevenbucksprod to create an unforgettable and fun EXPERIENCE for families around the world. And as Walt Disney himself would say… it’s magical.
Next step is finding our visionary director. Exciting times.”
The Plot of the Film – How Does It Figure Into the Ride?
We know that The Jungle Cruise will be a wholly original Disney film based on the attraction of the same name. The list of what we don’t know yet is longer than we do, as the villains, timeline, and goals are unknown. If problematic elements of the attraction appear in the film, let’s hope the filmmakers have addressed them and incorporated the solutions into redesigning the boat ride attraction. Jungle Cruise will not appear in theaters until the summer of 2021.
And if you’re worried that Dwayne Johnson will leave out your favorite 8th wonder of the world? In his words, “my dude. I have you covered!” DJ’s April 2018 is quoted below:
Haha my dude. I have you covered!
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) April 19, 2018
What do you think of the idea for changes to come to the Jungle Cruise attraction? Let us know in the comments!