There's Still Work to Be Done on Jungle Cruise, Per Magic Kingdom VP - Inside the Magic

As many of you know, Jungle Cruise at Disney World has been undergoing changes for a few months now as part of the reimagining of the ride. And despite seeing several new elements added to the Magic Kingdom attraction, it seems as though there is still some work to be done, according to the Magic Kingdom Vice President.

Related: Disney Imagineer Addresses Splash Mountain, Jungle Cruise Changes

Melissa Valiquette, vice president of Magic Kingdom, was a recent Guest on Theme Park Rangers podcast where she discussed the revamping of Splash Mountain, the upcoming Magic Kingdom nighttime show Disney Enchantment, TRON, and the work being done on Jungle Cruise.

We already know that elements of the popular theme park ride are being reimagined for Guests so they can enjoy a brand-new Jungle Cruise experience called Rivers Journey. This refresh will also be taking place at Disneyland Park at Disneyland Resort in California.

Disney has been working on removing and adding elements of Jungle Cruise over the last few months, and we already knew work would be completed this summer at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, though no specific date was mentioned.

Now, Valiquette has mentioned that Jungle Cruise is approximately 98% complete, meaning there is still some work that needs to be done on the Magic Kingdom attraction.

“I would say we’re 98% complete on Jungle Cruise,” Valiquette said in the podcast. “Jungle Cruise has been the rare attraction update that we’ve been able to do without taking the ride down for downtime, and I think we did a pretty good job of that where there was still great content to see on the ride, our Jungle Skippers had new jokes to tell every single day, and I think our Imagineering team has really done a fabulous job of bringing new content into the Jungle Cruise that is so relevant and charming.”

Valiquette continued to explain that she was able to ride the Jungle Cruise this week to see the new content, which she said “was so fun”.

She went on to explain that Guests should see a completed Jungle Cruise experience very soon, stating “Give us a couple more weeks and we’ll be at 100%.”

The new version of the attraction is part of Disney’s efforts to tell diverse, inclusive stories across the theme parks. Earlier this year, Disney Parks Blog shared that the company is “building on the story of the Jungle Cruise at both Disneyland park at Disneyland Resort and Magic Kingdom park at Walt Disney World Resort to include new adventures that stay true to the experience we know and love — more humor, wildlife and skipper heart — and also reflect and value the diversity of the world around us.”

Have you been on Jungle Cruise recently? What new elements have you noticed while aboard the attraction? Let us know in the comments below.

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