Few rides are as beloved or unique as Disneyland’s Jungle Cruise. Sure, it may not be the most thrilling or exciting attraction at the original Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, but it sure is one of the most entertaining. Jungle Cruise was an opening day attraction in Disneyland, opening alongside Disneyland Park in 1955. The ride has entertained millions of guests since, becoming one of the most classic and iconic rides in all of The Walt Disney Company’s history.
The ride can be found all across the world, with locations like Disneyland Park at the Disneyland Resort, Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland, and Hong Kong Disneyland. For those who haven’t been able to experience this incredibly fun ride, guests go aboard a boat as they embark on a journey through mysterious rivers, all of which are guided by a trusty Jungle Skipper. These versions are all fairly similar, though the version of Jungle Cruise found at the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort features some impressive elements like massive flames.
Guests won’t find any flames over at the American Disney parks, but they will find other cool features.
These skippers provide most of the fun, telling jokes, making fun of themselves and guests, and poking fun at the ride itself. While the attraction does feature some incredible theming, as well as some lovely animatronics, the main reason guests want to experience Jungle Cruise is for these skippers. You never know what they may do or so, with each Disney cast member offering their own personality to the mix.
Unfortunately, this ride has been offline and unavailable for multiple days for guests visiting the Disneyland Resort.
Guests checking the Disneyland website or the Disneyland app on their smartphone will notice that Jungle Cruise is currently closed and has been for quite some time. While the cause of this closure has not been confirmed, we expect it has something to do with the incident that happened earlier this week. There are a lot of ways Disney’s Jungle Cruise can go wrong, though most of these are intended. From large flames engulfing jagged rocks to sunken boats and monkeys shooting guns at guests like in the header for this story, the Jungle Cruise is a wild ride, even though it’s incredibly slow. However, what happened earlier this week truly was shocking.
A shocking video was shared online of a Jungle Cruise boat getting stuck in the water. The only way to rescue the guests and cast members aboard was for other employees to pull and guide the boat as it got towed by a boat in front of it. Eventually, the boat was able to dock, and guests were able to safely exit the ride. It’s quite possible this is the cause of the attraction’s unexpected downtime and refurbishment, and we truly hope that it returns very soon.
It’s possible that this boat is not the actual reason the ride is closed, and it’s something entirely different. Several guests have noticed there are now tarps and scrims surrounding the exterior of Jungle Cruise, as you can see in the Reddit post below:
Surprisingly, this is far from the first time we’ve seen a Disney boat ride get stuck like this. Over the last few years, several viral videos have popped up online, showing the various ways guests can get stuck at Disney, as well as the various ways Disney park employees can help rescue the trapped guests.
We’ve seen brave employees wade into the actual waters of Pirates of the Caribbean and “it’s a small world” to help rescue guests, and we could not be more grateful for the excellent service from these employees.
Typically, when guests are evacuated from a ride or attraction at the Disney theme parks, they are granted a pass they can use to bypass the standby queue for other rides and attractions. This helps make up for the negative experience and lost time.
Have you ever had to evacuate a Disney theme park ride or attraction? Do you enjoy Jungle Cruise?
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Credit: Disney (Top), Attractions360 (Bottom)
