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View Full Version : Was the Jungle Cruise always funny?



MissingDwarf
09-07-2005, 12:08 PM
I didn't visit Disneyland or DisneyWorld until the late 1980's.
In the 1960's I watched Disney on TV and the Jungle Cruise seemed very serious. Was it just a child's perspective or have the Jungle Cruise captains always been wise-guys? Did they ever play it straight?

3894
09-07-2005, 12:21 PM
I rode it in the 60s. They always made with the jokes.

cosmicjive
09-07-2005, 12:30 PM
Someone correct me on this if I'm wrong, but I ran across this story once:

Early on in the park's history (like the first year), the skippers followed a set script. Walt overheard some guests saying that since they'd already been on the Jungle Cruise, there was no reason to go on it again. He then instructed the skippers to improvise in order to give people a reason to go on it over and over again.

Now what I don't know is whether or not the existing script at that time was serious or funny -- but that's at least where the practice of skippers making up their own jokes started.

-Jeff "etumor"

going2disneyAZ
09-07-2005, 12:38 PM
My understanding is the the jungle cruise used to be a seriously scripted narration. I read that somewhere, will post the story if I find it.

going2disneyAZ
09-07-2005, 12:40 PM
http://www.barney.gonzaga.edu/~ddonovan/jchistory.html

Susan L
09-07-2005, 12:55 PM
I've been going to DL since 1958. Although I don't remember the first 4 or 5 years that well due to me being a a small child. I don't ever remember the Jungle Cruise not having a CM that would crack the jokes.

adriennek
09-07-2005, 01:17 PM
In David Koenig's 50th Anniversary Limited Edition of MouseTales (http://www.mouseshoppe.com/product.cfm?ProductID=950) he has included a really great CD "A Walk in the Park: A Guided Tour of Disneyland in 1955" There's a trip on the original version of the Jungle Cruise on that CD. It was definitely not a 'funny' ride when it opened.

Adrienne

Edited to add: I think it goes without saying that if you're a Disneyland fan and you don't own any version of MouseTales, you really need to ask yourself "why?" and get one. And we give the 50th Anniversary edition a big yellow thumbs up in Casa De Krock.

Mark Goldhaber
09-07-2005, 07:26 PM
If you're in the music shop on Main Street, you can buy a CD of "Walt Disney's The Enchanted Tiki Room from Disneyland." It has the soundtrack of The Enchanted Tiki Room, but also includes early Jungle Cruise narration by Thurl Ravenscroft. It's interesting to hear how different it was back then.

DianeM
09-07-2005, 08:14 PM
I read once that for a while a few years back management decided that the ride would be scripted, with no unapproved jokes. I guess it was less popular. The ride gets pretty boring if you know what's going to happen all the time. In all honesty, I skipped JC the last few visits, but next week my husband and I will be there with bells on, since I know that they are ad-libbing again.


I didn't visit Disneyland or DisneyWorld until the late 1980's.
In the 1960's I watched Disney on TV and the Jungle Cruise seemed very serious. Was it just a child's perspective or have the Jungle Cruise captains always been wise-guys? Did they ever play it straight?

SCUBAbe
09-07-2005, 08:33 PM
I watched a video of the ride and it was done very serious. I think it was from the 50's

I Heart Disneyland!
09-07-2005, 08:53 PM
I always remember it being funny myself!

DaddyB
09-07-2005, 09:27 PM
I want to say that it was Marc Davis who went in and re-imagined the jungle cruise and at that point they added the jokes. I don't know why I'm thinking it was Mr. Davis.

Anyway it was at about this time that they added some of the funnier elements to the Jungle cruise like the lost safari and the gorillas overtaking the camp. They were not there when the ride first opened. They took out some animals that hadn't worked as well and put in those new features.

lauramaynot
09-08-2005, 01:28 PM
I noticed the mixing of some of the older jokes and the new ones since the referb. And since every CM does the jokes differently it depends on your opinion of what funny is... our last skipper had one of those monotone voices making the ride much funnier than usual...