New mural marks the completion of Jungle Cruise updates at Walt Disney World
A new mural installed at the Jungle Cruise in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World officially marks the completion of updates to the opening-day attraction, Walt Disney Imagineering shared in an Instagram post on Aug. 26. 2021.
The mural features Alberta Falls, granddaughter of Jungle Navigation Company Ltd. founder Dr. Albert Falls, and her “family” of Jungle Cruise Skippers with the tagline: “Let our family take your family on an adventure of a lifetime.” The mural also includes a number of recognizable, classic animals from the iconic boat ride as well as numerous exotic birds — perhaps on break from performing at Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room — and a little monkey up in the rafters — a harbinger of new mischief in store on the updated attraction.
Disney first announced on Jan. 25 that the ride would be getting an overhaul, introducing new characters, scenes, and a cohesive storyline that promised “more humor, wildlife, and skipper heart” and a reimagined experience that would “reflect and value the diversity of the world around us.”
The completed attraction establishes Alberta Falls as the Jungle Navigation Company Ltd.’s proprietor and introduces five new characters plus lots of new animals, while preserving many of the most memorable scenes (“the back side of water!”) and punny Skipper humor that’s made the ride so beloved.
Meet the new characters and see more of the updates and new scenes in our previous coverage.
In addition to new scenes on the attraction, the queue has received significant updates as well, including numerous references to Alberta Falls, whose backstory was first established with the opening of Walt Disney World’s Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen restaurant in 2015, plus lots of new Easter eggs (look out for those S.E.A. references!).
Connecting the completed story coast-to-coast
With Magic Kingdom home to the only Skipper Canteen, which serves as a sort of home base for the Jungle Navigation Company and Alberta Falls, we were curious how the story of the Jungle Cruise connects between Walt Disney World and Disneyland and asked Walt Disney Imagineer Kevin Lively to explain.
“We view the two boathouse queues as the east and west docks of the Jungle Navigation Company Ltd., connected by the same river,” Lively told us in an interview earlier this year. “The skippers may work their shift on the west dock, but then swing by Skipper Canteen and call it a night on the east dock. So it’s one big shared story.”
Disneyland’s updated Jungle Cruise opened to the public for the first time on July 16, 2021. The attraction’s enhancements at Disneyland Park are now believed to be complete.
Have you been on the reimagined Jungle Cruise at Walt Disney World or Disneyland? Let us know in the comments!
