60th Anniversary Trip, Pt. 4: The Jungle Cruise

This is how Adventureland looks before the rope drop. Pristine and uninhabited, other than a few cast members getting it ready for the onslaught of guests that are about to run through.



We have now reached our destination, where Tours are Departing Daily…The Jungle Cruise!



Feast your eyes on the luscious panoramic view of the loading dock:



Looking up from the boat, I was inspired to take this shot:



Before I knew it, I was encountering this rare yellow tiger:



Compare with the previous incarnation; I cannot begin to comprehend the color palette of today's Imagineers.





The indian elephant pool continues to entertain; these animatronics are amazingly realistic:











From elephants to apes…just as entertaining.



I risked back injury to turn around and get this view:



The initial view of the back side of water:



I don't think he'll ever get those bananas.



Our tour guide Alex did a great job.



For the first time I noticed the gun hanging on the front of the ship:



and the name "Pat" carved into the boat:



Next up: the African Veldt!



Still surprised by the natural violence of this scene; enough to make you a vegetarian!



The vultures are just waiting for leftovers:



Marc Davis' trapped safari scene still packs a punch:





A hungry hippo; looks like he needs a trip to the dentist.



Two views of the natives:





My best closeup of the cobra:



It's all about the souvenirs:



A final thank-you from our skipper:



NEXT UP: A Grand Circle Tour!

Venture deeper into the Jungle Cruise over at my main website.

Evolution of a Giraffe

In the "old vs. new" department, here's a comparison post showing a giraffe from the original Jungle Cruise attraction in Adventureland circa the 1950's vs. its more recent incarnation.



Which do you prefer?

See more vintage & current Daveland Disneyland Jungle Cruise photos on my main website.

Daveland Goes Atomic, Pt. 1

Recently, I saw a very cool post over at fellow blogger Atomic Redhead's place, which showcased a number of her family's slides taken at Disneyland in 1979 & 1981. Offering to share them with my readers, Janey also threw in some extra shots that weren't posted on her blog. Please give a warm welcome to Janey!

Hello fellow Disneyland fans! My name is Janey, and I have the blog Atomic Redhead, which is a vintage fashion and lifestyle blog. But being a big Disneyland buff, I can’t help but write about the Happiest Place on Earth every so often.

Recently, I was granted permission to begin scanning my family’s slide collection and the first carousel I pulled was marked “Disneyland ’79 & ‘81”. How could I resist? I hope you enjoy!

Starting off on Main Street, Janey's collection takes you all the way down to Central Plaza.











Let's take a turn left and visit Adventureland first, shall we? The first attraction we go on will be the Jungle Cruise.

Originally the boats for the Jungle Cruise were clean, featuring bright red and white canopies. They remained this way until 1993 when they were weathered to coincide with the new Indiana Jones at the Temple of the Forbidden Eye attraction that was being built next door.

















Next door to the Jungle Cruise is the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse.

Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, today known as Tarzan’s Treehouse. I think Disneyland realized that the popularity of the 1960 film wouldn’t last forever, and in 1999 they “upgraded” to Tarzan. A film I really didn’t care for at all.



Next up: Frontierland!

Be sure to visit Atomic Redhead's blog - it's chock full of nostalgic goodness!

See more vintage & current Disneyland photos on my Disneyland web pages.

You Are There: Jungle Cruise 9/3/58

The quality of these September 3, 1958 images are not really stellar; however, they do offer an amazing glimpse of the Jungle Cruise as it appeared at that time. This little time capsule of Adventureland is presented in the order that the slides are numbered. Unless this guest took a few consecutive spins, these images should give a pretty good idea of the order of each scene. Note on the original attraction poster that this attraction was referred to as "Jungle River" and not "Jungle Cruise."



This little lanai scene near the entrance still exists, albeit in a different style:



Back to 1958! Notice the ape/gorilla hiding in the thicket of the trees?



Today, he's looking for bananas...much less menacing!



The natives, circa 1958:



And how they look today:



The hippo scene doesn't appear to have too many changes, so I'll spare you the comparison shots and speed up the page load time!





Back in 1958, there was no designated African Veldt scene, but there were a few giraffes...



and the feasting lions.



Schweitzer Falls, aka "The Back Side of Water" has been slaying 'em since opening day.



Today, it uses less water to do so.



Our intrepid photographer only captured one African Bull Elephant:



Today, the elephant on the left is surrounded by a lot more foliage:



The Rhinos were a casualty of progress, and are no longer seen on this attraction.



The Ancient Shrine provides an air of mystery...



and the spider web provides the creeps! Is the treasure worth the possibility of encountering the giant spider?



Today the treasure is gone...



and the spider has moved away, leaving the shrine unprotected:



Even though I'm not a fan of snakes...



having the snake looming overheard would really add a bit of a thrill to the ride today:





Instead, the only snake that you'll find on the attraction now is towards the end, coiled away from guests by a very safe distance:



A few gators/crocs (I never could tell the diff):



Some very young Jungle vegetation:



The last numbered slide of the JC set appears to be the rainforest scene, judging by the large butterflies on the branches in the center.



Thanks for taking a spin with me on the 1958 Jungle River attraction!

See more vintage & current Disneyland Jungle Cruise photos on my Jungle Cruise web pages.