Disneyland Changes Iconic Ride, Removes Racist Caricatures

Disney Parks shared more details of the new Jungle Cruise revamp, ahead of the official opening for the ride on July 16 at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. The Jungle Cruise ride has been a mainstay at Disney parks since Disneyland opened in 1955, but the ride hasn't aged well. The new version of the ride adds a different story and removes some of the offensive caricatures of Indigenous people.

Over the weekend, some guests were allowed to ride the Disneyland version of Jungle Cruise ahead of its official opening. WDW News Today visited the ride and published photos of the queue, which has been completely redone. There is new art on the walls and plenty of Easter eggs that connect the story to other stories at Disney parks. The photos from the ride itself show one of the major changes, as the new characters — a set of explorers — are seen trapped up a pole instead of indigenous peoples. The ride retained many of the elements visitors love, including the animatronic animals at the joke-telling boat skippers.

Tribal dancers, a war party with spears, and the shrunken head dealer Trader Sam were removed in the new ride, notes USA Today. Trader Sam is still referenced, as he is now trying to sell off lost-and-found items that fictional guests left behind. The character isn't at the shop, though, as visitors see a "back in 15 minutes" sign when they go by his shop. When Disney Imagineers introduced the new ride on Friday, they noted the ride has been tweaked several times since 1955, as Walt Disney's original ride was inspired by the True-Life Adventures documentaries.

The new backstory for the ride involves a group of explorers led by Jungle Navigation Company's Alberta Falls. The group is diverse, including an artist from Mexico, an entomologist from Japan, and a botanist from Canada. "The idea was how do we bring this idea of diversity and inclusivity so that we can reflect not only our guests but our cast members today," Susana Tubert, creative director of Walt Disney Imagineering, said.

Disney Parks announced plans to change Jungle Cruise back in January. The planned changes were made 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."

Although the Walt Disney Company is the king of corporate synergy, there are surprisingly no references to the upcoming Jungle Cruise movie, directed by Jaume Collet-Serra. The film stars Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as the skipper of a riverboat who joins an eccentric scientist played by Emily Blunt on the search for the Tree of Life. Jungle Cruise hits theaters on July 30 and will also be available to stream on Disney+ with Premier Access.