Jungle Cruise

By Shag

         The Jewel of Disneyland in its infancy. The attraction was one of the first sites that Walt really geared up for and even gave a tour of the unfinished ride via....car. Covering about 3 acres of land and water, Walt really wanted this ride to do well. Inspired by the African Queen and his documentaries- True Life Adventures, the then, nine minute ride gave you a tour of the fascinating jungle rivers of the world.
      
         According to Strodder's The Disneyland Encyclopedia (a new edition is coming out this year!), the name of the ride has changed along with the "feel" of the ride. It has been called the Explorer Boat Ride, the River Boat ride, the Jungle River Boat Ride, the Jungle River Boat Safari and finally in 1959, the Jungle Cruise. Fortunately, that stuck. Could you imagine... the Jungle River Boat Safari. Goodness, I don't even call Indiana Jones by it's full name it's "Indie", "Pirates", "Haunted", "Splash"- wow...I guess I'm just lazy, MOVING ON.

        Here are the original Boats of 1955:
Amazon Belle, Congo Queen, Ganges Gal, Irrawaddi Woman, Mekong Maiden, Nile Princess, and Swanee Lady.

        A Virtual Tour presented by Walt himself circa 1964 is found below. Thanks MarcioDisney for posting this up on Youtube.com. Updates to come soon, hope this holds you over :)