Tired of Jungle Cruise "schtick"

[tdhickey]

Some tour guides are naturally funny and they deliver the lines perfectly. I once rode on it where the guide had all new jokes, except backside of water, and I laughed out loud many times. The best was when he used the gun to "shoo" the hippo's away and waved it at them.

I've also had some lame tour guides that don't know much about timing and telling jokes, it's still fun but not nearly as cool....but hey you gotta start somewhere.

I love this ride, you never wait long, its super corny and is just fun.

 

[W.E.D.]

I hope to ride JC at night during our visit to DLR next April. We did this last time we rode at WDW and it made all the difference. A totally new experience.

 

[underminer]

"So do not ride it! It is what it is, you know that going in........ it's for sure better, if the Skipper is into his character, skip it if you are not "feeling the corniness".... it's a original ride that Walt worked on..... "


You miss my point completely...I already stated that I love so much about the ride, the history, theming, etc.. I understand that I don't have to ride a ride if I don't enjoy it. I just feel that there is a lot of wasted potential in the Jungle Cruise as it now stands. I guess if the purpose now is simply to provide a few laughs more like a cheesy comedy show than a ride than mission accomplished . I would love to see more excitement like the old Jaws ride at Universal Orlando where you actually have some thrills and interaction with your surroundings (but not quite that intense). Have something bump the boat or come out of the trees, maybe some high powered air guns for the blowdarts. I love the cave and temple parts of the WDW version. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy humor and fun within the context of the ride but some of it (hokey pokey anyone?) is so old and stale that this has become a one and done ride for us when we go.

 

[tiggerluvr]

I ride JC every time I go to DL, and the skipper makes a huge difference. Last time I was there, in May, we had a skipper named Sarah who was the best I've seen in a long, long time. I even sent a message on the DL feedback web page to comment about her. Thanks to the posts on this thread, I'll be trying the JC at night this October! It's funny, I never even considered going on it at night before. I must have gotten the mistaken idea that it closed at dusk stuck in my head.

 

[wiigirl]

The schtick is what makes it fun for me!

Me too!

 

[Thundergod]

some people will gripe about anything. Don't ride the ride if you don't like the jokes. I rode it for the first time this year and I loved it. My 10 year old didn't like the jokes but he has the option to never ride it again. Problem solved

 

[larina]

It's a family favorite, schick and all.

 

[underminer]

...and some people will make rude comments without reading entire posts. I didn't realize we weren't allowed to offer opinions that are different from the majority without it being considered a "gripe."

 

[whoever]

Love it. Hope it never goes away. The skipper makes or breaks the experience. The queue is hands down the best queue in the park.

 

[JosieGirl71]

I love the cheesiness of it. Even when we have a bad skipper, I giggle through the whole thing. I'm sure the other passengers wonder what is wrong with me. That being said, we usually only ride it once per trip and never ride it when we are tired. We made the mistake of going into the Tiki Room for the very first time when we were tired and will never go in it again.

 

[DizMe]

some people will gripe about anything. Don't ride the ride if you don't like the jokes. I rode it for the first time this year and I loved it. My 10 year old didn't like the jokes but he has the option to never ride it again. Problem solved

Wow. Harsh.

 

[TheLanes]

I love the cheesiness of it. Even when we have a bad skipper, I giggle through the whole thing. I'm sure the other passengers wonder what is wrong with me. That being said, we usually only ride it once per trip and never ride it when we are tired. We made the mistake of going into the Tiki Room for the very first time when we were tired and will never go in it again.

Tiki Room is the absolute best place to relax in!

 

[bumbershoot]

I have fond memories as a kid of the immersive excitement of this ride with the skipper adding to the whole experience. Now when you ride, it's all a big joke.

My son views the ride really differently than I do. Are you sure the ride wasn't just a bunch of jokes when you were a kid? Because that's how I vaguely remember it.

Every animal we passed he'd say "did you know, a hippo (or whichever animal) can run up to 30 miles per hour and jump over 10 feet?" By the third time he said this, I couldn't stop laughing. And it was my DD's birthday, so he sang her "This is your birthday song, it isn't very long." And that was it!

That birthday song is funny, even when you hear it somewhere not the Jungle Cruise.

We had someone use a very similar line on SO many animals it started to lose the humor, but then he just Kept On Going with it and the humor in it came back. And he called everything a Bengal-something. Started with the Bengal Tiger, and how it can leap over 20 feet, but we're 10 feet away so he'll jump right over us. Then he just kept on doing it. The Bengal Elephant, Bengal Gorilla, Bengal Cobra, etc.

The next morning we were all getting ready and Jurassic Park was on the TV in the hotel room. My son, 8 at the time, pipes up with "did you know the Tyrannosaurus Rex can leap over 20 feet? But we're 10 feet away; he'll jump right over us." Hilarious.

I would love to see more excitement like the old Jaws ride at Universal Orlando where you actually have some thrills and interaction with your surroundings (but not quite that intense). Have something bump the boat or come out of the trees, maybe some high powered air guns for the blowdarts./QUOTE]

Oh gracious, then the littler kids would never want to ride it again!

The blowdart effect already makes tons of kids (and some adults) duck out of actual fear, I can only imagine how bad it would be if it was a more real effect. The pirahnas are startling enough; something bumping the boat...whimper...

My son once spent an entire first-NIGHTTIME-ride pretty much laying on the floor of the boat because it spooked him so badly. I don't need him to return to those days....


(fave part of the WDW version was when we entered the temple, the guide didn't turn on any lights, and after a bit of time floating through he started singing "there's no earthly way of knowing...which direction we are going...." And then continued the proper spiel. My son still hasn't seen Willy Wonka, but we explained and even he thought it was highly amusing. DH and I are still laughing over it.

 

[JosieGirl71]

Tiki Room is the absolute best place to relax in!

That's what we went in there to do. Then everyone around us started singing. It wasn't relaxing at all. To be fair to the Tiki Room, we were hot, exhausted and irritable at that point and couldn't get out of there fast enough. Any other day and we might have tolerated/enjoyed it but I know my hubby will never go in there again.

 

[SeattleRedBear]

It all depends on your skipper. If he/she is really into the character, then no matter how corny or bad the jokes are, they will be entertaining. I dont understand those who are embarrassed by the corniness of the jokes since you know they are going to say them anyway.

I agree with this completely. Last time we were there, we had a female tour guide that was doing sort of a ditzy female character (including references to shopping and her nails) and included a lot of the same jokes. But she didn't stick to the character and she appeared to just be a bored tour guide with bad timing. We had taken first-timer friends that day and it was soooooo bad that they both said they would never go on it again. I almost stopped at City Hall on the way out. I just felt so bad as JC was one of Disney's first E-tickets but this was the worst JC I've ever been on (and I've been on a lot).

As Biskit says, the success of that ride completely hinges on the skipper. If they're a good actor and completely committed to the character, I don't care if it's the same jokes I've heard dozens of times, it's really fun. In that respect, it reminds me a little bit of Seattle's Underground Tour. There's not a whole lot to see down there (a couple dusty storefronts and a toilet on a platform) but with a good guide, it's very entertaining (and with a bad guide a complete snoozefest).

 

[Castle2Castle]

I've not been on the DL version yet, but at least in WDW, the schtick is as much my reason for riding the boat as going through the jungles of the world. Sure I've heard most of it before, but that's no different than the vast majority of the rides at Disney! For me the difference is the skipper, as others have said before -- depending on their delivery and energy they can make it below average, average or above average cruise. More often than not I've had average to above average cruises and so I continue to ride, often multiple times per trip.

 

[lilpooh108]

I love the corny jokes and deadpan delivery of them!

The only thing that bothers me about Jungle Cruise is the horrible PA system. It always feels like they're yelling at you, especially if you sit right underneath the speaker.

 

[Midnightred]

My boys and I love the Tiki Room. DH had never been. He was hungry and cranky and he made us miserable he was so unhappy! Too bad because he loves parrots and birds, go figure! Nothing's fun if you are starving I guess!

Midnightred

 

[Nox54]

It's corny but I like it.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

So we are happily preparing for another trip to the parks next month and as we discuss our itinerary and favorite attractions, the jungle cruise is something of an enigma. I love the history, concept and theming of this ride but I've grown tired of the skippers jokes. I have fond memories as a kid of the immersive excitement of this ride with the skipper adding to the whole experience. Now when you ride, it's all a big joke. It was amusing at first but hearing a lot of the same jokes over and over again gets old. Can you imagine if Pirates had a tour guide that made fun of every animatronic and scene? It would ruin the immersiveness of the experience! I would love to see them plus up the ride, add some new surprises and return it to classic attraction status like pirates and HM. Maybe i am in the minority here but I would love to see Jungle Cruise become a true adventure again! What are your thoughts?

You'd like the WDW version a lot less. They're not allowed to deviate from the script at all in Florida and it's the same spiel and the same jokes every single time. Which brings up the point that there is a script on both coasts. The jokes are intended to be there. When you were a kid, the jokes probably just went over your head and you took the ride more seriously as a result.