Changes to the Jungle Cruise spiel

[tony67]

Just to add my 2 cents it seemed that it was relatively standardized when I was there in October, so this seems to have been going on all along as others have said.
I rode it 5 or 6 times over 2 weeks and only really had 1 skipper that varied from a standard script. I kept hoping to get a "good" skipper but did not.

(Side note they ALL got the correct pause in "it inspires you to go........ deeper ect.")

Unfortunately I think this is the way all things in Disney will go until people in this country get a sense of humor again.
We are all so ready to be offended we can't laugh at anything.

I am still annoyed in the changes with the POTC and the Pirates chasing the women.
The humor is gone from this scene.

I think in a future version we will no longer see the auction either.
I am surprised that someone hasn’t complain loud enough that this is offensive to overweight women and women in general.

In the end Disney is a corporation and has to deal with the current environment when it comes to these types of things.

 

[tjkraz]

Keeping it clean? Absolutely. Not letting the skippers have a little fun with what is otherwise quite frankly a stale attaction? No way.

That sentence illustrates the entire problem, though. When you leave it to the discretion of individual Cast Members, Disney risks offending guests. The only way to ensure that guests are getting the experience Disney intends is to use a script and enforce the rules.

We'd like to think that CMs have the good sense to keep it clean, but that obviously isn't the case since this all started with complaints to Guest Relations. If the script is followed, Disney can stand by what is said and defend itself when necessary. But when CMs vary from the script, Disney is left reacting to the one-sided complaints and trying to determine whether the comments were appropriate and, if not, who is responsible.

 

[TDC Nala]

Had a skipper in August who did tell us as an aside that he was not allowed to speak while the boat went through the temple.

 

[ConcKahuna]

2. Chief, was named Namee. Have no idea what they would change it to.

On "Keys to the Kingdom" they say it's "Namè". They say it was a cast member contest to name the chief, and where it said "Name:____" on the form, the CM just wrote Name over again with an accent on the E.

 

[rutgers1]

I never liked this ride growing up, as I thought the animals looked WAY too fake/cheap. However, two things have made me fall for it:
1) We started going at night. It isn't quite as fake looking at night. And even when it looks fake, the lighting - or lack thereof - gives it a cool vibe.
2) I had previously never appreciated the script and ad libbing. Last trip (August), it was the first time I had gone on it as an adult, and I was laughing the whole way. There was one female skipper who was way over the top and downright annoying, but our other trips on the ride were great.

 

[Chautauqua]

I never liked this ride growing up, as I thought the animals looked WAY too fake/cheap. However, two things have made me fall for it:
1) We started going at night. It isn't quite as fake looking at night. And even when it looks fake, the lighting - or lack thereof - gives it a cool vibe.
2) I had previously never appreciated the script and ad libbing. Last trip (August), it was the first time I had gone on it as an adult, and I was laughing the whole way. There was one female skipper who was way over the top and downright annoying, but our other trips on the ride were great.

I thought the same thing. I went on the ride for the first time as an adult during a trip this past spring. Prior to that, maybe I was on it when I was 4 back in the 70s, which I wouldn't remember. Due to long lines during the day I went at night. I thought it was cool. The darkness helps remove a lot of the fakeness. The fog, darkness, and lantern light make you feel like you ARE in some bog or bayou. For anyone who's only gone during daylight hours, give it a whirl at night, you may enjoy it more.
The first time I went on it, yes I was laughing the whole way. Not so much because it was hilarious, but the jokes were so corny and the animals,etc so fake that you laugh because it's all so ridiculous (which is the whole point of course). On the downside, each time after that I rode it, it got a little less funny each time as I knew most of the punchlines. It probably didn't help that I ended up with the same female skipper 4 times in two nights. I think it was the same annoying one you had (I can't remember her name). At least when she picked on the people in the boat (which she did a lot) they were different people so she could make different jokes. On my third night in the parks I saw her boat coming next and moved further back in line so I could skip that boat and get a different skipper. The downside to going at night is that they may only have two boats running due to smaller numbers, so you may get the same skipper repeatedly. And don't think going the next night will get you a different skipper - they're probably working the same shift.
For those who belittle this ride because of its fakeness, you're missing the point of the ride. For those looking for something more realistic, that's why they came up with Kilamanjaro Safaris. Jungle Cruise has remained largely unchanged all these years and remains popular (despite all the thrill rides) for the same reasons that rides like it's a small world or Dumbo have. People still enjoy the simpleness and basic fun of these rides. It's a welcome break from the sensory overload, adrenaline pumping, loud, fast rides with the newest technology. It's a nice way to spend some time much in the same way that sitting in the backyard in a lawn chair reading a book is a peaceful way to pass the time.
Sit back, relax, and watch the fake world go by....you may even get squirted by a plastic elephant !

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

That sentence illustrates the entire problem, though. When you leave it to the discretion of individual Cast Members, Disney risks offending guests. The only way to ensure that guests are getting the experience Disney intends is to use a script and enforce the rules.

We'd like to think that CMs have the good sense to keep it clean, but that obviously isn't the case since this all started with complaints to Guest Relations. If the script is followed, Disney can stand by what is said and defend itself when necessary. But when CMs vary from the script, Disney is left reacting to the one-sided complaints and trying to determine whether the comments were appropriate and, if not, who is responsible.

Not trying to be particularily argumentative but I just have to ask who is more "Disney" to you, Castmembers or beancounters? CM's have always been, not only the face of Disney but the heart as well. People who think Iger, Crofton or other MBA types "Get it" or even care about "it" aside from how the bottom line is affected is humorous to me. Train the CM's properly and let them ACT WHILE THEY'RE ON STAGE. Deal with the silly complaints from prudes, whiners and other malcontents as always, a smile and "we'll look into it."

 

[tony67]

Not trying to be particularily argumentative but I just have to ask who is more "Disney" to you, Castmembers or beancounters? CM's have always been, not only the face of Disney but the heart as well. People who think Iger, Crofton or other MBA types "Get it" or even care about "it" aside from how the bottom line is affected is humorous to me. Train the CM's properly and let them ACT WHILE THEY'RE ON STAGE. Deal with the silly complaints from prudes, whiners and other malcontents as always, a smile and "we'll look into it."

I could not have said it better myself, but unfortunately these "people" have all the power.
The silly complaints from prudes, whiners and other malcontents are well organized.
How many times has one of these people contacted a group that did not hear something and then sent a form letter to all its members who then signed the form letters and sent it to a corporation and eventually got some personality fired.

How can you be offended by something you did not hear and would never even be listening to anyway? It has happened way to many times.

In the current PC atmosphere you have to keep things in check.
What I’d like to see is a much larger standard script.
Allow the captains to get their spiels approved and added to the approved list.
I doubt there is much that they would say that is truly offensive.
Unfortunately lawyers ruin everything at the end of the day.

Also why is it that when I complain to Disney about valid issues like quality and cleanliness they ignore me, like when every wine glass in the CR Concierge Lounge had lipstick on it. They did not care. It was the same the next night. Clean the glasses.

Some stick in the mud complains about a joke on a ride and they seem to jump.