Explain Jungle Cruise's Popularity to Me

[kwhite1022]

I feel the same way about (whispers).... Its a Small World. I will not ride it again. I get its iconic, but soooo outdated and just not worth valuable time to ride other more current offerings.

 

[Disney.Dreamin.Dee]

Same reason Peter Pan has similar waits.

But PP has always had those long waits. And one of the biggest reasons for the long wait is the low rider capacity.
JC only recently started having longer waits.
The highest wait I had ever seen it was 90 minutes on NYE and now that's the average.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

But like, I wouldn't wait 2 hours for it. Help me understand here folks.

It didn't used to have long lines. It currently has long lines because of the recent movie, and JC is -in a way- the *newest* ride in the park.

Of course, it isn't really new, it only received some cute updates. I think the excitement has more to do with the country being so starved for new entertainment right now.

I also wouldn't discount the possibility that posted wait times are a bit inflated.

A year from now, it likely won't be so popular. I mean it has always had some wait, but not like now.

Another plus of Jungle Cruise is that it has live skippers. That means each re-ride is unique. I have long said WDW should add more multi-version attractions. I think they made a huge mistake when they took away the live skippers on the Living with the Land. WDW should have empowered CM's to make each re-ride more unique in some way.

 

[isabellea]

In the past, we would ride JC only if it was a walk-on or I got a 4th-8th FP+ for it. On our next trip, we won’t be disappointed if we don’t ride it but now I’m a little curious riding it in the dark so might check it out at the end of the day if the wait is less than 20 min or if I don’t feel I’m wasting a Genie+ selection on it. I have the same opinion on Peter Pan and Small World so I guess I’m not a nostalgic visitor!

 

[xipetotec]

Okay fully disclaimer: I have never been to WDW, though I have planned THREE trips so far lol. Hoping this one sticks, trying to lock it down!

But in playing with the app, Jungle Cruise at MK always has insane lines. Like, 70-90 minutes. In Disneyland CA (which I've visited 100 times) I've never seen it past 60 unless it was like NYE. And most frequently it sits between 35 and 45 min.

Is Jungle Cruise at MK some life changing experience? Because... look, I LIKE Jungle Cruise. It's super cute and fun. But like, I wouldn't wait 2 hours for it. Help me understand here folks.

The thing with the Jungle Cruise is that it's appeal is a mix of a few things. Some people not familiar with Disney might find it "cheesy". But it's a nice boat ride through different jungle rivers with some animatronics. It's got a mix of that "Old World Disney", it's got corny jokes ( which our family *loves* but might not be for everyone ) which vary depending on the "skipper" driving the boat. We think it's a good time. Also, I guess the lines are long because as others have said, there is the loading/unloading. But also, it's one of those rides that sort of appeals to ALL ages, so everyone from little kids, to gramma and grampa have fun on it.

 

[1lilspark]

The movie & revamped show scenes that came out this summer increased popularity

 

[DisSurfer878]

But PP has always had those long waits. And one of the biggest reasons for the long wait is the low rider capacity.
JC only recently started having longer waits.
The highest wait I had ever seen it was 90 minutes on NYE and now that's the average.

I still wouldn't wait two hours, but I'd wait longer for PP. At least it is indoors with AC. Jungle Cruise even in CA is hot hot hot, and the line is all outdoors and brutal. Can't imagine WDW is too much better

 

[xipetotec]

Also, if you can ride it *at night* , the experience is even better.

 

[Beer Me]

In the past you could always get a fast pass. I assume genie+ LL wouldn’t be hard to get? It’s classic Disney but I wouldn’t wait more than 30 minutes.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Genie + you have to grab it pretty soon after opening, or you don't get it. It's currently sold out for the day at 3 pm and I don't know how long ago it sold out.

 

[iheartglaciers]

I think the waits for Jungle Cruise were always on the high side beacuse of the low ride capacity, but they have been consistently higher more recently. I'm guessing some combination of the movie plus the updated scenes (though this doesn't explain why the waits are shorter at DL). Plus it's always high during the Jingle Cruise season.

I like it because it's very different from other rides--outdoor boat ride, live skipper, etc. Nice to have the variation!

 

[Donaldsfans]

Okay fully disclaimer: I have never been to WDW, though I have planned THREE trips so far lol. Hoping this one sticks, trying to lock it down!

But in playing with the app, Jungle Cruise at MK always has insane lines. Like, 70-90 minutes. In Disneyland CA (which I've visited 100 times) I've never seen it past 60 unless it was like NYE. And most frequently it sits between 35 and 45 min.

Is Jungle Cruise at MK some life changing experience? Because... look, I LIKE Jungle Cruise. It's super cute and fun. But like, I wouldn't wait 2 hours for it. Help me understand here folks.

I think it's the human touch. Very few attractions actually have guest interaction with actual people. Each narrator brings their own style.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

But PP has always had those long waits. And one of the biggest reasons for the long wait is the low rider capacity.
JC only recently started having longer waits.
The highest wait I had ever seen it was 90 minutes on NYE and now that's the average.

Yes it has. But the waits for JC have been higher than you'd think for a while, due to the slow load. Now with the new format and the movie it's just compounded the problem with the load.