55th Anniversary Collectibles

Remember that collectible based on the concept art for the Jungle Cruise I mentioned a couple of weeks ago? Well, we've got a picture now:



She's a beauty, ain't she? And I'm delighted it's named the Amazon Belle, since that was the boat I got to spiel on during my Disney Dream Jobs trip.

But wait - there's more. Also to commemorate Disneyland (and the Jungle Cruise's) 55th anniversary is a miniature Jungle Cruise skipper, wearing one of the earliest of the many costumes those castmembers have worn over the years:



Both piece are by the amazing Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily

Because the full-sized ones are too big for your bath tub

Collector alert! Yesterday, the official Disney Parks Blog featured designers Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily, makers of Disney park-related keepsakes and collectibles.

Buried in the story is this nuggets, of interest to Jungle Cruise fans:

Jody: We’re releasing many exciting 55th Anniversary collectibles throughout this summer, including true replicas of Walt Disney’s personal Main Street vehicle, Harper Goff’s first concept for the Jungle Cruise boats, and the classic Fantasyland Pirate Ship that we all fondly remember.

Here are a couple examples of Goff's Jungle Cruise drawings to give you some idea of what the product should look like:



Kidney and Daily previously created replicas of the original 1955 Jungle Cruise ships, released during Disneyland's 50th anniversary celebration. The one I own is undoubtedly one of my favorite Disney collectibles. Here's what those looked like:



Now Kevin and Jody just need to do a replica of the current boats and our fleet will be complete!

My Jungle Cruise fanart

I'm doing a series of drawings based on my favorite Disney attractions and had to begin, of course, with the world-famous Jungle Cruise! Here it is, a mishmash of favorite scenes, elements of the past, present, California, and Florida:



A larger version also be seen on my personal website or a WAY larger version at My DeviantArt account.

The Celestial Simian

There's a nice photo of Bob the Monkey God at Disneyland over on the official Disney Parks Blog today.

The real among the fake

Hey, it's April Fools day, but today we're linking to a story about something real. The OC Register posted a great story this week about the world-famous Jungle Cruise at Disneyland and how very real and authentic its jungle foliage is.

That wasn't the way it was back in 1955 when the Jungle River of Adventureland first opened, but today's Jungle Cruise features plants features such an authentic jungle that, according to the article, it even functions in some ways like one:

While the landscaping crews work in the jungle every day, they try to leave it alone except for pruning the higher trees, and making sure the plants do not interfere with the animatronic animals that guests see.

They even leave most of the fallen leaves on the ground to let the nutrients naturally return to the soil, just like in the jungles of the Amazon or Africa.

“The humidity has even attracted aerial roots from the ficus trees,” Hedges said.

Here's the video from the OC Register too:



It's a pretty interesting story. One of the things you often hear Disney-haters moan about is, "it's all fake." Well, that never bothered me anyway, but it's also nice to see the great lengths the Disney crews go to make the illusion as real as possible.

Gnu commercial

The latest Disneyland special ticket offer commercial stars the animals of The Jungle Cruise. The offer only applies to South-California residents, but we can all enjoy the commercial:



I'm not sure why the skipper is welcoming the guests mid-way through the attraction, but it's a pretty delightful commercial.

Oh hey, here's a similar (almost identical) version for Floridians: