John of the Jungle contest

For years I've wanted a photo of John Lasseter from his years as a Jungle Cruise Skipper (we've got a couple from when he returned as a guest skipper during Disneyland's 50th anniversary over here), but have never had any luck. I feel a little less bad about that now that I've learned that Lasseter himself doesn't have any pictures of himself as a young skipper either!

He'd like one so much, in fact, that if you can bring him one, you'll win a trip to the Disneyland resort to attend the opening of Carsland in 2012. Here's John making the announcement:



So get digging through those old vacation photos from 1977 and 1978, folks. If you find one, be sure to send a copy our way too.

Here's the contest's website, www.johnofthejungle.com

Disney's other flying elephant

Apparently jeadlous of Dumbo, one of the African Bull elephants (or maybe his mother-in-law) of the World Famous Jungle Cruise decided he would like to try his hand at flying too. He needed a little extra help (and we don't mean from a magic feather). Here's the video, via the official Disney Park's Blog:



He'll be back after a few weeks vacation (refurbishment).

Family Circus on the Jungle Cruise: And you thought the skippers jokes were bad

In August of 1978, the Family Circus clan visited Disneyland. On August 5, they rode the world-famous Jungle Cruise. Here they are:



Ha ha. Oh, Family Circus... is there a joke in there? No, that's the whole thing. Uh... OK.

This was just one of a long series (including two installments in which one of the kids note that one of the parents enjoy the bench ride most of all. But those count as two different jokes, because they're two different parents). You can see the whole "hilarious" series posted by KentB3 over on mousebuzz.com.

1961's Queen of the Jungle

Artist and Disney designer Kevin Kidney has an entertaining post over on his blog today featuring fashion photos from 1961 featuring ladies modeling all over Disneyland. You'll have to follow the link to see all of them, but I had to share the Jungle Cruise picture here, featuring a lovely young woman who is not keeping her arms, legs, or ANYTHING inside of the boat (except maybe her pants):

That's right, wave goodbye to all the beautiful people back on the dock.

I hear that the skipper on duty thought it was only fair that if he showed her the backside of water, she should show him her backside too.

Funny to think that in 1961 this was probably the least amount of clothing anyone had ever worn on a Jungle Cruise boat (at least during operating hours). Today it's pretty much the average amount. Maybe a little more.

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 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.

Weird Al's "Skipper Dan"

I'm currently in a location where I'm unable to listen to or watch the following video (no, not the jungle), but apparently it's a video for Weird Al's new song... about a Jungle Cruise skipper. So, I have no idea if it's funny or not, complimentary to the ride, gently teasing, or outright insulting. I'll find out a little later today, but you can find out right now:

Skipper Dan