Disney’s Jungle Cruise attraction is getting an update, the company has announced.


What You Need To Know

  • Disney to update its Jungle Cruise attraction

  • Changes will make the attraction more inclusive

  • Storyline will also be changed 

  • Jungle Cruise at Disney World and Disneyland will be updated

Walt Disney Imagineers will be making changes to the attraction’s story to make it more inclusive, with enhancements that “reflect and value the diversity of the world around us.”

The revamped storyline will have riders following a skipper and his passengers “as their journey goes awry.” The changes will include the addition of an animatronic skipper within the attraction. But the live, wise-cracking skippers will remain.

In a blog post released Monday, Disney shared concept art previewing of the changes that will be made. One of the renderings shows a group of explorers that will be more diverse—with women and people of color among the group.

More details about the changes coming to the attraction will be released at a later date.

Disney has made a few updates to some of its older attractions to remove outdated depictions. In 2018, Disney revamped its Pirates of the Caribbean ride to remove the “bride auction” scene, replacing it with a scene featuring a female pirate named Redd. And just last year, Disney announced plans to reimagine its Splash Mountain attraction by removing the characters inspired by Song of the South” and giving it a theme inspired by the animated film, The Princess and the Frog.

Jungle Cruise has been criticized in the past for its stereotypical depictions of indigenous people.

“As Imagineers, it is our responsibility to ensure experiences we create and stories we share reflect the voices and perspectives of the world around us,” said Carmen Smith, executive of creative development and inclusion strategies at Walt Disney Imagineering, in a statement. “With Jungle Cruise, we’re bringing to life more of what people love—the humor and wit or our incredible skippers, while making needed updates.”

The updates will be made to the Jungle Cruise attraction at both at Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California. Disney expects the changes to be completed later this year.

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