By TREVIN BRANDT
Staff Writer
Disney has recently announced their plans to rewrite and reconstruct one of their opening day attractions, Jungle Cruise. During the ride, guests get to experience a simple boat ride down various rivers of the world while passing by animals of the jungle. However, towards the end of the ride, the boat passes by an indigenous people’s campsite. The ride depicts the tribe as wild, dangerous, and animal-like. On top of that, in a variety of spots on the ride, Disney displays native American characters who have been criticized as “insensitive” and “stereotypical.” In a recent video posted to the official Disney Parks YouTube channel, Disney presented their ideas to retheme not just the one insensitive scene, but multiple scenes throughout the ride. Many of the white male explorers will be replaced with people of a different race or gender.
This move does not come as a surprise to most Disney Park followers. Last summer, during the uprising of the Black Lives Matter social injustice movement, Disney announced their plans to retheme the log ride Splash Mountain due to its links to the racist 1946 film “Song of the South.” A few years prior, Disney also changed a scene in Pirates of the Caribbean where women were auctioned off as brides. These changes all serve to the progressive and forward-looking culture that calls on ending racial and gender insensitivity.
But beyond the social side of it, Disney is no stranger to retheming or remodeling existing rides. Most notably, over the past decade Disney has set out to retheme a large portion of the attractions in Disneyland’s second park, California Adventure. Rides such as The Incredicoaster or Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout have replaced existing rides within the park.
It is unclear when these changes to Jungle Cruise will be implemented as the COVID-19 pandemic throws many variables into the mix. Disneyland in California has not even been open since March of 2020. However, Disney is determined to having these changes completed by the end of this year.