Sunday, March 18, 2018

Jungle Cruise, May 1958

I love the old Jungle Cruise, but man oh man, photos of it can get a bit repetitive. All those darn hippos.

But not today! Instead, I present unto thee an less-photographed tableau. Nature, red in tooth and claw, and all that jazz. There's pride of lions, pretty stoked that they found this already-dead zebra, saving them the trouble of running, and killing, and all of that hullaballoo. Overhead, a pair of vultures lick their lips (?) waiting for the leftuggies.


Taking a closer look, we see the male lion, taking all the credit, while two females roll their eyes. The two cubs don't care, they just want to listen to their rock and roll music and watch TV.


Did somebody say hippos?? Here is a whole flock of them. They'll eat breadcrumbs out of your hand - just try it.


12 comments:

  1. Major-

    I love the term 'flock' of hippos. 'Crash', 'bloat', 'pod', 'dale', 'school' or the lowly 'herd' are all so b-o-r-i-n-g.

    Thanks, Major.

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  2. "Ok, kids, white meat or dark?"

    (I'd be lion if I said I took any pride in that joke. Fangs for your patience."

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  3. That must be the Fruit Stripe Zebra before he got his colors because those lion cubs have been chewing on him all day long.

    I love hippo pics. Like Sleeping Beauty Castle pics, there can never be too many. In fact one of the things I like about the hippo pics are all the papyrus plantings along the banks of the jungle river. Thanks, Major.

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  4. Patrick Devlin8:24 AM

    Those lions look like they're going to eat the entire zebra instead of being content with the lion's share.

    Does anyone know if the "naming" of the different parts of the river with specific real river names dates from the opening date?

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  5. Jonathan9:55 AM

    Love the original attractions best of all. They have stood the test of time and are chock full of memories. Who doesn't love a fat hippo? Timeless. Thanks Major!

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  6. Nanook, “flock” is easy to remember thanks to this rhyme: “Hippos of a feather flock together”.

    Melissa, are you sure you are in no way related to Wally Boag?

    K. Martinez, is the “Fruit Stripe Zebra” an actual JC joke? If so, I’ve never heard it before! I think there can be “hippo overload”, but I try to keep photos of those adorable fish (they are fish, right?) to a minimum, unless they are better than average - or if I’m just being extra lazy.

    Patrick Devlin, there’s something about the way the male lion is posed with his mouth open… my brain keeps thinking “Muppet”! I think that the “Rivers of the World” was a thing from the earliest days - but I could be mistaken.

    Jonathan, I always have to do the Jungle Cruise twice… once during the day, and again at night. Does anybody else do that too? It’s one of those rides that we do spontaneously (basically deciding to go on it when we are walking past), but I love it.

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  7. @ Patrick Devlin-
    Once again - The "E" Ticket to the rescue... "The earliest Jungle Cruise was more educational in its presentation than were the later versions we're familiar with. Much effort was made to link portions of the ride to famous jungle rivers and environments on various continents. Bill Evans recalls that some of the trees and plants were actually located along their "home" rivers, so that Asian foliage, for example, would be seen along the Irrawaddy River of Burma. To this day, the jungle boat skippers guide us down the Irrawaddy, into Cambodia's Mekong, then the Nile River of Egypt, Africa's Congo River and the Rapids of Kilimanjaro."

    Major-
    Day & night journeys are a-must for the Jungle Cruise, to be sure.

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  8. Thanks for the reference Nanook.

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  9. Major, That was not a Jungle Cruise joke. I made it up. I still need to enroll in joke school.

    Like you, I go on the Jungle Cruise both day and night and yes, back in the day it was "Rivers of the World" and "Rivers of America". For some reason "Rivers of the World" is forgotten.

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  10. I always have to do the Jungle Cruise twice… once during the day, and again at night. Does anybody else do that too?

    Yes! It's a whole different ride! (And an occasional daring skip will go off book if no little kids are aboard!)

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  11. Pegleg Pete6:22 PM

    Late to the party,here, but I have to agree that a night-time launch really makes the attraction extra special! And even on a very busy day at the park I've often almost had the boat to myself later in the evening.

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  12. Also late to the party... but able to tack in with @Nanook and answer @Patrick Devlin's question (and more). According the Adventureland/Frontierland Facts and Figures booklet given to Cast Members around 1988 we find the following (printed only in part here):

    Construction began - July 16, 1954
    Opened - Sunday, July 17, 1955
    Sponsor - None
    Total acreage (1988 remember) - 3.96
    River name - Rivers of Adventure
    Rivers of Adventure - Irrawaddy, Mekong, Nile, Congo, & Kilamanjaro
    Island mass-north (Across from dock area) - Manhattan
    Island mass-south (split at Schweitzer Falls) - Catalina
    Gallons of water, total (1988 again... remember) - 2,350,000
    River length (1988... you know this by now) - 1,920 feet (0.36 mile)
    Boat construction - Glasspar Company and Robert Dorris
    Boat dimensions -
    Length - 27 feet
    Beam - 9 feet
    Weight - 4,700 lbs (empty)
    Engine type - Grey Marine, Westerbeke 4 cylinder, overhead cam, natural gas
    Boat names and colors (don't get me started on comfortable seat cushions):
    *Amazon Belle - Green
    *Congo Queen - Red
    *Ganges Gal - Green
    *Irrawaddy Woman - Blue
    *Mekong Maiden - Blue
    *Nile Princess - Green
    *Orinoco Adventuress - Red
    *Suwannee Lady - Red
    *Yangtze Lotus - Red
    *Zambezi Miss - Blue
    Hondo Hattie - Green
    Kissimmee Kate - Blue
    Magdalena Maiden - Green
    Ucayali Una - Blue
    * Original ten (10) boats

    Lots more... but I could be here all day!

    Always your pal,
    Amazon Belle

    Bonus Track: Water surface area - 427,000 square feet

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