I'm sorry, Jungle Cruise, you are a great ride, but the photographs of you are (generally) not so wonderful. For one thing, there are usually lots of heads in the way. For another, the boat is on rails, so the pictures show the same scenes over and over. And over.
Like the African Veldt. I just can't deal with a word with "l", "d", and "t" all in a row. It ain't right. The "d" is silent, just spell it "Velt"! It's what John Wayne wanted, and you don't want to disappoint John Wayne, do you?
Major-
ReplyDeleteI'd like to dwelt on the Veldt wearing my pelt while I knelt.
Thanks, Major.
I spent a minute or two looking at the stripes on the zebras, as one does. I was wondering if the Imagineers made all the zebras' stripes different, like they would be in real life, or if they just copied the same pattern on all of them. Conclusion: They're all different! Very similar, but different. So I'm happy.
ReplyDeleteI think our photographer was almost standing up to get this shot. He/she managed to get the "lots of heads" below the level of the animals, so as not to obscure them. But also managed to keep the boat's awning above the animals. And the animals are well lit and in focus. So I'm happy again.
Major, I'm sure you know that rhinos are herbivores, and wouldn't eat the hunting party or the antelopes. So I'm guessing you were just being humorous... right? ;-) But I'm sure the rhino would like nothing better than to gore and mangle the hunting party.
Again, our photographer did his best to capture the scene. He even got the entire dead tree with all the humans in frame. The hyenas are uncouth and rude, laughing at others' misfortune.
Nice, if oft seen photo subjects, Major. Something different from Sunday Snoozles. Thanks.
When it comes to the "lions eating the zebra" scene, do the skippers still say the line about "white meat, dark meat, white meat, dark meat"? It was a newer line, but it was one that I heard quite frequently over a period of going to the park on a very regular basis between 2005 and 2016.
ReplyDeleteNanook, I bet you felt a welt, after you knelt!
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy JC pictures and humor, thank you, Major.
The back side of zebra was not on my bingo card for this AM. When I was a kid I remember thinking that line 'they get the point' was the cleverest thing.
ReplyDeleteThe ghost of Johan von Oldenbarneveldt would take offense, I'm sure.
The JC was and is one of my favorites and my Dad's, too. Good memories on that ride.
Thanks Major,
Zach
These JC pics are somewhat above average, we do see “some” of the scenes, plenty of silhouetted heads, and the de riguer scalloped awning, but Mr. Brylcream completely blocks the punch line of the Lost Safari.
ReplyDelete@Zach, yes, my Dad loved the JC, and especially enjoyed the Lost Safari. I think the recent revision of this scene (and the other scenes as well) to be well done and better than I expected. I still miss the pile of skulls in the canoe though.
@Tokyo, yes, the “light meat-dark meat” joke is still in the patter, although there are so many jokes per lineal yard that it is sometimes skipped. The one joke I wish they could skip occasionally is the chant of “O2-H” behind the waterfall. It’s a “funny once” joke that is beaten like a dead (or sleeping) zebra.
The Jc is almost unique, IMHO, as many revisions, additions, deletions as it has had over the years, the original spirit is still there and still fun.
Thanks for these JC pics, Major. Good memories.
JG
Nanook, hey, those words all rhyme! You left out “smelt”, the greatest name for a fish.
ReplyDeleteJB, interesting - I assume those stripes were hand-painted? When you look at the elephants, I think they only had three different sculpts, and made multiples. What a ripoff! I want my money back, with interest (four hours of interest). Also, anyone who isn’t a Skipper who stands up on a Jungle Cruise boat should be made to clean the bathrooms for half a day. I’m afraid you’re mistaken, rhinos aren’t herbivores, they EAT herbivores. But I understand the confusion! The Lost Safari is such a Marc Davis gag, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen his sketch for it, but can imagine what it looked like.
TokyoMagic!, hmmm, somehow that “white meat, dark meat” line does seem a little icky these days. You never know, though!
Lou and Sue, something something BELT!
zach, if you are going to look at GDB, you have to be prepared for anything! Rhyme and reason went out the window nearly 20 years ago (which is also when Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play). I’ll bet Johan von Oldenbarneveldt hates it when he has to fill out a form and they don’t have enough spaces for his name. I think the Jungle Cruise is the favorite for a lot of people!
I remember one time a Jungle Cruise skipper shocked his boat passengers when an off-color remark about the lion cubs getting their first crack at tail (zebra's tail). I laughed, but it was inappropriate for Disneyland.
ReplyDeleteHa! I used to LOVE naughty speils, and I think that was rather tame compared to some other tongue in cheek, metaphoric or Cockney rhyming slang things I’ve heard on that boat…and the really bawdy ones off-stage…I digress to the Gazelles, Gzebras, Glions, and the Gefilte Fish……At first I thought that shawdowy thing on the right was a dinosaur head or a vulture…alas it’s another backside…a word that was verboten to say as kids…only BTM from us to indicate the part of the body that you sit with. “Bottom” was also a “no no”…probably why I enjoy Jungle Cruise after Dark. What was said about cracks or tails? All verboten….thanks Major!
ReplyDeleteWhile the Jungle Cruise jokes have come and gone … some left behind because of lost historical references… “here’s the Baboon Family !! …. Let’s see .. there’s Pat …. There’s Debbie …. “ And “ma’m … are you a flora and fauna fan?? Here : this bud’s for you!….. it comes from the Anheuser Bush . “
ReplyDeleteBut in recent years some of the JC Skippers got me laughing from other humor techniques… one female skipper on nighttime Jungle excursions made it appear she was shooting the “Tree Hippos” out of the tree canopy and the startled hippps were landing in the water! Another shipper would convincingly throw his voice making it sound like passengers were making comments and responses …. The first one was before we even left the dock after her introduced himself as the skipper a young girls voice could be heard coming from the audience “ oh ma!! He’s soooo handsome!!!” And the mother’s voice saying “oh he us be really is!!!” … but again it was the skipper creating the voices!!! I’m laughing thinking about it now. That skipper deserves a big raise!
JG, I guess I generally don’t like the silhouetted heads in Jungle Cruise photos, although there are exceptions. I’m sure glad I wasn’t around in the days when men used “greasy kid stuff”, it looks unpleasant, and I think of what it must have done to furniture and pillow cases. One of the few things I remember about my dad re:Disneyland is his laugh on the Jungle Cruise (he had a distinctive laugh), those corny jokes were right up his alley. I wonder how many people even get the 02-H joke? I think I’ve read that the Jungle Cruise was removed (or about to be) at one of the Asian parks, but I might be mistaken. Such a shame if true.
ReplyDeleteK. Martinez, I love it when the Skippers get away with a joke that is “right on the line”! Though I agree, maybe the one about the zebra’s tail is over the line?
Bu, I know I’ve heard stories about Skippers going “off-book” and trying out some naugty material. Supposedly some have gotten in trouble when a supervisor sneaks aboard, but wouldn’t the Skipper recognize a supervisor? Just clean things up until they are off the boat, and then go back to the naughty stuff! There’s a podcast that discusses the acceptable term for butt, and they have landed on “rear”, which works.
Mike Cozart, I have to admit that the “Baboon family” joke took me a second! I thought that “This Bud’s for you” might have some *other* connotations, the kind that Moms would not appreciate little Timmy hearing. I like the Tree Hippo idea, never seen that one. I would imagine that thinking up new jokes is practically a survival mechanism, a sane person could “lose it” saying the same thing over and over and over.
A guy I worked with at WDI worked JUNGLE CRUISE in college … he was way younger than me … but said he had come up with this accept to do the speil in … and would often give “important safety information “ ( fake ) and after he had the passengers attention , would exaggerate the accent making it impossible for anyone to understand! Supervisors were ok with it but eventually a new manager felt it was “mocking Disneyland guests who may have accents “ so she had him end the accent. He tried to do it without an accent and just sound overly excited about the safety detail or urgent animal info … but he couldn’t do it with really working .
ReplyDeleteAccept = ACENT
ReplyDeleteACCENT!!! Oh man
ReplyDelete