New Video Posted: Good Skipper on the Jungle Cruise

I've posted another Jungle Cruise video to YouTube.  This time I got a decent skipper.  While not the best skipper I've ever had he's still very good.

The right skipper can make or break this ride. To see what I mean compare these two videos.  The first one is my video of possibly the worst Jungle Cruise skipper I've ever seen.  The second on is this guy.

Bad Skipper

Good Skipper

It's amazing to compare these two.  You can tell one likes his job and one is just mailing it in and collecting a paycheck.

Lou Mongello’s Best Idea EVER

As you may already know I like to make fun of WDW Radio host Lou Mongello from time to time. At times he makes it very easy. His love…and I mean love…of Disney cuisine, his, at times, unintentionally funny videos, and his ability to somehow get huge interviews have all provided fodder over the years.

Despite what you think I don’t just make fun of people. I give props when someone does something good.

In episode 187 of the WDW Radio Show Lou had an idea that really impressed me. A listener posed the question: “If you could build a restaurant into one attraction which one would it be?”

I was trying to think of one and the ideas I came up with was either Pirates or the Jungle Cruise but both would be hard to do right. Lou had a better idea. He suggested putting an imagination themed dining location in the glass pyramid / second floor of the imagination pavilion.

Now think about that for a minute. Imagine the Monorail driving by, the lights at night, the great views, and if angled correctly – Illuminations viewing. I don’t doubt for a minute that this would become one of the most difficult places to get and ADR in all of Disney World. I’d even go as far as to suggest that it should be high end dining and two table service credits on the dining plan. You can do that because people would pay it.

Now I’ll take his idea a couple steps further. For lunch make it a character dining experience with Figment and friends. Do tricks with the food. Top Chef does a challenge where you make one food look like something else. That would fit perfectly here. Imagine eating something that looks like a cucumber but it’s really colored and formed mash potatoes. Stuff like that. Also make a lot of food funky colors like normal wheat bread that has been colored blue with food coloring or a cheese bisque that has been colored to look like split pea soup. This would really take that imagination idea to the next level.

Ok maybe I just hijacked Lou’s idea but I still give him props for coming up with one of the best Disney related ideas I’ve heard in quite a while.

Wow That Was Bad

I did a post a while back called “The Hit or Miss Ride.” It was about how having the right skipper either made the Jungle Cruise one of the best or one of the worst rides.

On my 2008 vacation we had an amazing skipper. She was awesome. On our last vacation we had a bad skipper. He wasn’t interactive, we couldn’t hear him, he didn’t do anything fun. He was just going through the motions. It was so bland that I can’t think of one thing that was good about it.

I’ve posted the video on YouTube so you can see what ride is like. Click here to see it.

I don’t have anything against this guy. He just really needs to take some notes from the other skippers. He could vastly improve. I hope he’s new. At least then I would understand. I guess he could be having a bad day too.

Photo of the Week - Jungle Cruise Humor

Who doesn't like the Jungle Cruise? People who don't like humor. The ride is full of humor. It might be corny but it's fun and a Disney classic.

Theme Parks at Night: The Magic Kingdom

Few theme parks take on another life at night like the Magic Kingdom does. Not even Epcot can match the Magic Kingdom in its night time grandeur. Here are a number of things that are amazingly different at night.

Cinderella’s Castle: During the day Cinderella’s Castle is amazing. At night it’s hard to describe. It’s lighted with changing colors like green, blue, purple, and pink. In the holiday season it gets even more impressive. They hang lights to accentuate the castle on top of the flood lights they use to illuminate it.

Splash Mountain: Splash Mountain at night is amazing. You can’t see the drops as well. They tend to be shadowed and dark. A number of things are lighted causing cool shadows throughout the exterior of the ride. The biggest change is the final drop. During the day you can see the bottom or at least get a feel for it if they have fogged it up. At night they don’t just fog it they often light the fog up making the drop seem bottomless.

Big Thunder Mountain: Few rides change as much as Big Thunder Mountain does at night. The lighting is amazing but it goes beyond the lighting. There are parts of Big Thunder that you can only see at night. For example the town scene comes alive a night. I won’t give it away but as you pass it you can look into the buildings at night. It’s crazy.

The Jungle Cruise: The Jungle Cruise takes on a fun creepy feel at night. Things seem to move even though you know they don’t. There seems to be more going on at night even though you know nothing has really changed. You have to ride it to really know what I’m talking about.

Tomorrow Land: Tomorrow Land during the day is cool but there is no doubt that Tomorrow Land was build with the nighttime in mind. The neon lights are everywhere. Everything takes on a cool futuristic feel. The best way you can experience it? The Tomorrow Land Transit Authority of course. The TTA is a must do at night.

The Hit or Miss Ride

Most rides at Walt Disney World are very consistent. That’s one of the charms of going. You get consistently good results. One ride that doesn’t really fit this mold is the Jungle Cruise.

The Jungle Cruise is a classic. It was one of Walt’s ideas and it’s been a fan favorite since its debut. The Jungle Cruise is always decent but sometimes it’s amazing. The Jungle Cruise is one of the few rides left that actually have a cast member that plays a big role in the ride. Your experience will vary greatly depending on the cast member you get.

The last time I rode this ride I got the perfect cast member. I wish I had taken note of her name. She was easily the best “skipper” I’ve ever had. She was funny, interactive, and quirky. She got me laughing even though I’ve ridden this ride a good dozen times over the years.

Another classic ride I had on the Jungle Cruise was extremely different. It was during Mickey’s Christmas Party. I didn’t care at all about the Christmas stuff, I just wanted to hit rides with no lines all night. I got in line at the Jungle Cruise and found out I was the only one. I got on the boat and the cast member pulled away from the dock. Since I was the only one on the boat, she looked at me and asked if I wanted the normal ride or the behind the scenes ride. I opted for the behind the scenes ride. She went in detail into the background of the ride, its history, and even pointed out a hidden Mickey in the wall of the cave. It was another Jungle Cruise ride I’ll never forget.

The other times I’ve ridden the ride were good, they just didn’t match up to the other experiences. It must be hard though. To do the same thing over and over but try to keep it fresh and make it seem like your not mailing it in can’t be easy.

Too bad I never went on the ride when “Skipper” Ben of the Inside the Magic podcast was doing that ride. I bet he could do a good one.