is Jungle Cruise the worst ride at MK?

[monkyby87]

The other day when I was there the mid-day wait for Jungle Cruise was 120 minutes. Now, it eventually went back down to around 50 minutes, but still, that's a long wait. I FP+ for it and enjoyed it. More of an experience than a ride. I would definitely ride it again. There are worse ways to waste time at MK, like Stitch as others have said.

 

[Texas Mickey]

Its a break from reality. Its a relaxing ride into a pretend jungle. The CMs are funny with their corny jokes. Its Disney magic. Its nostalgic. Whats not to love about it?

 

[Oswin]

OP, it sounds like you're just now going to WDW for the first time. A lot of that adults go to WDW for the first time say they don't really "get" a lot of the cult favorite attractions and don't understand what the hype is. The Jungle Cruise is one of the rides that have a huge cult following. The fanbase rivals the Haunted Mansion and POTC. There's going to be a lot of people who love it on the boards. I personally love it because I have such good memories of riding it as a child and being allowed to "drive" the boat. I look forward to riding and hearing the new cheesy jokes that the skippers have each year. If I were to ride it for the first time now, as a teenager? I probably wouldn't care for it either.

 

[LoverDisney]

Really? I love the corny jokes on Jungle Cruise. The worst ride in MK is Stitch!

 

[csmith041177]

I had bad mouthing any WDW attraction, but for me Stitch takes the cake (in a bad way).

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

It all depends on your Jungle Cruise Skipper. They can really make or break the experience. I had Aaron, who did a great job of coming up with jokes toward the end when we were stuck and in a holding pattern until the other boats could unload. Before that, I had a young girl who just didn't have any inflection in her voice, and I swear she didn't get enough sleep the night before! In my experience, the guys do a much better job as skippers. They really get into character.

 

[Tink575]

I can't think of any reason why I like that ride, but usually that is the first ride we go on whenever we go to MK. I couldn't think of going to MK and not riding Jungle Cruise, so I guess it IS just a nostalgia factor.

Only thing that bothered me about it was, last time we were there the water was purple/red That was a little disturbing because at best, I've seen it brown not red. Either way, I still wouldn't skip it and I hope they NEVER (I doubt they would anyway) get rid of it.

As far as the wait is concerned, the line for it does usually become unbearably long but if you get to it early enough in the day its a non-issue, but I guess its up to your priorities. We waited on standby that morning and waited about 15 minutes. We may have been able to do walk-on, but breakfast had taken a little longer than anticipated.

The water was red when we rode the Jungle Cruise in the fall. My husband asked the skipper and he said the color was coming from a certain plant. I'm not sure if that was a real answer or not. My dh loves the Jungle Cruise. I enjoy it when the skipper's do an alternate script. I also loved the Jingle Cruise.

 

[smidgy]

It all depends on your Jungle Cruise Skipper. They can really make or break the experience. I had Aaron, who did a great job of coming up with jokes toward the end when we were stuck and in a holding pattern until the other boats could unload. Before that, I had a young girl who just didn't have any inflection in her voice, and I swear she didn't get enough sleep the night before! In my experience, the guys do a much better job as skippers. They really get into character.

this is spot on! I LOVE JC!!! but only if you have a good skipper.. you get a poor one, it is a waste. and.. generally, the guys are better...unless you have females that know how to speak loudly and clearly.
the worst was a young girls training for hong kong disney... she spoke quietly, quickly, and in a very strong accent... thejokes are quite frankly the whole point of the cruise. and that whole ride was a waste.
lately we have gotten skippers adding new jokes which, while you are used to the old ones, is a rather nice change of pace.

 

[wareagle57]

It's more of a show than a ride. And every performance is different. Some skippers are amazing. Some are just slightly awkward.

 

[MamaJinji]

Eh, I'll ride Jungle Cruise, the bad jokes just remind me of my mom's terrible puns. Definitely not the worst in the park, though I wouldn't bother with it if it had a long line.

 

[Burnedout]

An all time favorite. The stupid humor, the nostalgia.

Lol as far as fake animals it would be like not liking pirates because of the fake people....

 

[Burnedout]

Worst ride? Speedway. Because the smell gives me a headache.

Ps. The ghosts are fake too.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Worst ride? Speedway. Because the smell gives me a headache.

Ps. The ghosts are fake too.​

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Tell me it is not so!!!! The ghost are not real???? But a few trips ago 2 hitched a ride home with us!

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I didn't see the red water, but generally red water in a pond is due to a blooming of the Chromatiaceae (yes, I had to look up how to spell that properly) bacterium, which only grows when there isn't enough oxygen in the water. You see it more during droughts. You're supposed to have a fountain or a bubbler in ponds and/or put friendly bacterium in your water to avoid this.

It's very strange if WDW doesn't have this for all its ponds, but maybe something malfunctioned or someone didn't monitor the water properly?

<======From the country. We have ponds for our cows.

 

[tlmadden73]

A lot of rides in all of WDW are "dated" .. especially to adults who have grown up with all this technology in the last 30 years. Sitting in a vehicle looking at robotic animated dolls? That is pretty dated in today's world of giant screen 3-D movies, video games and other interactive entertainment options.

When you think about it, when WDW was created there wasn't things like we have today to entertain OR eductate ourselves. Museums had boring static exhibits that didn't move or couldn't interact with, there weren't go-kart tracks around every corner, video games like we know them didn't exist. The technology used in most of the WDW attractions simply doesn't suprise as anymore.

Seeing a life-like and animate jungle animal is equivalent to us seeing a realistic Gollum in movie. The technology that allows 3-D life-like creatures to appear on screen amazes us, so thus the old animatronic doesn't as much.

Jungle Cruise IS dated. For us adults who have grown up with the Animal Kingdom and easily accessible zoos, but when it was first created it was a pretty cool ride if you think about it for people who have never seen a real live jungle animal.

I think it still is good for little kids (and adults who love corny jokes). I still enjoy it, but not a "every visit" type of ride. Worth a long wait? Heck no. My 3yo son thought it was pretty neat seeing "animals" that close up. It was more memorable to him than the Safari at AK because the animals are so far away there. I think they totally missed the boat by NOT somehow making the Skipper Canteen overlook the ride.

The Speedway is the same .. when it was created .. driving around a mini car was a pretty unique experience, especially for anyone under driving age. Now? You can go to any local tourist area and find 2-3 go-kart tracks that are better, faster and more exciting than the antique known as the Speedway. Kids can simulate driving on their Nintendo (and probably find it way more exciting than the speedway). My 3yo son loved it on our last trip, but the line was so line (even during the morning EMH) .. that it's just not worth another wait.
I am surprised the Speedway still exists. It takes so much real estate for a ride that is SOOO slow to load. It seems like they could really do something that is more "tomorrowland" than slowly driving around a gas-powered car.

Stitch? Stitch is pretty neat experience the FIRST time .. especially if you are a fan of the character .. but after that? No need. I would only do it for my son to experience it once (when he won't get scared of it).

 

[BrianL]

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Tell me it is not so!!!! The ghost are not real???? But a few trips ago 2 hitched a ride home with us!

Oh, they're real! And, hey, I'd rather have that than what happened to me after my last ride on the JC...a HIPPO followed me home! He eats a ton too.

 

[RedAngie]

I love the nostalgia about the Jungle Cruise but we rode it at night a few trips ago and now it is the only time we go. I think the CM are crazier then.

I didn't care for it. I know it's made to be corny, but I found it awfully annoying. Adding to the fact we waited about 45 minutes for it made it that much worse. Although, I may try it at night sometime (after recommendations here) if we can get on with a low line.

Try it at night while the fireworks are going on. The skipper usually makes a few jokes about the poor souls wasting an hour waiting for them. Plus the line is often very short.

 

[Atrain13]

It sounds like the OP is in.................denial

 

[ols386]

Jungle cruise is much too corny for me.

 

[EeyoreIsMyBFF]

I feel like I'm the only one ever laughing at the jokes on that ride. Pro tip: You gotta bring your sense of childlike wonder and your dad sense of humor with you on the Jungle Cruise.