Frogs return to the Magic Kingdom's World Famous Jungle Cruise after a 49-year hiatus

Oct 27, 2021 in "Jungle Cruise"

Jungle Cruise frogs
Posted: Wednesday October 27, 2021 10:52am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

When work wrapped up in August on the Magic Kingdom's Jungle Cruise updates, it turns out Imagineers were not quite finished.

Over this past weekend, Imagineers in Florida restored a piece of history that goes right back to the very beginning of the classic Walt Disney World attraction.

When the Jungle Cruise originally opened at Magic Kingdom in 1971, one of the first scenes that guests came to after leaving the dock was a group of frogs perched on rocks and logs around the river. Although part of the original Marc Davis design, the scene's look was deemed to not be up to standard with the rest of the attraction, and the frogs were removed.

Fast forward 50 years to 2021, and as Walt Disney World celebrates its 50th anniversary, Imagineers have added a nod to the scene and added two static frogs sitting on a log. The originals were animated, with moving mouths.

You have to look closely to find them, and they are easy to miss. Keep an eye out on the right-hand side of the boat at the start of the ride near Inspiration Falls.

Disney's Imagineers spent much of 2021 updating the Jungle Cruise with new scenes, new jokes for the skippers, all designed to make a more inclusive experience for guests.

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ᗩLᘿᑕ ✨ ᗩζᗩᗰNov 03, 2021

This Skipper was great with the Christmas puns. Although some didn't land. Just need to change up the delivery a little. Still don't like the canoe rental scene.

MisterPenguinNov 02, 2021

DragonmanNov 02, 2021

So does anyone know where the frogs exactly are this time? Even though there’s buzz around them (pun intended), I’ve yet to see any videos actually showcasing them, just announcements.

ToTBellHopNov 02, 2021

Yeah…it’s supposedly been updated since the whole ride was updated.

Dear PrudenceNov 02, 2021

Secular? That's why they started putting out the Xmas crap halfway through October. (only a light exaggeration, there was Xmas stuff out ON Halloween)

celluloidNov 02, 2021

You are the first then. Are there supposed to be anything different enough to note?

GimpYancIentNov 02, 2021

Secular? Disney? Nah it's about "more money!" as in $ $ $. Grease the squeaky wheel and bring in more $ $ $ $. Pretty simple actually.

ToTBellHopNov 02, 2021

I was being serious. Jingle Cruise is open. Shocked there are no comments.

celluloidNov 02, 2021

They are working on making it more secular, more "disney", more money!

Dear PrudenceNov 02, 2021

Jungle Cruise at Disneyland also loads and off loads pretty quickly

UNCgolfNov 01, 2021

Mansion, Splash, Pirates (my favorite ride as a kid, so partially nostalgia although it's still quite good), CoP... and I'm not sure what would go in the 5th spot. Maybe Big Thunder. Pan and Small World would be in the running too.

ToTBellHopNov 01, 2021

No comments on Jingle Cruise being updated?

JoeCamelNov 01, 2021

Pan Small World Mansion Splash amirite?

UNCgolfNov 01, 2021

Definitely can't agree there -- CoP is one of the only attractions I can't miss at WDW. It's the best attraction in Tomorrowland and one of the top 5 at the whole Magic Kingdom for me.