Disneyland Jungle Cruise Closed for a Week

Disneyland’s Jungle Cruise will be closed for a week so that the park can install some new safety features. The ride is closed now and will reopen August 2. The closure comes as a surprise, as it was not part of the published refurbishment calendar.

Disney says the closure is necessary so that they can add some new safety features, specifically to add a bumper along the loading/unloading dock to make the process safer. For Disney’s water rides, like Storybook Canal Boats and the Jungle Cruise, the boats can occasionally rock as the weight shifts during the loading and unloading process.

Other water rides like Pirates of the Caribbean and Splash Mountain actually lift the ride vehicles a few inches out of the water and onto conveyor belts for the loading and unloading process. This keeps the ride vehicles steady and eliminates the possibility of the boat rocking.

Disney did not say if there was an incident that prompted the unplanned closure, but it is unlikely that this was a knee jerk response to an accident. It takes months of planning and testing before Disney will make any changes to an attraction, especially when it is a safety enhancement. This change has likely been in the works for some time and the safety aspect justified the immediate closure for the installation.

Although Disney has only mentioned the updates to the dock, we have also seen photos of new netting bring added to the lower rail of the boats. This will likely prevent guests from sticking their hands and arms outside the boat, which is how fingers often get pinched between the dock and the boat during the loading and unloading process.

In March 2005, a 4-year-old boy broke a finger and severed the tip of his thumb while on the Storybook Land Canal Boats ride at Disneyland, forcing the ride to close for nearly two days while state authorities investigated the accident. After the incident, Disney installed a new safety bumper along the dock, similar to what is being installed at Jungle Cruise.

The Orange County Register reports that over 2009 and 2010, the state investigated 10 reports of injuries or medical problems suffered on the Jungle Cruise. It was one of 10 rides with 10 or more reports at Orange County theme parks those years. Two women reported injuries while leaving the ride.

The odds of being injured at Disneyland are few and far between. Tens of millions of visitors visit the Disneyland Resort each year and is one of the safest places on earth. It is great to see these types of continued safety enhancements as it shows the mouse house is always looking for new ways to make our stay as safe as possible.

Photos via @21RoyalStreet