The Jungle Cruise attraction in Adventureland is now closed at Magic Kingdom for a 2-month refurbishment. Jungle Cruise is currently scheduled to reopen on October 18th. While Walt Disney World hasn’t said what work will be done to the attraction during the downtime, a permit unearthed in April suggests that there will be some work done to the ride path of the attraction.
The Jungle Cruise boats are navigated by highly-trained Skippers, but the ride runs along an underwater track. The permit, which lists Underwater Engineering Services Inc., only points to “general construction” as the scope of the work, but that’s just Disney’s way of getting around prying eyes. As you might guess from the name of the contractor, they specialize in underwater construction.
I’m not sure to what extent the Jungle Cruise attraction can be drained, so it’s possible that the underwater work is to the ride system/maintenance of the track while the water remains in the “river”.
In terms of anticipated changes to the ride, we imagine that Disney will do some general upkeep, but we don’t expect any major changes to the storyline or sets. The Jungle Cruise received a story update in the past few years, so investment will likely be maintenance related for a few more years at a minimum. Another recent update at the attraction was an update to the queue flooring to create a more durable surface.
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