One of the most highly anticipated additions to this holiday season at the Disneyland Resort is the Jingle Cruise. Following in the footsteps of the beloved holiday overlays Haunted Mansion Holiday and “it’s a small world” Holiday, Jingle Cruise is the holiday version of Jungle Cruise. 

Jungle Cruise is one of the attractions our family rides most at the Disneyland Resort because the kids and I love it and the corny jokes and… well… when it isn’t holiday time, it almost always has a short wait. When I heard that the attraction would be rethemed for the holidays, I was thrilled. As frequent passengers down the rivers of the world, I thought it would be nice to experience the attraction in a different way. On a personal note, I was friends with a lot of Jungle Cruise skippers when I worked at Disneyland, so it always holds a very special and nostalig place in my heart.

How is Jingle Cruise different than the Jungle Cruise?
For its holiday overlay, holiday touches have been added to the Jungle Cruise line and the boats have been lightly decorated and renamed. 

The biggest change is not in what you see, but in what you hear. Jingle Cruise skippers recite a holiday-themed spiel with nods to some of the classic jokes, but all with a holiday twist. (Scroll to the bottom of this post for a full video of the Jingle Cruise.)

What is NOT different is the attraction itself. The actual attraction–the animals, the environment, Trader Sam, the explorers who get the “point in the end”–are left completely untouched without any sort of holiday theming. This was very surprising to me, as I was hoping to see a couple of hats switched out (or covered) with Santa hats or a couple of gift boxes or bows along the way but there wasn’t even one. The spiel was great but there were some really missed opportunities to theme the attraction (every-so-slightly) so that the scenes guests see would actually match up with the skipper’s spiel. 


Is Jingle Cruise worth the wait?
Because of the retheming, Jungle Cruise (Jingle Cruise) has a much longer wait than the attraction normally has. With the holiday additions to the queue, there is more to look at and experiencing a different spiel is fun, but I have to say that I really wish they had gone to the next level with a holiday overlay. The Disney gossip websites report all sorts of reasons–many on the idea that fans would have been upset with the decor covering the normal attraction, but if this were really the case, the same could be said for Haunted Mansion Holiday and “it’s a small world” Holiday where entire sections of the attractions are completely different. The Jingle Cruise changes could have been minor additions. So… that being said, waiting depends upon you and your family and how badly you want to experience this attraction. It is definitely more fun than the regular Jungle Cruise, but a little disappointing when it comes to the in-attraction visuals. But really, when it comes down to it, it’s all about the kids, and when you get smiles like this, it’s worth it!


Can’t make it to the Disneyland Resort the holiday season? Are you dying to experience the Jingle Cruise RIGHT NOW? Here the video of my Jingle Cruise experience!

Want to know more about holiday time at the Disneyland Resort? Click here for all of our ongoing coverage of the 2013 season.