Adventureland is one of the “themed lands” at the many Disneyland-style theme parks run by the Walt Disney Company around the world. Adventureland is themed to resemble the remote jungles in Africa, Asia, South America, Oceania and the Caribbean.
Here is adventure. Here is romance. Here is mystery. Tropical rivers – silently flowing into the unknown. The unbelievable splendor of exotic flowers…the eerie sound of the jungle…with eyes that are always watching. To create a land that would make this dream reality, Walt Disney pictured ourselves far from civilization, in the remote jungles of Asia and Africa.
Adventureland provides a 1950s view of exotic adventure, capitalizing on the post-war Tiki craze. Lush vegetation resembles jungles while elements of the “other” surround the visitor. Tribal performance masks, conga drums, non-American totem poles, exotic animal statues, and architecture of Pacific influence make for a confined area wherein industry and technology take a back seat to uncharted nature.
Disneyland’s Adventureland was originally envisioned as True-Life Adventureland, and was to be based on Walt’s famous award-winning nature documentaries on Africa and Asia. The land was originally supposed to have real animals from Africa to inhabit a jungle river, but after zoologists told Walt the real animals would lie around or hide, the imagineers built mechanical animals instead. Adventureland opened with the Jungle Cruise as its star attraction, until the Swiss Family Treehouse was added years later.
With the groundbreaking technology of audio animatronics Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room was added nearby the land’s entry bridge. Oceanic Arts also created the series of tribal masks that now line the entry bridge.
Many years later, Indiana Jones Adventure was added with the expansion of Adventureland and gave the entire land a 1930s theme, which concurs with the setting created by the rustic boats of the Jungle Cruise and its DJ Albert Awol who plays big band music from the 1930s. In 1999, the Swiss Family Treehouse was transformed into Tarzan’s Treehouse. Adventureland has remained the same since, until 2008 with the former summer event, Indiana Jones Summer of Hidden Mysteries.
Indiana Jones Adventure
Indiana Jones Adventure is an enhanced motion vehicle dark ride attraction based on the Indiana Jones film series, located at Disneyland. Guests accompany intrepid archaeologist Dr. Indiana Jones on a turbulent quest, aboard military troop transport vehicles, through a dangerous subterranean lost temple guarded by a supernatural power.
The attraction premiered as Temple of the Forbidden Eye at Disneyland in Anaheim, California on March 3, 1995, and opened to the general public on March 4, 1995. Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye is told through twelve letters and telegrams scattered throughout the queue as well as three newsreels shown before guests board the attraction.
In 1935 India, Indiana Jones reunites missing fragments of a map documenting the precise location of an ancient temple believed to have been buried in a flood over two thousand years ago. According to legend, the temple was built to honor the deity Mara, who conditionally offers one of three gifts to all who come to the hallowed site (eternal youth, earthly riches, or visions of the future) on condition that they never gaze into the eyes of Mara.
Although the discovery, dubbed the “Temple of the Forbidden Eye” by the media, sets the archaeological community abuzz, funding quickly runs out. Sallah begins conducting guided tours to raise money so the excavation can continue. Good fortune comes to many tourists, while others do not return at all.
Jones eventually ventures inside to find the missing tourists and uncover the temple’s power source, known as the “Jewel of Power,” which Abner Ravenwood believes is located within an immense cavern beyond the Gates of Doom. One week later, with Jones yet to reappear, Marcus Brody requests Sallah continue conducting the tours in the hopes they may locate Jones.
The attraction’s immersive and carefully detailed queue leads guests through dimly lit temple chambers and eerie passageways containing booby-trapped sections reminiscent of the Indiana Jones movies.
The queue begins outside, winding past a 2.5 ton Mercedes-Benz troop transport truck. This is the actual vehicle used in the desert chase scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark. A small mining car near the truck is a movie prop as well, used in the mine scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Guests also walk by a noisy “hit-and-miss” engine/generator set piece, which appears to power the lights strung deep into the temple.
Much of the queue is inside the temple itself. Throughout the bowels of the temple, petroglyphs in “Marabic” warn temple visitors of the rewards and perils that can be found further within. The glyphs can be translated into English using a simple character substitution encoding. In the early months of the attraction’s existence, guests were given decoder cards; the cards are now only distributed during special events or when made available. If unable to receive a decoder card, the code is easily solvable as each symbol bears a strong resemblance to its corresponding letter in the English alphabet. The sole exception is the letter I, which, appropriately, resembles an eye. Where the text is painted, vowels appear in red.
The queue contains several interactive features. In the “spike room”, the ceiling appears to be retained by several upright bamboo poles. When the key supporting pole is pushed or pulled, guests are startled by sounds of the ceiling dropping as the spikes begin to descend slowly toward them. In the next area, large stone blocks released from the ceiling (triggered by the diamond-shaped stones below) are barely kept in place by wooden wedges and supports.
Further on, in the Rotunda Calendar, pulling on a rope triggers responses from Dr. Dunfor Pullit, an out-of-sight archeologist supported by the rope beneath the sarcophagus stone. Various crates throughout the queue contain some significant features; one marked with the number “990 6753” refers to the number on the crate holding the Ark of the Covenant in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Another crate is marked “Deliver to Club Obi Wan”, referring to a fictional club at the beginning of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, itself a reference to the character Obi Wan Kenobi from Star Wars.
Eventually, guests encounter a projection of a newsreel of the discovery, followed by safety instructions delivered by Sallah. Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse appear on the cover of a copy of Life Magazine in Professor Jones’ office.
Jungle Cruise
Jungle Cruise, formally named Jungle River Cruise, is a riverboat amusement ride located in the Adventureland themed section at Disney theme parks. The attraction is a simulated riverboat cruise that travels along a waterway using a concealed guidance system through areas with Asian, African, and South American themes. Park guests board replica steam launches from a 1930s British explorers’ lodge, and Audio-Animatronic jungle animals are displayed throughout the ride. A live Disney cast member acts as a tour guide and boat skipper that loosely follows a rehearsed script, providing passengers with a comedic narrative.
The queue and station are themed as the headquarters and boathouse of the Jungle Navigation Company, a river trading company located in a British colony circa 1938. The queuing area is cluttered with appropriate props, such as pinned insects, an old radio on top of a bookshelf, an old typewriter, and a chessboard with miniature animals and decorated shotgun shells replacing the pieces. The extended queue winds upstairs and then downstairs again. Big band music from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s plays overhead, punctuated by jungle-themed news bulletins, helping to reinforce the setting and threading together the show scenes and boat.
Once aboard the boats, guests are introduced to their skipper and they head into the jungle, allegedly never to return. The first rivers simulated are the Irrawaddy and Mekong rivers, representing tropical Southeast Asia. The boats sail through a dense rainforest inhabited by large butterflies and a pair of toucans, before passing by the Temple of the Forbidden Eye and a shrine of a cobra beholding a crystal ball.
Passengers then glide precariously under the first of a pair of stone arches severely damaged by an earthquake centuries ago. These are part of the ruins of an ancient Cambodian city where a crumbling temple is one of the few things which have managed to avoid tumbling into the river. Here passengers see an Indochinese tiger, giant spiders, king cobras and mugger crocodiles. Passing a statue of a bowing elephant, the boats pass under the second arch and enter the Sacred Indian Elephant Bathing Pool. Here a large herd of Indian elephants frolic and squirt water at the passing vessels.
The theme moves to the rivers of Africa, and riders see a family of baboons, and a safari camp that has been overrun by gorillas. The boats narrowly avoid the dramatic waterfall, Schweitzer Falls (which riders are told is named after Dr. Albert Falls), and turn down Africa’s Nile river where they pass between two African elephants, and large termite mounds.
A tableau of the African Veldt follows, showing giraffes, wildebeest, zebras, vultures and gazelles; then a pride of lions feasting on a zebra beneath a rocky outcropping. Beyond the lion’s den, an angry black rhinoceros has chased a safari party up a tree, much to the amusement of spotted hyenas. The skipper then pilots the boat into the Congo river spotting the wreckage of a boat that has sank while also disturbing a pod of hippos that signal their intent to attack the boat.
Drums and chanting are heard as the boats enter through the Congo to spot another boat being taken over by chimpanzeess as they raid the boat of its supplies and accessories. The boats then pass by more chimpanzees who have raided the box of butterflies.
The boats now pass behind Schweitzer Falls to enter the Amazon River. Skeletal animal remains and warning signs featuring pictures of dagger-toothed fish forewarn the next show scene, where the boats encounter a swarm of leaping piranha. The guests then pass a couple of water buffalo and a boa constrictor. The boats then finally pass by a former lost and found stand which has been transformed by Trader Sam to become Trader Sam’s Gift Shop.
Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room
Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room is an attraction located in Disneyland at the Disneyland Resort and in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, and previously in Tokyo Disneyland at Tokyo Disney Resort. First opened on June 23, 1963 at the Disneyland Resort, the attraction is a pseudo-Polynesian musical animatronic show drawing from American tiki culture.
The presentation features a “cast” of over 150 talking, singing and dancing birds, flowers, the aforementioned magic fountain, tiki drummers and tiki totem poles that perform the attraction’s signature tunes, “The Tiki Tiki Tiki Room” by the Sherman Brothers and “Let’s All Sing Like the Birdies Sing”. The finale has every Audio-Animatronics figure performing a rousing version of “Hawaiian War Chant”. The exit music diverges from the quasi-tropical theme: Namely, an arrangement of “Heigh-Ho” from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs with lyrics thanking guests for watching the show and hurrying them to the exit.
So innovative was the technology by 1963 standards that an Audio-Animatronics talking “barker” bird (Juan, cousin of José) once located near the walkway to beckon visitors inside, caused enormous traffic jams of visitors trying to catch a glimpse of it. While waiting outside in a lanai area for the show to start, visitors are serenaded by Hawaiian music which at one time included that of Martin Denny and Bud Tutmarc.
Polynesian gods are represented as well around the perimeter of the lanai and each has a rhyming legend to tell via Audio-Animatronics technology. Some of the gods depicted are Hina Kuluua, goddess of rain; Rongo, god of agriculture; Maui, who roped the playful sun; and Tangaroa, father of all gods and goddesses. A brief documentary of the history of the pineapple is presented as well.
The story, filmed in the early 1960s and updated at the end with a Macromedia Flash presentation of a parade of Dole products, is shown on a screen on the rear of the roof of the Dole snack bar at the entrance to the lanai. In the main show, one chorus of “Let’s All Sing Like the Birdies Sing” has José crooning like Bing Crosby, Fritz scat-singing in a gravelly voice like that of Louis Armstrong, and Pierre singing like Maurice Chevalier. After this, the birds cue a sing-along from the audience, and then a whistle-along, set to a wild can-can setting of the tune.
The original Tiki Room was controlled by a large room full of floor-to-ceiling computers that operated the birds with data on magnetic tapes, which was located underneath the floor of the main show room. Footage of the original control room is available on the 10th anniversary special made in 1965 featuring Walt Disney and “Miss Disneyland 1965” called “The Tencennial Special”.
Tarzan’s Treehouse
Tarzan’s Treehouse is a walk-through attraction at Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland. It is styled after Disney’s 1999 film Tarzan. In February 1999, the giant artificial tree received a comprehensive makeover, including 6,000 replacement vinyl leaves, a suspension bridge entrance from a new neighboring tree, and a variety of hands-on interactive features.
The tree is currently 70 feet tall and weighs 150 tons. On June 23, 1999, Tarzan’s Treehouse began welcoming park guests, just as Disney’s animated Tarzan premiered in movie theaters. Tributes to the Swiss Family Treehouse are featured in the attraction including the “Mind Thy Head” sign and the “Swisskapolka”, which can be heard playing on a vintage gramophone.
Tahitian Terrace
The Tahitian Terrace was a Polynesian themed restaurant at Disneyland. The restaurant opened in June 1962, located just inside the Adventureland gates. It was Disneyland’s first dinner theater, with entertainment provided by the Polynesian Revue, a music-and-dance show featuring dance troupe the Royal Tahitians, hula dancers and a fire walker.
The restaurant was actually the back half of the hub’s Plaza Pavilion restaurant, which originally had a Hawaiian-themed patio that looked out over the Jungle Cruise waterway. The same kitchen was used for both the Plaza Pavilion and the Tahitian Terrace.
Served at outdoor tables, guests could sample exotic South Seas foods, including “sizzling teriyaki steak, savory shrimp tempura, fried almonds in rich egg batter, and raisin ice cream topped with flaming caramel sauce.” The signature drink was the non-alcoholic Planter’s Punch, served in a tall frosted glass with faux flower garnish.
The restaurant closed on April 17, 1993. It reopened three months later with a new theme based on the 1992 hit movie Aladdin. Redubbed Aladdin’s Oasis Dinner Show, the waterfalls and rockwork of the performing area were replaced with a replica of the huge fanged mouth that forms the entrance of the movie’s Cave of Wonders. The new dinner theater could accommodate up to eight shows a day. In early 1997, the dinner show was replaced by a stage show named Aladdin & Jasmine’s Story-Tale Adventures and the area was renamed simply Aladdin’s Oasis. In December 2018, Aladdin’s Oasis was replaced by a new Polynesian themed food counter, named Tropical Hideaway.
Disneyland
The Disneyland Park, is the first of two theme parks built at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, opened on July 17, 1955. It is the only theme park designed and built to completion under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. It was originally the only attraction on the property; its official name was changed to Disneyland Park to distinguish it from the expanding complex in the 1990s. It was the first Disney theme park.
Since its opening, Disneyland has undergone expansions and major renovations, including the addition of New Orleans Square in 1966, Bear Country (now Critter Country) in 1972, Mickey’s Toontown in 1993, and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in 2019. Opened in 2001, Disney California Adventure Park was built on the site of Disneyland’s original parking lot.
Disneyland Park consists of nine themed “lands” and a number of concealed backstage areas, and occupies over 100 acres. The park opened with Main Street, U.S.A., Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland, and has since added New Orleans Square in 1966, Bear Country (now known as Critter Country) in 1972, and Mickey’s Toontown in 1993, and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in 2019.