Though the refurbishment of Jungle Cruise has been completed at Disneyland, cultural sensitivity changes are still being made to the attraction at Magic Kingdom. The latest minor change is the removal of totem poles from the crocodile scene.
The removal of the poles doesn’t make much difference to the scene, where skippers tell the famous “Ginger snaps” joke.
We were a little worried for that baby duck, though…
Here is what the scene looked like last week. It’s possible new decorations or set dressing will be placed near the crocs, or the scene may be left in its current state.
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The totem poles were there yesterday when I rode it!
I know this is going to sound like a ‘slippery slope’ comment… but while it’s obvious that the changes they’re making to Jungle Cruise are thoughtful and long-needed, I’m wondering how this will affect other parts of the park. Very similar totem pole sculptures (with more of a Polynesian rather than African style) are right outside the ride, and the Tiki Room is right next door. It’s an odd gray area between cultural sensitivity and the sort of fantasy tiki art seen throughout Adventureland.
They have a lot of work to do at Wilderness Lodge if they’re going after totem poles.
Imagine seeing a totem pole and your first thought is “that is culturally insensitive”. Like if you keep stripping culture out of mundane things people won’t learn about those cultures as easily. So clearly Disney hates other cultures that aren’t white.
What was wrong with the poles? Who is offended by those? Are certain people offended by crocodiles, do we need to remove them too? Are alligators less offensive because there are less of them and they represent an underrepresented group????
#stoptheinsanity