Walt Disney Imagineering has done a masterful job of seamlessly integrating playful new scenes into the Jungle Cruise while stripping the boat ride of racist tropes just as Disney prepares to launch a new film franchise based on the opening day Disneyland attraction.

The Jungle Cruise attraction officially reopens on Friday, July 16 after undergoing a major makeover to remove outdated cultural depictions and add a woman of color at the center of the revamped backstory of the attraction. The Disneyland boat ride has been in “soft opening” mode for about a week. The classic 1955 attraction remained closed when Disneyland returned on April 30 following a yearlong coronavirus closure.

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Disney’s creative arm removed several racially insensitive scenes from the Jungle Cruise ride and replaced them with comic scenes featuring animals and a new cast of culturally diverse characters as part of a major overall of the attraction.

Gone are the tribal headhunters, shrunken head salesman and negative depictions of native people that should never have been added decades ago and certainly no longer belong in a modern theme park.

Remaining in abundance are a boatload of corny jokes and bad puns told by Jungle Cruise skippers about elephant trunks, wiggling hippo ears and the backside of water that will never fall out of favor as long as there is humor left in the world — and we all certainly need a good laugh after more than a year of pandemic closures and disruptions.

  • Jungle Cruise in Adventureland inside Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, on Friday, July 9, 2021. The ride was changed to remove negative depictions of native people and instead of sending guests through unrelated scenes in the jungle, the attraction will now operate with a fully formed story connecting each vignette. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Trader Sam, the shruken-head selling native at the end of Jungle Cruise has been replaced with Trader Sam’s Gift Shop in Adventureland inside Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, on Friday, July 9, 2021. The ride was changed to remove negative depictions of native people and instead of sending guests through unrelated scenes in the jungle, the attraction will now operate with a fully formed story connecting each vignette. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • A gift from Rosa, sits in Alberta Falls’ office on Jungle Cruise in Adventureland inside Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, on Friday, July 9, 2021. The attraction will now operate with a fully formed story connecting each vignette. The expanded backstory centers around Alberta Falls, the granddaughter of the world-renowned Dr. Albert Falls, who is now proprietor of the Jungle Navigation Company Ltd. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Jungle Cruise in Adventureland inside Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, on Friday, July 9, 2021. The ride was changed to remove negative depictions of native people and instead of sending guests through unrelated scenes in the jungle, the attraction will now operate with a fully formed story connecting each vignette. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Jungle Cruise in Adventureland inside Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, on Friday, July 9, 2021. The ride was changed to remove negative depictions of native people and instead of sending guests through unrelated scenes in the jungle, the attraction will now operate with a fully formed story connecting each vignette. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • The radio room in the queue on Jungle Cruise feature clues to the story of the ride in Adventureland inside Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, on Friday, July 9, 2021. The attraction will now operate with a fully formed story connecting each vignette. The expanded backstory centers around Alberta Falls, the granddaughter of the world-renowned Dr. Albert Falls, who is now proprietor of the Jungle Navigation Company Ltd. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Jungle Cruise in Adventureland inside Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, on Friday, July 9, 2021. The ride was changed to remove negative depictions of native people and instead of sending guests through unrelated scenes in the jungle, the attraction will now operate with a fully formed story connecting each vignette. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • The radio room in the queue on Jungle Cruise feature clues to the story of the ride in Adventureland inside Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, on Friday, July 9, 2021. The attraction will now operate with a fully formed story connecting each vignette. The expanded backstory centers around Alberta Falls, the granddaughter of the world-renowned Dr. Albert Falls, who is now proprietor of the Jungle Navigation Company Ltd. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • A new map sits at the entrance to the queue on Jungle Cruise in Adventureland inside Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, on Friday, July 9, 2021. The ride was changed to remove negative depictions of native people and instead of sending guests through unrelated scenes in the jungle, the attraction will now operate with a fully formed story connecting each vignette. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Alberta Falls’ office on Jungle Cruise in Adventureland inside Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, on Friday, July 9, 2021. The attraction will now operate with a fully formed story connecting each vignette. The expanded backstory centers around Alberta Falls, the granddaughter of the world-renowned Dr. Albert Falls, who is now proprietor of the Jungle Navigation Company Ltd. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • The radio room in the queue on Jungle Cruise feature clues to the story of the ride in Adventureland inside Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, on Friday, July 9, 2021. The attraction will now operate with a fully formed story connecting each vignette. The expanded backstory centers around Alberta Falls, the granddaughter of the world-renowned Dr. Albert Falls, who is now proprietor of the Jungle Navigation Company Ltd. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Monkeys play with butterflies that were presumably lost in the jungle on Jungle Cruise in Adventureland inside Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, on Friday, July 9, 2021. The ride was changed to remove negative depictions of native people and instead of sending guests through unrelated scenes in the jungle, the attraction will now operate with a fully formed story connecting each vignette. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Monkeys play with butterflies that were presumably lost in the jungle on Jungle Cruise in Adventureland inside Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, on Friday, July 9, 2021. The ride was changed to remove negative depictions of native people and instead of sending guests through unrelated scenes in the jungle, the attraction will now operate with a fully formed story connecting each vignette. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • What used to be a canoe full of skulls is now an expedition’s wrecked boat that was taken over by chimpanzees on Jungle Cruise in Adventureland inside Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, on Friday, July 9, 2021. The ride was changed to remove negative depictions of native people and instead of sending guests through unrelated scenes in the jungle, the attraction will now operate with a fully formed story connecting each vignette. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • What used to be a canoe full of skulls is now an expedition’s wrecked boat that was taken over by chimpanzees on Jungle Cruise in Adventureland inside Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, on Friday, July 9, 2021. The ride was changed to remove negative depictions of native people and instead of sending guests through unrelated scenes in the jungle, the attraction will now operate with a fully formed story connecting each vignette. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • What used to be a canoe full of skulls is now an expedition’s wrecked boat that was taken over by chimpanzees on Jungle Cruise in Adventureland inside Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, on Friday, July 9, 2021. The ride was changed to remove negative depictions of native people and instead of sending guests through unrelated scenes in the jungle, the attraction will now operate with a fully formed story connecting each vignette. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Trader Sam, the shruken-head selling native at the end of Jungle Cruise has been replaced with Trader Sam’s Gift Shop in Adventureland inside Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, on Friday, July 9, 2021. The ride was changed to remove negative depictions of native people and instead of sending guests through unrelated scenes in the jungle, the attraction will now operate with a fully formed story connecting each vignette. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Trader Sam, the shruken-head selling native at the end of Jungle Cruise has been replaced with Trader Sam’s Gift Shop in Adventureland inside Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, on Friday, July 9, 2021. The ride was changed to remove negative depictions of native people and instead of sending guests through unrelated scenes in the jungle, the attraction will now operate with a fully formed story connecting each vignette. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Trader Sam, the shruken-head selling native at the end of Jungle Cruise has been replaced with Trader Sam’s Gift Shop in Adventureland inside Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, on Friday, July 9, 2021. The ride was changed to remove negative depictions of native people and instead of sending guests through unrelated scenes in the jungle, the attraction will now operate with a fully formed story connecting each vignette. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Monkeys play with butterflies that were presumably lost in the jungle on Jungle Cruise in Adventureland inside Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, on Friday, July 9, 2021. The ride was changed to remove negative depictions of native people and instead of sending guests through unrelated scenes in the jungle, the attraction will now operate with a fully formed story connecting each vignette. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • The Jungle Cruise attraction at Disneyland in 2013. (File photo by Joshua Sudock, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Mouseheads will marvel at all the new details and storytelling elements that have been added to the river journey while infrequent visitors might not even notice what’s been added or removed.

And that’s the point. Imagineering refreshed the ride in a way that perfectly fits the updated backstory by adding just enough to please Disney die-hards always on the lookout for the tiniest changes without altering the frozen-in-amber memories of visitors who want things to remain just as they remember them — even if those memories can sometimes be a bit fuzzy and tinted with nostalgia.

Even the most eagle-eyed Disneyland fan will have a difficult time spotting where the classic attraction’s troubled past once resided along the shores of “de Nile” now that those racist scenes have been all but erased from the jungle.

The new scenes add a heavy dose of humor to a ride that has long been a floating comedy showcase for Jungle Cruise skippers.

A sunken tramp steamer boat has been introduced to the hippopotamus scene, followed by a half-sunken second boat taken over by five audio-animatronic chimps and a third scene featuring monkeys catching butterflies.

A new culturally diverse animatronic safari troop is stuck up a pole by a rhino and hyenas. The updated backstory of the ride now centers on Alberta Falls — a free spirited adventuress and woman of color.

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Jungle Cruise skippers are already refining their acts with new jokes about the added scenes and the crew is clearly thrilled to be back on the river after the 16-month pandemic closure of the ride.

Walt Disney always wanted Disneyland to grow, change and evolve over time and the company’s current push to introduce diversity and inclusion into theme park attractions is long overdue.

Disney used the success of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” film franchise as an opportunity to remove problematic scenes from the Disneyland ride that inspired the movies.

Splash Mountain goes under the knife next to introduce a new backstory based on “The Princess and the Frog” after removing the log ride’s entire “Song of the South” theme based on a movie Disney has long repudiated.

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History will show that it took a global pandemic and cultural upheaval demanding greater representation and respect for people of color and women to finally persuade Disney to remove racially insensitive caricatures from the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland.

But the changes also come just a week before Disney launches the often-delayed “Jungle Cruise” movie starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as a riverboat skipper and Emily Blunt as an intrepid explorer — an updated version of “The African Queen” with the potential to become a major film franchise on the order of Indiana Jones and the Pirates of the Caribbean.

The updated Jungle Cruise attraction doesn’t make any overt references to the upcoming film, but Disneyland will host the movie’s world premiere on July 24 and the once-problematic ride will gain renewed focus and attention with the release of the tentpole film. It makes financial sense for Disney to remove the troubling past from the Jungle Cruise ride now before the “Jungle Cruise” movie embarks on its big screen journey.

In the end, the long overdue updates to Disneyland’s Jungle Cruise attraction have as much to do with changing times as they do with corporate synergy.