Book Review: Disney Parks Presents Jungle Cruise

One of my goals for this blog is to share fun and easy ways to add a little Disney magic at home. So you can imagine how excited I was when I learned about a new Jungle Cruise-based picture book that Disney released last year. A beautifully illustrated book with CD narration that mimics the silliness of the actual theme park attraction? Add this to the fact that it’s still below freezing where I live and I was more than ready to hit the jungle. Today’s post shares a brief review of Disney Parks Presents Jungle Cruise.

Overview

Disney Parks Presents Jungle Cruise, which I will now shorten to just Jungle Cruise, is the latest release in a series of books about Disney theme park attractions. Other books in the series include Small World (2011), Haunted Mansion (2016) and Pirates of the Caribbean (2017). Each is a treat for fans of the classic Disney rides. Each also offers an accompanying CD.

The story for Jungle Cruise follows the same adventurous boat tour you experience in the parks, complete with bad puns and ridiculous observations. In fact, Walt Disney Imagineering and the Jungle Cruise Skippers themselves are credited as the book’s authors.

John Lasseter lends his voice for the CD, which includes a direct narration of the book’s delightful pages. According to the book’s back cover, the well-known Disney director once worked as a Jungle Cruise Skipper at Disneyland too.

His commentary is perfectly done, with the same comedic timing and unrelenting corniness of his counterparts in the parks. Additional sound effects like rushing water, tropical bird calls and the static of the boat’s radio add to the fun. There are a few additional jokes on the CD that are not included in the book’s text too.

Most of the pages reflect scenes from the actual attraction, as shown in the similarity of the two images above. The colorful artwork and attention to detail add to the book’s overall charm.

Other books in the series

While preparing this post, I also had a chance to review the The Pirates of the Caribbean book from the same series. It too offers a fun approximation for the in-park attraction that shares its name.

Unlike Jungle Cruise though, the words on each page are really lyrics from the attraction’s popular theme song, Yo Ho (A Pirate’s Life for Me). The CD includes a five minute version of the catchy song. It’s a fun touch to make the book more like the attraction, but the timing of the lyrics on the CD makes it a little awkward to follow along with on the pages.

I enjoy the hidden Mickeys throughout the book though. If you look closely, you may see one (or more?) in the famous prison scene above.

Conclusion

Overall I’m a fan of the new Jungle Cruise book and the overall attraction-based series by Disney Parks. All of the picture books provide a fun and easy way to enjoy a classic Disney attraction closer to home.

Although I was secretly hoping the parks team would release a book on Country Bear Jamboree or maybe even the Enchanted Tiki Room next, it looks like the next title will be Space Mountain this October.

Yeah. Escaping into space for a bit would work too. Maybe I’ll revisit the warm jungle a few more times while I wait.

Add a little (Jungle Cruise) magic to your world!