A History of the Jungle Navigation Company, c. 1994

When the Indiana Jones Adventure was introduced and the Jungle Cruise was re-routed and given a new boathouse to accommodate the attraction and the increased crowds in the area, show writers took an opportunity to rethink the attraction's tone and tried to further develop the setting. Wanting the stories of the Cruise and Indiana Jones to interconnect and trying to improve immersion, fourth wall jokes were banned to focus on putting people into a 1938 exploration setting. This was also around the time they introduced that awesome jazz and swing music loop that has become almost inseparable from Adventureland ever since.

A newly rewritten Cast Member manual, the Skipper Survival Guide, was developed to try and get skippers into a mindset of being in a jungle in 1938 with "1938 Current Events" listings, an animal guide in the form of an expedition journal, and character archetype prompts to encourage Skippers to try and make the show more of their own. But what we're focusing on now is the backstory of the Jungle Navigation Company and the old colonial boathouse they call home. Later Jungle Cruise projects such as the Skipper Canteen have changed some of the details, but this is where most of the notion of asking where the Jungle Cruise came from started.

Jan. 11, 1911

It seems that my following entries will have to be typed for now on this old typewriter due to the fact that this extremely humid weather does not allow for the appropriate drying of my fountain pen's ink. I do hope that my letters home will be accepted with the same sentiment as the past handwritten ones were.

Our beautiful Victorian house is finished in this remote section of jungle and is to be used as a colonial outpost. As a last outpost of civilization, we will provide welcome relief from the harsh and hostile jungle, offering weary travelers a hot cup of tea and a place to rest. It shall be here that missionaries, scientists, and European travelers will have one final opportunity to post or receive supplies. We are very excited about our new home away from home.

Col Blumbert

Sept 11, 1928

It is with a heavy heart that I make this final entry. I have taken ill with Malaria and seriously fear for my health. Therefore, I regretfully resign this post. There have been no volunteers to replace me and I've received word that the foreign office sees no need in maintaining this outpost. The house has been put up for sale but so far there are no interested parties. I fear this lovely old house will lie in abandonment here in this secluded jungle.

Col. Blumbert

For Sale-

Victorian House on River's edge

Former Colonial outpost

Needs work. Cheap.

Contact Smith & Smythe

482 Pressler Rd.

London, S.W. 1

April 16, 1930

Well that old colonial outpost I was telling you about is officially ours now. I think, with a little elbow grease and patience it shall serve us well as our base and home. We've already had several orders to deliver supplies to outposts and villages downriver. I think we can keep our heads above water if only our boats will. Might be able to convince the mail service to let us transport mail to all the outposts in this region. I'll keep you posted as to the progress. I found this old typewriter on the desk, I'm amazed it still works. It's a good thing too because the ink from the pen takes forever to dry.

Work was finally completed on the new wing of the boathouse this week. The new area will house our supply storage area, an observation platform for the passengers and our new shipping office as we have outgrown that little corner by the maintenance bay. Boy business is really picking up. Nigel suggested that we paint an advertisement on the roof to peak the interest of any passerby. I told him if he really wanted to climb up there and do it, I was not going to stop him.

We have placed an order for shortwave radios. they are not cheap, but I really think it will help out with our business, with a shortwave we can receive weather reports and even keep in contact with the launches. We should receive it in about 2 months. We hit our $1,000 mark today. That is a heck of a lot of cargo. Lets hope this business holds.

Mack

Sept 27, 1930

Dec 4, 1932

The depression that we have heard so much about ton the radio is, alas, taking its toll on our corner of the world. Business is progressively worsening. The shipping companies that we have dealt with freely in the past can no longer afford to do business and are closing at an alarming rate. I fear that soon we will have to rely solely on delivering mail and medicine upriver for our income. Hope the economic outlook improves soon.

If that wasn't bad enough, our outpost was struck by an enormous typhoon 2 days ago. It tore the roof off the new wing and sent several large trees crashing into our old house. I am concerned that we will not have the financial resources to make proper repairs.

Meanwhile, Herb had another run-in with the headhunters. I told him not to use the shortcut through their territory but he wouldn't listen. He lost 3 passengers this trip and most of the cargo. How he escapes time after time I don't know.

July 29, 1933

I have noticed that the humid tropical air is causing our boathouse to deteriorate at an alarming rate. Paint is peeling everywhere and the roof above our supply storage area still needs to be replaced before the rainy season starts.

Speaking of repairs, Duke rammed the boathouse just past the loading dock with his boat last night. The maintenance bay is in danger of collapsing into the river. We had to use a palm tree to prop up the second story and use railing from the side of the boathouse to support the dispatch office, as it began to separate from the building. The temporary fix will have to do as there is no money for proper repairs.

I placed Duke on ticket and booking responsibilities until further notice.

Jermy Livingstone

Feb 17, 1934

The most amazing thing happened today. A movie director from Hollywood stopped by. It seems he was in the area filming and in between shoots wanted to see some of the jungle wildlife firsthand. He asked if he could hire one of our skippers to take him out into the bush. No one was enthusiastic about his idea until he pulled out a roll of bills that could choke a water buffalo! Then there were plenty of volunteers. Suddenly it occurred to me! If this Hollywood guy was more then happy to shell out big bucks for a tour then there has got to be a market for this kind of business. We are toying with the idea of offering tours for paying passengers who wish to see the jungle and its creatures. I think that if we could spruce up the boathouse a bit and put out an ad campaign then we might actually make a go at this. Details later.

Seems a cobra got loose in the Lost and Found area up by the dispatch office. Darn tourists and their souvenirs! No one wants to go up and catch it so we are hoping it will just leave on its own.

Spike McGuire

August 16, 1935

The tourism business is booming. More and more people are traveling to visit the jungle region. Tours are increasing and morale is rising. 3 new skippers arrived last week. I'm not so sure about 2 of them. More entrepreneurs are setting up shop in the areas surrounding the boathouse. They're selling everything from live snakes and tropical fruit to mosquito netting and canteens. It's amazing what can be found and purchased. It's fortunate indeed that our tours are becoming fashionable.

It is my sad responsibility to report that the Mekong Miss and the Magdalena Maiden were both lost while delivering supplies upriver. The Maggie sank after hitting rocks and the Mekong came loose and went over the falls taking Lance, our best Skip down with it. All we were able to recover was his hat. We have erected a monument across the river in Lance's memory. Auctioned goods from Lance's personal stash will be available for pickup next Tuesday.

In other news we need tubes for our radios. Blake said these ones won't last much longer so we'll have to trade for them I guess.

Oct 10, 1937

We had our first bigwig today, Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones. He just walked up to the dock and started asking questions about the ancient ruins. We didn't even realize who he was until he removed his fedora. We had heard over the radio that he would be in these parts but never in our wildest dreams did we think we would actually see him. At any rate he hired a launch and a few of the crew and headed out to the ruins. No clue what he is looking for but I hope he finds it, think of the publicity for us!

Oct 29, 1937

Big News! Indy's done it! An ancient temple has been unearthed in the hills above the ruins of the sunken city. Adventureland hasn't seen this much activity in years. The numbers are amazing, not just tourists but droves of explorers and archaeologists have also flooded into our little outpost. Indy actually credited us with part of his find. We knew there might be business but we never expected all this. Now thanks to Indy we aren't just limited to Adventureland, we're World Famous my friends… Dig away boys, more business for us!

Dexter our ticket office manager suggested giving free tours to get the passengers interested. That way if we give them a bang up job they will tell their friends and relatives and we can start charging the big bucks.

We still have not been able to get rid of that darn hornbill that's started roosting above the stairway. I told Willis not to feed it. We also set up a camp out in the bush and hope to start offering actual safaris sometime soon.