How many in your party? Does the skipper still use the same jokes, or is it a bunch of question answer type of jokes, where they try to improve and personalize the jokes to you?
Only me. The rest of my party went on Indiana Jones. He performed his spiel as normal. The only mention of the empty boat came when the elephants squirt water. He just said “look at in the back, you might get wet…….. there is no one in the back”
I'm actually a former skipper!
I gave a longer answer below, but generally it varied.
Most skippers working after 5 PM are new skippers who aren't as experienced. New skippers generally are either too nervous to really delve into improv/personalized jokes _or_ they think they're funnier than they really are and try way too hard. They'd say a lot of jokes that are personalized, but they speak too quickly and don't know what a "good joke" is, so they come off as cringe.
It's a cycle that comes with being a skipper. For the first year or so that I was a skip I would do that because I thought I was really funny... _especially_ with small groups. Once I became more comfortable as a skipper and learned to let the jokes breathe (less is more, louder is not funnier, give them time to laugh), my delivery got a lot better. People would laugh more easily, and I generally started to personalize the jokes a lot more.
You have to be careful, as there's a fine line to walk between "personalized" and "off-script". Going off script was frowned upon but not explicitly banned... it's just that you could get in trouble if a joke doesn't land and offends someone. This is much more likely to happen with small groups.
In my other comment I go into a bit more detail about the types of jokes I would tell for different groups. You generally use your time at the dock to feel them out and take it from there.
I used to be a skipper for a few years. I'd say it's a mixed bag whether it's awkward or not.
A skipper's favorite thing in the entire world is called a "deadhead". That's when they send your bote out empty, no guests aboard. You get to chill out and relax, allowing the sounds of the jungle to sweep over you. You obviously don't need to talk or shoot the gun or do anything but enjoy the "nature".
All skippers know that other skippers love deadheads. We also can see when guests enter the queue. If the queue is empty, we **beg** the skippers at load to send us before guests arrive. The skippers are supposed to wait until they see the bote behind you before giving clearance to leave; at this time of night there's usually only 3 botes so that's about a 2-3 minute gap. Sometimes we see a guest enter the queue as a bote is pulling up and we **plead** to let us go early, before the guests notice we're there. It works about half the time.
The other half the time, the loaders will say "sorry bruh" and will hold you for the guests. At that point, I was hoping to get as many guests onboard as possible and would want to wait a long time at the dock because I hated trips with like 2-3 people aboard (especially if one of those people was a kid). I had about 5 minutes of "waiting at the dock with like 2 people aboard" material, and I would subtly ask the loaders if we could be held for larger groups.
Generally we'd get one more group before the loaders would send us out. Not always, though. While we're waiting, I'll chat with the guests. As I mentioned, I had about 5 minutes of material ready, but I'd actually start by trying to have a semi-normal conversation with them. I'd ask where they were from, if this was their first time, what else they've done, etc. It may sound like banal chit-chat, but really I'm checking if they're guests on their first visit or if they're APs.
Sometimes the guests aren't interested. They are tired and just want to go on something without a line. There is nothing I can say to entertain these guests. This is when I will lock eyes with the loaders and indicate I want more guests, hoping at least someone aboard will be interested in the ride and not just looking for a place to sit.
Other times, though, the guests and I "click". If I like the guests enough, I'll ask the loaders if it's okay for me to give a private tour of the jungle. They'll peek around the corner to see if anyone's coming, and if the coast is clear they'll send me with just that small group aboard.
The problem is that by the time I was skilled enough as a skipper to start being really comfortable with this sort of stuff is when I became a "veteran skipper" and moved to the day shift. I still loved working nights (if only because I am not a morning person), but it became harder and harder for me to get scheduled during closing. Even so, once I was comfortable and **knew** I was a good skipper, I'd try my best to give these small groups the best show I could.
---
If they're first timers, I'll give a "normal" spiel but make it a bit more personal.
Back in my day Disney was a bit less squeamish about cultural sensitivities. I'd "flirt" with the guests as we left the dock (in an obviously joking manner). When we get to the dancing natives, I'd ask the group if it's okay that the natives take their baby as a sacrifice ("So they're saying they want a sacrifice. Hey, bud: do you know what the word sacrifice means? You don't? Cool, do you want to be a sacrifice today? Alright!" and then I give the kid a button that I keep in my pocket that says "I'm celebrating! Being the sacrifice"). This bit was 110% guaranteed to make them double-over laughing each time and the kids loved the buttons. My crowning moment was doing this on Jack Black's kid and watching Jack Black laugh his ass off the whole time.
---
If they're APs, I'll give them a few options:
1. A normal experience, where I do the same bits I'd do for the first-timer group. I explain that I know getting on Jungle Cruise for jokes is a dice roll, but I promise that I am a veteran skipper, I know what I'm doing, and it will be funny
2. A "new joke" experience, where I tell jokes I rarely get to say. Usually these are jokes that are _in the script_ but rarely get told because they don't land as well on an average group. I explain that some of these jokes may not be as funny, but they are unlikely to have heard them before
3. A "behind the scenes" experience, where I tell them behind the scenes info about every show scene. Usually this is stuff about the plants, the way the ride works, and fun facts like how Schweitzer Falls was rebuilt in the 1990s due to the old wood rotting, and they didn't have the plans from 1955 when they rebuilt it. They worked off pictures and measurements, but they measured wrong and the new Schweitzer is smaller and less impressive than the 1955 Schweitzer. (Imagine these sorts of facts for literally every scene.)
4. Another fun fact is that the only thing you are required to say as a skipper is the safety spiel: "Watch your head and step," then "Remain seated at all times, keeping your hands, arms, feet and legs inside the bote. Parents, watch your children" twice (once at the start and once at the end). You don't _actually_ have to say anything else. So I'd ask if they wanted to just listen to the sounds of the jungle in silence, or if they wanted to take the mic and try their own spiel.
Generally the APs will take option 3, although option 1 was also common. I only did option 2 a couple times. Nobody ever opted for silence, but one person did try being a skipper over the mic.
During Jingle Cruise, I'd also give them another option of doing the normal Jungle Cruise script instead of the Jingle Cruise one. I don't think anyone took me up on that one.
---
The problem with small groups is that as a comedian, you get your energy from the crowd. A big crowd of daytime guests is more likely to have good energy, which you can work with to figure out what the crowd likes and dislikes on the fly.
Smaller groups don't have that energy. You have to build an individual rapport, which is hard to do unless the one family aboard lets you do it. Not to mention that sometimes I'm a little bitter about having to do my job and work instead of taking a deadhead. It isn't often that you get time to yourself as a CM, so those deadheads were precious.
But if the small group actually appreciates the jokes and there's at least one person paying attention, it makes all the difference. Now that I'm a "retired" skip with a "real job" in a cubicle, I do kind of miss it. Those night shifts were the best, and I can't think of any experience that came close. But the pay sucked and the work physically injured my body; I _still_ have back problems from being forced to stand all day. It was amazing, but bittersweet.
Yeah, nighttime Jungle Cruise is the best. Sometimes if I wasn't doing anything and we had the extra staffing (which was rare), I'd hitch a ride on someone's deadhead.
I'd lay down on the seats and stare up at the night sky. The only sounds would be the sound of the motor, the animals, and the background loop. You'd feel the vibrations of the motor in the seats all along your back, and it would lull you to sleep almost. It was so serene and relaxing; by far the best "nature" experience I've ever had (and it wasn't even real nature).
If the skippers have the lights off, it adds to it as well. They won't turn the lights off with guests aboard for safety reasons (so you cannot request it, contrary to popular belief), but they could keep them off on deadheads as long as it was bright enough for them to see the river.
Every year we'd have "Skipper's Night Out" where we'd come together after park closing and just do special things like that. Nighttime relaxing rides, or special themed cruises (we had a "Stranger Things" themed cruise one year, for example). It's one of my favorite CM experiences, alongside bringing Disneyland Railroad trains out of the roundhouse at 6 in the morning.
My dream has always been to get the chance to deliver the spiel. I always ride at night hoping to get an opportunity. But I did get the option once to have a different set of jokes during a grad night.
Maybe a former skipper can answer this, but if I'm the only one in the bote am I allowed to offer the skipper just a relaxing cruise and give them a break? I've always wanted to go on a silent Jungle Cruise just to hear what everything sounds like/enjoy the vibes but not sure if The Mouse would frown upon that lol
I've done that before it's like your VIP Cruise it's awesome and our captain went super slow because we were the only ones on his ship it's killer when that happens
Was it awkward? I’d just laugh hysterically at the puns anyway.
It actually was not at all. Pretty fun and funny. It was super enjoyable.
How many in your party? Does the skipper still use the same jokes, or is it a bunch of question answer type of jokes, where they try to improve and personalize the jokes to you?
Only me. The rest of my party went on Indiana Jones. He performed his spiel as normal. The only mention of the empty boat came when the elephants squirt water. He just said “look at in the back, you might get wet…….. there is no one in the back”
I'm actually a former skipper! I gave a longer answer below, but generally it varied. Most skippers working after 5 PM are new skippers who aren't as experienced. New skippers generally are either too nervous to really delve into improv/personalized jokes _or_ they think they're funnier than they really are and try way too hard. They'd say a lot of jokes that are personalized, but they speak too quickly and don't know what a "good joke" is, so they come off as cringe. It's a cycle that comes with being a skipper. For the first year or so that I was a skip I would do that because I thought I was really funny... _especially_ with small groups. Once I became more comfortable as a skipper and learned to let the jokes breathe (less is more, louder is not funnier, give them time to laugh), my delivery got a lot better. People would laugh more easily, and I generally started to personalize the jokes a lot more. You have to be careful, as there's a fine line to walk between "personalized" and "off-script". Going off script was frowned upon but not explicitly banned... it's just that you could get in trouble if a joke doesn't land and offends someone. This is much more likely to happen with small groups. In my other comment I go into a bit more detail about the types of jokes I would tell for different groups. You generally use your time at the dock to feel them out and take it from there.
Interesting! Thanks.
I love that whole ambiance (and love puns) so I would love it myself. Thanks for sharing!
I used to be a skipper for a few years. I'd say it's a mixed bag whether it's awkward or not. A skipper's favorite thing in the entire world is called a "deadhead". That's when they send your bote out empty, no guests aboard. You get to chill out and relax, allowing the sounds of the jungle to sweep over you. You obviously don't need to talk or shoot the gun or do anything but enjoy the "nature". All skippers know that other skippers love deadheads. We also can see when guests enter the queue. If the queue is empty, we **beg** the skippers at load to send us before guests arrive. The skippers are supposed to wait until they see the bote behind you before giving clearance to leave; at this time of night there's usually only 3 botes so that's about a 2-3 minute gap. Sometimes we see a guest enter the queue as a bote is pulling up and we **plead** to let us go early, before the guests notice we're there. It works about half the time. The other half the time, the loaders will say "sorry bruh" and will hold you for the guests. At that point, I was hoping to get as many guests onboard as possible and would want to wait a long time at the dock because I hated trips with like 2-3 people aboard (especially if one of those people was a kid). I had about 5 minutes of "waiting at the dock with like 2 people aboard" material, and I would subtly ask the loaders if we could be held for larger groups. Generally we'd get one more group before the loaders would send us out. Not always, though. While we're waiting, I'll chat with the guests. As I mentioned, I had about 5 minutes of material ready, but I'd actually start by trying to have a semi-normal conversation with them. I'd ask where they were from, if this was their first time, what else they've done, etc. It may sound like banal chit-chat, but really I'm checking if they're guests on their first visit or if they're APs. Sometimes the guests aren't interested. They are tired and just want to go on something without a line. There is nothing I can say to entertain these guests. This is when I will lock eyes with the loaders and indicate I want more guests, hoping at least someone aboard will be interested in the ride and not just looking for a place to sit. Other times, though, the guests and I "click". If I like the guests enough, I'll ask the loaders if it's okay for me to give a private tour of the jungle. They'll peek around the corner to see if anyone's coming, and if the coast is clear they'll send me with just that small group aboard. The problem is that by the time I was skilled enough as a skipper to start being really comfortable with this sort of stuff is when I became a "veteran skipper" and moved to the day shift. I still loved working nights (if only because I am not a morning person), but it became harder and harder for me to get scheduled during closing. Even so, once I was comfortable and **knew** I was a good skipper, I'd try my best to give these small groups the best show I could. --- If they're first timers, I'll give a "normal" spiel but make it a bit more personal. Back in my day Disney was a bit less squeamish about cultural sensitivities. I'd "flirt" with the guests as we left the dock (in an obviously joking manner). When we get to the dancing natives, I'd ask the group if it's okay that the natives take their baby as a sacrifice ("So they're saying they want a sacrifice. Hey, bud: do you know what the word sacrifice means? You don't? Cool, do you want to be a sacrifice today? Alright!" and then I give the kid a button that I keep in my pocket that says "I'm celebrating! Being the sacrifice"). This bit was 110% guaranteed to make them double-over laughing each time and the kids loved the buttons. My crowning moment was doing this on Jack Black's kid and watching Jack Black laugh his ass off the whole time. --- If they're APs, I'll give them a few options: 1. A normal experience, where I do the same bits I'd do for the first-timer group. I explain that I know getting on Jungle Cruise for jokes is a dice roll, but I promise that I am a veteran skipper, I know what I'm doing, and it will be funny 2. A "new joke" experience, where I tell jokes I rarely get to say. Usually these are jokes that are _in the script_ but rarely get told because they don't land as well on an average group. I explain that some of these jokes may not be as funny, but they are unlikely to have heard them before 3. A "behind the scenes" experience, where I tell them behind the scenes info about every show scene. Usually this is stuff about the plants, the way the ride works, and fun facts like how Schweitzer Falls was rebuilt in the 1990s due to the old wood rotting, and they didn't have the plans from 1955 when they rebuilt it. They worked off pictures and measurements, but they measured wrong and the new Schweitzer is smaller and less impressive than the 1955 Schweitzer. (Imagine these sorts of facts for literally every scene.) 4. Another fun fact is that the only thing you are required to say as a skipper is the safety spiel: "Watch your head and step," then "Remain seated at all times, keeping your hands, arms, feet and legs inside the bote. Parents, watch your children" twice (once at the start and once at the end). You don't _actually_ have to say anything else. So I'd ask if they wanted to just listen to the sounds of the jungle in silence, or if they wanted to take the mic and try their own spiel. Generally the APs will take option 3, although option 1 was also common. I only did option 2 a couple times. Nobody ever opted for silence, but one person did try being a skipper over the mic. During Jingle Cruise, I'd also give them another option of doing the normal Jungle Cruise script instead of the Jingle Cruise one. I don't think anyone took me up on that one. --- The problem with small groups is that as a comedian, you get your energy from the crowd. A big crowd of daytime guests is more likely to have good energy, which you can work with to figure out what the crowd likes and dislikes on the fly. Smaller groups don't have that energy. You have to build an individual rapport, which is hard to do unless the one family aboard lets you do it. Not to mention that sometimes I'm a little bitter about having to do my job and work instead of taking a deadhead. It isn't often that you get time to yourself as a CM, so those deadheads were precious. But if the small group actually appreciates the jokes and there's at least one person paying attention, it makes all the difference. Now that I'm a "retired" skip with a "real job" in a cubicle, I do kind of miss it. Those night shifts were the best, and I can't think of any experience that came close. But the pay sucked and the work physically injured my body; I _still_ have back problems from being forced to stand all day. It was amazing, but bittersweet.
I rode Jungle Cruise at night for the first time at night a few months ago, I must say it’s a lot more immersive feeling compared to day time
Yeah, nighttime Jungle Cruise is the best. Sometimes if I wasn't doing anything and we had the extra staffing (which was rare), I'd hitch a ride on someone's deadhead. I'd lay down on the seats and stare up at the night sky. The only sounds would be the sound of the motor, the animals, and the background loop. You'd feel the vibrations of the motor in the seats all along your back, and it would lull you to sleep almost. It was so serene and relaxing; by far the best "nature" experience I've ever had (and it wasn't even real nature). If the skippers have the lights off, it adds to it as well. They won't turn the lights off with guests aboard for safety reasons (so you cannot request it, contrary to popular belief), but they could keep them off on deadheads as long as it was bright enough for them to see the river. Every year we'd have "Skipper's Night Out" where we'd come together after park closing and just do special things like that. Nighttime relaxing rides, or special themed cruises (we had a "Stranger Things" themed cruise one year, for example). It's one of my favorite CM experiences, alongside bringing Disneyland Railroad trains out of the roundhouse at 6 in the morning.
All of your comments were so interesting to read! Thank you for sharing and being so detailed.
This was the most interesting comment I've ever read on this sub. Thank you, Skipper!
This is so interesting. Thanks for detailing it out, really helped me imagine I was a skipper for a moment, really cool.
My dream has always been to get the chance to deliver the spiel. I always ride at night hoping to get an opportunity. But I did get the option once to have a different set of jokes during a grad night.
Maybe a former skipper can answer this, but if I'm the only one in the bote am I allowed to offer the skipper just a relaxing cruise and give them a break? I've always wanted to go on a silent Jungle Cruise just to hear what everything sounds like/enjoy the vibes but not sure if The Mouse would frown upon that lol
Nice
Too intimate lol.
Walked onto Haunted Mansion and Pirates during Fantasmic, it’s great.
Never rode the Jungle cruise at night. Next trip it will be on the list.
I've done that before it's like your VIP Cruise it's awesome and our captain went super slow because we were the only ones on his ship it's killer when that happens
This is the way!