Amazon River Base

The Amazon River Base or East Dock is a location from the Jungle Cruise.

Description[]

This building was a two-story structure built in a floodplain along the Amazon river of the Amazon rainforest. The outpost was across the river from a shack belonging to one O.I. Cyhu. The base was used as an outpost for the Jungle Navigation Company and also broadcast the service AWOL Airwaves for the Disney Broadcasting Company. The Amazon River Base itself was composed of two main connected buildings with ramshackle roofing and infrastructure. This base was also a location in the mystical, "Wilds of Adventureland" where it is identified as having been located on #5 Only Road, Adventureland.^[1] Painted into the rafters are the words, "Once a Skipper, Always a Skipper".

Points of interest[]

First Floor[]

Alberta's Office: This was the office for company president, Alberta Falls. The office also contained many photographs from across the world, and artifacts such as a crate from the A. Falls Botanical Expedition, and map of Lágrimas de Cristal.
Banana Troop room: A room utilized by the Banana Troop.
Bote Crashers room: A room used by the Bote Crashers, with a fire extinguisher inside and dart-board on the door.
Crew Mess: The mess hall was apparently catered by, "Floating gourmet" Skipper Doug, and served a variety of exotic meats which allegedly tasted like chicken (along with the occasional serving of chicken).
Docks: These were the docks used for accessing the Amazon river and Rivers of Adventure. The interior served as a general hall accessing different rooms, storing supplies, and having recreational items like a dart-board, historic photos or various books.
The Pach room: A room utilized by the Pach.
Shipping Office:
Ticket Booth: This was a seperate building from the main river-base which sold tickets for the Jungle Navigation Company's services.
Upstream Society room: A room used by the base's, "Upstream Society", which also had the base's emergency exit. Outside of the door was a cabinet with top hats, champagne, glasses and a tiara labelled, "Break in case of party".

Second floor[]

History[]

Background[]

Origins[]

This river base was used by the Jungle Navigation Company in the 1930s. The outpost was constructed in a particularly dangerous part of the river inhabited by carnivorous bacteria, man-eating piranhas, and dangerous giant butterflies. The base was also located near the territory of certain South American Indigenous peoples, namely the outpost of Trader Sam and Chief Nah-mee. At an unknown point in time following 1916, the base is believed to have been visited by JNC boatsman Frank Wolff on his expedition to map the Rivers of Adventure.

In 1931, JNC president Alberta Falls began the Jungle Cruise tourism service of which the base would serve as a port. Because of this, the Amazon River Base became a very busy outpost for JNC customers across the world. By the mid-late 1930s, the Amazon River Base was politely referred to as the Jungle Navigation Company's, "Most exciting outpost". This was the result of the Jungle Navigation Company's typical inexperience, negligence and mismanagement leading to pandemonium in the base. The river base also ran AWOL Airwaves, an international radio-service presented by JNC employee Albert Awol.

Jingle Cruise[]

In the December of 1935, they held their first inaugural, "Jingle Cruise", a Christmas-themed tour of the Rivers of Adventure. Their boat the Ganges Gertie had particular significance during this event, having been renamed to the, "Garland Gertie" for the event. The Jingle Cruise practice of continuing the Jingle Cruise would continue for the following years, being an event promoted by flyers and The Daily Gnus newspaper.

During one of these tours (potentially even the inaugural Jingle Cruise), an air shipment of holiday decoration missed its marker and was dumped in the rivers. Because of this, the jungles became polluted with Holiday decor that the Jungle Navigation Company condoned as an improvised decoration (despite the harm it caused to the local wildlife). Holiday themed pollution would appear to become a standard tradition of the Jungle Navigation Company's Jingle Cruisecelebrations. The company's South American Indigenous affiliates, "Trader Sam" and Chief Nah-mee would make a business of these tours. Sam would sell commodities such as champagne to boat-riders for the coming New Year's Evewhile Nah-mee assumed a Santa costume and the identity of, "Trader Sam-ta" to trade shrunken-heads as Christmas presents. JNC member Nigel Greenwater would make special Christmas broadcasts on his radio company The Global Broadcasting Service as a tie-in for the Jingle Cruise.

Missing expedition[]

Amongst the dangerous instances around 1938 were an orangutang escaping its cage, transporting deadly spiders, obtaining snake-oils as medical supplies, attempting to sell tiger cubs, and a leopard attacking Albert Awol in the middle of a broadcast.^[2] The base kept a chalk-board with a list of a multitudes of people and boats who went missing out of the Amazon River Base. In 1938, the skippers of the year celebrated at the base were skippers, Richard Reyes and Jay Friesner.^[3] Also by 1938, Alberta had mounted a large map of the Rivers of Adventure in the boathouse which was modified from an old map gifted to her grandfather, Dr. Albert Falls by Amazon-based JNC employee Frank Wolff. Certain members of the base were also acquainted with the Order of the Golden Piranha by this time.

In 1938, Alberta tasked personal friend and JNC affiliate, "Trader Sam" with running the company's lost & found near the base. However, Sam would turn this into, "Trader Sam's Gift Shop!" where he sold off recovered items. In this year, the base served as place of departure for the Kwango Kate, a boat piloted by company, "New guy" Felix Pechman XIII as part of a V.I.P. Jungle Cruise. This tour was later lost along the supernatural rivers of adventure, being wrecked near the African veldt of North Africa. At least one unrelated Jungle Cruise from the Amazon River Base happened upon the lost expedition and saw them run up a tree by a black rhino but ignored them due to the skipper feeling the report would include too much paperwork.

Development history[]

The Amazon River Base's original sign had a tribal mask on it. This was changed in a 2021 refurbishment aimed at reducing racism in the Jungle Cruise attraction.

Appearances[]

Attractions[]

Jungle Cruise[]

The Amazon River Base serves as the queue and loading building for Walt Disney World's Jungle Cruise.

Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom[]

The base made a minor appearance on Merlin's map of Adventureland with boats along its river.

Video-games[]

Minecraft[]

The Magic Kingdom DLC for Minecraft: Bedrock Edition featured the Amazon River Base as queue for its Jungle Cruise recreation.

Other connections[]

Jungle Cruise (film)[]

The region of the Amazon which the base is located in was mapped by Frank Wolff with said map having been given as a gift to Dr. Albert Falls in 1911. The base itself is featured on this map, indicating it was likely a stop for Wolff on his expedition. Lily Houghton's map to Lágrimas de Cristal is framed on a wall near Frank Wolff's hat in the office of Alberta Falls. Also in this office is the conquistador helm of Lope de Aguirre. A crate labelled, "A. Falls Botanical Expedition" is likely a reference to the A. Falls Expedition to find the Tears of the Moon from the film.

Trivia[]

In the Skipper Canteen, the tribal mask which originally adorned the base's entrance is used on a crest for the Society of Explorers and Adventurers along with the figureheads from the Plaza Swan Boats.
The medicine cabinets have various easter-eggs:
- The river base's medicine cabinet has a bottle labelled, "Practically Perfect Peculiar Way Remedy". This is a reference to the film Mary Poppins (1964) where the titular nanny gave the children a bottle of medicine, inspired by the polio vaccine.
- Another bottle is the, "Nightly Dream Developer" with the note, "Think Happy Thoughts" and a picture of two stars, referencing Peter Pan (1953). It is mentioned as coming from, "St. Bernard", a reference to the Darling's pet St. Bernard, Nana.
- The bottle, "Prof. Plump's Miracle Tonic for Everlasting Life" is likely a reference to the Hitchhiking Ghost, "Phineas" from the Haunted Mansion who in the non-canonical, "Ghost Gallery" backstory was explained to have been a snake-oil salesman and who in many materials is given the name, "Professor Phineas Plump".
- The bottle of, "Instant Relief Remedy for All Laments" made by, "Terminus" is a reference to the 1977 film Pete's Dragon.^[4]
- Big Top Courage Elixir might reference the film Dumbo (1941).
- The tin of Rose's Leech Salt was a reference to the character of Rose Sayer from the 1951 film The African Queen which inspired the Jungle Cruise.
- Witch Hazel, which while a real plant could be an allusion to the Mickey Mouse universe character of the same name.
The books on shelves contain easter-eggs:^[5]
- The Kakapo Book by K. Lively is a tribute to former Imagineer Kevin Lively.
- My Interests Happily Lay Elsewhere by MacGregor Houghton is written by a character from the Jungle Cruise film, referencing a line which acknowledges his homosexuality.
- Edible Fungi of the Amazon by J. Albertson could tribute Jennifer Albertson of Disney Imagineering.
- Stumped – Lessons from Trees by Professor K. Thomas could be a reference to imagineer Kevin Thomas.
- A Self Portrait by Sanchez could be a tribute to Imagineer Andrew Sanchez.
- The Math of Liquid Space by Dr. Durham is a reference to defunct attraction Submarine Voyage which was re-themed to Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage by imagineer Dave Durham.
- Your Guide to Indian Culture by Kapur could be a reference to Imagineer Raakhi Sinha Kapur.
- River Navigation Safety by Beiler is a reference to Imagineer producer Matt Beiler.
- An Oral History of the Jungle the book by Crocker.
Several pieces of cargo within the boathouse contain easter-eggs:
- A crate addressed to Kenneth Annakin in New Guinea tributes filmmaker Kenneth Annakin, director of the Swiss Family Robinson.^[6]
- A crate for Thomas Kirk, Esq. tributes actor Thomas Kirk who appeared in several live-action Disney films and his character of Merlin Jones.
- There is a shipment of, "Goff's brand" rubber over-pants which tributes imagineer Harper Goff.^[7]
- There is a barrel addressed to one Dr. Winston Hibler, referencing filmmaker Winston Hibler who worked on the True-Life Adventures films which partially inspired the Jungle Cruise.
- Luggage in the Amazon River Base bares the logo of Club 33.^[8]
- There is a life-preserver from the Molopo Marie, the tramp steamer of the Falls family.
- There is a case with a luggage-sticker for Castaway Cay.
- A removed detail from the attraction was luggage at the base belonging to Pamelia Perkins and Emil Bleehall, characters from the defunct attraction The Adventurers Club.
- A package of ride sponsors, Ziploc.
- In Alberta Falls' office is a post-card from the Lost River Delta, a fictional Peruvian location from Tokyo DisneySea. The post-card shows the Temple of the Crystal Skull from the attraction Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull.
- Also in Alberta Falls' office is a post-card from Captain Mary Oceaneer, a character affiliated with the Disney Cruise Line and Typhoon Lagoon. Oceaneer's post-card also brings up the Forbidden Mountain and Anandapur from Expedition Everest.
- The stonework with an add for, "Casablanca" air tours may be a tribute to a removed detail of the Jungle Cruise, connecting to the attraction's history. The Jungle Cruise's downed airplane was originally implied to belong to an airline company called Aero-Casablanca, referencing how it was the backside of the plane used in the defunct Great Movie Ride's tableau for the film Casablanca (1942). Casablanca's set designer was one Harper Goff, an aforementioned creative lead behind the Jungle Cruise attraction.
Souvenir banners from several Disney locations were added over the Banana Troop door around 2023. Amongst the locations referenced were: Anandapur (Expedition Everest/Asia in Disney's Animal Kingdom), the Lost River Delta (Lost River Delta of Tokyo DisneySea), Porto Paradiso (Mediterranean Harbour in Tokyo DisneySea), Harambe (Kilimanjaro Safaris/Africa at Disney's Animal Kingdom), Bakersfield (home town of animator Marc Davis), the S.S. Columbia and Mystic Point (Mystic Manor/Mystic Point).^[9]^[10]
In the Amazon River Base, there is a bulletin-board with multiple Easter eggs including:
- Cut-outs of the Daily Gnus newspaper from the Adventure Trading Company.
- A post-card for Mystic Point which shows Mystic Manor.
- A Jungle Navigation Company safety flag.
- Editions of the Daily Gnus newspaper.