The giant gorillas are two removed characters from the Jungle Cruise.
History[]
Background[]
This would have been two giant gorillas occupying some region of Africa in the early half of the 20th century. The gorillas were presumably hostile and described as being roughly 600 pounds with an arm-spread of around 8 feet.
Development history[]
The gorilla sused to appear right before the, "Return to Civilization", in the part of the ride now representing the Amazon Rainforest.[1] The gorilla was removed after 1968 with the rough space it occupied being used for the racist stereotyped character of Trader Sam (later replaced with the more subdued yet still racist scene of Trader Sam's Gift Shop!).
The gorilla animatronics were repurposed in 1978 to represent the Yeti, "Harold" in the rollercoaster Matterhorn Bobsleds with new fur and a face mould by Blaine Gibson. In 2015, this audio-animatronic was removed and replaced with a more updated model.[2] One of the gorilla audio-animatronic was moved to Disney's California Adventure theme-park to the attraction Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: BREAKOUT!, still appearing as the yeti.
Appearances[]
Jungle Cruise[]
The gorillas appeared near the end of the ride, threatening to attack the boats before the skipper made a narrow escape. The pair appeared alongside a crocodile which also attempted to attack the boats.
In other media[]
Paraphernalia[]
The Enchanted Tiki Room & the Adventurous Jungle Cruise[]
This audio narration of Disneyland's Jungle Cruise preserves a description of the jungle's final scene prior to the integration of Trader Sam, as guided by Skipper Thurl Ravenscroft.[3]
Trivia[]
- Matterhorn Bobsleds, the Yeti and the Guardians of the Galaxy are all referenced in the Skipper Canteen by books and their respective authors. This includes, "Scaling the Matterhorn", " Everest Expedition: Search for the Yeti" by Harrison Hightower III, and, "The Stars Above Us" by Quill (Star-Lord). The book by Hightower however references the attraction Expedition Everest in Disney's Animal Kingdom, rather than Matterhorn Bobsleds.
Gallery[]
