Jungle River Cruise: Curse of the Emerald Trinity was a horror overlay of the Jungle River Cruise at Hong Kong Disneyland which ran throughout the October of 2015.
History[]
Backstory[]
Guests represent passengers of the Jungle Navigation Company on the December 8th of 1932. While embarking into the jungle, they learn that wanted criminal Prof. Garrett Reed has been spotted in the jungle. Reed was an amoral archaeologist and white colonist belonging to the Society of Explorers and Adventurers. Obsessed with eternal youth, Reed is seeking a treasure known as the Emerald Trinity, three jewels belonging to a, "Voodoo tribe" which if removed from the jungle can grant eternal youth. However, whomever takes these jewels will by supernaturally attacked by the jungle itself in an effort to prevent the theft of the emeralds.
Development history[]
This overlay ran in the October of 2015 with an original story using elements from the Jungle Cruise, Tokyo DisneySea's Fortress Explorations, and the Indiana Jones franchise. Imagineer Andrew Sinclair-Harris spoke on having faced obstacles in integrating Reed due to a small group of imagineers in Glendale acting as, "Gate-keepers" for S.E.A..[1] Incidentally, ex California imagineer Kevin Lively has claimed that the Hong Kong Disneyland version of the Jungle Cruise (and Curse of the Emerald Trinity by affiiliation) are non-canonical (though it should be noted there is nothing within the text of the attractions itself to imply so, especially given how mutliple imagineers are in charge of several attractions).
Summary[]
While guests wait for their boats, they are given editions of the Daily Colonial Journal newspaper. These journals go over the history of the explorer Prof. Garrett Reed, an archaeologist who was banned from the Society of Explorers and Adventurers following a grave-robbing scandal causing him to resort to criminal practice. These newspapers contain interviews from Reed's enemy contemporaries Lord Henry Mystic and Indiana Jones who speak on his character and obsession with eternal youth.
Guests later board the boats where they and their skipper happen upon the Temple of Immortality, containing the emerald trinity. After exiting the temple, they happen upon the camp of Professor Reed only to witness him murdered by jungle vines. Following this, the skipper reveals that they had actually stolen one of the emeralds. Due to this, the passengers and skippers have to escape from killer vines, a shadowy elephant, the voodoo tribe, and vine zombies emerging from the water.
Upon reaching the Canyon of the Gods, the skipper finds that the jewel disappeared. The voices of gods then reveal that they reclaimed the jewel as punishment for the skipper's thievery. The gods go on to summon fire and water to try and kill the mortals. The skipper narrowly escapes and returns to the Jungle Navigation Company's boathouse.
Trivia[]
- The jungle which the attraction is set in is not made clear. Certain theories and pieces of evidence can be taken.
- Given the identification of the, "Voodoo tribe", it is likely that it is either located in Africa or South America. This is as Voodoo is a religion originating from tribal African religious practices being adapted for the Americas as a result of the transatlantic slave-trade. Because of this it is possible the tribe simply practices traditional African religion preceding voodoo which the colonist characters identify as voodoo, or less likely that they are a tribe occupying South America following the results of the slave-trade and practice actual voodoo.
- The boathouse for Jungle River Cruise is traditionally associated as being set within Africa, likely along the Congo basin given its proximity to Tarzan's Treehouse.
- If the Canyon of the Gods is the same canyon from Jungle River Cruise, this would make it set in Africa.
- The Daily Colonial Journal makes reference to interviewing Mary Blair. Blair is a Disney Legend artist however the reference is somewhat anachronistic as in 1932, she would have still been going by her maiden-name of Mary Robinson.
- The Daily Colonial Journal implies that Jones and Reed fought over the Chachapoyan Fertility Idol in Peru. However, Jones found the idol in 1936, four years before Reed's death. As the idol is not explicitly named, it is likely just a separate golden idol.
- While most likely incidental, the vine zombies are somewhat similar in appearance to Gonzalo from the 2021 Jungle Cruise film.
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