For the character of the same name from the Jungle Cruise film, see Trader Sam (chieftan).
For Trader Sam's Walt Disney World counterpart, see Chief Nah-mee.
Trader Sam is a character from the Jungle Cruise. He is also the central character and namesake of the Trader Sam's bars at the Disneyland Hotel and Disney's Polynesian Village Resort. Sam is probably the most famous character from the Jungle Cruise property, partly due to his reputation as a racist caricature.
History[]
Biography[]
Background[]
"Trader Sam" is a South American Indigenous man who comes from a family of hunters and cannibals in the Amazon rainforest. Sam's supposed grandfather was one Billamongawonga or, "Trader Bill", a shrunken head salesman. Sam himself was an adept magic-user and was born prior to the 18th century, having been an adult by around the 1720s. Sam would take up the family business of head trading though his true interests resided in mixology. This was the apparent result of having been bitten by a literal, "Bartending bug" which some confused for a mosquito.[1]
This interest in bartending lead to Sam travelling the world in search of new beverage recipes. Sam created his first concoction in Cambodia along the Mekong river where he accidentally dumped his brew behind a temple on the Mekong river built by the Khmer Empire (802 BCE-1431). The following day, the liquor in the water resulted in it becoming inhabited by Indian elephants who enjoyed the beverage. For centuries to come this area served as a secret bathing pool for elephants and was even marked by statues connected to the Khmer empire such as a bowing elephant and idol of the Hindu god Genesha.
Golden Age of Piracy[]
In the early half of the 18th century, Sam ran a tavern in the Caribbean Sea which was frequented by pirates. Two regular customers of Sam's were the pirate Captain Jack Sparrow and said pirate's mother who loved spending time at the establishment. Sam and Jack also spent time together on Isla de Pelegestos where they encountered the cannibalistic Pelegestos tribe whom made Jack their chief. During this time, Sam also did business with the historic pirate Captain Edward Teach AKA Blackbeard. Sam traded for a spyglass with Blackbeard and also lusted after Blackbeard's daughter, the pirate Angelica Teach.[2]
Jack Sparrow's mother died prior to the year 1729 and through unknown means was transformed into a shrunken head. After Jack obtained this head following the War on Piracy, he left his mother's head in Sam's possession to honour how she loved Sam's tavern in life.[3] Sam would create a grand collection of items of relics from this era which included a locket used by the sea-gods Davy Jones and Calypso, and a ship-in-a-bottle depicting The Wicked Wench pirate-ship which was captained by one Hector Barbossa.[4]
Nineteenth century[]
Around 1805, Sam was friends of the Swiss Robinson family which had been marooned on the island of, "New Switzerland" in the East-Indies. Sam would maintain contact with the shipwrecked family when they made New Switzerland their permanent home. Also in the 19th century, Sam was friends with the Texas cowboy Lincoln Costain who himself was marooned on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
Throughout the 19th century, Sam found work as an early scuba-diver. As a scuba-diver in the 1860s, Sam befriended harpooner Ned Land.[5] In 1868, Ned Land found himself aboard a Victorian submarine known as The Nautilus which he would later inform Sam on. Sam would have further connections to the Nautilus and its owner Captain Nemo, even travelling to Vulcania at some point in time.[6]. Objects which would come to be part of Sam's collection included a portrait of the Nautilus on the island of Vulcania, Ned Land's makeshift guitar which he had crafted on the island, the Jules Verne book 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea which was based on the events, and even the mounted arm of the Giant Squid which attacked the Nautilus.
One of Sam's concoctions would be inspired by the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa, an eruption which could be heard (and even seen) around the world. Sam also had a connection to Victorian explorers Archimedes Q. Porter and his daughter Jane Porter and had a photograph of the two departing on their gorilla studying expedition in the Congo. Sam also befriended an alcoholic lighthouse keeper named Lampie from the seaside Maine town of Passamaquoddy. Around the turn-of-the-century, Lampie sent bottled messages to Sam describing a dragon which came to the town. At some point following 1889, Sam travelled to the colony of Mystic Point in Papua New Guinea in-search of new ingredients for his drinks.
Adventuring[]
Sam befriended one Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, seemingly during the time that he was a Rough Rider in the U.S. military. Sam and Roosevelt went on many adventures together and Roosevelt often drank Sam's concoctions. Around the 1900s-1910s, Roosevelt became an original member of a group known as the Adventurers Club of which Sam was aware. Sam would maintain connections to the Adventurers Club throughout the 20th century.
Sam also went on his own adventures such as an elephant-back safari in the East African village of Harambe alongside the Kilimanjaro Safaris company. An adventure which occurred prior to 1912 had Sam meeting one Anna Mary Jones. While on an adventure with Anna, Sam apparently saved her life leading to Sam becoming a friend of her family. Sam would go on to become close friends and frequent business affiliates with her son, Indiana Jones.
Sam had some affiliation with Dr. Albert Falls who founded the Jungle Navigation Company in 1911. Sam brewed the doctor's favourite liquor in the form of, "Schweitzer Falls", a beverage named for a waterfall that Falls had discovered in 1891. Sam had frequent business-relations with the Jungle Navigation Company as he'd trade shrunken heads with them and their customers from an amazon outpost. Sam's cousin Chief Nah-mee also became involved in this operation though he'd also trade in fruits and jewellery. Sam became particularly close with an accomplished JNC skipper called Cap'n Kevin whom Sam was implied to have had a romantic relationship with after saving from a herd of stampeding giraffes.
On the November 6th of 1912, one Vanessa Capshaw of the the recently established New York City Preservation Society sent Sam a portrait of Billamongawonga, recovered from the Hotel Hightower.
In the year 1913, Sam accompanied Theodore Roosevelt for the former-president's final expedition. This took Roosevelt and Sam to the Amazon rainforest where they mapped the River of Doubt along with explorer Colonel Cândido Rondon. This expedition was successful in documenting what was later named the Roosevelt River though on the journey, Theodore contracted terminal-illness. This jungle illness would eventually result in Roosevelt's death years later in 1919.
Indiana Jones & the Jungle Cruise[]
In the year 1931, the Jungle Navigation Company became highly successful when new president Alberta Falls started the Jungle Cruise tourism service. This resulted in many businesses finding success around JNC outposts, including a shop run by Trader Sam known as, "Tropical Imports".[7] This shop was active since at-least 1932 and seemingly built from a middle-eastern structure and would be crewed by Sam's subordinates such as one Louie Majors. The establishment was affiliated with Indiana Jones, the Jungle Navigation Company, and the Enchanted Tiki Room of which Sam was close with cockatoo denizen Rosita. Also in 1931, Indiana Jones and the League of Adventurers discovered the ancient Temple of the Crystal Skull in the Lost River Delta of Cusco, Peru. Sam travelled to the Delta presumably around this time and photographed himself outside of the temple.
Sam also would adopt a pet in the form of a baby Indian Elephant which he named, "Ellie". The two would do business with customers of the Jungle Navigation Company, trading commodities such as shrunken-heads. Around the mid 1930s, the JNC assisted Sam in opening, "Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar" in the Polynesian isles of the Pacific Ocean, an establishment given magical properties by the local gods. Fellow bar-owner Marion Ravenwood and several members of the Adventurers Club sent Sam gifts to commemorate the bar's opening. After an adventure in 1935, Indiana Jones and his accomplice Wan "Short Round" Li sent Sam a kryta of Jones made by the mad priest Mola Ram. Jones had Short Round instruct Sam to destroy the kryta though for whatever reason, Sam kept it safe in the bar instead. At this village, Sam would womanize the local Polynesian women and also commit serial-murders motivated by cannibalism and shrunken-head obtaining, even killing the bar's opening-day staff. Sam also took up hula dancing lessons from a woman named Karen.[8]
In the December of 1935, the Jungle Navigation Company held their first inaugural, "Jingle Cruise", a Christmas-themed tour of the Rivers of Adventure. The Jingle Cruise practice of continuing the Jingle Cruise would continue for the following years and 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 Cruise celebrations. Sam would take to selling champagne to guests for New Year's while Nah-mee assumed the Santa Claus themed alias of, "Trader Sam-ta".
Around the summer of 1936, Sam was contacted by Indiana Jones' affiliate Sallah Mohammed Faisel el-Kahir who sent Sam a map of the Temple of the Forbidden Eye, a structure in the Lost Delta of India which he and Jones had been excavating since the June of 1935. Sallah wished for Sam to bring some of his patrons to the temple for tours due to the archaeological team having been pressured into leading tours by British Colonial Affairs. Following the July 6 of 1936, Sam was again contacted by Jones' affiliate Marcus Brody in hopes that Sam could assist in searching for Jones who had disappeared in the temple while searching for its Jewel of Power. Jones ultimately managed to escape from the temple with the help of tourists sent into the temple by Sallah. The vicinity of the Temple of the Forbidden Eye was admittedly Sam's favourite spot to get water for his bar's, "green drinks".[9]
Around the same time, Trader Sam hosted a, "Free Cooking Course" which he advertised in the community postings section of the Daily Gnus newspaper, asking participants to, "Bring a friend" presumably to cannibalize. Sam used his bar to commemorate the arrive of the colonial Adventure Trading Company in Adventureland, crafting a brew called, "Juju Juice" named for their jujus. Some of Sam's employees at the Enchanted Tiki Bar lost the recipe for his, "Juju Juice" and feared that Sam would decapitate them as punishment. People attempting to join the visiting Adventure Trading Company were able to find them locate the recipe, and were given the Tiki Mask Juju as a reward.
In 1937, Trader Sam was connected to the, "Game Ball Playoffs" which involved using a coconut as a ball which he kept afterwards in his Enchanted Tiki Bar. By 1938, Sam had written and published several books under the pen-name of, "T.S.". Around 1938, Sam came into possession of a stone tablet which depicted the Crystal Skull of Akator. Also around 1938, Sam was given a new job within the Jungle Navigation Company by Alberta Falls who put him in charge of the company's lost & found. Sam transformed this into, "Trader Sam's Gift Shop!" which sold the collected items to Jungle Cruise customers. From this establishment, he also used an old camera to photograph guests aboard the Jungle Cruise as souvenir-photos.
In the December of 1938, Sam left Ellie and the gift-shop and said he would return in 15 minutes, during which time the gift-shop was overrun by macaques.
Later adventures[]
Around the later 1930s/1940s, JNC employee Skip Dockmonkey was made Trader Sam's manager. At some point, he attended the Hollywood night-club The South Seas Club and Clifton's Republic which influenced his own bar operations. In the year 1939, Sam attended a trinket-selling convention where he sold seashells on the sea-shore. Throughout the 1940s, Sam often assisted aviator and Adventurers Club member Hathaway Browne by providing him with enchanted liquor to use as airplane fuel. At some point after the New Year's Eve of 1937, several members of the Adventurers Club went on an expedition and sent a crate of possessions from their headquarters of Pleasure Island, Florida to be kept in Sam's safekeeping. At some point in time, Trader Sam rode the JNC's boat the Yangtze Lotus through Congo where he found the, "Old Family Recipe" of the Angolada rum.
In the year 1941, Sam became acquainted with Walt Disney when Disney, his wife Lillian and their friends, "El Grupo" travelled to South America as a goodwill tour for the US government. Sam had been hired to give the Disney party a tour of the continent with Disney and Sam later becoming friends. Walt Disney would go on to become the best customer of Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar. Also in the 1940s, Sam travelled to Casablanca, Morocco where he was a patron of Rick's Café Américain, an establishment run by one Rick Blaine. Blaine held Sam in high-regards, considering him to be one of the only two Sams which he could trust. At some point, Sam and five other members of his family invited their Cousin Stu to dinner at which-point they murdered him and turned him into a meat-stew which Sam hung a photograph of them eating up in the bar.
In the 1950s, Sam became a fan musical artists such as Elvis Presley and Anette Funicello, decorating his establishments with their covers; the latter of whom became one of Sam's customers. Assorted artifacts kept in the Tiki Bar included a genie's lamp from Agrabah, the idols of various tiki gods, a figurine of the Florida Orange Bird, a coin-jar used to collect money for a travel to Paradise Falls in Venezuela, a post-card from Hawaiian isle of sentient volcanoes Ukulele Island, and a plushy of Donald Duck. Canadian botanist Dr. Leonard Moss left various plants in Trader Sam's care, which Sam suspended from the ceiling of his bar. Sam is also rumoured to have discovered the Fountain of Youth in Florida, leading to him creating a drink called, "La Florida" in his bars.[10] Sam served a drink themed around the Nautilus at his bars, and audio of a Tomorrowland submarine captain departing for a journey under the North Pole played when this drink was ordered.
Sam's bar would host the likes of Indiana Jones, Sallah and Adventurers Club members such as Hathaway Browne, Otis T. Wren and Samantha Sterling. During the winter season, the bar's island was engulfed in paranormal, "Tropical Snowstorms", enhanced by to the nearby volcanoes erupting blizzards.
Polynesian Villager[]
Sam, Skip and the JNC also opened a secondary location around the 1950s known as, "Trader Sam's Grog Grotto" along the Polynesian Seven Seas Lagoon. This new establishment was located within the Great Ceremonial House of a village which worshiped some of the same gods that supported the enchanted tiki bar and which had its waters visited by the Nautilus in the past. existence. Amongst the patrons were the aristocratic British toad J. Thaddeus Toad, Esq. whose car-keys Sam had to confiscate, and apparently the popular singer/actress Annette Funicello who to Sam's dismay was at one point thrown into the sea as a joke. Possible patrons of the bar might have included Hathaway Browne, Rosita and Walt Disney with this bar having also brought the, "Tropical Snowstorm" to the village in the winter months.
Around 1955, Sam travelled aboard the shrimping-ship The Miss Tilly in Blustery Bay where he befriended the crew. This ship was subsequently caught in a hurricane which impaled the boat atop the volcanic Mount Mayday in Placid Palms. Sam escaped and was later sent a post-card by the crew from when the palms were transformed into the resort, "Typhoon Lagoon". Sam also visited many tourist locations across Florida including Silver Springs, Parrot Jungle, Monkey Jungle and the Sunken Gardens of St. Petersburg.[11] In the 1960s, Sam retained contacts with Lt. Rob Crusoe, U.S.N. who himself had been marooned in the Polynesian sea before escaping with US government assistance.[12]
Development history[]
Creation & changes[]
Trader Sam was originally a character who appeared at the end of Disneyland's Jungle Cruise and who was designed by artist Samuel McKim (Sam's alleged namesake).[13] He was integrated in a scene originally portraying an African river which featured a crocodile and gorilla which occupied the same area with said gorilla having been repurposed as the Yeti in Matterhorn Bobsleds (currently found in Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: BREAKOUT!). The Trader Sam figure was also originally adorned with a smiling tribal mask resembling one of African origin despite the character being South American.
Animator Marc Davis designed a different incarnation of the character for the Magic Kingdom's Jungle Cruise. Like his predecessor, this trader was a racist stereotype, here even resembling Davis' infamously racist depictions of Indigenous tribes from the film Peter Pan (1953). As Jungle Cruise cast-members were encouraged to improvise, the scripts referred to this character as, "Chief (Name)" leading to the creation of Sam's cousin Chief Nah-mee.
In the 1980s/1990s, Trader Sam's tribal mask was removed from his figure. Also the scripts for the Magic Kingdom's Jungle Cruise would be changed for consistency, resulting in the erroneous identification of Chief Nah-mee as being Trader Sam. Sam's characterization was also expanded upon by making him an environmentalist who would kill those who harmed the environment. In 2011, a backstory was created for the character for the opening of Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar in the Disneyland Hotel. Next to Sam was a shield with two glowing green lights, used to assist cast-members by indicating when their boat is switching tracks.[14]
In 2020, the Black Lives Matter movement sparked outrage at corporations perpetuating sterotypes; particularly in theme-parks. Notable outcomes of this included changing the attraction Splash Mountain (based on the infamously banned film Song of the South (1946)) into a Princess and the Frog (2008) themed attraction and Universal Studios being highly criticized for their Harry Potter parks due to the property's owner's insensitive comments on social media. In 2021, a refurbishment was overseen at the Jungle Cruise to remove cultural insensitivities from the attraction such as the audio-animatronic of Trader Sam.
However, Sam was controversially still left in the attraction as part of a scene written by one Kevin Lively. Here, Sam was instead portrayed as the criminal proprietor of a lost & found where he sells stolen items for profit. This scene was apparently originally conceived while Lively worked as a cast-member at Tarzan's Treehouse.
Racism[]
Jungle Cruise (1955-2021)[]
Trader Sam was created as a stereotype of the Jivaroan peoples of the Amazon. In the Spanish Colonial Period, conquistadors perpetuated a propagandistic myth that the Jivaro are the antithesis of, "Civilization" in retaliation to being unsuccessful at conquering Jivaroan territory. Sam being a cannibal was based on general myths as the Jivaroan are not known to practice cannibalism nor are any South American Indigenous tribe. Sam's dark-skinned design also seemed to be more based on an African
Shrunken head trading is inspired by how in the 1910s, many South American Indigenous peoples were pressured into selling shrunken-heads to European colonists who considered them to be exotic souvenirs. Traditionally, shrunken-heads are religious items used to bind the spirit of a potentially vengeful enemy, not items sought after for profit or collection.
Trader Sam's[]
These bars were based around the character of Trader Sam. Because of this, many of the harmful stereotypes identified with the character were perpetuated in the bars. Amongst these were a shrunken head motif and various references to Trader Sam and his family (represented by shrunken-heads) being cannibalistic. Many of these references were removed in 2021. The bars also revealed Sam to be a magic-user and possibly immortal, an adaptation of the, "Magical Native American" trope which has been criticized for being a minority-token trope that ostracizes Indigenous peoples, exploits Indigenous people as, "Exotic", and trivializes Indigenous spiritualism as Western perceptions of occultism and magic.
Jungle Cruise (2021-)[]
The existence of Trader Sam's Gift Shop! has been criticized due to perpetuating Sam's harmful legacy. His characterization also continues to adhere to stereotypes, depicting him as an untrustworthy and greedy thief. This subscribes to the aforementioned negative stereotypes of the Jivaro and general stereotypes of Indigenous peoples being sly, conniving and untrustworthy. In 2023's Jingle Cruise, a sign included a promotion for, "Trader Sam-ta" mentioning a, "Head start" on Holiday shopping, and not that, "Inventory shrinking".[15][16]
Appearances[]
Adventure Trading Company[]
Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar was the location for the Tiki Mask Juju mission. Guests had to find his recipe for the JujuJuice after his employees lost it and they feared he'd sever their heads for it. Also in the Daily Gnus newspaper is a community-posting advertising cooking-classes with Trader Sam. This ad asks for clients to, "Bring a friend", referencing how Sam was a cannibal at the time.[17] Sam's bar and Tropical Imports were advertised in the Daily Gnus, the Jungle Handbook for River Navigation, and the Bird Call. On a map handed out of Adventureland, Sam and Ellie were illustrated along the river.[18]
City of Zootopia[]
There is a non-canonical reference to Trader Sam in Zootopia where one of the billboards is for, "Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Nights" at, "Trader Lamb's".
Jungle Cruise[]
1955-2021[]
Sam used to appear as an audio-animatronic in Disneyland's Jungle Cruise. Nigel Greenwater mentioned Sam within his audio-loop, saying that Sam's business Tropical Imports has received a new shipment of quinine. A transmission in the queue had Jack warn his friend that the crocodiles outside of, "Trader Sam's" were biting harder than usual. Another transmission came from Tropical Imports, telling skippers about a new shipment of canned goods, linens, ship's canvas, gunpowder and special orders being ready.
2021-present[]
In present-day attractions, Sam is referenced as running, "Trader Sam's Gift Shop!" and being out for a few minutes. Skipper Missy makes announcements for Trader Sam and his gift-shop on the radio.
Jingle Cruise[]
During the defunct Disneyland versions of this overlay, Sam sold champagne for the holiday. In the Magic Kingdom version, he was mentioned on a flyer in the queue, asking him not to bring food to the company Christmas potluck.[19]
Jungle Cruise: Wildlife Expeditions[]
In the queue for this attraction is a note from a young girl named Molli which reads, "Mr. Skipper, I lov elefans! I lov jungl! I lov Sam! Lov, Molli" along with the crayon drawing of an elephant.[20] In the actual attraction, Sam is replaced by Chief Nah-mee who sells the enchanted Tiger of Courage, Monkey of Cleverness and Elephant of Wisdom medallions while accompanied by Ellie.
Magic of Disney Animation[]
Sam is pictured on a poster which was hung up in the Hollywood dressing-room of Minnie Mouse. Said poster was for a film titled, "The Jungle Cruise" (satirizing the film The African Queen) with Sam also being listed as a cast-member on the film. Next to Sam was a crate labelled, "Dr. Albert Falls" with two skulls atop it and the word, "Discover our two-for-one deal!".[21]
Main Street Cinema[]
Outside of the Disneyland Casting Agency is a posting for jungle riverboat skippers. Applicants are requested by the agency to apply for the job under one T. Sam.[22]
Skipper Canteen[]
An advertisement for trading with Trader Sam is posted in the mess hall. Additionally, there are five books written by Trader Sam in the library. These books include: Friends for Dinner, Top Hats and Umbrellas, The Banana Trade, What's in a Name and The Missing Mask. Also in the library are books by, "Shakes Speare" titled Sam IV Part 1, Sam IV Part 2, Sam V, Sam VI Part 1, Sam VI Part 2 and Sam VI Part 3. On the bulletin-board in the Mess Hall, there is a sheet of paper promoting an annual Holiday party for JNC employees. On the topic of a potluck, the paper reads, "*Bring food for a pot luck* (except Trader Sam)", referencing Sam's cannibalistic tendencies.[23]
On the menu was a meal-item called, "Trader Sam's Head-On Shrimp".[24] This food-item was removed from the menu in 2022.[25] Another meal-item referencing Sam is, "Trader Lamb".[26]
Trader Sam's[]
Sam is the fictional proprietor of these bars.
Trader Sam's Jungle Boutique[]
This is an unbuilt shop conceived for Disneyland Paris' Adventureland which ultimately became the Indiana Jones Adventure Outpost.
Other connections[]
Jungle River Cruise: Curse of the Emerald Trinity[]
Sam's business, "Tropical Imports" was advertised in the Daily Colonial Journal.
Kilimanjaro Safaris[]
A photograph in Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar identifies him as having travelled with Kilimanjaro Safaris in Harambe around the late 19th century/early 20th century.
Tropical Imports[]
Tropical Imports was revealed in the Disneyland Jungle Cruise's queue audio to be run by Trader Sam.
In other media[]
Film[]
Jungle Cruise (film)[]
Sam is the namesake and inspiration for a female Trader Sam played by Veronica Falcón. She is a member of the Puka Michuna tribe which is affiliated with Frank Wolff and protects the Tears of the Moon tree in 1912. Her predecessor chief from the 16th century also dresses in an outfit resembling that of Sam from the ride.
Printed materials[]
Disney Parks Presents: Jungle Cruise[]
While Sam is not appearing in this children's book, his mask makes a small appearance on the same page as Ellie.
Video-games[]
Epic Mickey[]
In this game is a Tiki Hut shop run by one, "Tiki Sam", a greedy anthropomorphic dog shopkeep. This store is found in Ventureland, the Adventureland analogue of the Wasteland, a twisted Disneyland that harbours forgotten and discarded characters.
Paraphernalia[]
Jungle Cruise Adventure Game[]
One of the Skipper Specialty cards is called the, "Trader". The image on the card depicted another boat dropping cargo to pick up, adding 1 extra point to each piece of cargo delivered by the player.[27]
Trivia[]
- Sam might be inspired by the cannibal shrunken-head salesman Queequeg from Herman Melville's Moby Dick.
- In addition to knowing many other fictional and historic characters, Sam is implied to have connections to different events regarding them:
- The image of Jack Sparrow and Sam on Isla de Pelegestos might be placing Sam at an event mentioned by Jack in Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl when Jack is telling a story of the island and says, "-and then they made me their chief".
- Sam has newspapers from the San Francisco Bulletin seen at the beginning of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea from when the Abraham Lincoln departed to hunt the Nautilus.
- Sam has a photograph of Prof. Porter and Jane Porter on the same expedition where they met Tarzan.
- Alberta's map had the words, " Last chance for provisions: local vendors, open all season, good prices" over Tropical Imports which might reference the shop and/or its proprietor, "Trader Sam" as having been active in the Lost Delta during Dr. Albert Falls' 1891 expedition to map the Rivers of Adventure.[28]
- The expedition map which Sam and Roosevelt stand next to depicts the 1913-194 expedition through the River of Doubt.
- Sam was tour-guide of Walt's 1941 vacation to South America in Brazil, Argentina and Chile which inspired the film Saludos Amigos (1942).
- Concept art of Sam was used in the Enchanted Tiki Bar for the character, "Trader Bill". This name might be an allusion to Jungle Cruise botanist, Bill Evans.
- In Na'vi River Journey, Trader Sam's effective counterpart is the Shaman of Songs. This is due to the shaman being a rainforest Indigenous person with mystical powers who appears at the end of a Jungle Cruise attraction.
- Sam is the first of three characters in the Jungle Cruise to have been given the, "Trader Sam" moniker. The second is Chief Nah-mee and the third is their film counterpart. While Sam and Nah-mee are cousins, it is currently unknown if he has any similar connection to the Sam of the film.
- Sam is similar to the characters of Pecos Bill and Arabella Smith in the Disney Parks as both were proprietors of drinking-establishments that hosted famous figures. Both Smith and Sam were affiliated with Jack Sparrow, Blackbeard and Angelica Teach.
- It is unknown is Sam or his family have any connection to the Puka Michuna tribe from the Jungle Cruise film.
- Old promotional materials for the parks used the name of, "Salesman Sam".[29]
- Walt Disney, José, Prof. Tom Morrow and Trader Sam are referenced as agents of the Disneyland Casting Agency along with being characters in the Jungle Cruise mythos.
- Trader Sam, Chief Nah-mee and Ellie are similar to the Hitchhiking Ghosts from the Haunted Mansion in being audio-animatronic characters that acknowledged guests during the falling-action/denouement portion of their respective attraction. Nah-mee was also designed by Marc Davis who designed the hitchhiking ghosts.
- In a hallucination scene of the Disney+ series Loki, the Loki variant Sylvie drinks from Trader Sam's HippopotoMai-Tai with a mind-controlled member of the Time Variance Authority who had happy memories of the drink.
- The Missing Persons board of the Amazon River Base mentions individuals implied to be being killed by cannibals, who given the South American setting would likely be victims of Sam or his family. Amongst these are Emma Boylen, C.M. Cooken, and possibly B.N. Eaton.
- For 2024's Pixar Fest, a small depiction of the Pizza Planet truck from Toy Story made of jungle materials was added to Trader Sam's Gift Shop! as one of 50 Pizza Planet trucks hidden across the park.[30]
Gallery[]
![[31]](/wiki/File:Junglecruise2_tradersam_dl2015ww.jpg "Junglecruise2 tradersam dl2015ww.jpg (236 KB)")
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CRm0XY9hNqo/
- ↑ https://www.mousesteps.com/2011/09/25/detailed-look-at-trader-sams-enchanted-tiki-bar-disneyland-hotel-from-august-2011/2/
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/B2nA7-MAKn8/
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/Bem3CQMFiDj/
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BhP0WDNFHiR/
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CRhxm1Hg_ow/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvE1-PACWPw
- ↑ https://www.disneytouristblog.com/trader-sams-backstory-details/
- ↑ https://www.flickr.com/photos/inexorabletash/6401349501/in/photostream/
- ↑ https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/disney-trader-sams-menu-christmas-1904102599
- ↑ http://www.mainstgazette.com/2018/06/countless-tropical-locales.html
- ↑ http://disneylanddiva.blogspot.com/2012/04/
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CQwF5igADsI/
- ↑ https://mickeymousepark.com/disneyland-attraction.aspx?Page=3&Ident=474#Article
- ↑ https://wdwnt.com/2023/11/jingle-cruise-returns-2023-holiday-magic-kingdom/
- ↑ https://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions/jingle-cruise/gallery/03nov2023-jingle-cruise-2023/53571.htm
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=871455071077&set=oa.1903682069948046
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=871442062147&set=oa.1903682069948046
- ↑ https://www.mousesteps.com/2020/11/10/jingle-cruise-photos-and-video-2020-at-magic-kingdom/
- ↑ https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g14134868-d320634-i326395948-Tokyo_Disneyland-Maihama_Urayasu_Chiba_Prefecture_Kanto.html
- ↑ https://touringplans.com/blog/new-minnie-mouse-meet-greet-location-disneys-hollywood-studios/
- ↑ http://www.mainstgazette.com/2016/07/now-casting.html
- ↑ https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2015/12/16/full-review-the-new-jungle-navigation-co-ltd-skipper-canteen-in-disney-worlds-adventureland/
- ↑ https://www.disneygals.com/13009.html
- ↑ https://wdwnt.com/2017/11/review-jungle-navigation-co-ltd-skipper-canteen-magic-kingdom-radically-alters-menu/
- ↑ https://www.easywdw.com/easy/blog/review-skipper-canteen-new-menu-at-magic-kingdom/
- ↑ https://www.theboardgamefamily.com/2020/07/disney-jungle-cruise-board-game/
- ↑ https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/new-map-sits-at-the-entrance-to-the-queue-on-jungle-cruise-news-photo/1327854113
- ↑ http://www.omniluxe.net/wyw/jc.htm
- ↑ https://www.laughingplace.com/w/disney-parks/disneyland-pixar-fest-2024-hidden-pizza-planet-truck-guide/
- ↑ https://www.yesterland.com/junglecruise2.html