jungle cruise

A True-Life Jungle Cruise with National Geographic: The Mekong River

By Justin Arthur and the National Geographic Image Collection

In celebration of the “gnu” excitement coming to the Jungle Cruise attractions at Disneyland Park and Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom this summer, along with Disney’s Jungle Cruise, in theaters and on Disney+ Premiere Access on July 30, D23 has teamed up with the National Geographic Image Collection to explore some of the real-life rivers that have inspired Adventureland over the years!

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Don’t worry, they have their trunks on! The sacred Elephant bathing Pool of Walt Disney World’s Jungle Cruise, 1990, Disney.

Our first photo safari takes place on the Mighty Mekong river. In Adventureland, it provides a lush background for playful elephants, fearsome tigers, and enigmatic ruins.

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No ordinary root canal. Disneyland guests glide through ancient ruins, 1962, the Walt Disney Archives Collection.
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Nice kitty…a growling resident of Walt Disney World’s Jungle Cruise, 2013, Disney.

The National Geographic Image Collection archives began in 1919 as an illustration library, and contains over 64.5 million still images dating back to the 1860s. The ever-growing Image Collection is carefully preserved, curated and digitized, with new amazing photos from the pages of National Geographic magazine constantly added, making it one of the most significant photo collections in the world. D23 is pleased to partner with the expert team at the Image Collection to offer a glimpse into this vast archive and celebrate the Jungle Cruise!

The real-world Mekong river spans 2,700 miles and snakes through six Asian countries. Originating in the highlands of the Himalayas, the river begins in China and winds its way through vastly different landscapes in Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The lower basin of  the Mekong is home to a dazzling variety of plant and animal life, and crucial to the livelihoods of over 60 million people. The region, rapidly changing due to the impacts of humans, is also a crucial habitat to many endangered species, including tigers and Asian elephants.

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An Asian elephant calf makes his way through the grass in Lampang, Thailand, 2005.
Photo by William Albert Allard/National Geographic Image Collection.
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A young girl fishes in a tributary of the Mekong river, Thailand, 1967.
Photo by Dean Conger/National Geographic Image Collection.
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In China’s Yunnan Province, travelers cross an iron chain bridge that stretches over the Mekong River on the Dali City-Tengyue road, 1923.
Photo by Dr. Joseph F. Rock/National Geographic Image Collection.
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Appropriately named explorer and botanist Joseph F. Rock poses on the Feilungchiao (Flying Dragon) Bridge over the Mekong in China’s Yunnan Province, 1923.
Photo by Dr. Joseph F. Rock/National Geographic Image Collection.
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An Indochinese tiger makes his way through a bamboo forest, Thailand, 2010.
Photo by Steve Winter/National Geographic Image Collection.
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Incredible limestone cliffs, not to be taken for granite, alongside the rice fields in Vang Vieng, Laos, 1968.
Photo by W.E. Garrett/National Geographic Image Collection.
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A farmer urges his water buffalo to plow through the water, Laos, 1968.
Photo by W.E. Garrett, /National Geographic Image Collection.
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The Bayon Temple of Angkor Thom, Siem Reap, Cambodia, 1887.
Photo from the Fournereau Collection/National Geographic Image Collection.
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A sculpture rests on the ground at Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia, 1887.
Photo from the Dieulefils Collection/National Geographic Image Collection.
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Two monks peer over the Khmer temples of Angkor Wat, Cambodia, 1968.
Photo by W.E. Garrett/National Geographic Image Collection.
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A “little squirt” in the wild! An Asian elephant calf and its mother in India’s Nagarahole National Park, 1997.
Photo by Michael Nichols/National Geographic Image Collection.
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A farmer paddles along the Mekong River, Laos, 1968.
Photo by W.E. Garrett/National Geographic Image Collection.

If you enjoyed our tour of the real and fantastical Mekong river, join us next week as we explore another corner of the globe with National Geographic. If you didn’t enjoy the tour, my name is Daisy and this was Space Mountain!