Jungle Cruise vs. Kilimanjaro... Also, Eco Has Ruined Disney World For Me

On a recent trip to Walt Disney World, I realized that Umberto Eco has completely ruined Disney for me. This was most apparent on my most recent ride of the Jungle Cruise, which is a perfect example of Eco’s assertion that Disney tells us that the simulated is better than the real. The audioanimatronic animals do not even attempt to mask themselves as real; rather, they are cartoon-like, suggesting that the cuteness of cartoon animals is preferable to the possible grotesqueness of real animals in the jungle. I also found it interesting how the predictability of the Jungle Cruise, as Eco talks about, is preferable to the unpredictability of a real safari. As humans, we would rather know what is going to happen, as we take comfort in predictability; the Jungle Cruise offers this, while nature does not. This means that the Jungle Cruise can give us “more” than the real-life safari, on which there is no guarantee that guests will see any animals. In fact, we can control the animals, as demonstrated by the holiday version of the Jungle Cruise, “Jingle Cruise.” I had never been on this version of the ride before, and I found it funny that the animals, many of which were wearing Santa hats and scarves and playing with Christmas presents, give us “more” than real animals do. They are even more Disney-fied, as they are aware of the holiday season, something that real animals in the wild are obviously unaware of.
The Kilimanjaro Safari ride in Disney’s Animal Kingdom is another ride on which guests trek through the jungle in search of animals; however, this ride actually contains real animals. The animals are kept in enclosures that the guests cannot see, so they are always on display. Guests are made to believe that they are lucky to see the giraffes and lions so up close and “uncaged,” but these animals are always visible to guests on the safari.  The Kilimanjaro Safari does offer more unpredictability than the Jungle Cruise, as the animals are real, sentient beings that can act how they please, but they must do so within the constraints of the enclosure. This still feeds into the idea that Disney can give us more than reality can; by controlling where the animals are able to roam, Disney makes a planned sequence of viewing animals seem unplanned and unprecedented.
        Guests at Disney World do not have to worry about unpredictability, as they know that they will be able to see everything that they have come here to see, with no unforeseen changes or lack of entertainment possible. Everything at Disney World is timed to a T, from the audioanimatronics of the rides to the exact moment a parade begins down Main Street to the beginning of the fireworks show, “Wishes.” This predictability makes Disney World the ideal place for people who have grown up in our passive consumer culture, as they merely have to visit the parks in order to experience everything, rather than searching for these experiences in the real world.