The Legend of Albert Awol and the Jungle Cruise

Before you see sail past the Gorilla Camp (“Look what they did to my truck! They left the lights on. Now I’ll never get that thing to turn over”), before you see the African Veldt and those lions generously having a zebra over for dinner, even before you glide past the Back Side of Water, your adventure aboard the Jungle Cruise takes you back to the 1930s, courtesy of Albert Awol and the radio broadcast you hear in the queue.

In real life, the story of Albert Awol goes back to the 1990s, when Disney began to retheme the queues of many headliner attractions, introducing interactive elements and elaborate details. The idea was to extend the immersive experience of the attractions into the queue, and to give Guests something to do while they waited in line. (Hopefully that would make the wait time seem not so long!). These efforts would culminate in the elaborate interactive queue introduced to the Haunted Mansion in 2011. Today, the line between “queue” and attraction has become so blurred that it’s sometimes hard to know when one stops and the other begins (Rise of the Resistance is a great example of this.)
This may seem like a recent innovation, but an early example of this concept took place in 1991 in the Jungle Cruise. In its early years, the queue of the Jungle Cruise was a mundane affair – a room filled with switchbacks decorated with a few props and no background music. Just back and forth and back and forth (but at least it was indoors and out of the Florida sun!)
But that all ended in 1991. In addition to new signage out front, the queue got an extensive makeover, adding new props and story elements including posters advertising Jungle Navigation Company destinations and an artifact-laden “office.” Best of all, the makeover saw the introduction of musical soundtrack in the form of a radio broadcast of nostalgic tunes from the 1920s and 1930s. This is how we were introduced to Albert Awol, the “voice of the jungle.” (AWOL, get it?) In between songs, you would hear news, announcements, quizzes, reminders, and weather, all announced in Awol’s signature delivery. The show was aired by the DBC (Disney Broadcast Company), and filled the airwaves with music from the depression era of the early 20th century.
Albert Awol’s broadcast was only heard in the Magic Kingdom, not in Disneyland. In 2021, the audio loop in the queue was replaced by a new recording, hosted by Skipper Missy, Albert Awol’s sister. However, the Albert Awol loop returned in 2024 and is now what you hear today. Here is a partial transcription of Albert Awol’s broadcast, along with the song selections you can hear as you wait to board your boat.

This is Skipper Albert AWOL, the Voice of the Jungle, broadcasting on the DBC to all points unknown. If you’re within the sound of my voice, you are listening to AWOL Airwaves on the DBC.

And now, here’s today’s River Tip from Skipper Bill of the Congo Connie. Bill says, “If it rains in the jungle, who cares? That’s why they call it a rain forest.” Thanks, Bill.

Any travelers who may need to exchange foreign currency during their voyage needn’t worry. There are banks all along our rivers.

In addition to beautiful Malaysia, Burma, Siam and Cambodia, Lotus Tours offers two new destinations: Boston and French Lick, Indiana. (That can’t be right.) Uh, correction: That’s “Borneo” and “French Indochina.” Bookings may be made at any travel office within a thousand miles of this jungle outpost.

Attention Skippers. If you’re looking for some variety and need to log extra time at the wheel, another group of, uh, “volunteers” is being shanghaied for nighttime excursions down the Congo. These fascinating cruises through total darkness can be both exhilarating and unpredictable.

All Skippers should take note of the following changes along the Jungle Cruise rivers:

First, it is no longer considered sporty to hold small children over the edge of the boat while traveling through the hippo pool. Contrary to popular belief, this does not stop their ears from wiggling. That’s the hippos of course, not the children.

Second, due to the fact that a boatload of passengers onboard Zambesi Zelda entered a Cambodian ruin and failed to come out, any and all temple ruins are now off limits to your cruise.

And finally, passengers requesting extended tours should be referred directly to the booking office where they will receive immediate medical treatment.

If you ever wondered, yes, the songs are original jazz and big band recordings dating from the 1920s and 1930s. This is admittedly before most of us were around, so in case you’re curious, here is the complete song lineup:

Here Comes My Ball and Chain: The Coon-Sanders Original Nighthawk Orchestra (1928)
With Plenty of Money and You: Dick Powell (1936)
Jeepers Creepers: Louis Armstrong (1939)
Yes, Yes (My Baby Said Yes): Ambrose & His Orchestra (1931)
Song of India: Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra (1937)
It’s The Girl: The Boswell Sisters with the Dorsey Brothers (1931)
Rhythm King: The Coon-Sanders Original Nighthawk Orchestra (1928)
Love is Good for Anything that Ails You: The original song was written by Cliff Friend and Matty Malneck in 1931, while the version you hear was performed by Ida Sue McCune for the 1981 film Pennies From Heaven, in which it was lip-synced by Bernadette Peters
Harlem River Quiver: Duke Ellington and His Cotton Club Orchestra (1927)
What a Girl! What a Night!: The Coon-Sanders Original Nighthawk Orchestra (1928)
Diga Diga Doo: Duke Ellington & His Orchestra (1928)
Medley from Anything Goes featuring I Get a Kick Out of You and You’re the Tops: Peggy Healy and John Hauser accompanied by Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra (1934). The first verse of I Get a Kick Out of You begins, “I get no kick from champagne/Mere alcohol doesn’t thrill me at all…” Curiously, the original recording featured a second verse that began “Some, they may go for cocaine/I’m sure that if I took even one sniff/It would bore me terrifically too.” Understandably, this was edited out of the recoding you hear on the Jungle Cruise!
Let’s Misbehave: Irving Aaronson and His Commanders (1928)
Painting the Clouds with Sunshine: Jack Hylton & His Orchestra (1929)
The Mooche: Duke Ellington and Irving Mills (1928)
The King’s Horses (And the King’s Men): Jack Hylton and His Orchestra (1930)

Of course, if you end up hearing all these songs, that means the line for the Jungle Cruise was inordinately long (hopefully that was not the case!). But that leads to one of the best things about the Jungle Cruise. You can tour again and again and always see (and hear) new things. But in case things go amiss while you’re touring the world’s rivers, don’t forget this heartfelt sentiment from Albert: “Attention all travelers: if your name is added to the missing persons list at the end of your cruise, please accept our most sincere apologies. Thank you.” See? They care…