Nearby the booking office and docks of the Jungle Navigation Company is another, somewhat less prominent, Adventureland business - Shrunken Ned's Junior Jungle Boats.
Ned operates a driving school of sorts, training prospective skippers on the ins and outs of navigating a jungle steamer - albeit a much smaller one than those in use on the Jungle Cruise itself. There are plenty of fun and "treacherous" obstacles here to test a pilot's mettle, preparing them for future encounters with charging hippos and the backside of water.
Some of the crates in the area even identify Ned's Skipper Training School.
Editor's Challenge: Can anyone identify the significance of the "Est. 1854" reference? I can't seem to find anything on it. It's possible that the date was selected at random by the graphic designer, but nearly every detail of this sort in the Disney Parks is there for a reason. Anyone know (or have a good guess)?
I have no idea if this is the reason behind the 1854, but it could be....
ReplyDeleteI Googled jungle expedition 1854 and received a number of results about the U.S. Darién Exploring Expedition of 1854. It was an exploration led by Isaac Strain to find a definitive route for a canal across the isthmus of Panama. The exploration was a failure and was a disaster on par with the Donner party.
Again, I have no idea if there's any connection between the two or not, but there's always a chance it could be.