Disneyland’s Jungle Cruise skippers have long been the bull-goose studs of the park: Walt’s favorites, these castmembers got to fire actual blanks from a real pistol at a (fake) hippo and tell bad jokes about it. Sure, from time to time one would drop his gun in the drink and they’d have to get the frogmen to dredge the firearm back up before they could restart the ride, but damn, it was worth it just to have a real pistol in the hands of a 17-year-old with a bad sense of humor. Then they took the guns away — shooting at hippos was deemed inappropriate. Now, Disney’s embarked on a quest to get back to its roots now, and they’re giving the Jungle Boat skippers their guns back.
Giving the Jungle Cruise skippers their guns back is what seems to have delighted visitors the most, however.
“At least once a week somebody would get off the boat and say, `Hey, what happened to the guns?'” said Ribble’s daughter, Sherri, one of the ride’s operators.
Now, she says, people burst into applause when she opens fire.
(via Waxy!)