Comparing Adventurelands around the World

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Adventureland might just be my favourite land! Here I feel like I have stepped back to the year 1935 and am part of Indy’s latest adventure. This land, more than most, differs from park to park quite a bit with a variety of theming including jungle exploration, Agrabah adventures, and swashbuckling pirates.

Disneyland: The original Adventureland was based off of the True-Life Adventure documentary films produced by Walt Disney from 1948 to 1960. One of Disneyland’s opening day attractions was the Jungle Cruise. Walt originally wanted live animals to be featured, but this did not work out due to the animals sleeping or hiding most of the day so mechanical animals were built by Imagineers. In 1963, the Enchanted Tiki Room opened with Disney’s first audio-animatronics. These audio-animatronics are birds that serenaded guests with their songs written by the Sherman Brothers. Indiana Jones Adventure opened in 1995 which blended in with the Jungle Cruise as both attractions have the 1930s explorer theme, including big band music. Another major change happened to Adventureland in 1999 when the Swiss Family Treehouse was reimagined into Tarzan’s Treehouse to showcase Disney’s newest animated film. Recently, Disneyland announced that a new dining location will be coming to Adventureland called The Tropical Hideaway. It will be in the same location as a former restaurant Tahitian Terrace was from 1962 to 1993. The area was known as Aladdin’s Oasis for many years and was home to different shows and eateries.

Magic Kingdom: Magic Kingdom‘s Adventure land differs from Disneyland’s single theme by having multiple different adventure themes. The original section of Adventureland is jungle and Polynesian themed and opened with the Jungle Cruise, Swiss Family Treehouse, and Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room. Since then dining locations such as Aloha Isle, and the Jungle Skipper Canteen have been added. The Tiki Room has gone through many name changes over the years. This attraction first opened as Tropical Serenade. Then it became the Enchanted Tiki Room and then the Enchanted Tiki Room (Under New Management). Finally in August of 2011, it reopened as with its current name honouring Walt. The second area is Caribbean Plaza and is home to the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, a Pirate’s Adventure, Captain Jack’s Pirate Tutorial, and Tortuga Tavern. Magic Kingdom original opened without a Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, much to the disappointment of guests who had frequented Disneyland. This swashbuckling boat ride was so popular in Anaheim, that people just assumed this brand new Disney Park would open with something similar. It did not but Disney quickly corrected this by adding in Pirates of the Caribbean only two years later. The third area is right in the middle and is themed around the fictional city of Agrabah with the Magic Carpets of Aladdin. Watch out for those camels, they spit!

Tokyo Disneyland: In Tokyo, Adventureland is separated into two sections. One section has the typical jungle feel and the other is reminiscent of New Orleans Square in Disneyland. The buildings of the New Orleans part fade away from the World Bazaar buildings for a completely immersive transition that only Disney could do. Just like in Disneyland’s New Orleans Square, this section of Tokyo’s Adventureland has Pirates of the Caribbean, the Blue Bayou, and Café Orleans. Something unique to Tokyo Disneyland is that the Railroad only has one stop and it does not encircle the entire Park. The one station is in Adventureland and the Western River Railroad only journeys around Adventureland, Critter Country, and Westernland. Classic Adventureland attractions lay in the jungle section such as Swiss Family Treehouse. The Jungle Cruise is known as Jungle Cruise: Wildlife Expeditions and the Tiki Room has gone through a number of name changes as well. The Enchanted Tiki Room became known as The Enchanted Tiki Room: Now Playing “Get the Fever!” in 1999 and then became The Enchanted Tiki Room: Stitch Presents “Aloha E Komo Mai!” in 2008. In this newest version, the host birds are named Manu, Hanoli, Waha Nui, and Mahina.

Disneyland Paris: Adventureland in Disneyland Paris is huge! Right off of Main St. USA is the Adventureland Bazaar, themed around the city of Agrabah. Since the movie Aladdin was in production at the same time Disneyland Paris was being built, this section of the Park was heavily influenced by Disney’s new film. The next area is themed around Africa and contains a small village and the Restaurant Hakuna Matata. Next is an area themed around Asia. There is Colonel Hathi’s Pizza Outpost and way in the back corner is Indiana Jones et le Temple du Péril. Colonel Hathi is from the movie The Jungle Book, which takes place in India, and the Indiana Jones Attraction is based on the mine car chase in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, which also takes place in India. Right in the middle of Adventureland is Adventure Isle. This island is connected to the rest of Adventureland by a number of bridges. On the island is La Cabane des Robinson. Near Adventure Isle are many smaller walkthrough attractions such as Spyglass Hill, Pegleg Point, Skull Rock, Davey Jones Locker, and Captain’s Hook Ship. All of these are also connected to Caribbean Plaza, the last section of Adventureland. The Pirates of the Caribbean attraction is housed here in an old castle fortress.

Hong Kong Disneyland: In Adventureland, the Jungle River Cruise surrounds an island with Tarzan’s Treehouse in the centre, reminiscent of the Rivers of America at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Rafts transport guests to this small island, similar to Tom Sawyer Island. The Jungle River Cruise in Hong Kong Disneyland has a unique feature in that it offers excursions in three different languages: English, Cantonese, and Putonghua. This version also has a grand finale, unlike any other Jungle Cruise. The boats head into the canyon of the gods where the god of fire and the god of water battle it out! This is quite the eccentric spectacle resulting in a smothering of steam. Adventureland is also home to the Festival of the Lion King. This show is an amazing retelling of the beloved animated film with live performances of the classic songs with aerial stunts and beautiful choreography! There is also a section in Adventureland called The Pavilion. This is an area that features temporary shows, festivals, or attractions. Hong Kong Disneyland is undergoing some major expansions right now and part of that is the new Moana: A Homecoming Celebration show which opened in May 2018.

Shanghai Disneyland: Shanghai Disneyland is the only Park without an Adventureland. There is Adventure Isle and there is Treasure Cove. The reason I am including two Lands for the price of one for Shanghai is that despite having Adventure in the name, Adventure Isle is quite unique from the other Adventurelands whereas Treasure Cove is quite similar to the Caribbean Plaza sections of some of the other Adventurelands.
Adventure Isle: There are three E-ticket attractions in Adventure Isle. The first is Camp Discovery, a high ropes course that is unlike anything any Disney Park has seen before. Though if strapping into a harness and climbing up high in the sky is not your thing, there is Vista Trail, a walking trail designed for all-ages. Camp Discovery takes guests through Hidden Falls Chamber, Echo Cavern, and the House of the Ancients. Soaring Over the Horizon and Roaring Rapids are the two other attractions in Adventure Isle. There is quite the intricate backstory to Adventure Isle. It is home of the Arbori Tribe who believe in mythical creatures who protect the different realms. The snake Q’orangha protects the river realm, the fanged cat Q’ai protects the land, and the thunderbird Q’otár protects the skies. The crocodile creature Q’aráq lives deep in the mountains and can be found by journeying down the Roaring Rapids. Soaring Over the Horizon is located in the Arbori Tribe’s observatory and is meant to be an ancient portal.

Treasure Cove: The main attraction in Treasure Cove is Pirates of the Caribbean Battle for the Sunken Treasure. This attraction has its own spin on the classic Pirates attraction. Based heavily on the films, this attraction features some unbelievable special effects and uses a newly designed magnetic power to precisely control the boats the guests sit it. Like other Pirates rides, there is a restaurant in the attraction but this one is a quick service location called Barbossa’s Bounty. The Explorer Canoes are another attraction in Treasure Cove. The backstory is that these canoe tours are run by former pirate turned almost legitimate businessman Bilge Rat Bill. These self-powered canoes (yes, guests must put in the effort to get back to shore) take guests on a journey through both Treasure Cove and the Q’olari River of Adventure Isle.

Below is a chart to break down all of the attractions that can be found in each Adventureland around the world.

Disneyland	Magic Kingdom	Tokyo Disneyland	Disneyland Paris	Hong Kong Disneyland	Shanghai Disneyland
Tarzan’s Treehouse	Swiss Family Treehouse	Swiss Family Treehouse	La Cabane des Robinson	Tarzan’s Treehouse
Jungle Cruise	Jungle Cruise	Jungle Cruise: Wildlife Expeditions		Jungle River Cruise
	Pirates of the Caribbean	Pirates of the Caribbean	Pirates of the Caribbean		Pirates of the Caribbean Battle for the Sunken Treasure (Treasure Cove)
Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room	Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room	The Enchated Tiki Room: Stitch Presents “Aloha E Komo Mai!”
Indiana Jones Adventure			Indiana Jones et le Temple du Péril
			Pirate’s Beach		Shipwreck Shore (Treasure Cove)
			Pirate Galleon		Siren’s Revenge (Treasure Cove)
	A Pirate’s Adventure ~ Treasures of the Seven Seas
	Captain Jack Sparrow’s Pirate Tutorial
	The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
		Western River Railroad
		Lilo’s Luau & Fun
		Mickey’s Rainbow Luau
			Adventure Isle
			Le Passage Enchanté d’Aladdin
				Festival of the Lion King
				Liki Tikis
					Camp Discovery (Adventure Isle)
					Roaring Rapids (Adventure Isle )
					Soaring over the Horizon (Adventure Isle)
					Explorer Canoes (Treasure Cove)
					Tarzan: Call of the Jungle (Adventure Isle)
					Eye of the Storm: Captain Jack Stunt Spectacular (Tresure Cove)

Walt Disney’s dedication of Adventureland on opening day, July 17, 1955.

“Here is adventure. Here is romance. Here is mystery; tropical rivers silently flowing into the unknown; the unbelievable splendor of exotic flowers; the eerie sounds of the jungle…with eyes that are always watching. This is Adventureland.”