The Jungle Cruise opened with the rest of Disneyland on July 17, 1955 to rave reviews. Although the attraction was popular, one day Walt heard a guest say (referring to the Jungle Cruise), "We don't need to go on that ride, we've already seen it.” Horrified, Disney realized that he needed to update Disneyland's attractions in order to keep the attention of return visitors. To accomplish this, Walt asked Marc Davis to refresh the Jungle Cruise. Davis changed the tone of the attraction, making it a humorous trip, as opposed to the danger filled adventure that it had previously been. To this end, Davis created the Indian Elephant Pool scene (which opened in 1962) as well as the African Veldt and Lost Safari scenes (which opened in 1964). At this time, the script for the Jungle Cruise was rewritten, giving it a much lighter (and pun dependent) narration.
[[Image:Junglewalt.jpg|300px|thumb|Walt Disney surveying Disneyland's Jungle Cruise]]
Due to its popularity in Disneyland, the Jungle Cruise was an obvious choice for inclusion in Walt Disney World's Adventureland. Under the watchful eye of Marc Davis, Disney World’s Jungle Cruise featured more "sight gags" and a longer ride time then its Disneyland counterpart. Scenes including: Inspiration Falls, the gorillas in the safari camp, pygmy war canoes, the Bengal Tiger, and the especially the Cambodian Ruins, gave Disney World's Jungle Cruise a unique feel. Construction began on the Jungle Cruise in the spring of 1969 and the attraction was ready for the Magic Kingdom's opening day on October 1, 1971.