Why Is There Pink Water on the Jungle Cruise?

The Jungle Cruise is one of the most classic and beloved Disney theme park attractions, offering Guests a slow-moving ride into the jungle complete with only the best jokes and puns by talented Skippers.

While regulars at both Disneyland Park and the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World have likely ridden this attraction numerous times, have you ever noticed anything funky about the water? No, not the “backside of water,” or those thousands of types of bacteria your Skipper may have warned you about. We’re talking about the color of the water…

During a recent trip to Disneyland, Guests riding the Jungle Cruise caught the peculiar sight of the water that fills the attraction actually being pink. @FrshBakedDisney shared photos of the new brightly colored Jungle Cruise waterways to Twitter questioning if anyone else had seen it:

Anyone go on Jungle Cruise today and see this? 📸John L. pic.twitter.com/NTo6sYPIgX

— Fresh Baked! (@FrshBakedDisney) July 18, 2022

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After some speculation on the original Twitter thread, considering everything from “victims” of previous cruises to gender reveals for the reasoning behind the ride’s new, brightly colored hue, the general consensus is that the cleaning solutions used to disinfect the water on the attraction are to blame for the pink look.

We have seen pink rivers on the Jungle Cruise in Walt Disney World, too, and while you cannot typically see it as the lights are so dimmed, Pirates of the Caribbean has also been pink after past deep cleanings. We do have to wonder if Splash Mountain and “it’s a small world” are cleaned differently as we have not noticed pink water on those attractions, but on the Jungle Cruise if you ride right after the cleaning solutions is added you may see it.

The pink water in the Jungle Cruise fades rather quickly, so you may see variations on the color or you might miss it altogether even if it were pink recently. This color is obviously not consistent with the theme of the attraction, as the waterways are meant to represent actual rivers, so we would be curious to see if the Skippers come up with any new jokes based on the color of the water.

Don’t miss the Jungle Cruise (pink water or not) on your next trip to Disneyland or the Magic Kingdom. Check the Disneyland app or the My Disney Experience app for wait times, and enjoy your cruise through the jungle!