Can you believe it's August already? Where is the year going? Before
you know it, it will be Labor Day, and then the kids will go back to
school, and then you'll start seeing Halloween stuff everywhere, and
The Holidays Will Be Upon Us.
But
in the meantime, there's still plenty of summer left—plenty of hot
weather and late sunsets and not a lot of other commitments involving
school or calendar holidays. Perfect conditions, in other words, for
a barbecue! You know where else the weather is hot, the demands of
civilization have little to no hold on you, and people cook over open
fires? The untamed jungle. So for this installment of Kidnap
the Magic, I'll give
suggestions for turning your cookout party into a Jungle
Cruise-themed extravaganza!
Location
This is one event that must be held outdoors. A lot of people like to
hold barbecues on the beach, but that won't do for the Jungle Cruise.
You need a location with more shade and foliage. This might be a
backyard, a public park, or a campground. There should also be one or
more picnic tables available, ideally close to the trees and bushes.
Decor
This is the fun part, and the thing that makes this a Jungle
Cruise barbecue rather than a run-of-the-mill cookout. You're going
to turn each of your picnic tables into a reasonable facsimile of a
Jungle Cruise boat!
Step 1: Erect a rectangular canopy over the table. If you own
one the right size, great; if not, many party supply places rent them
out. Broadly speaking, the Cruise has gone through two distinct
“looks” throughout its history. The old-school canopies were
striped like circus tents, with an equally circus-y scalloped edge:
Since the mid-90s, to go with the pulp adventure theme of the Indiana
Jones Adventure next door, they've looked far more utilitarian:
Your choice of which look to use will likely be constrained by the
availability of canopies more than any other factor, so don't sweat
it too much. In any case, the real Jungle Cruisiness will come from
the other steps in the process.
Step 2: Hang some netting
underneath the canopy. Insect netting gives the right effect (and is
probably what the ride is trying to suggest), but a coarse black or
brown tulle from the fabric store also has the right general look and
will be much cheaper. If your canopy comes with hooks or rings around
the edge, use these as anchor points. Don't thread hooks directly
through the mesh as you risk tearing it; instead, tie it off at
regular points and attach the ties to the hooks/rings. If the canopy
doesn't come with these, simply string the mesh from pole to pole and
secure it.
Step 3: Fill the mesh with
small items of camping/survival gear—satchels, canteens, cookware,
lightweight binoculars, etc. Don't weigh it down too much and try to
distribute the weight evenly. If you have any boating accessories,
such as oars or life preservers, tie them onto the canopy supports.
Step 4: Attach a nametag to
the top of the canopy. You'll need to have made this beforehand, by
cutting the basic shape out of cardboard (or plywood if you want to
re-use it and are handy with a jigsaw) and painting the name on one
or both sides. Here is a template for the shape (click on it for the
full version)—blow it up to the size you want, print it out (you
might have to print it in sections and join them up afterward), and
use it as a stencil:
If you want to name the table after
an official Jungle Cruise boat and make the sign resemble the in-park
one as closely as possible, follow the appropriate link for a photo
to use as a guide:
(There used to be a Mekong Maiden
and Magdalena Maiden, but both were retired in the Nineties, probably
for being redundant.)
Alternately, you might want to come
up with your own name(s) for your table(s). Just make sure to follow
the basic pattern established by the ride: the name of an exotic
river plus a word or name indicating a woman.
The best method for attaching it to
your canopy will depend on the shape of the canopy and the size and
material of the sign, so I'm afraid you're on your own there. If
attaching it to the top doesn't work out, try affixing it to the side
of the canopy where it hangs over—what would be the eave on a
house.
After all that, anything else you
might do to decorate for your barbecue must seem like small
potatoes...but that doesn't mean you shouldn't bother. There's a lot
more you can do to bring across the feel of the Jungle Cruise. Set up
tiki torches for illumination if you expect the barbecue to run until
nightfall, or just for atmosphere otherwise. Hang up things like
African-style masks, tintype photos of explorers, or framed insect
collections...if you have such things that is; don't go out of your
way to acquire any unless you really love this idea and plan to do it
again. Use humor in your presentations—for example, wrapping rubber
snakes around soda bottles or displaying a hat like the ones the
skippers wear with a big bite taken out of the brim. Let your
creativity run wild!
Food
This being a barbecue, you'll need
to serve something grilled by definition.
If you really want to ramp up the Jungle Cruise theming, go full
Adventureland and make shish kebabs like the ones at the nearby Bengal
Barbecue. These come in chicken, beef, and vegetable varieties, but I
see no reason to necessarily limit yourself quite that much. Whatever
meats or veggies suit your fancy are appropriate. I do, however,
recommend eschewing traditional American barbecue sauce in favor of
spicy or tangy sauces such as those found in South and Southeast
Asian cuisine.
As for side dishes and drinks, here
you can be comfortably lazy. Tropical Imports sells bagged chips and
bottled soft drinks. Know what your guests like, and oblige! And
maybe have a fruit platter on hand too.
Music
You know me by now—I consider music an essential element of any
themed experience. But apparently I'm in good company—the
Imagineers do also, judging by the prevalence of background music in Disney parks. The Jungle Cruise is an interesting case since
all of its background music and audio is diegetic. The queue loop of
big band standards is a radio broadcast, complete with periodic news
spots and interference. Native drums occasionally drift in from the
jungle itself. You can replicate this effect pretty easily if you
have access to at least two CD or mp3 players with external speakers.
Put one in your eating area—on the serving table is good—and load
it up with your queue loop. The actual Jungle Cruise queue loop is
pretty easy to find online these days, or you could compose your own
playlist of big band songs with tropical or travel themes. Stick
another player in the foliage, turn the speakers way up, and play
jungle animal sounds. If you have a third one, put it even further
away and play subtle African drum music. (Make sure to collect all
your audio devices when you clean up after the party!)
Other
People
don't generally break out the party favors and games for a mere
barbecue, but just in case you want to go all out, here are a few
suggestions:
- Give out paper animal masks. You can find these at any large party supply store, though they are usually sized for children. Look for a section devoted to a “jungle” or “safari” theme to get the right sort of animals.
- For something a step above paper masks, pick up some jungle print bandanas at a craft store and give them to your guests to wear as neckerchiefs. Tiger, zebra, giraffe, and python prints are all fairly easy to find.
- If you need an activity, hold a comedy contest! Have everyone who wants to participate take turns telling jokes about tropical wildlife. Play as many rounds as people can stand, and whoever gets the biggest laugh—or, alternately, the loudest groan—wins a prize! The prize itself can be as sincere or as perfunctory as you like...this is the Jungle Cruise, after all. If you make it out alive, you're having a great day!
I
admit, the whole “picnic table as Jungle Cruise boat” idea is one
of the more elaborate ones I've had and I've never even had an
occasion to try it out. So I have no idea whether it would actually, you know, work. If anyone out there ever decides to give it a
shot, please let me know how it turns out!
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