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A FORMER Disneyland employee shocked the crew from Pawn Stars when he brought in a piece of an iconic attraction.
The Jungle Cruise is a staple at both Disneyland in California and Magic Kingdom in Florida.
A guest on Pawn Stars brought in an important piece of Disneyland history[/caption]
The boat is a miniature version of the real ones from the Jungle Cruise ride[/caption]
Guests take a 10-minute ride with an expert skipper who navigates around angry hippos, hungry lions, and some adorable zebras.
The attraction has been in place since Disneyland opened in 1955 and has remained largely unchanged.
There was a remote-controlled version of the ride at the Disneyland Hotel, where fans could drive miniature versions of the Jungle Cruise boats through obstacles.
Nick was one of the original Jungle Cruise skippers, and when Disney decommissioned the mini boats, he made sure to take one home.
After holding onto it for years, he decided to sell it and use the money to go on an actual cruise.
He took it to the experts from Pawn Stars, the hit History Channel show.
Rick Harrison and Chumlee instantly recognized the boat and were excited about the find.
Nick claimed that only two in the world worked, including his, and he wanted at least $5,500 for it.
Rick called in a Joel, a toy expert, to ensure the boat was the real thing and obtain an accurate price.
He was shocked that the boat was in such good condition and still contained all of the original hand-painted figurines, including the skipper.
The one thing that made it stand out was that it still works, even though Nick had to make repairs himself to get it back in commission.
“The Disney Jungle Cruise boats are extremely rare. They only made 22 of them, so if it works, the collector market is incredible for them,” Joel said.
Rick, Chumlee, Nick, and Joel all went to a local hotel to see if the boat could really worked.
Nick’s repairs worked, and they could control it and send it across the pool.
Joel said it was easily worth $7,000, but Rick offered Nick just $4,300.
After some back-and-forth, the two agreed on the price, and Rick said it was one of his favorite finds.
All about Jungle Cruise
The Jungle Cruise has been popular at Disney World and Disneyland since the parks opened.
The ride takes guests through famous rivers in Africa, Asia, and South America.
The Skipper is the most crucial part of the ride. Not only do they guide the boat around the animals and attractions in the river, but they’re also known for their jokes that keep laughing throughout the entire 10-minute ride.
There are Jungle Cruise rides at both American Disney parks, as well as in Tokyo Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland.
The ride even inspired a movie starring The Rock and Emily Blunt that came out in 2021.
DISNEY MAGIC
On PBS’ Antiques Roadshow, another Disney fan had an old drawing of Mickey Mouse that his dad gave him.
The collector explained that his great-aunt was given the drawing of Mickey Mouse and a mop holding two buckets from a scene in the 1940 animated classic Fantasia.
It stayed in the family for years and was displayed in his home for his entire life.
The appraiser, Philip Weiss, identified the drawing as an animation cell, which was used to create films and shows.
“This is classic, classic Mickey Mouse,” he said.
Mickey’s classic sorcerer outfit made the drawing very desirable for collectors.
“On a good day, at auction, I would definitely estimate this — I wouldn’t even hesitate to estimate this between $9,000 and $12,000,” Weiss told the collector.
The Pawn Stars staff found an old book that turned out to be worth $10,300 because of a secret page.
See the jewelry set worth $250,000 due to a rare coin used on one of the pieces.
