Josh Gad Trades Arendelle for the Jungle at Disneyland

February 28, 2023, 7:34 PM · A stint working the Jungle Cruise is usually one of a cast member's first steps up the ladder at The Walt Disney Company. But Frozen's Josh Gad is doing things a bit differently.

When Disney enshrined Josh, along with other "Frozen" cast members, as a Disney Legend at last year's D23 Expo in Anaheim, he joked that he had failed to get hired as a Jungle Cruise skipper decades earlier.

Now, Disney is making amends by giving Josh a shift in the Jungle at Disneyland. Here is the video of this Disney Legend's rookie voyage as a skipper, courtesy Disney Parks.

With "Arendelle" listed as his hometown on his name tag, perhaps a work visa issue kept Disney from hiring Josh? Yes, at least a couple of other Arendelle natives are working in Disney's theme parks, but I am guessing that they enjoy some form of diplomatic courtesy, given their royal status.

At least the recent California weather was accommodating for a supposed native of a "Frozen" land. Unfortunately, however, the crew that Disney assigned Josh to guide on his Jungle Cruise boat seemed as cold as the winter air in Arendelle at the start. But everyone warmed up as the trip got underway.

Josh certainly showed his command of classic Jungle jokes, including the iconic "backside of water" gag. But he did himself proudest by continuing the tradition of throwing other cast members under the bus, er, boat, with his farewell.

"If you enjoyed this video, I'm Josh Gad. If you didn't, I'm Josh D'Amaro."

Well played.

Visiting Disney?

For our reader rankings and advice on visit the Disney theme parks in the U.S., including links to discounts on tickets, please visit our park listing pages:

And for more theme park news in your email in-box each Wednesday, please sign up for Theme Park Insider's weekly newsletter.

Replies (5)

February 28, 2023 at 7:42 PM

Disney legend? That’s a stretch :))

February 28, 2023 at 9:03 PM

I've been outted.

March 1, 2023 at 3:20 PM

@80sMan....That Olaf money can speed up the legend process! Lol

@TH - It was only a matter of time!

March 1, 2023 at 10:56 PM

He is a great guy, heard how he calls up sick kids as Olaf to talk to them.

March 2, 2023 at 1:13 PM

He'd done a lot at Disney: Frozen, the many Olaf-related cameos in other media, Some Phineas and Ferb, The Animal Kingdom series on Disney+, Star Wars Rebels, the live action Beauty and the Beast, Artimis Fowl, and the upcoming Honey I Shrunk the Kids reboot film.

This article has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.

Vacation deals

Park tickets

Subscribe by email

Subscribe by RSS

New attraction reviews

News archive