Taking the Skipper Out of the Jungle...

I spent 10 amazing years in the Attractions Department at the Happiest Place on Earth. For the overwhelming majority of those years, I was qualified to pilot the Ganges Gal, the Zambezi Miss, the Mekong Maiden, the Orinoco Adventuress, and the Hondo Hatie, or equivalent*, down the exotic rivers of the world. (*And for skippers that were in my class in the mid 90s, pre-governors on the engines, you know that there was no equivalent to the Ganges - that baby could create a wake!) But enough of my glory days speak. I may have thought of myself as pretty hot stuff in my time as a skipper, but I never put myself out there quite like the brave souls that participate regularly in Skipper Standup. This performance "by Skippers, for Skippers and their friends and family" has been happening regularly for the past several years at the local Maverick Theater in Fullerton, CA. For past and current Skippers of Disneyland's World Famous Jungle Cruise, Skipper Standup is an environment for their natural comedic abilities to take center stage, without any pressure from management (after all, even though the setting of the Jungle Cruise is built for comedy - with 40 passengers per boat providing their undivided attention, and humorous antics setting up jokes around every river bend - the skippers who pilot the decorated launches are expected to adhere to a strict spiel, approved by the show-protective executives at the corporate office). This was my first time out to see the show, and though the cast insisted it just wasn't the same without Skipper Standup founder David Marley (the reliable and consistent master of ceremonies and comedian in his own right, who had been admitted to the hospital earlier that day with food poisoning), I laughed out loud several times at the performance of the featured comics.

Please enjoy the highlights from the night's performance below, and be sure to stay connected to the Skipper Standup website for info on the next performance.


Mike Pucher



Chris Ramirez



Paul Stallings



Nik Lillard



Austyn Jeffs



Kaz Liput



Dr Knickerbocker & the Homo - in addition to their scheduled appearance, they graciously agreed to fill in for the sidelined David Marley on MC duties.



The Unsinkable Trevor Kelley



Joey Hurley