Alberta Falls is the granddaughter of Dr. Albert Falls, the head of the Jungle Navigation Company in the 1930s, and founder of the Jungle Cruise.
History[]
1910s[]
Alberta Falls was born in 1911, the daughter of English historian Albert Falls, Jr. and Indian artist Sneh Falls. When she was a young girl, her parents travelled the world with her and took her to places such as New York, Cairo and London. When she was eight she went to spend time in the mansion of her paternal grandparents Dr. Albert Falls and adventuress Victoria Falls while her father was busy traveling on the lecture circuit and he recognized an adventurous spirit in her that would be better allowed to grow in the jungle.
1920s[]
With Albert Falls often going on adventures of his own, she was generally raised by the skippers of the Jungle Navigation Company and she considered them a second family. When she was young, her grandfather took her to Mystic Point and she would seemingly return later in life. Her grandfather also took her to New Zealand where she took in a kakapo as a pet, naming the creature Kamaka. In 1927 at age 16, Alberta traveled the Ganges River of India on her own aboard the Molopo Marie.
Shortly after her solo voyage, she inherited the Jungle Navigation Company from her grandfather when he mysteriously disappeared. On top of this, the Great Depression would hit about a year later, resulting in a downturn in business. As the new owner of the Jungle Navigation Company, Alberta would also come to work as the company's manager, bookkeeper and head-mechanic.
1930s[]
Seeking a solution to turn things around, she turned to the skippers for ideas and they suggested switching their business model from moving cargo to moving tourists. The first of these Jungle Cruises would be held on October 1, 1931 and these became very successful. The Adventureland Chamber of Commerce would name Alberta the Businesswoman of the Year in 1937 for her success with the Jungle Navigation Company.[1]
In 1938, a 27 year-old Alberta would open up the Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen, headquarters and Falls family home, to offer food for travellers. Also in 1938, Alberta arranged for a V.I.P. riverboat tour aboard the Kwango Kate under skipper Felix Pechman XIII. This tour included the likes of her close personal friend, painter Rosa Soto Dominguez, her cousin Siobhan "Puffy" Murphy, Canadian botanist Dr. Leonard Moss, and entomologist Dr. Kon Chunosuke of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers whom Alberta met along the river upon recognizing the S.E.A. logo of his equipment.
Due to the perpetual bad luck of skipper Felix, the boat was wrecked somewhere in North Africa. As a result, the stranded guests became stranded in the African veldt where they were chased up a tree by a rhino. The same year, Alberta looked after some powerful lenses sent by Aya Kouame-Beauciel to the Adventureland Treehouse's Daughter. Alberta's own further fate is unknown.
At some point in time she would take a vacation from the company and leave one of the four founding families of the JNC as caretakers to the company.
Appearances and allusions[]
Jungle Cruise[]
Skipper Canteen[]
A surreal portrait of Alberta hangs in the restaurant at the Magic Kingdom, next to a portrait of her grandfather.
A message from her is printed on the menus:
| Welcome to the Jungle Skipper Canteen! My name is Alberta and I'll be your owner, manager, bookkeeper, interior decorator, and sous chef for the next 3 courses (or as far as you get). My grandfather, Dr. Albert Falls, established the Jungle Navigation Company in 1911. His goal was to improve the way in which cargo moved up and down the jungle rivers for his fellow explorers and adventurers. When I was eight years old my parents sent me here to live in the jungle with my grandfather and the jungle boat skippers. I call the jungle my home and the crew members are my family. |
In other media[]
Jungle Cruise: Adventure Game[]
Released in June 2020, the story of the board game, explained in a letter accompanying the game's instructions, revolves around Alberta Falls looking to put one of four families in charge of looking after the Jungle Navigation Company while she takes a much needed vacation. These families, consisting of DeNyle, Cruz, Temple and Lyons all helped Dr. Albert Falls establish the company, with clues that players collect suggesting which family is being rewarded with the task.
Connections[]
It's a Small World[]
In her Daily Gnus interview, Alberta used the expression, "It's a Small World".
Mystic Manor[]
When she was young, Alberta travelled to Mystic Point with her grandfather, Mystic Point being the setting of Mystic Manor and home of Lord Henry Mystic.
Adventureland Treehouse[]
In a letter to the Daughter, Aya Kouame-Beauciel mentions that she had sent the Daughter's powerful lenses to Dr. Kon Chunosuke's field office at the Jungle Navigation Company, where Alberta would look after them until the daughter could pick them up.
Gallery[]
