A FORMER Disneyland employee shocked the Pawn Stars crew when he brought a piece of an iconic attraction with him.

The Jungle Cruise is an integral part of both Disneyland in California and Magic Kingdom in Florida.

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Guests take a 10-minute ride with an experienced captain who navigates around angry hippos, hungry lions and some cute zebras.

The attraction has been around since Disneyland opened in 1955 and has remained largely unchanged.

The Disneyland Hotel featured a remote-controlled version of the ride, where fans could pilot miniature versions of the Jungle Cruise boats through obstacles.

Nick was one of the original captains of the Jungle Cruise program and when Disney retired the mini boats, he made sure to take one home with him.

After keeping it for years, he decided to sell it and use the money to go on a real cruise.

He turned to the experts at Pawn Stars, the History Channel’s hit show.

Rick Harrison and Chumlee recognized the boat immediately and were thrilled with the find.

Nick claimed that only two of them worked in the world, including his, and he wanted at least $5,500 for them.

Rick called Joel, a toy expert, to make sure the boat was original and to get an accurate price.

He was shocked that the boat was in such good condition and still contained all of the original hand-painted figures, including the captain.

The special thing about it was that it still worked, although Nick had to repair it himself to get it working again.

“The Disney Jungle Cruise boats are extremely rare. Only 22 of them were made, so if it works, the collector market for them is incredible,” said Joel.

Rick, Chumlee, Nick and Joel all went to a local hotel to see if the boat actually worked.

Nick’s repairs worked and they were able to get it under control and send it across the pool.

Joel said it was easily worth $7,000, but Rick only offered Nick $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 since the parks opened at Disney World and Disneyland.

The trip takes guests through famous rivers in Africa, Asia and South America.

The captain is the most important part of the ride. Not only does he steer the boat around the animals and attractions in the river, but he is also known for his jokes that provide laughs throughout the entire 10-minute ride.

There are Jungle Cruise rides at both American Disney parks as well as at Tokyo Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland.

The ride even inspired a movie starring The Rock and Emily Blunt, which was released in 2021.

DISNEY MAGIC

On PBS’s Antiques Roadshow, another Disney fan had an old drawing of Mickey Mouse that he had received from his father.

The collector explained that his great aunt was given the drawing of Mickey Mouse and a mop with two buckets from a scene in the 1940 cartoon classic Fantasia.

It remained in the family for many years and was displayed in his home throughout his life.

Expert Philip Weiss identified the drawing as an animation cell used to create films and shows.

“This is classic, classic Mickey Mouse,” he said.

Mickey’s classic wizard outfit made the drawing very desirable among collectors.

“On a good day, I would definitely value it at auction – I wouldn’t even hesitate to value it at $9,000 to $12,000,” Weiss told the collector.

Pawn Stars staff found an old book worth $10,300 due to a secret page.

Check out the jewelry set that’s worth $250,000 due to the rare coin used in one of the pieces.