ANAHEIM – A 5-year-old girl’s fall into the Jungle Cruise waterway prompted the state to order safety changes to the Disneyland ride, according to a state report.

Crews recently added bumpers to the Jungle Cruise boats and minimized the gap between the dock and vehicles to make it easier for visitors to get on board. Jungle Cruise was closed for a week during construction and reopened in early August.

“We regularly look at ways to enhance the safety and show aspects of our attractions,” said Melissa Britt, a spokeswoman for the Disneyland Resort, in a statement. “The work on the Jungle Cruise was underway prior to the state inspection, and has been completed to our mutual satisfaction.”

The state Division of Occupational Safety and Health, which oversees theme park rides, received a complaint that a 5-year-old had fallen into the water between the dock and the boat while trying to get on the Jungle Cruise ride on Nov. 5.

“No injuries were reported but the safety of the passengers was of concern,” the report states.

Disney changed its procedures for loading visitors to reduce the gap after the November incident, but before the Jan. 12 investigation began.

Over a five-year period, two other people fell into the water and 15 others had “part or parts of their body” slip into the gap, which could be up to 9 inches, investigators reported. The water is four-feet deep in the load area.

The state ordered that Disney shrink the gap.

The gap is now about three inches; and the boats are now tied up during each loading and unloading.

During 2009 and 2010, the state investigated 10 reports of injuries or medical problems of Jungle Cruise riders. The Jungle Cruise was one of 10 theme park rides in Orange County with 10 or more reports during that two-year period.

Also, an Orange County Superior Court lawsuit is pending from a couple saying they were thrown from a seat when a Jungle Cruise boat hit an island.

The Jungle Cruise takes visitors on a seven-minute boat journey along a river with views of animatronic animals while skippers make corny, pun-filled jokes. The Jungle Cruise opened on Disneyland’s first day in 1955.

Find more Disney news on the OC Disney page.

Read a previous story about the Jungle Cruise changes at Disneyland.

Contact the writer: 714-704-3793 or stully@ocregister.com