Kali River Rapids

[Disney Vacation Planner]

Kali River Rapids is one of the most popular attractions within the Animal Kingdom, and hence also has long queues, though the ride is relatively quick to load so a long queue doesn't necessarily mean a particularly long wait, and it does give time to take in the great theming, which is excellent even by Disney's usually high standards.

Busch Gardens uses a simular ride system for its Congo River Rapids attraction. The potential to get soaking wet on Congo is very high, and the same applies to Kali. Note that at Splash Mountain the signs warn you that you "May get wet", at Kali River Rapids the signs tell you "You WILL get wet, you MAY get soaked", and this is a very apt description.

The ride itself is relatively short, although the actual ride duration depends on the number of rafts in operation, and the speed of loading/unloading. Either way it's considerably shorter than the 7 minutes that Disney originally claimed the ride would last. It is also a ride in which most guests will get very wet indeed, so prepare for a soaking, and remember to protect any sensitive electronics such as Cameras or Videos.

One nice feature of the ride is the handicap loading area, which is separate from the load turntable, so the ride can keep on running at normal speed while it may take a while to load/unload the other raft. Once raft containing the handicapped guest is ready to depart, they just lower the gate and the raft merges in with the other rafts.

The story behind the ride is that you are a part of an eco-tourist expedition, but a logging company has been illegally clearing part of the jungle, and has created dangerous rapids as a result.

During the course of the ride guests are loaded into a 12 seater raft, in which everyone sits in a circle facing inwards, and each other. After loading the raft is hoisted up the 33-foot lift hill, disappearing into a bamboo tunnel filled with jasmine and ginger scented mists.

The raft then passes through a rain forest (and you just know what rain means to a water ride), followed by a bamboo thicket rife with the smells of burning wood. Immediately after this section the raft plunges along a 230-foot section of white water, at the end of which it passes under a rock bridge with 40 ceiling drippers built in. On top of the bridge, park guests have the chance to activate 'Elephant Guns' that shoot jets of water at the Kali riders. (Well, I did say it's a wet ride!).

Located in the middle of the rafts course are a number of water geyers seemingly designed to make sure nobody leaves the raft dry. However, just as your about to hit the geyser, it dies down, but then jets again as the raft passes over it (Guests on the side closest as the raft leaves the geyser will get pretty soaked, but then everyone else in the raft will be getting wet befor e long anyway so it's only a case of who gets wet first.

After the climb, the raft quickly makes its way through the lush tropical jungle and to the burnt out remains of a logging companies work site. Just as the raft is about to be engulfed in flames, it drops down a moderately size flume (probably the most exciting part of the ride). As the raft spashes down, the people on the front end of the raft will get a major soaking.

The Kali River Rapids rafts have a small covered storage compartment in the middle of the raft to protect last-minute items that guests have taken onto the ride rather than storing in dry lockers before entering. Generally the compartment is reasonably waterproof, though will only take small items.

There are of course also lockers are at the front of the park next to the main gate, which may be a better bet for both safety and security.