Located in Animal Kingdom, Kali-River-Rapids is the perfect attraction on a summer day at Disney World. Found in the Asia section of this spectacular park, this water ride both excites and cools off my family on any hot Disney day.
Before the line, guests check to see if they are tall enough (thirty-eight inches or taller) to ride. Beside this measuring post is a sign that warns, “You will get wet. You may get soaked!” Maybe it should say, “You will get soaked. You may get drenched!” To relieve themselves of the heat on excessively hot days, crowds swarm the attraction, giving it a wait time of at least forty-five minutes.
Although the line was once about fifty minutes long, my family and I decided to ride it anyway because of the unbearable heat. After waiting about fifteen minutes, a cast member came up to us and gave us fast passes to use at that moment and more for later. We walked past hundreds of people in line, many with small children that were younger than us, wondering how the cast member chose us over any of those families.
Once at the front of the line to this constant-moving attraction, guests sit down in the ten-person raft and the exhilarating ride begins. The raft, slowly turning in circles, starts by immediately traveling up a steep hill (approximately 40 degrees). Once at the peak, the raft falls down the hill. As the boat impacts with the water, a huge splash is made, getting every passenger wet.
Traveling along the river, the orange raft makes guests wetter using geysers, waterfalls, and other unique objects. At one point, guests travel right over a geyser making everyone whose backs are facing it wet.
Eventually, guests come to a second hill larger than the first. Tension rises in the boat as people wonder how wet they will get. As they fall, the boat continues to spin. The people who are facing backwards when the raft makes contact with the water get drenched. Once, when my Grandpa took the worst of this splash, the phone he was covering with his hand got soaked, no longer working afterwards.
As the ride comes back to the starting point, multiple geysers spray people as they pass by. At one point, the boat floats under a bridge. Up on the bridge, spectators can click two buttons that will shoot water out of an elephant trunk at the passengers. We have discovered that it is fun to shoot these at friends and family members as we once did when we saw some of our companions sailing down the river.
Soaked but relieved, guests get off as they approach the exit and newcomers board. Sometimes, if there is little to no line, the cast members will let us go again without walking back through the line. Once we rode Kali-River-Rapids three times in a row, never getting off the boat. We declined a forth offer because we were already cooled off and wanted to ride other attractions too.
Of all the attractions in the four theme parks, Kali-River-Rapids best refreshes people and, for some, remains the most fun attraction in the park. I recommend that all people ride this attraction on a hot day, no matter how long the line is, even if it is your first and only day ever at this park.
- Brandon riding Kali-River-Rapids on his first trip to Disney World