Attraction Review- Kali River Rapids

I'll be honest, there aren't many places that I can visit, get drenched with freezing cold water, and yet still somehow have an enjoyable experience. Whilst this of course excludes swimming pools, Waterparks and the like (I make no secret of the fact that I love swimming, especially at Typhoon Lagoon), it certainly speaks volumes for a place if people actually visit it in the knowledge that they may well leave soaked through, and are still enthusiastic about it.

Naturally, Walt Disney World is one of the only places where this is true for me, as I'm sure it is for many of you. More specifically, I'm talking about an attraction over in the Asia area of the Animal Kingdom, the abundantly popular Kali River Rapids. Disney's first ever river rapids type ride, Kali River Rapids whisks adventurous guests around the winding Chakranadi River in 12 passenger circular rafts, which spin freely throughout the journey. This is due to them not being attached to a track at any point of the course, with even the lift hill using a conveyor system, and therefore makes this ride one of Walt Disney World's most unpredictable, especially with regards to how soaked you will get on this ride. Whilst some people do somehow survive without taking home half of the Chakranadi in their trainers, you will more often than not get wet, and completely soaked if you're going backwards down the attraction's sole drop. My advice would be to bring a heavy duty poncho with you to the park if you don't want to get wet, and not to buy one from Disney. I hate to criticise them, but whilst the design of the poncho is pretty cool, the price is a bit too high. Yes, the Disney ponchos are remarkably durable, but if you're just going to use it for Kali, buy a cheap one outside the parks. There are some great poncho tips on this DisBoards Thread if you want to learn more.

Kali River Rapids is a slow loader, and is for obvious reasons very popular on hot Florida days, which are plentiful. Therefore, you will on occasions have to wait a considerable amount of time to board your creatively named boat and begin your adventure. In spite of this, during your wait you will be treated to one of the most elaborately and thoroughly themed queues in the whole of Walt Disney World. The line contains many beautiful artefacts, and in my opinion just pips Everest's as the park's best, meaning that encountering a long line here isn't necessarily as bad as if you were waiting for an attraction with a plainer queue.

My only big complaint with the queue for this awesome ride is that the immersion is slightly blighted by the sound effects which can be heard about midway through the line. Seeing as the ride seeks to highlight the problem of deforestation, a chainsaw sound effect can be heard in the distance for a good stretch of the queue, and regularly proves to be a distraction to guests. Whilst I do get that the Imagineers were merely looking to explore this aspect of the attraction's theme to initiate the storytelling, the sound is so realistic that it leaves many guests to believe that there is actually a construction project going on nearby in the park. Indeed, almost every time I go through this line, I begin to wonder if this is really the case, before remembering that the noise is merely an element of the theming. I have also spoken to several other people around me in line who reported being similarly fooled by this clever sound effect. This certainly says something for the Imagineers' ability to create immersive and convincing themed environments, even if the effect doesn't have its desired impact on guests' understanding of the developing storyline. I understand that it would prove difficult to do this, too.

It's a given that Kali's line will always be at its peak during the warmer hours of the day, as droves of guests seek escape from the searing heat which Animal Kingdom has a reputation for. With any other, drier attraction, the simple solution to this problem would be to visit either at the beginning or end of the day, when the attraction is understandably much quieter. However, due to the amount of freezing cold water which is one of the main 'joys' of the Kali River Rapids experience, it's considerably more uncomfortable to ride it at the beginning or end of the day, the time when temperatures are at their lowest. Whilst this isn't the case every day, especially in the May to September period, the temperatures in Florida can fluctuate quite dramatically, so if Kali is a priority for you it's well worth checking the forecast a couple of days before you visit the Animal Kingdom, and adjusting your touring strategy accordingly.

Of course, you would then think that Fastpass would be the way to go to get on Kali at a time when it's actually warm enough without waiting too much. There are two reasons why that might not be the best idea. Firstly, there are other attractions in the Animal Kingdom which you're much better off getting Fastpass for due to several factors, namely Expedition Everest and Kilimanjaro Safaris, and to a lesser extent Dinosaur and Primeval Whirl. Secondly, whilst getting a Fastpass for Kali is usually surprisingly simple, actually using it isn't. The two lines don't actually split until about a third of the way through the standby line, and most of the time that they run side by side there is little or no division between them. The part where the two do split has no partition whatsoever, and I've never seen a Cast Member managing that part of the line. This leads to embarrassment for Fastpass guests who must often squeeze past those in the standby line, as well as anger for the Standby guests, especially those who don't understand the Fastpass system and believe the Fastpass holders are attempting to jump the line. Whilst this only relates to my own personal experiences, and I'm sure it isn't always the case, I have found it to be a problem in the past, so thought it was worth mentioning.

As with every Walt Disney World attraction which offers Fastpass, both the Standby Line and Fastpass itself have their pros and cons, it's ultimately your decision how you get to experience this awesome attraction!

Below I have commented on how I rate Kali River Rapids in the following areas, and why (I have rearranged the order this week, to make the article flow better):

Theming~ 10/10
There's no other way to put it- the theming of Kali River Rapids is perfect. I consider landscaping and horticultural features to be a massively important part of aesthetics, especially in environments like the Disney Parks, and therefore believe that Animal Kingdom is Walt Disney World's most beautiful park. As with every Disney Park, everything comes together wonderfully to create a stunningly realistic environment which immerses you in the enchanting stories from the moment you set foot in the park to the moment which you depart it. And while Animal Kingdom is the most beautiful park, I think that Kali River Rapids and the surrounding area is the most beautiful part of it, even more so than the Oasis, which also holds a special place in my heart. When I visit Kali River Rapids, I feel so very immersed in the story, and have fond memories of actually thinking that my hotel room was part of the queue on a very hot day the first time I visited WDW- it's that believable! I'm not saying that other Disney Attractions don't boast believable environments, every single one does so, rather that Kali does more so than some of the others.
It's a bit like staying at a Disney Resort, for (a pretty bad) example. I'm sure that we all want to stay at a Deluxe Resort on our Disney trips, as they boast more amenities, better facilities and richer theming. However, for whatever reason, we may not be able to stay at the Contemporary, for example, and so will opt to stay at a Moderate or Value Resort, such as Coronado Springs or Art of Animation. Whilst, when given the choice, we might still want to stay at the Deluxe, we're still thrilled to be staying at the Moderate or Value, as they're still Disney, still out of this world. Not a very good example at all, I know, especially since there aren't to many limitations with regards to experiencing attractions, but I hope you get what I'm saying! Anyway, the theming on Kali River Rapids is simply sublime (let's just ignore any misleading sound effects for the moment), and is, as I say about many parts of Walt Disney World, a real testament to the talent of the awesome Imagineers. The central theme of the attraction is a focus on conservation of the rainforests rather than the animal inhabitants themselves, highlighting the problems caused by deforestation and other forms of habitat destruction, thus fitting with the theme of the park itself. This message is perfectly conveyed by the striking juxtaposition guests encounter as their raft floats out of the lush rainforest, and picks up pace (showing the effects of deforestation on the river itself and other aspects of the local geographical landscape), as it passes through an area which has been 'destroyed' by loggers, before plunging down Kali's famous 30 foot drop.

Thrill~ 9/10
Thanks to the amazing theming, Kali scores highly for the sensual thrill, as guests are enthralled by the beautiful landscape which surrounds the river. The kinetic thrills are also in the limelight here- with the boats free to float and spin pretty spontaneously along the river there's never a dull moment.

Scariness~ 8/10
Apart from the deforestation and drop section, this ride is *relatively* calm, with just the occasional splash to worry about. The section in question is fast moving and turbulent, and is made worse if you're facing backwards. Thankfully, this usually won't last long, as the rafts are constantly freely spinning due to the river's fast and winding course. Facing backwards at any point of this ride can be intimidating, let alone when going down the drop, when you'll experience a double whammy of not only going down backwards, but being the ones in the boat who get absolutely drenched courtesy of the huge wave created by the raft's decent. Uncertainty plays a sizeable role here too- not only do you have little indication of when you'll be facing backwards, when you are you have little or no idea, depending on whether you've ridden Kali before or not, where your vessel is headed, and if you will be randomly doused by ice cold water, but hey, that's half the fun. If you think about it, in this sense, Kali's actually scarier than Expedition Everest, which by the way you get a great view of just before the big drop.

Educational~ 10/10
Perhaps it's less so than Epcot, but there's no mistaking the fact that Animal Kingdom is an educational park. As I discussed earlier, Kali's strongly themed to promote conservation, and to shine a light on the shocking problems caused by deforestation for the beautiful environments we love our planet for, and the fascinating creatures we share it with. As I'm sure you're well aware, deforestation is a very big, very real dilemma faced by every single precious rainforest on our planet, and is tragically causing their areas to decline at an alarming rate. Not only is this bad news for us, as less trees means more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, hence speeding up climate change, it's even worse news for the thousands of species, many still undiscovered, who exclusively call rainforests their home. I'm extremely passionate about preserving our amazing planet, and am therefore ecstatic to see Disney endeavouring to educate their guests about these issues, by highlighting them in attractions in their parks. I just really hope that as many Animal Kingdom visitors understand what Disney are doing here as possible, so that deforestation might be done less, or even stopped altogether.

Fun~ 9/10
The great thing about Kali is that it perfectly balances a very serious conservation message with an incredibly fun attraction that everyone can enjoy. Whilst not everyone sees getting soaked through with water as a particularly enjoyable activity, especially at colder times (see above), the unpredictability and thrill of Kali makes it unmissable.

Repeatabilty~ 8/10
Whilst it's the same basic ride every time, as I have mentioned, it's extremely unpredictable as to which direction you'll be facing at different points of the ride, and can therefore give you a different experience every time you ride Kali. This also means that you'll pick up new little details almost every time, especially since the theming of this ride is so good. This is especially true for the queue, which has so much to look at that it's impossible to take it all in on just one walkthrough. I would recommend that you ride Kali as much as you can, as the spinning boats can lead to you missing out on parts of theming, and there's so much to look at throughout the whole experience.

Interactivity~ 6/10
Whilst neither the queue or ride have any interactive elements, there is a neat little system where guests exiting or watching the ride from a bridge can control jets of water which are directed at riders as their boat approaches the unloading platform. Unlike similar features at non Disney parks, this is completely free, and merely involves pressing a button. It's immensely fun to control, especially as the jets come from the trunks of some beautiful Elephant statues, though admittedly it's not quite as amusing if you're on the ride! In most instances, the raft will be stationary for a short time, so those guests on it are like sitting ducks.

And finally, my overall rating of Kali River Rapids~ 10/10
The numbers say it all, Kali River Rapids is truly a superb attraction. Whilst many people complain that it's far too short, I think that it's a great length, and that Disney have done a great job with it. Whilst it could maybe be ever so slightly longer, this really doesn't bother me- it's just such a well designed experience.

So what are your thoughts? Do you share my concerns about the Fastpass Line, and are my ratings accurate enough? Please don't hesitate to share- it's always a treat to hear from you! You can on the Facebook Page, in the comments, or by emailing me at worldofdreamsblog@gmail.com
Thanks for reading, I hope you're having a magical week!