Kali River Rapids
| Kali River Rapids | |
|---|---|
| Park | Disney's Animal Kingdom |
| Land / area | Asia |
| Type | River rapids ride |
| Opened | March 18, 1999 |
| Designer | Walt Disney Imagineering |
| Height req. | 38 in (97 cm) |
| Status | Operating |
Kali River Rapids is a river rapids ride in the Asia area of Disney's Animal Kingdom in the Walt Disney World Resort, Florida. Opened on March 18, 1999, it carries guests in circular rafts down the fictional Chakranadi River through a rainforest setting, passing scenes of illegal logging intended to illustrate the effects of deforestation. Built by Intamin, it was the first whitewater rapids attraction at any Disney park, and riders are warned in advance that they will get wet and may get soaked.
History
Early plans for the Asia expansion of Animal Kingdom envisaged a waterborne counterpart to Kilimanjaro Safaris in Africa: a rafting safari, worked on under the name Tiger Rapids Run, in which guests would float past live Asian animals including tigers. The concept proved impractical, since free-roaming animals and noisy, splashing rafts did not suit one another. The animal element was separated off and became the Maharajah Jungle Trek walking trail, while the river ride was developed on its own.
Renamed for Kali, the Hindu goddess associated with destruction and change, the attraction took deforestation as its subject instead. It opened on March 18, 1999, with the rest of the Asia land, nearly a year after the park itself. The ride circulates about 150,000 gallons of water, moved by a system of pumps concealed from view.
The attraction typically closes for a scheduled refurbishment during the cooler winter weeks each year, when demand for a soaking ride is at its lowest.
Experience
In the story of the attraction, guests are customers of Kali Rapids Expeditions, a rafting company founded by a local resident, Manisha Gurung, in the fictional township of Anandapur. The queue winds through the company's offices and through richly decorated temple and shrine spaces, with prayer flags, statues and carved figures establishing the setting, before reaching a rotating loading platform.
Groups of up to 12 board a round raft, each raft bearing its own name, such as Sherpa Surfer, Kathmandoozy, Manaslu Slammer and Bhaktapur Bubbler. A conveyor lift carries the raft up a roughly 90-foot lift hill through scented mist, past a geyser and under a canopy of planting. At the top the raft enters the river proper, drifting at first through a calmer stretch with waterfalls and carved stone figures that spout water at passing boats.
The mood changes as the raft reaches a section of river where logging has taken place. Burned and felled trees, abandoned logging equipment and a log jam replace the intact forest, and the current quickens. The raft then goes over the ride's main drop, about 30 feet (9 m), into the rapids below, spinning freely as it bounces through white water, under waterfalls and past further jets that other guests can trigger from a viewing bridge. The total ride time is about five minutes, and because the rafts spin, how wet any individual rider becomes depends largely on chance and on which seat faces the drop and the waterfalls. Riders must be at least 38 inches (97 cm) tall. Free lockers near the entrance are provided for belongings, and the rafts have a covered central storage area.
Incidents
On May 29, 2007, the ride was briefly closed after an evacuation platform malfunctioned, leaving five guests and one employee with minor injuries. It reopened following inspection.