This ride only gets a 5 because of theming. The line up was huge when I went on this ride. The ride itself is so short that I remember far more about the line up theming than the ride itself. The ride has at least a 10:1 ratio of waiting to actual ride time. Not good math! I wish they would have spent more money on the ride itself and less on the theming. I had already been to Splash mountain and the water rides at Islands of Adventure and this ride was in the minor leagues by comparison.

I am suprised to read some of the tough reviews for this ride. I have rode it several times and always enjoyed it. Last one was April 8, 2006. Lines were very good (maybe everyone was at Exhibtion Everest??) and it was an enjoyable ride. It is not spectacular, but what what it is, its fun.

When I visited Animal Kingdom back in 2000, I loved the Kali River Rapids and thought that it was the best river rapids ride out there by far thanks to that climatic final drop and the soaking potential of the ride. Flash forward to my last few rides this past summer, and boy has my opinion changed for this. After riding many other examples of this type of ride (at the time I had only been on Story Land’s tame Dr. Geyser’s), this one actually plummeted from the best of the best, to a mixed-bag of an attraction. Nonetheless, the Kali River Rapids is a pretty darn enjoyable expedition that strays from the formula of most rapids rides with mixed results.

First off, I just have to address the sensational job Disney did theming the attraction. It’s just incredible! I really felt like they’re immersed in a jungle both on the ride and during the lengthy queue line that meandered through the tranquil woods. Also adding to the effect is how almost all of the entire attraction is concealed from view off-ride thanks to the park’s abundant landscaping.

Being one of the park’s more thrilling attractions and the park’s only true water ride, you’d expect that this would garner pretty long waits on hot summer days. Well, while the attraction has Fastpass, the longest lines I ever seen for this have been around 20 minutes! Why? Well, Disney implemented a revolving loading platform to speed up loading exponentially and boy did they succeed. Like a well-oiled machine, riders are rapidly assigned a raft and quickly strapped in their respective seats without any shenanigans. One extra note, if you want to ride this without a wait, ride this within the last hour of closing and you probably won’t have any wait at all. In fact, I rode this 3 straight times without even having to get off!

Onto the ride itself, Kali begins with a lift like many of the ones I’ve been on, only this one is far larger than the others. Not only is it larger, but along the lift hill are some beautiful cobras that dampen all riders with a refreshing mist. Well, after cresting the top of the lift hill there stands a visually stunning geyser that sends torrents of water hurtling high towards the sky. At first this appears like it will surly drench the entire vehicle, but at the last second it recedes, leading to about half the boat only getting pretty wet. Following that is a tranquil journey through the jungle that really captures the feel of a river cruise with the flawlessly executed audio streamed along with the lush vegetation.

However, this picturesque scene soon goes up in flames literally, as a once glorious Asian village quickly erupts into a blazing inferno that shows the absolute devastation that fire can cause nature. But then comes the ride’s saving grace, it’s legendary drop. For a river rapids ride, the drop is absolutely massive and it would be hard to imagine a river rapids ride out there with a bigger drop. The drop is simply an achievement even for Disney, as it’s quite steep and executed to perfection, providing some great thrills on the way down thanks to the unique sensation it provides, especially if you’re fortunate enough to be descending backwards. And speaking of going backwards, whoever goes down backwards will be wringing their clothing for weeks, as a massive wall of water flies over the raft soaking those fortunate (or unfortunate depending on your perspective) riders.

Afterwards the ride simply begins a horrid downward spiral. Instead of building on the immense soak the drop provided, another tranquil journey through the jungle is instead substituted in. While this one goes at a much faster pace, the only elements featured during this section is some sparse theming consisting of only a few sprayers that narrowly avoid riders’ heads (however they usually hit their hands since everyone always tries to deflect the streams). Sadly, the ride is over immediately after and is just too short for my liking.

While I love that incredible drop and the top-notch theming sustained throughout, that’s really all I like about the ride since it unfortunately has many shortcomings that really hamper the entire experience for me. Most noticeable is the lack of any rapids at all. Isn’t this called the Kali River Rapids? Where are the rapids? It wouldn’t be so much of a problem if there were other means for getting riders wet or soaked, but the only way to get drenched is that final drop and the geyser toward the beginning just gets some people moderately wet, but no more. Other than that there is nothing to get riders wet. I doubt that in the future that Disney would consider modifying this attraction to include rapids, but I would definitely be in favor of that revision if it was considered since it would really make this attraction that much better and possibly able to reclaim the title for my favorite river rapids ride.

Despite the shortcomings, the Kali River Rapids still is an above average river rapids ride. The drop and incredible theming alone merit a ride, even though it lacks any rapids whatsoever. Despite how some can come off dry, don’t chance it and wear a bathing suit because there still is the chance you’ll come off absolutely drenched from head to toe and regret it later. While Disney did some things right, I really frown upon how few elements are included that are capable of getting riders wet. Still, despite being somewhat of a letdown, Kali is a mixed-bag and one of the park’s best attractions.

I believe this to be one of the best layouts of a river raft ride in all that I have ridden. First off, the que for the ride was phenominal, the first part you can see the monkeys from and exhibit in the park, and then as you travel through, the rooms you go through are absolutely stuffed with detail and interest me everytime im in the line. Then you get on the ordinary raft and away you go! The drop, though not really steep, still gives you an interesting feeling, going down it at different angles each time you ride. Then the sets and props of the ride are among the elite of raft rides, so realistic, its scary. And the best part of this ride? You actually get wet. Not just wet, drenched! You will never get off this ride without a thourough drenching from the rivers many dips and fountains. On a hot day, this is an absolutely must visit ride. I would suggest kids 6 and older due to drops and mild scary images. You wont find a better river rapids ride anywhere else.

I mean its no big water attraction. Still very popular. Need to make it longer. I mean the drop at the end isnt enough. One time I rode it and didnt even get sprinkled.

Although this river rapids ride is rather short, it does have some unique elements that I’ve never seen before on a rapids ride (I’ve only been on a few though, so I’m quite ignorant on the subject). There is a large water sprout in the beginning of the ride which could get you drenched if you’re in the right spot. There is also a large drop that makes a big splash. The ride’s theming also makes this ride more enjoyable. Kali River Rapids is also the first rapids ride I’ve ever been on that actually had a story behind it. If you happen to be in the park, Kali River Rapids is worth a ride.

one of the longest waits at disney. The ride is just bad. Very short for a rapid ride. You hardly get wet and why are the logges burning. They tell you nothing about logging in the whole ride. I didnt know asia had a big problem logging.

A great river raft ride. Most arent themed very well, but this one was overly themed if anything. Best ride in park!

For Disneys standards this is pretty sub-par. The theming is lacking except in the one part with the fire/burning village. The drop is just about the only other interesting part, besides that you are just turning through trees. The amount of wet-ness you get is entirely luck of the draw; Ive came off the ride soaking wet and Ive also came off with only a few drops on my shirt. Either way, for what it is, its only okay.

When I compare this ride with Disney California Adventures version, SeaWorlds and Islands of Adventure, this ride is pathetic!