A Friday Visit with Jim Korkis: Kali River Rapids

By Dave Shute

Welcome back to Fridays with Jim Korkis! Jim, the dean of Disney historians and author of Jim’s Gems in The easy Guide, writes about Walt Disney World history every Friday on yourfirstvisit.net.

KALI RIVER RAPIDS

By Jim Korkis

The Asia area opened at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 1999 and included the popular water ride Kali River Rapids.

Just as Walt Disney originally wanted live animals on the Jungle Cruise ride at Disneyland, Imagineers initially developed an attraction called Tiger Rapids Run for DAK. The attraction would be a water safari on large raft-like vehicles giving guests a different view of the tiger habitat as well as encounters with other animals before finishing by shooting the rapids and a drop that felt “like the bottom has dropped out of the river” according to project director Joe Rohde.

There are still examples of tigers in the final attraction including multiple references in the queue line as well as carved images on top of the wooden pagoda where guests board the rafts. Of course, the final animal stone sentinel at the top of the ninety foot lift at the beginning of the ride is a tiger at the entrance to Tiger Bay.

Even though it was planned as a much longer ride than the version that was finally built, Imagineers decided that because of the speed of the attraction, guests might only see animals for fleeting seconds and that the noise and movement from the guests and the vehicles might disturb the animals.

So the attraction was changed into a botanical expedition where guests could enjoy the scenic beauty of the forest and then be shocked at how it is being ravaged and burned by illegal logging just as Africa’s Kilimanjaro Safaris told the story of the dangers of poaching. Basically, the ride became an ecotourism experience with the sound of wildlife coming from hidden speakers.

All of this is explained in a voice-over during the queue line by the fictional owner:

“Hello, my name is Manisha Gurung. I am the founder and manager of Kali Rapids Expeditions. When you board one of our rafts, you can look forward to an exciting, safe and very wet trip down a stretch of beautiful river. My team and I believe that our river rides are more than just an exciting adventure. We believe they help spread a message to visitors about preserving wild places. Like our forest.

“All around Anandapur, logging companies in search of tropical hardwood have bitten deep into the jungle. When this happens, the traditional life of the village and forest is destroyed forever. I created this river rafting experience to demonstrate that there are nondestructive ways to bring revenue to the village because the more people like you care, the better chance our jungle has of surviving. Thanks for choosing Kali Rapids Expeditions. We hope your journey will show you a world that is truly worth saving.”

Guring and her family live in a house elevated on stilts near the entrance of the attraction. Since Guring is busy elsewhere, she fails to hear that the logging has gotten too close to the river so is not there to stop guests from being dispatched.

This ride was manufactured by Intamin (INTernational AMusement Installations), a Swiss company noted for thrill rides and roller coasters. It built the very first “river rapids ride” Thunder River for AstroWorld in 1980. The company was also responsible for Grizzly River Run at Disney’s California Adventure in 2001.

(c) Disney

Each circular raft with colorful individual names like Sherpa Surfer, Kali Bumper Car, and Manaslu Slammer seat twelve people around the perimeter as geysers, waterfalls, statues of water carriers and squirting elephants soak the guests.

The bobbing up and down and spinning journey goes down the Chakranadi meaning the “river that flows in a circle” in Sanskrit which is why the rafts return to the same place they disembarked. The name Kali refers to the Hindu Goddess of destruction referencing the smoldering charred tree trunks that originally featured fire effects.

Be warned that no matter what precautions you take, you will get wet but you MIGHT get soaked depending upon the twists and turns of fate.

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Thanks, Jim! And come back next Friday for even more from Jim Korkis!

In the meantime, check out his books, including Secret Stories of Walt Disney World: Things You Never You Never Knew, which reprints much material first written for this site, and The Vault of Walt: Volume 4, and his contributions to The easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit, all published by Theme Park Press.

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