Can I survive Kali River Rapids without becoming a drowned rat?

[Local_Girl]

Our plan last Dec. was to do Kali as the last ride of the day, right before leaving the AK. We did get soaked, but I had brought a change of clothes (left in the car so we didn't have to carry them around all day). We changed the kids at the car so they wouldn't be cold and went straight back to the hotel to shower and get ready for the evening. Worked well for us!

 

[parrotheadlois]

My dh, ds and her dh all road Kali last Fall 3 times in a row. We wore our bathing suits, and river shorts. I had a button up short-sleeve shirt on. We took off our sneaks and I took off the button up-shirt and put them in zip lock bags in the middle. The river shorts dry quickly. Once we finally left the ride, after drying off (next time I'll pack a small towel), dressed and we were ready to go again! (Wet hair, that's what hats are for!) We had a ball! We looked like one of those WDW commercials highlighting the joys of Disney without kids!!!

 

[marymrg]

When Ds(5) and I went on Labor Day last September, we were able to ride about 6 times. We wore our bathing suits and had sandals on our feet. I also wore a pair of swim shorts that dry quickly. I carried our sneakers and change of clothes in a vinyl shoulder bag. I would say 2 out of 6 trips we didn't get wet, 2 were halfway and 2 we got soaked. That's the beauty of the ride! After our last soaking.........even we had enough and headed back to the hotel.

 

[epcotfan]

Whatever you do make sure your electronic equipment (digital camera, camera, video cam) are in a waterproof bag. If they aren't and you do get wet they will be ruined. The small items container in the center of the boat was wet when I last went rode. Don't count on it for keeping your important items dry.

 

[BrerRabbit28]

luck

 

[Pig Pen]

And the ensuing chafing from wet shorts is torture!

 

[BrerRabbit28]

well no. U can't stay completely dry, but I just got back one week ago and went on it i got a little wet and dryed of in 2 seconds my sister unfortunately sat in the seat next to me and got soaked so luck plays a factor.

 

[pennylynn]

Gallon size zip lock bags are great for camera's and shoes and socks. My camera never got wet inside the zip lock. We took our shoes and socks off and put them in plastic bags before we put them in the center storage. Poncho's are great if you want to carry them around with you all day. If you get wet try the new hand dryers in the bathrooms. They have about 10 times the drying power of regular hand dryers. When I was there in Nov. it rained all day when we went to the Animal Kingdom. But everytime we went in the bathroom we stood under the dryers to get dried off a little bit and it was great.

 

[OzFan]

I was one of the lucky ones that got totally soaked. It is one of my favorite rides. I talked my mom into riding it this past Jan. She too got soaked! She had a blast! You'll love it. Just wrap anything you don't want to get wet in a poncho and put it in the center. Keep your feet up and ENJOY!

 

[Deb & Bill]

And don't wear denim. It will take forever to dry.

 

[Poohbear123]

I went in June...it rained...I was already Wet.....

 

[blanq]

Okay guys, I think I've got it:

1) Wear my bathing suit
2) Wear river or swim shorts
3) DON'T wear denim (will be wet until midnight and will howl in pain due to the chafing)
4) Wear flip flops
5) Put my feet up
6) Hunch over
7) Put all my gear in ziploc bags
8) Wear a poncho and make sure to tuck it under my butt
9) Lose a ton of weight (the heavier people get wetter)
10) If I still get wet, buy replacement t-shirts at Rainforest Cafe (cheaper!)
11) Pray for rain, because I'm pretty much going to get wet anyway, and I might as well just be wet BEFORE I get on the ride

I will assume, with a great amount of faith, that if you see me--and believe me, you will know it is me-- riding Kali River Rapids (sometime between May7th and May 14th) you will NOT be pointing at me and laughing. Can I trust you?

 

[skiwee1]

Originally posted by blanq
I have not done this ride in the past, for fear I will become soaked. The thought of schleping through AK with water sloshing in my tennies is less than appealing to me, but to be honest I think the ride itself would be thrilling. Does anyone have any tips for escaping a full soaking on this ride? I am aware of the garbage bag option, but that won't help my feet. Is there a better place to sit? If I am aware of the spots in the ride where you get waves, could I somehow position myself better? Help me become a Kali River Rapids convert!

I've been on it twice and didn't even get a little wet! I thought it was the most lame river rapids ride I've ever been on in a theme park. I wanted to get wet! Why would you even consider going on this ride if you didn't want to get wet?

 

[blanq]

Okay Terry, you have a valid point. Really it's not the getting wet part that would bother me, it's just the hours that would follow where I would wet to the bone (and consequently a big crab), that has been the main deterrent to date.

 

[skiwee1]

Originally posted by blanq
Okay Terry, you have a valid point. Really it's not the getting wet part that would bother me, it's just the hours that would follow where I would wet to the bone (and consequently a big crab), that has been the main deterrent to date.

I am just the opposite. It was so hot when we went, about 100 degrees, that we wanted to get soaked! LOL! We didn't care how miserable we would be afterwards as anything was better then the way we already felt. After standing in a really long line we were so disappointed when all 4 of us were still dry. We tried later that day hoping we were just unlucky the first time but we still came out dry. Personally I thought the ride was boring. There were no good dips and turns as in other theme parks I've went to. If we didn't want to get wet then we would have not tried a second time as the ride itself was not fun.

 

[DisnutDave]

I think everyone has pretty much covered the best ways to stay dry on Kali. The one thing we didn't see mentioned was water shoes. They are great! Flip-flops tend to...well, flip and flop and even fall off. Water shoes are just as compact and they stay on.

We avoided Kali for several visits because we were not there at the hot part of the year and the thought of being soaked and cold was just not appealling. But we kept reading so many great things about the ride that we gave it a whirl on our trip last October. We decked out in our water shoes, ponchos and put our stuff in Ziploc bags. Sitting right next to each other. I got soaked, DW dry except for one strand of hair. Go figure!

 

[goofymom23]

Ride it and love it. Get wet and enjoy. Life is to short to waste not wanting to get wet. Wear sandles, if you buy the sport sandles they are just as comfortable as tennis shoes.

 

[lilsonicfan]

I admit that I love water rides, and I never wear shoes that aren't sandals to any park with water rides! I must echo posters who have mentioned the hand dryers in AK. I found them in Restaurantosaurus but they may be in other restaurants in AK. The women's bathroom there has a dryer that is above head level (well, above my head, i'm only 5'3") and the men's has one that is regular height for a hand dryer. Super powerful - they make the skin on your hands ripple. My shirt was all wet and the dryer dried it out in no time.

It's no fun if you cover up and don't even get a little wet - the ride isn't a thrill ride at all w/o water, even the drops are sad and small!

 

[gonga]

Its similar to Popeye & Blutos bilge rat barge in Universal Studios. You have a great chance of getting completely and totally soaked, not just wet. Its fun, but quite frankly not worth the soaking experience. You can always make it the last ride B4 going back to your room.

I had a very, very bad experience after the ride - very hysterical but very embarassing........well I can laugh now. My husband has completely blocked it out - post traumatic stress disorder.


since you guys do not know me by face I guess I can tell you. We had just gotten off the ride and I was completely - completely soaked. I was using a certain feminine product that lines your panties and is also EXTREMELY absorbant. Well to make a long story short, the product absorbed a lot, I mean A LOT of water. It was a little hard to walk,because it must of weighed a few pounds. My husband asked me "Why they hell are you walking so funny???" A few steps later it fell out of my shorts and on to the walk. He ran faster than I did................we do not ever speak of "the incident" to this day.

 

[blanq]

Gonga,

ROTFLOL!!!! Okay, you win, hands down, for the best Kali River Rapids ride tip. I'll especially remember to choose my feminine hygiene products carefully when I ride this ride!!