How Grizzley is the Grizzley River Run?

[Adam&Alex's Mom]

OK... so I have twin boys who will be 4 years and 4 months old when we go to DL in August. Both boys are fairly adventurous and will be over 42 inches I know they meet the req to get on GRR... but should I take them? How are you strapped in? Is just a lap strap? or is there something that you straddle to ensure you don't slip in the seat? Maybe it isn't that grizzley of a ride and it is tamer than the name suggests...? How young were your kids when they first rode and enjoyed it?

Sorry for all the ques!! Thanks for your help!

 

[disneyfaninaz]

My daughter was 4 when she first went on Grizzley River Run. She loves water and you will get wet. They strap you in with a seat belt. If your boys love water, they will love this ride. It will keep you pretty secure. To minimize the wetness, you can buy rain ponchos at the store next to the ride.

 

[Blackunicorn]

It's pretty Grizzly. Don't get me wrong, my 8yo loves it, my whole family loves it, but we tend to get soaking wet when we ride it, and there are some drops and rough water that can be scary for some kids. I know that my son was frightened by a similar--but somewhat tamer--ride when he was four. I guess it really depends on your sons. Honestly, I'm amazed that your sons will be tall enough! My daughter didn't hit 42 inches until she was almost six.

The belt is just a strap across the lap, that's it, and sometimes the straps won't tighten enough to hold a small child securely. The water can--but doesn't always--come up over the back of the seats. You don't always get soaked, but I have the good fortune and talent to walk away drenched every time. Experience has taught us that riding this ride is not recommended right before Soarin' unless you want to turn blue. Also, tennis shoes and socks will make your feet turn into painful prunes if you wear them on this ride.

If you still want to get soaking wet, and feel that this ride is too scary, you can go to Bountiful Valley Farm, which is a water play area. Again, no tennies and socks, you will regret it. They CM's will ask that you wear shoes, though, so crocs or sandals seem like a good idea. If you go to Bountiful Valley Farm, experience has taught us that going to see It's Tough to Be a Bug right after is (again) not a good idea. Unless you like the color blue.

 

[joeysmommy]

My 5 yr old loved it!
He was afraid to ride Splash Mountain, but I think it's becuz he couldn't see how the rest of the ride (inside) looked. But GRR is open and not a mystery.

Just a warning, if he doesn't want to get too wet, don't have him sit by the opening of the raft(where you board). I had my son sit between my DH and myself and he only got a little bit wet. Perfect for his first ride.

 

[dizneyfreakz]

Yeah, it's a pretty mild ride. I'm guessing he will LOVE it tho!

 

[DisneyCrocsRUS]

Just a warning, if he doesn't want to get too wet, don't have him sit by the opening of the raft(where you board). I had my son sit between my DH and myself and he only got a little bit wet. Perfect for his first ride.

Ditto this......we rode this just last week. I was sitting along side one of the openings & got drenched. Mostly on the thighs of my pants & my feet (because the water poured in up & over the side of the boat, dumping buckets of water onto our feet). My upper body got a good sprinkle, but wasn't drenched. My head/hair didn't really get wet at all, just my legs mostly. Being next to the side of the opening, definately gets you wetter than anyone else in the boat. However, it was really hot, so I think I dried out in about 20 min just walking around. My DD who is 7 went on it & loved it. She rode it twice.

 

[blackjackdelta]

For the most part pretty tame. If they like the water they will love the ride.

Jack

 

[Adam&Alex's Mom]

Honestly, I'm amazed that your sons will be tall enough! My daughter didn't hit 42 inches until she was almost six.

My boys are very tall for thier age One is over 43 inches right now and one is right at 42... barefoot... so with thier shoes (the plan is to wear crocs) they will not have a prob meeting the heighth req. They just turned 4 in April and they are among the tallest in thier class of 4-5 year olds this summer.

Does the ride spin around fast? or does it stay "on course" so to speak and travel down the route?

Thanks to everyone for the responses! I may have to send DH alone to try it out first!

 

[disneyfaninaz]

A good tip to help keep you shoes dryer is to put them on the silver bar under your seat, not directly on the floor. That way when the bottom of the tube fills up, your feet are up.

 

[LittleWoodenHead]

Does the ride spin around fast? or does it stay "on course" so to speak and travel down the route?

The rafts travel in a flume, so there is only a single route. However, because the rafts are round and aren't tethered to a track, they freely rock & rotate throughout the course (especially when bouncing off a wall). You will find your individual position changing during the ride: one moment you are facing forward, and the next you are travelling backward or sideways. These rotations happen constantly and suddenly, but are not what I would call "fast".

This is not a controlled "mechanical" ride: You are truly at the mercy of the water (and physics). As such, your ride will not be the same twice. (Every time I have gone on GRR, the only constant is that I have ended up drenched!)

Since you can see the final drop well before you get to the line, just stand and watch the ride for a couple minutes with your boys. I think that will help you decide whether to go on it, more so than anything any of us might say.

Have fun!

 

[SunDevilDaddy]

Just spent last saturday at CA and rode GRR twice with my DD and DS 5. My son was surprisingly fearless and tried to stand and worm his way out of each and every safety restraint in both parks (to get a better view). My DD was still pretty brave but she did shy away from certain rides and decided she did not like Splash Mtn. after riding once.

But, both agreed to ride GRR and had a blast. Here are some tips I learned.

1. use the lockers located next to the ride entrance. they are free for the first 2 hours so dont chance getting your stuff wet and stow it there. (We cheated and used the lockers all day free of charge.. I just kept returning to GRR to grab Fps and restowed the backpack in another free locker.)

2. Use fastpasses. Remember this ride is not connected so it won't effect your fp availability for the rest of the park. And it makes no sense to wait in lines that reached up to 40 minutes when you can walk on about every 40 minutes.

3. GRR does have lap belts, but they do not cinch down past 20 inches or so... Both of my kids were essentially unrestrained because of how much room there was in the lap belt. But it isn't a big problem on this ride.

4. Do not sit kids near entrances, water spills over the sides here and soaks the person sitting nearest. Also, have your little ones try and hold on to the center wheel during the ride. My DD5 smacked her head against the back of her seat pretty hard at one point. Had she been holding on chances are she wouldn't have hit her head. On the second trip down GRR I kept my arm stretched across the back of her seat to block her head from hitting anything.

5. Have fun... you will get wet! We didn't get as soaked as we expected, but saw some people who were truely waterlogged. (On a side note - Shipwreck Rapids at Seaworld SD is the same style of ride and gets you soaked to the bone. We rode it early and had to return to our hotel to change before coming back to the park)

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Mom2Joce]

We (my daughter 6yo and myself) JUST rode this 2 weeks ago for the first time and we LOVED it! It was so much fun and not as Grizzley as we thought! They will LOVE it!! The seating is in a round raft and there is a lap seatbelt. The center has a round handlebar to hang on to!! Go for it they will LOVE it!

 

[Lillybelly]

My 5 year old rode it in May and it was one of his favorites. I totally agree with having them sit away from the opening. I'm usually the problem on any drop rides. I even refuse the ride the log flume at our local amusement park because I'm so afraid of the drop, but I love this ride. The rapid effect doesn't make it seem as scary. If your kids are even a little brave, I'm sure they'll be okay on this one.

 

[spazzyjazzy]

The five year old twins I took with me love this ride. The seat belts didn't get tight enough for the lil girl but, she did good. The water worked differently for us both times. The people who were in the middle got wet the most.

 

[Cali_Sparrow]

Grizzly River Run is more of a fun ride than a scary ride. The drops are not gut-wrenching like you might anticipate by looking at the biggest one out in front by the queue. But this ride is very wet!

You are secured by a seat belt (as mentioned above) and you also have a wheel in the center that you can hold onto. The ride spins a little but it's not very fast and the rapids are a rocking motion beneath you. You don't experience a whole lot of movement, usually.

The people going backwards down the drops are going to get the wettest! But don't get too excited if you're facing forward for the big drop because it spins and you'll be the one under the wave at the end! I see people surprised by that one every time.
Seems like all the kids riding it like to get wet - especially in the hot weather.

It's a beautiful ride and lots of fun!

 

[brenda1966]

How does this ride compare to Kali river rapids in AK in WDW? (Because I think Kali is one of the lamest rides I've ever been on.)

Oh, and don't go see Aladdin either after you're soaking wet, or you'll freeze!

 

[SunDevilDaddy]

My 5 year old rode it in May and it was one of his favorites. I totally agree with having them sit away from the opening. I'm usually the problem on any drop rides. I even refuse the ride the log flume at our local amusement park because I'm so afraid of the drop, but I love this ride. The rapid effect doesn't make it seem as scary. If your kids are even a little brave, I'm sure they'll be okay on this one.

The log flume at Lagoon???? That's weak....

I grew up in Layton and my parents live in Eagle Mountain right now!

 

[Blackunicorn]

How does this ride compare to Kali river rapids in AK in WDW? (Because I think Kali is one of the lamest rides I've ever been on.)

Oh, and don't go see Aladdin either after you're soaking wet, or you'll freeze!

MUCH better. Much, much, much better.