Originally Posted By magnet Kali River Rapids is a ride at WDW's Animal Kingdom Park, and it is often compared to Grizzly River Rapids at DCA since they are the only two Disney raft rides. I think Grizzly is a far superior ride in its length and the number of drops. So, once and for all, let's examine the two very closely right here to close the book on this question. I've computed the approximate time spent on a ride at Kali: Total time in raft: Approximately 6 minutes (this begins once you sit down and ends when you stand up) Total ride time: approximately 3 minutes and 15 seconds. This is the actual time spent floating down the track, NOT including the amount of time it takes for the initial lift up on the conveyor. The conveyor adds approximately 1 minute to the ride if you insist on including that. So, total ride time is 4 minutes and 15 seconds from the moment you start up the hill on the conveyor to when you return to the station. The rest of the time on the raft is spent waiting to exit/enter the boarding area. Kali River Rapids has only one drop. OK, so can anyone do the same computation for Grizzly?
Originally Posted By RockyMtnMinnie GRR is by far the better ride. Our last ride took 7 minutes 22 seconds from leaving to return. We were backed up at the last drop for approx 1 minute of that so without backups it's more like 6 minutes 15 seconds. I wouldn't subtract out the lift hill on GRR as it is part of the experience with the theming. GRR has the two drops.
Originally Posted By KCCHIEF Grizzly is tons better than Kali....lots more of everything....not comparable.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I haven't been on Kali since my first time on Grizzly, but I don't think there is a huge difference in the ride length. However, Kali seemed to be a lot more tame (with the exception of the drop, which seemed more intense than eithr of GRR's) than Grizzly, and was more about the atmosphere. If you factor in the atmosphere and setting, I think that Kali would definately stand a lot stronger. Kali's queue wins hands down (looking at live tigers or listening to a fake eXtreme sports radio show on repeat?) and is a lot more detailed all around. I really like the mist on the way up the lift hill on Kali, and I'm not a huge fan of the sprayers on GRR, so that sort of evens out. I don't know if it makes a difference with the number of people in the raft, but GRR's 8 is a lot more intimate and gets you talking to strangers more than Kali's 10, but the dry area in the middle of Kali is better (IMO) than the free lockers by GRR.
Originally Posted By magnet Thanks for that great viewpoint! There are a lot of subjectives to consider, and I agree that the queue for Kali is tremendously more detailed than GRR. Nonetheless, I would prefer to spend a little more money on the ride even if it meant a slightly less interesting queue. Although, one does spend 10x longer in the queue than on the ride itself. So, maybe the queue is more important than the ride! Here, however, I'm trying to strip down the comparison to purely objective measures of the two rides. The two quantities I've chosen are ride length and number of drops. While those do not necessarily equate to a greater ride experience, it does help to establish a reason why so many rate GRR more highly than Kali in spite of the detailed theming that Kali has over GRR. Kali's queue is themed, and there is one setpiece you drift through at the beginning of the ride that is highly detailed, but after the drop on Kali there is literally nothing interesting about the ride until you return to the boarding station. So, the theming doesn't really tip the scales for me in favor of Kali. One of the interesting things about the two for me is that I like Grizzly much more than Kali, and I have to admit that apart from one extra small drop and perhaps about two extra minutes of ride time there isn't much difference between them. Nonetheless, for some reason I just like GRR way more than Kali. Kali seems like it ends so fast -- do those extra couple minutes on Grizzly really make that big of an impression? This is really the thing that gets me. Why does Kali, to me and many others, seem so much less than Grizzly?
Originally Posted By RockyMtnMinnie Another aspect that I think makes a difference in the rides is I believe that a greater percentage of the GRR is spent in rapids. Kali has the calm beginning where you just float along and doesn't really get exciting till you get to the burning jungle. GRR is pretty wild from once you get off the lift hill through the end. I think that the cave and the mine shaft in GRR are also pretty exciting aspects of the ride.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo I love them both for very different reasons. Kali's queue, mist screens, jungle and real fire is fantastic!!! But the ride itself is more like a round log flume. GRR has the fab Grizzly peak and offers entertaining features throughout the attraction (including the geyser at the end!!!!)
Originally Posted By pitapan16 I love them both for very different reasons. Kali's queue, mist screens, jungle and real fire is fantastic!!! But the ride itself is more like a round log flume." -Agreed. I give major props to Kali for its hard core rainforrest and great asian influence. The whole area, the ride itself, and the queue is absolutely amazing.
Originally Posted By irishfan My vote for best attraction is GRR, but I prefer the theme of Kali, I just wish it was as long as it's cousin at DCA.
Originally Posted By SBSBelle22 I agree with RockyMtnMinnie I think Kali is just tame overall GRR is rocking rapids, even on a slow day. On a full day with lots of people and rafts going? It can get insane! But I also agree that GRR's queue could be better.
Originally Posted By TP2000 According to video on YouTube, Grizzly River Run takes approximately 7 minutes from the time your raft leaves the loading turntable and free floats away to the time it floats back and re-engages with the turntable. It takes about one and a half minutes to float from the turntable to the lift. The lift is exactly one minute long from bottom to top. Three minutes and thirty seconds are spent in the flume through the mountain, including both drops. Then your raft floats for about sixty seconds after the second drop through the geyser field, under the bridge, and back to the turntable. I didn't time the amount your raft is cycling around the turntable during load or unload, but I assume it's the same as Kali and you really can't call that part of the "ride" even though you are moving. Here's a video of Kali showing a 4:30 minute ride time, complete with the unique sounds of Northeast tourists (OH GAWD! MOWAH WATAH!). <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXbm8UaLQ9g" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...m8UaLQ9g</a> Here's a video of Grizzly showing a 7:00 minute ride time, with West Coast speech patterns as clear as the filtered water in the flume. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vLRmhLIsLk" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...RmhLIsLk</a> And yeah, the rapids and one drop on Kali look much more tame in this video compared to the rather rollicking and rowdy rapids and two bigger drops on Grizzly. The flame effect on Kali is cool though.
