Kali River Rapids reopens.... and guess what??

[MeggChan]

I'm probably terribly late to respond to this question, but regarding the fire effects, I want to say that all the self contained or controlled fires in open areas (even attractions like Kali) were to be extinguished. Had something to do with the brush fires that were going on a few years back. I could be wrong though, just my best guess and I remember hearing something about it before.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I'm probably terribly late to respond to this question, but regarding the fire effects, I want to say that all the self contained or controlled fires in open areas (even attractions like Kali) were to be extinguished. Had something to do with the brush fires that were going on a few years back. I could be wrong though, just my best guess and I remember hearing something about it before.

And yet they can have huge fiery explosions at the stunt shows at DHS and have fireworks nightly that cause frequent fires...

 

[MeggChan]

And yet they can have huge fiery explosions at the stunt shows at DHS and have fireworks nightly that cause frequent fires...

Fireworks extinguish long before hitting the ground, so that probably isn't an issue. I've never heard of them causing fires. The stunt shows are also not in the open around shrubbery and are highly controlled from my understanding.

 

[Scuttle]

Fireworks extinguish long before hitting the ground, so that probably isn't an issue. I've never heard of them causing fires. The stunt shows are also not in the open around shrubbery and are highly controlled from my understanding.

Then why do they wet fantasyland before the fireworks?

 

[MeggChan]

Then why do they wet fantasyland before the fireworks?

I never knew that they did that
I've been to WDW 12 times by now, but there still many things I've yet to learn it seems.

 

[AndyMagic]

I think the most frustrating thing about the loss of the Kali fire effect, and other effects throughout the resort that have been turned off because they were seen as "problematic," is that Disney doesn't bother creating a replacement effect. If the fire on Kali is suddenly a safety issue, then why not create an enhanced smoke effect? If the mist in Everest's caverns interfere with sensors, then why not install cold air-blasters? If the bird on a stick is thought to be such a lame effect that turning it off improves the show quality, why not create something else for us to look at while the track switches behind us. It's as if all trouble shooting and problem solving within the company leads to simply flicking the switch to "off" instead of using the opportunity to create something better. At Forbidden Journey, the floo network take-off effect wasn't quite working the way U.C. had envisioned so they went back to the drawing board and replaced it a year later with a superior projection. Kali was short and boring when it opened but at least the central forest fire show scene was impressive. They might as well shut the entire ride down and replace it with a row of 8 chairs and have one of the CMs randomly pick a person and proceed to dump a bucket of water over their head. The result would be the same and they'd free up some space in Asia for future expansion.

 

[MeggChan]

I think the most frustrating thing about the loss of the Kali fire effect, and other effects throughout the resort that have been turned off because they were seen as "problematic," is that Disney doesn't bother creating a replacement effect. If the fire on Kali is suddenly a safety issue, then why not create an enhanced smoke effect? If the mist in Everest's caverns interfere with sensors, then why not install cold air-blasters? If the bird on a stick is thought to be such a lame effect that turning it off improves the show quality, why not create something else for us to look at while the track switches behind us. It's as if all trouble shooting and problem solving within the company leads to simply flicking the switch to "off" instead of using the opportunity to create something better. At Forbidden Journey, the floo network take-off effect wasn't quite working the way U.C. had envisioned so they went back to the drawing board and replaced it a year later with a superior projection. Kali was short and boring when it opened but at least the central forest fire show scene was impressive. They might as well shut the entire ride down and replace it with a row of 8 chairs and have one of the CMs randomly pick a person and proceed to dump a bucket of water over their head. The result would be the same and they'd free up some space in Asia for future expansion.

I completely agree with you there. They seem to be taking away and just leaving empty space or just leaving everything turned off (Disco Yeti for instance, then again that may be a different story entirely). I'm sure a lot of it has to do with $$$ and "time constraints". They don't want too many rides closed down to refurb for too long, which to me seems silly, but I guess from their stance makes sense to an extent.

 

[flynnibus]

Fireworks extinguish long before hitting the ground, so that probably isn't an issue. I've never heard of them causing fires.

Then you should do more research. They cause small fires all the time - even at Disney. Embers from the fireworks are high risk because they have a wide fallout area that can not be directly controlled.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Kali was short and boring when it opened but at least the central forest fire show scene was impressive. They might as well shut the entire ride down and replace it with a row of 8 chairs and have one of the CMs randomly pick a person and proceed to dump a bucket of water over their head. The result would be the same and they'd free up some space in Asia for future expansion.

Fantastic!

 

[MeggChan]

Then you should do more research. They cause small fires all the time - even at Disney. Embers from the fireworks are high risk because they have a wide fallout area that can not be directly controlled.

I've done a few searches about fires near/in the parks, but most of it talked about brush fires and not so much fireworks. I guess I should have assumed that incidents (major or otherwise) are bound to happen from time to time. Sorry if I'm ill-informed

 

[Tater48]

Fireworks fallout fires are routine around MK. That's the reason the roads are shut down and Reedy Creek is always standing by. No, they don't happen every night, but a lot of people would be surprised at how many times that tone out goes out following Wishes.

 

[marni1971]

I've done a few searches about fires near/in the parks, but most of it talked about brush fires and not so much fireworks. I guess I should have assumed that incidents (major or otherwise) are bound to happen from time to time. Sorry if I'm ill-informed

The Fantasyland roofs are sprinkled before each show, plus there's an Emergency deluge system. Spotters and CCTV cover the rooftops too. There's also a sprinkler system in the brush land between the park and the main launch site.

No worries, this site is about learning all sorts of tid bits

 

[Tom Morrow]

Six Flags, of all parks, has rides with outdoor fire effects. Apocalypse and X2 at Six Flags Magic Mountain come to mind.

 

[TP2000]

We've always always hated this ride. It's boring, long, and you get drenched. Grizzly River Run in CAA was more exciting.

Interestingly, Grizzly River Run in California Adventure is a few minutes longer and has more rapids, plus the two larger drops. They seemed to have learned a lesson between Kali opening in 1998 and Grizzly opening in 2001. The rafts are almost twice as big on Kali though, but the smaller rafts on Grizzly seem able to make sharper turns and faster moves. Here's Grizzly River Run from a few weeks ago, on a twilight ride...

 

[Alektronic]

I'm probably terribly late to respond to this question, but regarding the fire effects, I want to say that all the self contained or controlled fires in open areas (even attractions like Kali) were to be extinguished. Had something to do with the brush fires that were going on a few years back. I could be wrong though, just my best guess and I remember hearing something about it before.

It was all due to money, nothing else. They weren't even close to setting anything on fire.

 

[Alektronic]

The Fantasyland roofs are sprinkled before each show, plus there's an Emergency deluge system. Spotters and CCTV cover the rooftops too. There's also a sprinkler system in the brush land between the park and the main launch site.

No worries, this site is about learning all sorts of tid bits

Also at the Studios, they have sprinklers on the rooftops. Even at Epcot, they are sprinklers on top of World Showplace even though ROE is in the middle of the lagoon.

 

[Jrn14]

Kali is one of my least favorite rides in all of WDW and mostly because I just find it to be very disappointing. I usually love raft rides and was very excited to ride Kali, because I was thinking "wow raft rides are usually awesome even at small amusement parks… a raft ride at Disney is probably amazing" Then after fastpassing a 50 minute wait I was dry and the ride was over in 2.5 minutes. The theming was kind of interesting, but way less than I expected. I guess first riding Popeye's at Universal didn't help matters. I don't think I'd be exaggerating when I would say that I probably prefer my local small amusement park raft ride to Kali… Also now knowing that the fire effects don't work I barely even see the point…

However I do have a question… is there room behind or around Kali to possibly expand it? Could they possibly add some length/time onto this ride by creating additional canyon space… I would say if they could add 5 minutes, a little more turns, some rougher waters and another drop or two or maybe a waterfall this ride could be salvaged… If there was room around Kali they could keep the ride open during the first phase of construction… is there a way they could create a new path for the ride that would veer in a different direction and then reconnect with the current path… therefore keeping the same load/unload station and just adding some additional space to the middle? I was trying to find an aerial of Kali online, but no such luck.

I feel like even with the thematic elements Kali will always be somewhat of a bust unless the ride is expanded… if they can't expand it I'm all for it eventually getting shuttered and repurposed.

 

[Bairstow]

Kali is one of my least favorite rides in all of WDW and mostly because I just find it to be very disappointing. I usually love raft rides and was very excited to ride Kali, because I was thinking "wow raft rides are usually awesome even at small amusement parks… a raft ride at Disney is probably amazing" Then after fastpassing a 50 minute wait I was dry and the ride was over in 2.5 minutes. The theming was kind of interesting, but way less than I expected. I guess first riding Popeye's at Universal didn't help matters. I don't think I'd be exaggerating when I would say that I probably prefer my local small amusement park raft ride to Kali…

This makes me wonder:
Does anyone have a list of the length/duration of various river raft rides?
It would be fun to compare Kali to the various Six Flags raft rides, most of which are actually quite excellent and much older.

 

[WDW97]

Kali is one of my least favorite rides in all of WDW and mostly because I just find it to be very disappointing. I usually love raft rides and was very excited to ride Kali, because I was thinking "wow raft rides are usually awesome even at small amusement parks… a raft ride at Disney is probably amazing" Then after fastpassing a 50 minute wait I was dry and the ride was over in 2.5 minutes. The theming was kind of interesting, but way less than I expected. I guess first riding Popeye's at Universal didn't help matters. I don't think I'd be exaggerating when I would say that I probably prefer my local small amusement park raft ride to Kali… Also now knowing that the fire effects don't work I barely even see the point…

However I do have a question… is there room behind or around Kali to possibly expand it? Could they possibly add some length/time onto this ride by creating additional canyon space… I would say if they could add 5 minutes, a little more turns, some rougher waters and another drop or two or maybe a waterfall this ride could be salvaged… If there was room around Kali they could keep the ride open during the first phase of construction… is there a way they could create a new path for the ride that would veer in a different direction and then reconnect with the current path… therefore keeping the same load/unload station and just adding some additional space to the middle? I was trying to find an aerial of Kali online, but no such luck.

I feel like even with the thematic elements Kali will always be somewhat of a bust unless the ride is expanded… if they can't expand it I'm all for it eventually getting shuttered and repurposed.

That was pretty much the original, plan look up Tiger River Rapids, and there is plenty of land behind the present ride. It was just cut back by a lot. Here's a link: http://www.theneverlandfiles.com/tnf/disneyworld/tigerriverrapids.php

 

[Calvin Coolidge]

However I do have a question… is there room behind or around Kali to possibly expand it? Could they possibly add some length/time onto this ride by creating additional canyon space… I would say if they could add 5 minutes, a little more turns, some rougher waters and another drop or two or maybe a waterfall this ride could be salvaged… If there was room around Kali they could keep the ride open during the first phase of construction… is there a way they could create a new path for the ride that would veer in a different direction and then reconnect with the current path… therefore keeping the same load/unload station and just adding some additional space to the middle? I was trying to find an aerial of Kali online, but no such luck.

I feel like even with the thematic elements Kali will always be somewhat of a bust unless the ride is expanded… if they can't expand it I'm all for it eventually getting shuttered and repurposed.

My understanding of the way those raft rides work is that you couldn't expand it without tearing it out and starting over.

I wouldn't mind seeing Kali go, but frankly with the park's capacity issues I don't think it could stand to lose a ride for long enough to build a new one. I don't think they can really replace Kali or Dinorama until something new is built on top of Camp Minnie-Mickey.