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

[Figments Friend]

Grrrr...no more fire!! So the queue is now officially better than the actual ride...kudos

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It pretty much always has been, at least to me.
Love all the artifacts in the queue, the paintings, and the Tiger Temple.

So sorry to hear about the simplistic recent refurb...and too bad to hear about all the effects currently offline.
A pity...this is becoming far too common and it is bad show.
Of course..it is likely just assumed no one will really notice, or be able to tell the difference.

What happened to the fabled *Disney Difference* ?

 

[lego606]

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It pretty much always has been, at least to me. Love all the artifacts in the queue, the paintings, and the Tiger Temple.

So sorry to hear about the simplistic recent refurb...and too bad to hear about all the effects currently offline.
A pity...this is becoming far too common and it is bad show.
Of course..it is likely just assumed no one will really notice, or be able to tell the difference.
What happened to the fabled *Disney Difference* ?

"they're tourists, what do they know?

 

[Figments Friend]

Is the fountain next to the storage lockers working again? Last time we were their we were told it was turned off because of the lockers. Typical TDO BS. Really makes me glad we are taking cruises with the DCL instead when you hear garbage like this.


This is the fountain I am referring too:



Untitled by janoimagine, on Flickr

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Ah yes...i know this fountain well.
It was possibly shut off due to some safety concerns involving particularly overactive and unsupervised children on hot days.
I used to see kids climbing directly INTO this fountain many times, standing up it it, hanging off the sides...with parents oblivious.
I was not at all surprised when on my last few visits it was turned off.

It seems fountains in Guest areas at WDW are becoming a thing of the far past.
So many have been removed ( The Land ) or turned into planters (Caribbean Plaza )due to today*s Guests thinking they are to be used for mini kiddie pools...

 

[TP2000]

So many have been removed, turned into planters due to people mistaking them for mini kiddie pools...

I agree. It's just such trashy behavior to play in these water fountains to the point of getting soaking wet in public.

Disney is partly to blame for building new-gen areas in the parks that encourage this tacky behavior, like the Casey Jr. Soak Zone thing in Fantasyland. But too many of the visiting public at WDW now don't know how to behave properly and politely in public parks, and they think every park amenity involving water is to be treated like the slip-n-slide in their own backyard.

 

[Lee]

I didn't want to appear to be a doom and gloomer with more bad news.

Too late.


One of us...one of us...

 

[hoke2007]

I totally get your point, but "pristine" is a strong word. Things are noticeably better maintained at Disneyland, but often things there aren't always "pristine". I'd save that word for Tokyo Disneyland, where things literally are pristine everywhere you look.

Compared to WDW, maintenance and showmanship are noticeably better at Disneyland Resort, especially on attractions with animatronics and lots of technical effects, or with parades and nighttime spectaculars where the stagecraft and presentation looks more polished. But the Disneyland Resort parks have not actually achieved total perfection, they just try a bit harder than their counterparts in WDW right now.

I agree, pristine was too strong a word. It's just dismaying to see the disparity between maintenance of WDW and Disneyland. For the prices they charge (and the increases they inevitably do every year) things should be better than they are.

 

[CJR]

This is really sad to hear. This ride could be so much better than what it is, I think that's the worst part. If Disney tossed a little bit of money into an actual refurb, it could be a must-ride. Just like they turned "the classic" log ride into Splash Mountain, they could have done so much with this ride system. It's still better than Six Flags, but the Popeye ride at Universal is more fun to go on than this is. AND, I don't think much of that one either.

 

[erasure fan1]

And it's just another reason why we are seriously considering eliminating our DAK day (or half day) from all our future trips, and replacing it with a trip 5 miles up I-4

Yea, we have all but eliminated our day at AK. Typically we either go right at open or 2hrs before close, hit a few things than leave. It gets harder each year to justify even doing that. And its such a shame because it could be the best park of the 4 in my opinion.

I guess next time I ride Kali I will put on a blindfold to make it more interesting. Think about it, you won't have to see how bad of shape its in and you get to be completely surprised by the little drop and getting splashed. Its perfect!

 

[xdan0920]

Yea, we have all but eliminated our day at AK. Typically we either go right at open or 2hrs before close, hit a few things than leave. It gets harder each year to justify even doing that. And its such a shame because it could be the best park of the 4 in my opinion.

I guess next time I ride Kali I will put on a blindfold to make it more interesting. Think about it, you won't have to see how bad of shape its in and you get to be completely surprised by the little drop and getting splashed. Its perfect!

That's all AK in getting out of me as well. A quick run through in the morning, then get out. If I didn't have the park hopper option on my ticket, I would probably never go.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

It is actually fairly encouraging that no one is rushing to defend TDO. It seems we are getting ever closer to a general breaking point for WDW fans. There is only so many times folks will be willing to turn the other cheek, as it were. Maybe we are running out of cheeks.

Eh, give this thread some more time before assuming no nuts try will try to defend this. It was only posted today and there aren't even 100 posts yet. I'll be surprised if some of them don't eventually show up.

I turned another cheek towards this news. Though the cheek I turned was much lower and on the other side of me rather than the ones on my face.

Animal Kingdom has become such an unfortunate situation. It was built right around the point in which things started going sour for the Disney company (or I should rather say its customers, the company was fine and just killed the trend of good quality for extra money). It's a gorgeous park with a ton of untapped potential. I just feel it was a wonderful idea that arrived a little too late and was caught in the downward spiral still present at WDW. I'd love to have seen what the park could have been like had it been built earlier in the 90's or even 80's. Still would have been destroyed by the maintenance nightmares plaguing the place, but i'd love to have seen it at the best potential possible even if only for a short time.

 

[Figments Friend]

I agree. It's just such trashy behavior to play in these water fountains to the point of getting soaking wet in public.

Disney is partly to blame for building new-gen areas in the parks that encourage this tacky behavior, like the Casey Jr. Soak Zone thing in Fantasyland. But too many of the visiting public at WDW now don't know how to behave properly and politely in public parks, and they think every park amenity involving water is to be treated like the slip-n-slide in their own backyard.

.

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Yeah, and the even more disturbing thing is that all of this was going on long before the Interactive Queue craze was really starting to appear in the Parks.
Most of what i saw going on at that locker fountain in DAK was in the early 2000s.

I can understand it being miserably hot and all...which FL Summers are famous for....but it does indeed show a big change in the standards of society in general when it is considered *okay* to bathe in a decorative fountain.

Not to get off subject, but i still miss that lovely fountain and overall theme that used to be in The Land.
That pavillion was BEAUTIFUL. Now it is just another shopping mall food court.

Sorry..back on topic.....

Kali Ma.
I like the attraction, but i rarely ride it. It has probably been about five years since i last rode, and the actual reason for that was to fully photograph the wonderful items on display in the queue.
Love the queue...enjoyed the effects back when they were fully working, particularly the mist before the de-forestation scene. Like many others, often felt it was far too short....but it was a fun little side trip.

 

[BryceM]

It's sad that in one of Disney's most beautifully and thematically complete parks that they cannot maintain the attractions and have them running to full potential.

 

[MickeyPeace]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wdwprince/5596599417/

Not sure why the link for pics does not work right with flickr anymore but here is the fountain and it's purpose.

 

[aladdin2007]

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Yeah, and the even more disturbing thing is that all of this was going on long before the Interactive Queue craze was really starting to appear in the Parks.
Most of what i saw going on at that locker fountain in DAK was in the early 2000s.

I can understand it being miserably hot and all...which FL Summers are famous for....but it does indeed show a big change in the standards of society in general when it is considered *okay* to bathe in a decorative fountain.

Not to get off subject, but i still miss that lovely fountain and overall theme that used to be in The Land.
That pavillion was BEAUTIFUL. Now it is just another shopping mall food court.

Sorry..back on topic.....

Kali Ma.
I like the attraction, but i rarely ride it. It has probably been about five years since i last rode, and the actual reason for that was to fully photograph the wonderful items on display in the queue.
Love the queue...enjoyed the effects back when they were fully working, particularly the mist before the de-forestation scene. Like many others, often felt it was far too short....but it was a fun little side trip.

Im with you, its nothing but a cattle drive/airport/,and foodcourt as you said. They really have lost the meaning of ambience and disney atmosphere that use to be so magical and alluring. Everything now is just what is fast and cheap and caters to the masses.....ok yes I know back on track.

 

[olinecoach61]

I love Kali, especially on a hot July afternoon! Sad to hear the refurb was half done.

 

[xdan0920]

Eh, give this thread some more time before assuming no nuts try will try to defend this. It was only posted today and there aren't even 100 posts yet. I'll be surprised if some of them don't eventually show up.

I turned another cheek towards this news. Though the cheek I turned was much lower and on the other side of me rather than the ones on my face.

Animal Kingdom has become such an unfortunate situation. It was built right around the point in which things started going sour for the Disney company (or I should rather say its customers, the company was fine and just killed the trend of good quality for extra money). It's a gorgeous park with a ton of untapped potential. I just feel it was a wonderful idea that arrived a little too late and was caught in the downward spiral still present at WDW. I'd love to have seen what the park could have been like had it been built earlier in the 90's or even 80's. Still would have been destroyed by the maintenance nightmares plaguing the place, but i'd love to have seen it at the best potential possible even if only for a short time.

I think this thread is more likely to just be ignored by those types.

Firstly it was started by @marni1971 so they know they can't downplay the information. Secondly, it really is indefensible. Easier to ignore this then to admit fault with the brand.

 

[luv]

As a ride only, Kali has always fallen short of amazing. It was always the mist and fire and such that made it a good ride.

I love the AK and hope they get it in gear over there and start fixing everything.

 

[Captain Neo]

So, Kali opened after its 6 week refurb. Guess what? It's worse now than before.

You have to be kidding me

 

[Clever Name]

I think the weight distribution has something to do with who gets soaked. My daughter, her friend and I were the only ones in our raft last summer at early hours, and we got soaked because the weight kept us backward most of the trip and that's where you get the wettest.

Bingo! Don't sit near overweight people on Kali if you desire to stay dry. As you noted, the "fat" side of the raft rides lower in the water and it becomes the bow. The high side of the raft becomes the stern. As a result, the heavy side of the raft gets soaked 9 times out of 10 while the light side of the raft stays dry. I suppose that the designer thought that since overweight people sweat more, they'd appreciate a good drenching.

 

[MKCP 1985]

Thank you, Martin, for the honest assessment of this refurb. I share your frustration over the way the Animal Kingdom park is run. Maybe combining live animal husbandry with ride operations is just too much for the Walt Disney Company. As for me, this park is easy to skip in favor of a day at Universal or Sea World.