It seems Disney is giving the Jungle Cruise a LOT more love right now too! We’ve spotted ornament sets, backpacks, and even dresses. Now the Jungle Cruise Funko Pop we told you about is available online as well!
We’re taking a journey to the backside of water with the adorable Jungle Cruise Funko Pop, since it’s finally arrived on shopDisney!
The Funko Pop shows a Skipper going on a ride through the jungle aboard his trusty (original red and white roofed!) Congo Queen boat (probably complete with lots of ridiculously funny jokes along the way).
From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com Filed Under: disney merchandise, Disney News, disney parks, Featured, News, Disney, disney attractions, disney funko pop, Disney merch, Disney merchandise, disney news, disney rides, Disney World, Disney World reopening, jungle cruise, jungle cruise funko pop, magic kingdom
We checked out that Eighth Wonder of the World (the Backside of Water, of course!), BUT we also checked out what was new in the shops in Magic Kingdom, including the dapper Jungle Cruise Dress we spotted on Main Street.
Now, you don’t have to go to Disney World (or nab a Park Pass) to get yourself one! Soon after we spotted this dress, we returned to the shop to find it had SOLD OUT. Thankfully, there are other ways to get your Disney dress fix sans tickets.
Jungle Cruise Dress
Now, you can order the Jungle Cruise Dress from shopDisney to be delivered to your home (so you don’t have to even leave your couch!).
The gorgeous blue dress features wildlife, tikis, and greenery from all over the attraction so you can take a little slice of paradise with you wherever you go!
Jungle Cruise Dress
The Jungle Cruise Dress is available both in-park (we’ll keep an eye on if it gets restocked!) and online for $128! Now we just need the Jungle Cruise Backpack to pair along with it, and we’re set for a day in Magic Kingdom!
From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com Filed Under: disney merchandise, Disney News, disney parks, Featured, Walt Disney World, Disney, disney attractions, Disney merch, Disney merchandise, disney news, disney rides, Disney World, Disney World reopening, jungle cruise, jungle cruise dress, shopdisney
You’re going on vacation to Walt Disney World! The only problem? You’re not sure which attractions are right for you and your kiddos and you have questions. Which attractions are too intense for little ones? What rides do I really need a FastPass+ reservation for? What’s the disability access like for certain attractions? We’re answering all those questions and more in our Everything You Need to Know attraction series with today’s focus on Kali River Rapids at Disney’s Animal Kingdom!
Kali River Rapids is a whitewater raft ride through a lush Asian rainforest where guests eventually encounter the dangers of a logging site.
Where is Kali River Rapids?
Kali River Rapids is located in the Asia section of Disney’s Animal Kingdom park next to the Maharajah Jungle Trek.
What is the History of Kali River Rapids?
Kali River Rapids opened March 18, 1999, nearly a year after Disney’s Animal Kingdom’s grand opening. The attraction was originally going to be called Tiger Rapids Run but was later changed. However, it does sit next to the Maharajah Jungle Trek where guests may see live tigers, and there’s still a tiger on the sign for the attraction and few tiger-inspired set pieces during the journey.
What You Need to Know About the Queue
The first part of the queue for Kali River Rapids is outdoors and winds through a jungle before leading into the rafting offices for the fictional Kali Rapids Expeditions. Much like the queue for Expedition Everest, the Kali Rapids Expeditions offices are incredibly detailed, immersive, and help tell the story. This part of the queue is partially enclosed, but guests move back outside as they approach the loading platform.
What You Need to Know About the Experience
Once the rafts leaving the loading platform, they float up and onto a slow-moving lift hill. Many guests expect the lift hill to lead to a huge drop, but it doesn’t. Instead, they experience a small dip into the river where a geyser and waterfall are nearby for a little extra splash.
The rafts gently bump and bob down the river before heading into a logging site to see how logging devastates the land and the dangers that it causes. This is also where the rafts slide down a 20-foot slope producing a massive splash!
The raft will then continue its journey down the river, through a small cave, and under a bridge before returning to the station.
The whole ride lasts about 10 minutes, but many guests find the main part of the experience way too short.
What You Need to Know About Getting Soaked
While drenching yourself may sound appealing when visiting during the summer, it can make for an uncomfortable day for so short of a ride. This is even more true when visiting during Florida’s cooler months of the year, especially when going back to your resort mid-day to change into dry, warm clothes was not part of your plan.
If you’re determined to ride Kali River Rapids, consider wearing a poncho, water-resistant clothing, and sandals during your ride. If you’re wearing socks, take them off before riding and/or wrap a bag or poncho around your shoes to prevent them from getting soaked. After all, walking around in wet shoes pretty much guarantees painful blisters.
Fortunately, Kali River Rapids offers free 2-hour locker rentals to the left of the attraction entrance. For peace of mind, store anything here you wouldn’t want to get wet and/or a change of clothes.
What You Need to Know About Ride Vehicles
The large circular raft vehicles seat up to 12 guests in individual plastic chairs with an armrest on one side. There is a fabric lap belt for every two guests to share, and a circular raised platform rising from the center of the raft with a circular bar at the bottom for guests to rest their feet and another at the top for holding on to during the ride. Larger guests may be more comfortable if they have a two-seat section to themselves. Speak with a cast member if you have concerns.
What You Need to Know About Accessibility
Guests must transfer from a wheelchair or ECV to experience this attraction. Due to the nature of the experience, service animals are not permitted on this attraction.
In order to board the attraction, guests will need to take a small step from a moving walkway to the raft and then a small step down into the raft and then move to their seat.
What You Need to Know About Health and Safety Advisories
For safety, you should be in good health and free from high blood pressure, heart, back or neck problems, motion sickness, or other conditions that could be aggravated by this adventure. Expectant mothers should not ride. Expect the raft to spin, to be facing backwards at times, and for dips, drops, and bumpy or jerky movements.
What are the Height Requirements?
Guests must be at least 38 inches tall to experience Kali River Rapids.
Does Weather Affect Kali River Rapids?
Yes. Since Kali River Rapids is an outdoor water attraction, it may close in inclement weather.
What’s the Best Time of Day to Experience Kali River Rapids?
Kali River Rapids gets very popular in the summer due to the notorious Central Florida heat and humidity. Try to ride the first or last hour the park is open or use FastPass+ or the single rider line.
This chart shows you roughly how long you’ll wait for Kali River Rapids when you visit on a day with a given Disney’s Animal Kingdom Crowd Level. The blue bars represent the average “peak” wait time (that is, how long the line will be at its busiest). The bottom and top black lines represent the range of peak wait times to expect (for you fellow nerds out there: it’s the 5th percentile and 95th percentile of peak wait times). Please note that these are estimates, and for a better forecast for your travel dates, see Kali River Rapids Wait Times.
Did I answer all of your questions about Kali River Rapids? Is this attraction at the top of your family’s vacation to-do list? Let us know in the comments.
From our friends at touringplans.com Filed Under: Attractions, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, Walt Disney World (FL), Disney Attractions, disney world, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Kali River Rapids, walt disney world
If you’ve been hard at work planning or rescheduling an upcoming Disney vacation, you may have wrapped your mind around some of the big changes. But, there are still quite a few thingsthat most people booking a Disney trip right now DON’T know.
Many of the changes Disney has implemented — and the corresponding uncertainty about what comes next — could be longer lasting than you might think and they may affect vacations more than a year from now! Here’s how.
Park reservations may be required through September of next year.
Did you know theme park reservations may be necessary through September of next year or beyond? Currently, guests visiting Disney World will only be able to enter the theme parks with a Disney Park Pass reservation. Park Passes are available through September 26, 2021, so if you’re planning on heading to Disney World any time between now and then, you’ll need Park Passes to visit the theme parks.
Walt Disney World Resort entrance
Here’s what you’ll need to do to get Park Passes for your upcoming trip. First, check out Disney Park Pass availability before you book. Right now, Annual Passholders are the ticket type with the least availability for Park Passes. For Disney resort guests and ticket holders, the first two weeks of Park Passes are the only times that have shown any reduced availability to date — leaving vacations planned far enough in advance in an OK spot. Still, keep an eye on it and get those reservations booked ASAP to make sure you don’t run into any availability issues.
Pro tip! If you find you’re not able to get the Disney Park Pass reservation you need, keep trying. Sometimes more become available as other people cancel their passes and there’s always a chance Disney could add more availability along the way.
Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom
It’s also important to remember that September 2021 is a long way off. If the Disney Park Pass system remains in place, things could still change. After all, this system is entirely new and Disney might make updates or improvements along the way. We’ve already seen a number of Park Pass system glitches swiftly resolved. Beyond that, the parks’ capacities could be expanded if there is an improvement in the global health crisis, leading to more Park Pass availability.
Disney has also said that they hope to bring Park Hopping back soon and it’s currently possible to book the Park Hopper add-on with 2021 tickets. If Park Hopping returns while the Park Pass reservation system is still in place, then we might see another system change that would allow guests to make reservations for multiple parks per day.
TRON: Lightcycle Power Run is coming in 2021 to Disney World
Disney World’s 50th anniversary is next October. The 50th anniversary has long been expected to be a high-demand time for travel to Disney World. But, with so much up in the air with health concerns, new protocols, and the current need to curb capacity to support physical distancing, it’s possible Disney doesn’t want to open the sales floodgates for the 50th anniversary period just yet. Keep in mind that it’s very possible that some of these measures (like Disney Park Pass) could continue into October 2021 and beyond and affect your 50th anniversary trip.
Some Disney World hotels do not yet have a reopening date.
There are some Disney World hotels that still do not have reopening dates and aren’t currently an option for 2021 vacation packages. We’re not sure when these hotels will open, and if you’re planning to book a 2021 trip, this could have an impact on where you stay.
Grand Floridian Resort
The following hotels are currently unavailable for 2021 reservations:
Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
Disney’s All-Star Music Resort
Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort
Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter
Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge (Note that Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village and Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House are available for booking.)
Disney’s Wilderness Lodge (Note that Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge are available for booking.)
Of course, this list is always subject to change and Disney could announce more hotel reopenings at any time, but for now, you’ll need to book your 2021 vacation elsewhere.
Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
As we’re continuing to see, the ongoing global health crisis and resulting changes to the way Disney World operates could have an even longer-term effect on the way we plan and experience a trip to Disney World. As always, stay tuned to Disney Food Blog for all of the latest updates and tips for returning to Disney World!
From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com Filed Under: Disney News, disney parks, disney resorts, Featured, Walt Disney World, 50th anniversary, Disney 2021, Disney Park Pass, Disney Park Pass Theme Park Reservations, disney planning, Disney Trip 2021, Disney World 2021, Disney World 50th Anniversary, Disney World reopening, Disney World Resort hotels, disney world tickets, hotels, park hopper, park hopping, reservations, resorts
Fans of Avatar will be happy to know that some very beloved goodies are now available once more. The Avatar Wishables which sold out quickly online have appeared in Animal Kingdom upon opening. In addition to the much sought after Wishables, you can now find the Banshee shoulder pet too!
Avatar Wishables
When these Wishables first debuted on shopDisney, they sold out almost instantly! They were even restocked and still sold out again. They’ve been hard to find online, so it’s exciting to see them finally available at the Parks again! The collection features plush versions of the fascinating inhabitants of Pandora – The World of Avatar. Each blind bag includes one of four known designs from the Series or one of the two mystery designs, but you won’t know which one you have until you open the bag!
Also available is Shaman of Songs Wishable. She is not apart of the mystery bags, you can pick her up separately! She is inspired by the Shaman we see while sailing down the Na’vi River Journey attraction. Both the Shaman and the Mystery Bags retail for $9.99.
Banshee Shoulder Pets
The Banshee shoulder pet is also back! This is a cute little plush that looks just like the epic Banshees from the movie, and Flight of Passage. A little magnetic disk allows this to clip onto your shirt’s fabric, so you can wear it like a little shoulder pet. These retail for $19.99 apiece.
Are you excited that the Avatar Wishables and Banshee Shoulder pet have returned?
Special thanks to our friend Susan for the fun pics!
Kali River Rapids is located in the Asia section of Disney’s Animal Kingdom park next to the Maharajah Jungle Trek.
Kali River Rapids opened March 18, 1999, nearly a year after Disney’s Animal Kingdom’s grand opening. The attraction was originally going to be called Tiger Rapids Run but was later changed. However, it does sit next to the Maharajah Jungle Trek where guests may see live tigers, and there’s still a tiger on the sign for the attraction and few tiger-inspired set pieces during the journey.
Once the rafts leaving the loading platform, they float up and onto a slow-moving lift hill. Many guests expect the lift hill to lead to a huge drop, but it doesn’t. Instead, they experience a small dip into the river where a geyser and waterfall are nearby for a little extra splash.
The raft will then continue its journey down the river, through a small cave, and under a bridge before returning to the station.
The large circular raft vehicles seat up to 12 guests in individual plastic chairs with an armrest on one side. There is a fabric lap belt for every two guests to share, and a circular raised platform rising from the center of the raft with a circular bar at the bottom for guests to rest their feet and another at the top for holding on to during the ride. Larger guests may be more comfortable if they have a two-seat section to themselves. Speak with a cast member if you have concerns.
This chart shows you roughly how long you’ll wait for Kali River Rapids when you visit on a day with a given 
