Kali River Rapids Height Requirement (Plus How It Is a Kid’s Dream Ride)

My oldest son has been to Walt Disney World several times since he was a baby. Each year his new age (and newly acquired height) opens up new and exciting opportunities for him to experience. Tack on some recently acquired bravery and this ‘big’ kid is ready and excited to try out new Disney adventures!

Being the ‘big boy’ that he is, he conquered the Seven Drawfs Mine Ride in the Magic Kingdom, Star Tours in Disney’s Hollywood Studios and, one of his favorites, Kali River Rapids in Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

While he just made the Kali River Rapids height requirements, initially it was the hardest sell for him, as he had no idea what to expect. He knew that water was involved, but he didn’t know exactly how. With some hesitation, he agreed to ride (twice!) and has now declared Kali River Rapids to be his dream ride.

I have to agree, Kali River Rapids is basically a kid’s dream ride. The reasons why can be summed with the insights of my (big) little one:

You Get to Be Captain (If You Met the Kali River Rapids Height Requirement)

The height necessary to ride Kali River Rapids is 38 inches according to the Disney official website.

Mr. D. passed the height test to ride Kali River Rapids of 38″ tall! He did, however, need to be in a special ‘safety’ seat. The seat is designed for smaller passengers who have just made the first height cutoff.  Or those who are 38″ to 42″ in height.

Change the ‘safety’ seat name to ‘captain’s’ seat and suddenly it’s the hottest number in town.

A special orange bar was placed in front of him once his seat belt was fastened. The special bar is standard in all the rafts and just adds a little extra support for those who might be a little on the shorter side. It basically means you’re a pretty big deal. Plus, you get to ‘steer’ the ship. You are the captain after all.

Mr. D ate it all up!

You Might Get Wet

Mr. D. was a little skeptical about the fact that he ‘might’ get wet on Kali River Rapids.

Spoiler alert, you WILL get wet on this ride.

It’s basically a guarantee.

Mr. D wasn’t 100% on board with this being a definite possibility, so it took a little coaxing and creative planning to ensure protection from the elements.

Enter the rain poncho.

Mr. D. and I wore ponchos to ‘protect’ us from the elements.

Spoiler alert: the ponchos didn’t work for me. I ended up getting completely soaked because my poncho had folded up in the back. Therefore, I was basically sitting in a giant puddle. Mr. D’s, on the other hand, was position perfectly, keeping him nice and dry.

Mr. D thought it was hilarious that I got wet and he didn’t. So he was beginning to think anytime he rode he wouldn’t get wet.

Due to my oldest son, being tall enough to ride Kali River Rapids, but my youngest son being too little, my husband and I completed a rider switch to both be able to ride Kali River Rapids. Following our ride, my little one came up with the plan to ‘trick’ daddy into thinking he wasn’t going to get wet.

If you have ridden Kali River Rapids, you know that it’s a water ride with the water portion in plain sight. This is because, again spoiler alert, it is a giant raft ride. My four-year-old thought it was the coolest thing ever to pretend like my husband, his daddy, couldn’t see the water. This meant we could trick him into thinking he wouldn’t get wet.

Oh, to have the imagination of a four-year old!

You Might Trick Daddy Into Getting Wet

Well, my husband, who is an awesome sport, went along with the little scheme. He boarded Kali River Rapids and pretended that he had NO clue what was about to happen. Then when the raft started moving and the waves started crashing against the raft, he pretended to be utterly shocked. Mr. D. was squealing with delight as the water poured over and over again onto my husband’s head.

That right there made the ride a million times more amazing for Mr. D. and an instant favorite. Silly daddies are the best, aren’t they?

Next time you’re in Disney’s Animal Kingdom and you are thinking about whether or not Kali River Rapids is going to be an amazing ride for your four-year-old, wonder no more. Mr. D. continues to talk about how amazing Kali River Rapids is to this day. It’s an absolute favorite of his and I’m sure ten years from now we will still be talking about how gullible daddy was back then…