Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
crete ditch, Grizzly River Run winds around and through Grizzly Peak, the park's fore-
mostvisualicon,withthegreatrockbearatthesummit.Featuringa50-footclimbandtwo
drops—including a 22-footer where the raft spins as it descends—the ride flows into dark
caverns and along the mountain's precipitous side before looping over itself just before
the final plunge. As part of DCA's makeover, the ride's original extreme sports elements
have been eliminated in favor of period-appropriate props supporting the new midcentury
national parks theme.
When Disney opened the Kali River Rapids raft ride at the Animal Kingdom theme
park at Walt Disney World, it was roundly criticized (and rightly so) for being a wimpy
ride. Well, we're here to tell you that Disney learned its lesson. Grizzly River Run is a
heart thumper, one of the best of its genre anywhere. And at 5½ minutes from load to un-
load, it's also one of the longest. The visuals are outstanding, and the ride is about as good
as it gets on a man-made river. While it's true that theme park raft rides have been around
a long time, Grizzly River Run has set a new standard, one we don't expect to be equaled
for some time.
TOURING TIPS
This attraction is hugely popular, especially on hot summer days. Ride the
first hour the park is open, after 4:30 p.m., or use Fastpass or the single-rider line. Make
no mistake—you will certainly get wet on this ride. Our recommendation is to wear shorts
to the park and bring along a jumbo-size trash bag, as well as a smaller plastic bag. Before
boarding the raft, take off your socks and punch a hole in your jumbo bag for your head.
Though you can also cut holes for your arms, you will probably stay drier with your arms
inside the bag. Use the smaller plastic bag to wrap around your shoes. If you are worried
about mussing your hairdo, bring a third bag for your head.
A Shaker Heights, Ohio, family who adopted our garbage-bag attire, however, dis-
covered that staying dry on a similar attraction at Walt Disney World is not without social
consequences:
I must tell you that the Disney cast members and the other people in our raft
looked at us like we had just beamed down from Mars. Plus, we didn't cut arm-
holes in our trash bags because we thought we'd stay drier. Only problem was
thatoncewesatdown,wecouldn'tfastenourseatbelts.TheDisneypersonwas
quiteputoutandaskedsarcastically whetherweneededwetsuitsandsnorkels.
After a lot of wiggling and adjusting and helping each other, we finally got
beltedinandoffwewentlookinglikesacksoffertilizerwithlittleheadsperched
on top. It was very embarrassing, but I must admit that we stayed nice and dry.
If you forget your plastic bag, ponchos are available at the adjacent Rushin' River
Outfitters. Since the summer of 2010, the Grizzly River Run Fastpass booths have been
partially taken over by
World of Color
Fastpass distribution. Depending on the day, all or
half of the Fastpass booths are taken up by
World of Color.
The booths then slowly return
to becoming Grizzly River Run booths as the
World of Color
Fastpasses have been fully
distributed. Theeffect of
WorldofColor
hasgenerally made Grizzly River Runmorepop-
