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the raft . This 5-minute expedition has lots of twists and turns — and , of course , plenty of opportunities to get wet .
Speaking of water , the ride contains a whopping 150,000 gallons of the stuff , which is about how much you could store in an industrial silo of more than 40 feet in diameter and 14 feet in height . But it ’ s not just the physics problemsolving that makes for such an impressive Imagineering feat . At Kali River Rapids , as with so many other Disney rides , it ’ s all about the details .
Many long-time Walt Disney World fans know that Joe Rohde played an important role in designing Animal Kingdom , traveling worldwide to learn more about the landscapes and cultures that Disney was emulating and representing in its theme park designs . At Kali River Rapids , that meticulous research is evident even in a place few people think to look : the ceilings along the ride ’ s queue .
Gaze up at the underside of the pavilion , whose shape — like the rest of the building ’ s features — is loosely based on a building called the Kerta Gosa on the Indonesian island of Bali . You ’ ll see an intricate series of murals . Look closely : The painted figures of animals and people adorning those sloped ceilings are from the traditional Buddhist parables known as the Jataka tales . The stories are a set of moralistic narratives , a bit like an Eastern version of Aesop ’ s fables .
These beautiful depictions are originals , painted for Walt Disney World by an old Balinese master painter , according to Rohde himself , who posted about the murals on his Instagram account in March 2020 .
“ When we started the work , I brought him a full set of western watercolor brushes as a gift ,” Rohde writes . “ He chose to paint all those murals with his traditional tools … split pieces of bamboo which he cut with a knife and smashed to create a brush .”
BELOW : Bystanders can even get in on the fun . PHOTO BY CLIFF WANG