The O.G. of the Disney river rapids rides comes in at the bottom of our list.  Like many of our rankings, being “last” isn’t reflective of a bad ride.  Kali River Rapids takes advantage of the Florida geography to create a true Jungle feel, and the years since its opening mean that the foliage has had plenty of time to surround the attraction and boost the theming.  There are plenty of water spray features on this one – more so than on its counterparts.  However, the backstory is a bit too loose here – with the illegal logging company making an impressive, but short, single scene that almost feels confusing or out of place.  The fact that the ride has only one drop, when all of its counterparts have two, as well as the rest of the experience being rather tame, makes the entire experience feel a bit…lacking.  That all said, the theming does not let up once, and the ride has some breathtaking reveals of Everest and the rest of the park.  Kali River Rapids may be our least favorite Disney river rapids ride, but it’s still loads better than most of the non-Disney rapids rides in the world.

California’s version of the river rapids ride is an incredibly well-themed adventure through a National Park setting.  This was a Disney California Adventure opening day attraction, and despite a minor re-theme from a modern white-water rafting trip to a mid-1930’s adventure, little has changed.  That’s saying a lot in a relatively young park that has had most of its theme, lands, and rides turned upside-down (some more than once!).  The ride journeys up, around, and through a large grizzly-bear shaped mountain, and contains two major drops.  The second – dubbed the “Grizzly Go-Round” grabs the raft and spins it before releasing it down the drop – a true highlight of the experience, found only on this version. The theming is top notch here – with the superb Grand Californian Hotel being about the only thing you can see outside of the wilderness itself – perfect thematic cohesion in the truest sense.  The ride has a couple of minor flaws – one being the complete lack of bears of any kind (static or animatronic) – which seems like a major oversight given its name and theming.  The low humidity and cool evenings of Southern California means that weather can often deter riders.  Regardless of these minor quibbles, Grizzly River Run is arguably one of the best – if not the best – themed attractions in all of Disney California Adventure, and a beautifully executed attraction, from start to finish.

Roaring Rapids at Shanghai Disneyland turned out to be a surprise highlight for us, and grabs the top spot of this ranking list without question.  We made our first trip to Shanghai Disneyland with our focus on the two most popular headliners – Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure, and Tron Lightcycle Power Run.  While those two lived up to the hype (and then some), Roaring Rapids and its entire Roaring Mountain setting, blew away all of our expectations.  The mountain is absolutely stunning, and just walking around, exploring its endless caves and trails is an attraction in and of itself.  The backstory of this land – including the native Arbori tribe and the League of Adventurers – is matched in execution only by Thunder Mesa at Disneyland Paris.  Further, Roaring Mountain is surrounded by the phenomenal Challenge Trails attraction – another surprise winner for us.  The interaction of these attractions and trails with Roaring Rapids means big points scored.  The ride itself begins by building anticipation with a slow-paced trip through well-themed stretches of jungle and ruins that will only grow more impressive over the years as the foliage continues to build.  After a climb that seems to last forever, things quickly get wild and wet. But it’s the journey inside Roaring Mountain itself – and the encounter with the beast therein – that is the highlight of this attraction.  Q’araq is an animatronic on the scale of few others, and the monster’s size and proximity to your raft is one of those rare Disney moments we found genuinely frightening.  Add in a couple of fun drops, a gorgeous geyser feature, and a massive whirlpool, and Roaring Rapids seals the deal as best Disney river rafting ride in the world.