AK River Sculpture

Post by **js3901** » Mar Sun 04, 2007 6:57 pm

I remember that ride. I liked it. while it wasn't exciting or really interesting (as it didn't point things out like the safari), it was a nice way to relax and get off your feet for a little while...

Figment82 · Post by **Figment82** » Mar Mon 05, 2007 11:49 am

Hi I'm new.

I remember riding this ride, and it was very "interesting" to say the least. There were two docks, so the boats wouldn't always stop. This made guests in line get very impatient as you kept seeing boats go by but the line wouldn't move. Plus it was beyond cheesy. Surely you all remember the best joke - "The world's largest Coke float!" (a description of that boat by the entrance to Asia).

I very vaguely remember the sculpture in question, I had to watch the video to even begin to visualize it. Which is odd considering we always eat at the waterview section of Flame Tree.

But I greatly remember the animals on the other side of the river. If you were there at the right time you could sit there and watch them while you ate. A much quieter time on that side of the park!

Mr.ToadWildRider · Post by **Mr.ToadWildRider** » Mar Thu 08, 2007 2:28 am

kkbowen12 wrote:
Captain Schnemo wrote:
rdeacon wrote:From the beginning it seemed like a last minute attraction that didn't feel fully thought out.
That was my feeling. There was very little to do when the AK opened, and it felt like they just looked around and said "What about some boats in that water?".

They could have done something really cool, like a Jungle Cruise with real animals, integrated into the design of the park that also added motion to the park to make it feel more alive.
I couldn't agree more. We rode these the first summer they were open, and it was by far the lamest ride I had ever ridden at WDW. It definitely felt like an afterthought. Part of our vacation video from that year has an excerpt from that ride, and it's almost painful to see. Even the castmembers on the boat seemed to be fumbling throught their "script". I remember getting off of the boat and saying what a colossal waste of time it had been.

I also agree. We were there shortly after it opened but it was called Radio Disney cruise by then and they just played some cheesy DJ, not even music or anything AK related really. We waited in line for like an hour and a half thinking it was more than just a boat ride around a circle with maybe 2-3 sights of interest, none of which were real exciting. The only one I really remembered was the dragon cave, and as you can see it's not that great....it was literally a bunch of rocks that hid a flamethrower. There was no dragon figure or anything, just a fireball every once in a while. I remember it as being one of the reasons I really disliked AK. I was only back this last summer because of EE really and gave it another try as a half day that ended up being more like a 1/3 day. We did all the actual attractions but none of us wanted to see the shows. We didn't really care about the zoo exhibits either, especially as they aren't even very good. The best animal attraction at the park is the Safari by far, everything else seems like any decent zoo at any major city with two differences; better environment but less animals.

Getting back to the sculpture and the boats - I vaguely recall the sculpture after seeing that map image - I recall a bunch of multicolored animals all in like a lattice work arangement kibda reminiscent of the "It's great to be king" sequence of the Lion King. I never really appreciate those kinda things, maybe because I kinda look for things that I think "Only Disney would have something like that" or even better "Only Disney could do something like that" like the village queue at EE etc. That whole boat ride was one big waste of everything imo. The only thing they'd be useful for now is breaking up the EE line a bit with all the fools who are tricked into thinking they're waiting an hour for an actual attraction, not some bare boat ride (we were those fools in the past now I want to capitalize on our mistakes)

Breton · Post by **Breton** » Apr Sun 08, 2007 7:26 pm

Wow I guess something you learn everyday. I went to the park shortly after it opened and didn't even realize under the topic was brought up now that it even existed. I guess Disney is that way, it's actually kind of neat. Disney parks are sort of like movies the more you watch them the more you see that you never saw the first time around. It seems like they try and hide things from people.