Skip to Content

Kali River Rapids Closing for Refurbishment in January

Ride closures at Disney World are common, and one of the most popular attractions in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Kali River Rapids, has closed for a long refurbishment starting on January 8, 2024.

kali river rapids refurbishment early 2019

This is the second refurbishment announced recently as we also got word that Big Thunder Mountian Railroad will also be closing in January 2024.

During the slower periods of the year, it’s typical for Disney World to close down some of its attractions for regular maintenance. This is especially true for water attractions during the colder months.

If it has to close, then I’m happy it’s during this period when the weather is a bit cooler anyway and not in July when it feels great to get soaked!

Kali River Rapids will get a multi-month refurbishment just like it gets every year. Last year is closed in early January and reopened in late February.

At this time Disney has announced Kali River Rapids will be closed until March 15, 2024. Right now that is the official reopening date, but anything can happen and that could always be delayed depending on how the refurb goes.

Up to this point, there is no word of the Kali River Rapids refurbishment being anything more than normal maintenance.  We’ll keep you posted if the reopening is delayed any longer.

These types of refurbishments are normal in Walt Disney World during this time of year. As the crowds start to die down a bit it gives the maintenance crews time to do necessary work on the rides to keep them in top shape and address any small issues they might be having.

Rafts in the Kali River Rapids ride in Disney's Animal Kingdom

It makes sense to close it down in January as it’s not a particularly popular attraction during the colder months. It should be open in time for the Spring season, just in time for the Spring Break crowds.

Earlier this year in the winter, Kali River Rapids went down for refurbishment too, so it’s nothing out of the norm.

This isn’t the only attraction closure in recent months as there are other big ones happening around the parks.

Over in the Magic Kingdom, the Liberty Square Riverboat always gets an annual refurbishment and we expect that to be announced shortly.

TRON Lightcycle Run Roller Coaster Magic Kingdom

Also, the Haunted Mansion recently saw some improvements to the attraction with the biggest of them being the Hatbox Ghost being added.

W are constantly learning new info about Splash Mountain transforming into a Princess and the Frog ride and that should be open in late 2024.

In EPCOT, they are finishing up a big renovation to the park, and we finally got to see World Celebration and the new nighttime show Luminous The Symphony of Us.

We’ll keep you updated on the refurbishment of Kali River Rapids and let you know if there are any big changes to announce. Check out our Walt Disney World refurbishments page for more details on all the closures and stay tuned here at Ziggy Knows Disney for more…

Also, don’t forget to sign up for our FREE Weekly E-Mail Newsletter. There we bring you the latest updates on the parks as well as vacation planning tips. You can sign up here: Join our E-Mail Newsletter!

Your Thoughts:

I want to know what you think about Kali River Rapids closing for refurbishment in 2024…

  • Are you upset by it?
  • Does this change your vacation plans?

Let us know in the comments section below!

If you enjoyed this article, as always I appreciate it if you’d share it with others via social media.  I work hard at making this website into a useful resource for you and your family to plan your visit to the Disney Parks and I hope it can help you! Thanks 🙂

marion

Tuesday 7th of March 2023

Thanks for the updates. Good article.