There are a lot of unspoken rules in Disney World.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
Don’t stop in the middle of the walkway, and don’t walk in front of families taking pictures. Do not EVER yell at Cast Members (that should be a given, you guys). But one unspoken ride rule that Disney Adults and theme park experts know to follow is there to prevent awkward embarrassment!
If you’ve been to Disney World before, you know that there are a LOT of boat-based rides. Not all of them are “water” rides, per se, but many of them have boat-style seating with the chance of you getting lightly splashed.
“it’s a small world”
In Magic Kingdom, you’ve got “it’s a small world,” Jungle Cruise, and Pirates of the Caribbean, as well as Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. EPCOT is home to Frozen Ever After, Gran Fiesta Tour, and Living With the Land. And Animal Kingdom has Na’vi River Journey and Kali River Rapids. The only two TRUE water rides are Kali River Rapids and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (break out your ponchos for those!), but that doesn’t mean you’ll stay 100% dry on the others.
Kali River Rapids
It’s a rule universally unacknowledged that you shouldn’t sit all the way back in your seat on many of these boat rides. Why not? Well, if you do, you’ll be left with an unfortunately-placed and hard-to-get-rid-of water spot on your backside for a bit of the day. Some of those seats hold water like it’s their JOB.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
Of course, this stands to reason for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and Kali River Rapids, which have drops with decent-sized splashes and features like water cannons. You’re probably expecting to get soaked when you hop on those attractions. But the surprising culprits for butt-soaking are Pirates of the Caribbean and Frozen Ever After. Both of those attractions have small drops that leave the seats and bottoms of the boats covered in little puddles.
Frozen Ever After
So even if you’re avoiding the actual water rides, you’ll need to perch carefully on the edge of your seat for some of the boat rides to avoid walking around with a soggy bottom (something that Paul Hollywood hates — shout out to my Great British Baking Show peeps). For those who’ve ridden those rides countless times, it’s a natural habit at this point.
Pirates of the Caribbean
And speaking of the bottom of the ride getting wet as well — make sure you guard any valuables while on these rides! If you don’t want something to get wet, you’re better off holding it in your lap than letting it sit on the bottom of the boat.
Pirates of the Caribbean
Ultimately, doing the automatic edge-sitting isn’t the most comfortable way to ride these attractions, but it does make us feel like true Disney Adults every time. Some things you learn the hard way!
Are you the type to scoot forward, or do you bravely accept the consequences of the boat ride? Let us know!
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You also need to be careful where you sit on the monorail in those heavy Florida rain squalls. Those little wing windows sometimes leak and puddles can form on the seats.
I’m so glad I read this, I’m doing my first magic kingdom visit since 1995 in a month and I was planning on riding Tiana’s and Pirates. Now I know not to lean all the way back in my seat lol – thank you for this precious tip!! Im bringing extra ponchos for these rides