June 99: Pics from Andrew and Kelly's June visit should be on this site by late July.

February/March 99: With the Sneak Preview of Kali River Rapids for Cast Members on Feb 10-14, and the regular Preview opening of Maharajah Jungle Trek in the beginning of February, all of Asia has now opened. Annual Passport holders will have preview days March 6 and 7, and the grand opening is on schedule for March 18. Soft openings are expected to continue until then.
Photos from Darren Brown's Preview visit:

Signs at Anandapur's entrance; Maharajah's entrance path

The Gibbon tower:

Entry to the tiger habitat; very detailed:

Ornate fountains:

Tigers:

A photo of Kali River Rapids toward the unloading platform. Watch out for those elephants!

Photos from Marianne and Trent from the Cast Preview of Kali: the decoration in the queue area:

The rafts on the river:

Check out the authentic "7-11" boats on Discovery River by the Asia bridge. Ask a Cast Member about their use (they visit stilt homes to deliver groceries & supplies).

December: Much of Asia "preview" opened to the public on Friday December 18! Inital reports are positive about the Maharajah Jungle Trek - lots of sightings of tigers, gibbons and giant bats, and the themeing of this new area (Anandapur) is much admired. Maharajah is in 'soft' opening with limited hours daily (initially 10am to noon) until the animals are acclimatized to the public. The water ride is apparently now called "Kali River Ride", and speculation about its opening is that it will be in the spring.
For more photos from the public opening of Maharajah Jungle Trek, click here to see Martin's pics.
Andrew visited in early December (pre-opening) and reported on the activity in preparing for the opening. Pictures below.
October: Disney has quietly dropped the Tiger Rapids Run name and replaced it with a generic "white water raft ride" moniker. Speculation is that a new 'Asian' name will shortly grace this ride. For now, we haven't changed the Tiger Rapids Run name for our tour.
September: Details on the Maharajah Jungle Trek and Tiger Rapids Run!
From the cast publication "Eyes & Ears" Aug 27 and Sep 3, we reprint descriptions of these two new attractions:

Tiger Rapids Run
'Let's take a trip down Tiger Rapids Run (scheduled to open Spring 1999).
Guests visiting Asia first will enter the village of Anandapur. Nepal, India, Thailand and Indonesia are all represented through architecture, animal carvings and ruins scattered throughout the village and rain forest.
After meandering through the village, guests will find themselves preparing for an adventure on Tiger Rapids Run. They'll board 12-person rafts that are launched into the Chakranadi river. Chakranadi means 'river that runs in a circle'. Traveling into a bamboo tunnel, they will be surrounded by jasmine-tinged mist as their raft climbs 40 feet up-river to the river's headwaters. Beyond that will be white-water thrills as the rafts lurch and spin guests along the river.
Then a waterfall will appear, and a giant carved face of a tiger will become visible behind the fall. The rafts will sail past the forest and temple ruins. Next a bamboo thicket will appear and the jasmine aroma will be replaced by the smell of burning wood. A twist in the river will bring guests face to face with a slope of logged-out forest burning out of control.
More adventure will await on a white-knuckle race through turbulent waters that reveal a surprise around every turn.'

An artists' conception of the Rapids and Maharajah Jungle Trek:

Maharajah Jungle Trek
'Let's take a walk on Maharajah Jungle Trek where guests will see exotic Asian wildlife.
Maharajah Jungle Trek is scheduled to open late this fall. When guests leave Tiger Rapids Run, they'll continue along the trail of the Maharajah Jungle Trek. Komodo dragons, which grow up to 12 feet long, will perch on rocks near a stream bed. After crossing a wooden foot bridge, guests will see Malayan tapirs. Then they'll see families of bats through glass.

The ruins of a maharajah's (Indian prince's) palace will set the scene for a dramatic view of a group of tigers.

Before guests complete the trek, they'll be treated to a walk-through of an aviary with a lotus pool, where many species of birds will live.'

Our original March 1998 tour continues

Welcome to the village of Anandapur, entrance to Asia:

Asia has opened up a new area, where the Ice Cream truck is located:

Also check out the old-style fluorescent street lights.

New in July 98 in Asia are daily performances in Anandapur village for "traditional music from India meshed with today's hip-hop beat."

(The Maharajah Jungle Trek with live Tiger encounters and other Asian animals and attractions opened late fall 1998 (preceeding article); Tiger Rapids Run, the major white water rapids ride opened in March 1999)

You pass by Asia on the return train ride from Conservation Station to Harambe in Africa.

A preview of an Asian village

And you've got a good view of the Asia shoreline from the Safari Village bridge.

If you compare the photo above, taken March 1998 and the photos below, taken June & November 1998, you will notice that there are a lot of mature trees and shrubs that have been planted.

There is a stage show in an outdoor theatre just by the Boat dock, Caravan Stage (July 1999 note - there is a major new theatre under construction beside the Caravan Stage).

Flights of Wonder is a journey in search of lost treasures, starring many free-flying birds.

Photo from eyes&ears Apr 98

In early summer 98, a new section opened, that has a refreshment stand and some hoarding that has preview maps of the Asia, including the Tiger Rapids Run:

Now let's head along the path towards Africa.

As you're walking along this path, there is a 'hidden trail' (look to your right after the food area), with a stepping stone path across a stream:

Click here to continue on to Africa!

Let's head to Harambe village