Expedition Everest in the Asia area of Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park is a high-altitude, high-speed, roller coaster train ride for big kids, teens and adults to the "Roof of the World," home of the inhospitable snarling beast, the Yeti, at the mountain's peak. Climb aboard a railway car for a full-steam-ahead adventure bound for Mount Everest. Your trek across the treacherous terrain of the towering Forbidden Mountain begins with a few scenic twists and turns, then sets out on an ascent towards the summit.
From this panoramic point with amazing views across Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park, you plunge into darkness. Returning to the light, you see that the tracks have been twisted into a dead end. As the wind howls, you realize there's no place to go on this expedition-or is there? Careening into the darkness, you might get a glimpse of the denizen of this icy domain. Nail-biting hairpin turns hurl you forward and down sudden drops on the mountain slopes in a race to escape.
Background
Expedition Everest is often compared to the 1959 Matterhorn Bobsleds roller coaster at Disneyland, which also features a snowy mountain setting and an "abominable snowman" figure throughout the ride. Expedition Everest is the tallest of the artificial mountains at Walt Disney World Resort, joining Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Mount Gushmore, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain and Mount Mayday on the list of Disney-built peaks. According to Imagineering, it is Disney's 18th mountain-themed attraction.
Although moderate in height and length by contemporary roller coaster standards, Expedition Everest is unique for having its trains travel forward and backward as a result of the yeti's interference with the journey. This is accomplished through two sets of track switches before and after the backwards segment. In its publicity material, Disney pointedly has described the attraction as a family thrill ride.
The artificial mountain is not a reproduction of Mount Everest; it is the fictional "forbidden mountain" guarded by the yeti in the attraction story created by Walt Disney Imagineering. Everest is represented by the barren background peak on the far right, which is meant to suggest it is far in the distance (an example of forced perspective). The attraction's concept is that the roller coaster is a passenger train offering a speedy route through the Himalayas to the base of Mount Everest.
The Ride
The ride queue winds through a small Asian town and monastery and their museum dedicated to the local legend of the Yeti. Part of the pre-ride queue features a "shrine" to the Yeti spirit, complete with plastic fruits. It is common for riders to toss coins onto this altar. Riders reach a station in which they board a train. Advertisements say the train will take them on a journey to Mount Everest, while first passing through the Forbidden Mountain which the yeti is said to guard as his home.
The train reaches the top of the mountain and curves around the main peak, then goes through a cave. Upon leaving the cave, the train slows to a halt before track that has been torn apart, presumably by the yeti. During this brief stop, the track switches inside the cave. The train then rolls backwards into the cave and down a new route, through a dark tunnel that spirals downward.
The train comes to a halt again in a large cave inside the mountain where riders see the shadow of the yeti on the wall as he tears up more track. During this time, another track switch activates. As the shadow moves away, the train rolls forward, out of the mountain and down the main 80 ft. drop. The train makes a banked turn and speeds back up through another cave in the mountain, in which the roars of the yeti are heard again. The train exits from the backside of the mountain and enters a large helix before it is lifted back into the mountain a final time. The train drops through a cave where a large animatronic yeti reaches down to try and derail the train (when the yeti is not working for various reasons, a strobe light is fixed on it, and wind blows across it to simulate movement). Upon reaching the bottom of this drop, riders return back to the unloading dock and depart into a gift shop.
Touring Tips
- This is a high speed roller coaster with sharp and sudden turns, drops and forward and backwards movement.
- Expedition Everest is a FASTPASS attraction. The new attraction will have very long lines. FASTPASS is highly recommended!
Facts
- Up to five six-car trains of 34 passengers each in 17 two-person rows (the last row features seating for disabled guests); typically five trains are in operation, with a projected operational hourly ride capacity (OHRC) of 2,050 riders per hour with five trains or 1,850 per hour with four trains.
- This was the second Disney roller coaster to have a backwards section on it, the first being Indiana Jones et le Temple du Peril: Backwards! at Disneyland Resort Paris (2000-2004).
- According to Disney, the attraction occupies 6.2 acres in the park's Asia section and the mountain itself is just shy of 1-acre.
- Expedition Everest celebrated its grand opening on April 7, 2006 in ceremonies led by Disney CEO Bob Iger and theme parks chairman Jay Rasulo. The attraction first was announced publicly on April 22, 2003, during an event to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Disney's Animal Kingdom.
- In 2005, Disney, Discovery Networks and Conservation International conducted real-life expeditions to Nepal as part of the promotion for Expedition Everest. The purpose was to conduct scientific and cultural research in remote areas of the Himalayas where the yeti legend exists. Participants included scientists from Conservation International and Disney's Animal Kingdom, as well as Rohde. The expeditions - as well as the making of the attraction - were chronicled in three documentaries broadcast on Discovery's cable television channels in April 2006. Rohde was featured in a Travel Channel program titled "Expedition Everest: Journey to Sacred Lands," which premiered April 9 to coincide with the attraction's grand opening.
- The Discovery Channel aired the 30 minute documentary Building A Thrill Ride: Expedition Everest. The documentary started off with the construction, then revealed the planning. It also showed the construction and the clever ideas to make the ride possible.
- The ride is listed in the 2011 book of Guinness World Records as the most expensive rollercoaster in the world. Including sets and extras, the total cost of the ride was at $100m in 2006 after 6 years of planning & construction.
- The yeti's "skin" measures 1,000 square feet, and is held in place by 1,000 snaps and 250 zippers. The yeti's movement is controlled by 19 actuators when functioning in "A-mode". The yeti can move five feet horizontally, and two feet vertically, when functioning in "A-mode". The yeti is 22 feet (6.7 m) tall.
- The "Disco" Yeti has not been in full "A-mode" operation since a few months after the ride's opening. The Yeti framing split, causing significant risk of catastrophic malfunction if it were operated. It currently only operates in an alternate "B-mode" which is limited to a strobe light effect designed to give the appearance of movement. This is due to damage to its concrete base structure, which is unlikely to be repaired until a major refurbishment in the future, because the design limits access to the Yeti without major disassembly of the superstructure.
- Each train has 17 rows seating 2 persons each. Each seat has its own lap bar, which lowers like the one on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
- Bringing the Himalayan environment to Florida: More than 900 bamboo plants, 10 species of trees and 110 species of shrubs are being nurtured and planted to re-create the lowlands surrounding Mount Everest.
- Steelwork: 1,800 tons of steel were used in the mountain structure. That is about six times the amount of steel used in a traditional office building of this size.
- Color palette: 2,000 gallons of stain and paint were used on the rockwork and throughout the village. The color scheme has ritual meaning to the Himalayan culture.
- The 1953 famous final ascent of Sir Edmund Hillary is represented in Disney's man-made mountain. The coloring of Mount Everest differs from the rest of the mountain range because at more than 29,000 feet elevation, hurricane-force winds often blow the snow off its peak, revealing a raw sheet of rock.