Credit: DisneyHere’s everything you need to know about Expedition Everest.
Related: After Stocks Tumble, White House Walks Back Movie Tariffs
There are so many options for guests to choose from when visiting Disney. Walt Disney World is home to four sprawling theme parks, two water parks, and an enormous shopping center known as Disney Springs.
Disney World also features many thrilling attractions like Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios, Space Mountain at the Magic Kingdom, Soarin’ at EPCOT, and perhaps Disney’s most thrilling ride to date, Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
While Animal Kingdom features a whole host of attractions like the relaxing Kilimanjaro Safaris or the terrifying DINOSAUR, few attractions across all of Walt Disney World or even Disneyland compare to Expedition Everest.
The History of Expedition Everest
Related: Disney’s Animal Kingdom Was Supposed to Have Unicorns and Dragons
Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain is located in the Asia section of Disney’s Animal Kingdom and offers guests a thrilling train ride through the infamous Himalayas.
For those who may be unaware, Disney’s Animal Kingdom has a motto or saying which goes like this: “Welcome to a kingdom of animals… real, ancient, and imagined: a kingdom ruled by lions, dinosaurs, and dragons; a kingdom of balance, harmony, and survival; a kingdom we enter to share in the wonder, gaze at the beauty, thrill at the drama and learn.”
Expedition Everest‘s history could be considered a long one, depending on whether you include the park’s ill-fated Beastly Kingdom expansion.
This proposed expansion to Disney’s Animal Kingdom was an exciting and ambitious addition to the Walt Disney World Resort, adding mythological creatures and fantastical areas for guests to enjoy. Unicorns, dragons, and knights in shining armor, this expansion had it all. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be and never came to fruition, leaving Animal Kingdom without this third “imagined” element, until 2006, that is…
Expedition Everest was announced publicly on April 22, 2003, a little less than five years after Animal Kingdom opened. The construction of this new attraction began a month before it was announced and took three years to complete.
Expedition Everest opened for previews on January 26, 2006, and had its grand opening on April 7, 2006, with the ceremony being led by Disney CEO Bob Iger. The ride stands tall at 199.5 feet and is currently the tallest attraction at the entire Walt Disney World Resort, just barely beating out The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney’s Hollywood Studios by a mere 6 inches.
Disney actually made a documentary on the development and construction of the ride, which aired just before its official release on the Discovery Channel. Here, guests can get a super in-depth sneak peek into the details of the ride as well as old footage of Joe Rohde when he was still working for The Walt Disney Company! See the video below:
The Ride Experience
To say Expedition Everest is thrilling would be an understatement, with the ride whipping guests back and forth and plunging them up and down treacherous-looking train tracks.
The ride starts simple enough at a station in a local town at the base of the Himalayas. As guests enter the fictional touring company “Himalayan Escapes,” they are engulfed by an incredible amount of authentic Asian props and artifacts, all solidifying the history of the mysterious Yeti.
Once guests board the steam train-themed coaster, they leave the station and head toward the mountain. It may be a surprise to you, but Expedition Everest’s story doesn’t actually take place on Mount Everest, but on “the forbidden mountain”.
If you look at the attraction from far enough away, you can see Mount Everest, which is colored and shaded differently toward the right side of the mountain. The actual peak of the mountain is part of this “forbidden mountain” that Disney created for the attraction’s story.
Guests weave and bob with the “natural” valleys and vegetation surrounding the bottom of Mount Everest until ultimately heading straight up toward it. Originally, there used to be sensors that would trigger fog and mist machines once guests reached the top of the mountain, but unfortunately, these were turned off due to unverified issues (many cite corrosion or sensor failure).
The train eventually comes to a screeching halt, leaving riders stuck, almost as if the train itself is deciding what to do.
Suddenly, the track behind guests switches, and the train reverses. The train starts taking guests backward for what feels like forever, winding upwards in complete darkness. Eventually, riders come all the way back, and the track switches again in front of them.
These two track switches weigh 200,000 pounds each and complete their rotations within four seconds, a true Disney Imagineering miracle. Once guests witness a projection of the Yeti ripping apart more track, guests are plunged down a frightening 80-foot drop.
Guests then go back inside the mountain and back out again until, ultimately, coming face to face with one of the largest and most impressive audio-animatronics ever created. This beast of an animatronic could fill its own section of the guide, which it will.
The Yeti
Disney Imagineering really outdid itself when bringing this mythological creature to life. The Yeti stands at a whopping 25 feet tall, and its “skin” is composed of 1,000 square feet of fabric.
Nineteen different actuators control its range of movement, and Fred Tatasciore, who has worked on The Incredible Hulk and other animated films, voices its roars. The Yeti animatronic is truly terrifying, an incredible feat of not just Disney Imagineering but engineering in general.
Unfortunately, somewhere around a year after the ride opened, the Yeti was already causing serious problems for the attraction.
Eventually, the Yeti was moved from what guests “lovingly” refer to as A-mode (full articulation and movement) to B-mode (stationary with a strobe light effect). The Yeti has remained in B-mode, also called “Disco Yeti,” ever since.
The ride itself is still a fantastic experience and remains one of Disney World’s most popular attractions. Guests really can’t go wrong at Animal Kingdom, but a day at the park truly isn’t complete without taking the plunge on Expedition Everest at least once or twice.
Do you enjoy Expedition Everest at Disney’s Animal Kingdom? What do you like most about Expedition Everest?