There’s something unusual about the jagged, snow-capped peak that lords over Anandapur… As train after train of travelers ascend into the heights of the Himalayas, a distant roar echoes among the windchimes. It must be the wind… and yet, signs throughout the village warn of something spectacular said to be hidden away in the snow… an ancient guardian fiercely protecting the sacred summit… Are you brave enough to tackle one of Disney’s most thrilling rides ever?
Our Modern Marvels series is growing, with each entry dedicated to telling the complete behind-the-scenes story of some of the industry’s most spectacular attractions. We’ve watched a monkey, music, and magic come to life on the unbelievable Mystic Manor, faced the fury of an ancient curse on Revenge of the Mummy, gotten the “scoop” on The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, toured the halls of Disneyland Paris’ one-of-a-kind Phantom Manor, trekked through one of Disney’s best rides ever, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and so many more.
Image: Disney
Brought to life through astounding storytelling, unbelievable sets, innovative technologies, and one (record-)breaking Audio-Animatronics figure, Expedition Everest: Legend of the Forbidden Mountain joins our Modern Marvels library, and today we’ll ascend into the mysteries of Everest, look back on the making of Disney’s Animal Kingdom and its promise of “imagined” creatures, go for a wild ride through the legend of the Forbidden Mountain, and take a peek behind the legendary mists… And today, our story begins with a little evidence…
Origin stories
1921. Led by the intrepid explorer Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Howard-Bury, the eight-man British Mount Everest Reconnaissance Expedition set off through Tibet in search of a scalable route to the peak of the tallest mountain on Earth. It happened along the Kharta Glacier, where the team stumbled upon the previously unknown Lhakpa La pass – the “Windy Gap,” a ridge between Himalayan peaks.
Image: Mount Everest The Reconnaissance (1921), public domain
In this snow-covered col 21,000 feet (that’s nearly four miles) above sea level, Howard-Bury and his team made a most remarkable discovery… enormous footprints stamped in the snow. In his 1921 publication Mount Everest The Reconnaissance, the explorer noted aloud that they “were probably caused by a large loping grey wolf, which in the soft snow formed double tracks rather like those of a bare-footed man.” He was careful to note, however, that his Tibetan Sherpa guides “at once volunteered” that the tracks were that of the metoh-kangmi – the man-bear snowman.
Upon their return, members of the expedition spoke wildly of their near-miss with the “Wild Man of the Snows.” A writer for The Statesman in Calcutta interviewed the crew, mistranslating the word metoh as “filthy,” and taking a little artistic and dramatic license to choose the synonym “abominable.”
Image: Frank S. Smythe (1937), public domain
It wasn’t the first mention of the now-famous “Abominable Snowman,” and it wouldn’t be the last. Since at least the 1700s, stories were told of Himalayan Lepcha people who worshipped a “glacier being”; followers of the Bön religion believed in an ape-like mi rgod (“wild man”); in 1832, a British trekker retold tales of a large, bipedal creatures with long, dark hair seen by a northern Nepal village… his conclusion? It must have been an orangutan.
But it wasn’t until Howard-Bury’s 1921 reconnaissance expedition that Westerners descended on Tibet and Nepal making increasingly determined trips through the Himalayas and occasionally reporting seeing strange tracks or odd creatures…
No one would reach the summit of the tallest mountain on Earth for another 32 years (when Sherpa Tenzing Norgay would lead Sir Edmund Hillary up the peak in 1953), but decade after decade after decade, more and more evidence (from skeptical to pseudo-scientific) grew, only further fascinating would-be wanderers about this astounding natural wonder and its supposed mountain guardian… the “Yeti.”
Ascent to adventure
Image: Disney
Disneyland opened just two years after Norgay and Hillary’s record climb. Perhaps unknowingly, the growth of the first of Disney’s famed “mountains” began then, too… In excavating dirt for the foundation and moat for Sleeping Beauty Castle, a large amount of sediment was displaced and set between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland (which, at that time, was not a throughfare). When the Skyride opened in 1956, the mound of soil was built up around the ride’s large central support pylon to disguise it, and the so-named “Holiday Hill” was dotted with benches and tables to encourage visiting families to picnic there.
Still, Walt began to envision covering the hill with artificial snow and operating a toboggan ride down its slopes. When the park’s construction chief, Joe Fowler, outright rejected the concept, Walt and his team instead began looking to the emerging “Wild Mouse” style roller coasters cropping up around the world, wondering if somehow they could incorporate a roller coaster into a dramatic, snowy, artificial mountain…
Image: Disney
It all came together when Walt took an extended trip to Switzerland to oversee the filming of Third Man on the Mountain (a film no doubt buoyed by the real-life success of Norgay and Hillary, just as Disney’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was partly green-lit over the actual successes of nuclear subs crossing the Arctic). Set against the beautiful Swiss Alps in the “golden age of alpinism,” the film followed one man’s brave ascent up the legendary Matterhorn to fulfill his father’s dream.
Walt, it’s said, was so deeply moved by the snow-capped, distinctive Matterhorn, he purchased a postcard with it, addressed it to his lead architect in California, and on the reverse simply wrote, “Vic – build this. Walt.”
Image: Disney
Naturally, Matterhorn Bobsleds opened in 1959 as part of the largest expansion in Disneyland’s history (with Submarine Voyage and the Monorail opening the same day, each earning the newly-created “E-Ticket” designation). The first tubular steel-tracked roller coaster in the world, Matterhorn Bobsleds became an enduring icon of Disneyland and, to this day, remains a Disneyland exclusive.
Of course, Disney Parks would soon become synonymous with “mountains…” Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and Splash Mountain would follow, each becoming Disney standards.
Image: Disney
But of great note to today’s story, Disney wasn’t done with the Matterhorn. In the 1970s – two decades after Walt’s trip to Switzerland – Imagineers revisited the Disneyland original. First, the Matterhorn was “moved” from Tomorrowland to Fantasyland, accentuating the storybook aspects of the forested queue, Bavarian station, and whimsical toboggan ride.
Then, in 1978, a major reimagining literally and figuratively filled in the mountain. Where riders during the first two decades had plunged through the dark, hollow interior of the mountain, it was now redesigned to feature icy caverns and crystal grottos, all underscored by howling alpine winds.
Image: Bill Debevc, Flickr (license)
Perhaps most notably, the mountain also became home to something surprising… throughout its frigid tunnels and darkened runs, the Abominable Snowman took up residence, protecting the mountain from intruders (…that’s us). Two times during the ride, tobogganers would be attacked the Audio-Animatronic snow monster. Even if this “ghost of the Alps” was a long way from its Himalayan origin story, the distant, echoing roar of the abominable snowman over the alpine wind became a staple of Disneyland… and inspiration for an entire genre of animatronic encounters…
A new breed
Now, our story leaps ahead two decades.
In the early 1990s Walt Disney World was still a massive, international resort, but it had one fewer theme park than it does today. That was soon to change. In 1995, Disney announced an unprecedented fourth theme park that would join Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and the Disney-MGM Studios that had opened just six years earlier. When Disney’s Wild Animal Kingdom opened in 1998, it would be an entirely new kind of theme park.
Image: Disney
From the very first conceptual renderings, it was clear that this new Wild Animal Kingdom would be a striking departure from (and perhaps even a counter-strike against) the still-new studio park. Dispensing entirely with the “behind-the-scenes” motif and the beige “backlot” soundstages and mixed intellectual properties that marked such ‘90s studio-themed parks, Wild Animal Kingdom would instead set course for the unknown, inviting guests into real, habitable, photorealistic African villages, collapsed Asian ruins, overgrown natural oases, and the encounters with life – both living and legendary – that underscored each.
With more than 1,000 living animals sprawled around 500 acres (compared to the original Disneyland’s 85 acres), this new breed of theme park would turn guests into adventurers, setting off into the unknown and becoming immersed in the cultures of the corners of the planet… Food, music, hospitality, energy, and romance all predicated upon our connection with nature and the animals – “real, ancient, and imagined” that surround us.
Image: Disney
From the start, Imagineers and executives knew they’d have a serious question to contend with: what would make Disney’s Wild Animal Kingdom different from their much closer (and much cheaper) local zoo? And boy did they have a beastly answer! Read on…
Nahtazū
Visitors to Walt Disney World come from around the country and around the world. They may have unique accents, languages, and customs; their own fashion and food… but one thing most visitors tend to have in common? They live within a day trip of a zoo. In some cases, they may even live near a very, very good zoo. Which raises the all-important question: even if Disney’s Animal Kingdom would be a very, very, very good zoo, what would make it worth Disney-level admission prices that could be exponentially higher than tickets to the local zoo back home?
Disney’s answer is a memorable one, and throughout the park’s development, Disney Imagineers had to balance a careful consideration: continuously ensuring that Disney’s Wild Animal Kingdom was “Nahtazū,” but so much more.
Sure, Animal Kingdom would be arranged by “continent” as many zoos are; and yes, as the 21st century approached more and more zoos were transitioning to “animal theme parks” themselves, populated by “exotic” architecture meant to evoke Africa, Asia, South America, Australia, etc. rather than simple enclosures. And it’s true that the stars of Disney’s Wild Animal Kingdom would be the 1,000 animals in Disney’s care, housed in intricate habitats that would look convincingly natural and boundary-free – a mainstay of modern zoos; the park is even accredited by the AZA – the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
But Disney’s new park would take it a step further.
“Ancient and imagined”
Click and expand for a larger and more detailed view. Image: Disney
Michael Eisner called for Disney’s Wild Animal Kingdom to be “a kingdom of animals real, ancient, and imagined; a kingdom ruled by lions, dinosaurs, and dragons…”
Famed Imagineer Joe Rohde lead the development of the park’s photorealistic Africa and Asia, overseeing the crafted Discovery Island and the park’s exotic, exploratory theme, but this park would contain two entirely original realms to bring those “ancient and imagined” animals to life (as only Disney can)… The grand slam to make Disney’s Wild Animal Kingdom into something that was “Nahtazū” at all.
Image: Disney
Take, for example, those “ancient” creatures… As the story goes, a remote highway in the southwest United States had, for decades, been home to a simple sand and gravel company and an adjoining gas station to fuel up the big rigs that would rumble in and out on delivery… until the diggers dug up a massive dinosaur bone, causing tourists and scientists alike to decend on the once-lonely highway. With the shambling Excavator roller coaster and a family dark ride to the past aboard Time Rovers, the tourist-trap of Dinoland U.S.A. would be the first piece to set Animal Kingdom apart from a zoo.
The second was perhaps even more ambitious…
Image: Disney
To bring “imagined” creatures to life, a second design team was developing Beastly Kingdom, a legendary realm split in two: good and evil. In its grim, scorched, medieval half, thrillseekers would find the Dragon Tower roller coaster; its lighter, fairytale, Grecian half would include animatronic encounters with griffons, unicorns, and dancing hippos. We took an in-depth walkthrough through the would-be land in its own feature, Possibilityland: Beastly Kingdom.
When the budget for Disney’s Wild Animal Kingdom ballooned, then-CEO Michael Eisner made the tough call to put one of the two concepts out to pasture. As it happens, dinosaurs were riding a wave of popularity after the 1993 release of Jurassic Park, and Imagineers working on the Dinoland project offered to scrap the Excavator and save big bucks by repurposing Disneyland’s EMV-based Indiana Jones Adventure into a thrilling dinosaur-themed duplicate for cheap.
Beastly Kingdom was shelved. Of course, it was all-but-inevitable that Beastly Kingdom would come to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, just in a planned “Phase II” expansion once the ultra-expensive park had made back some of its budget. Simply, it would have to wait.
Image: Disney
So when the renamed Disney’s Animal Kingdom finally opened in 1998, it was without any “imagined” creatures… except a few hidden hints that Beastly Kingdom would arrive soon. Guests liked the new park but weren’t entirely convinced that its two notable rides made it worth Disney-level admission prices.
It meant that, from the day it opened, guests, Imagineers, and Disney executives agreed that Disney’s Animal Kingdom needed to grow, and that Phase II should start immediately.
Growth spurt
Image: Disney
Like all theme parks, Disney’s Animal Kingdom had its fair share of growing pains.
When the park opened on April 22, 1998, it offered just four rides in its line-up – two transportation rides (a short-lived River Cruise and the Wildlife Express train), the truly terrifying Countdown to Extinction thrill ride, and the headlining and massive Kilimanjaro Safaris.
And sure, the park offered hundreds of spectacular animal experiences, some hit shows (including the runaway smash Festival of the Lion King), unusually exotic food, and nooks and crannies worth exploring. But at least for the family determined to check-off the attraction boxes, Disney’s Animal Kingdom didn’t have enough experiences to best a day of Magic Kingdom’s fantasy favorites, the wonders of Epcot, or the thrills of Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Naturally, all were in agreement that it was time for the “Phase II” expansion of the park that had already been planned, bringing Beastly Kingdom to life where the temporary Camp Minnie-Mickey family area had been built. The problem is, the medieval land of dragons and unicorns was already under construction… just up the road at Universal Orlando.
Image: Universal
The Imagineers behind the decommissioned dragon project – fed up with Disney’s cost-cutting ways during the infamous post-Paris era, rallied and took their plans up the road where Universal was experimenting with its own Disney-style theme park… It’s often said that Disney Imagineers built the astounding Universal’s Islands of Adventure, and that’s not a lie. In fact, we traced the almost-unbelievable story of how Disney’s cancelled Beastly Kingdom came to life a few miles away in the must-read Lost Legend: The Lost Continent feature.
That meant that Disney needed to find a new way to bring thrills and “imagined” creatures to Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Legends arise
Image: Disney
Despite their image tied deeply to princess, pirates, and family fare, most readers here won’t be surprised that Disney does adventure well. Look no further than our in-depth Lost Legend and Modern Marvel entries on explorations 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, to the Center of the Earth, from the Earth to the Moon, and so many more. And yet, there may be no journey more epic than that to Everest.
In real life, only about a thousand people have ever summitted the tallest mountain on Earth, and several hundred have died in pursuit… And when it came time to bring the legends of Everest and its abominable guardian to life, Disney had to call upon its entire portfolio.
Image: Disney
Led by Joe Rohde – again, that creative visionary behind the rest of Disney’s Animal Kingdom – a team of Imagineers did a deep dive in Tibet to uncover the textures and tactile features of a world so different from our own. In so doing, they concieved of an expansion to the park’s Asia ruled over by the Himalayas. The expansive mountain range would feature a number of forced perspective peaks with only the farthest being Everest.
Rohde and his team set to work developing ideas for a roller coaster through the Himalayas, carefully balancing the ride’s budget and scale. Initial clay mock-ups of the design at the top of this section, for example, showed that the too-large mountain would be dwarfed anyway, given that the train would be constantly entering and exiting the peak and thus throw off the careful forced perspective.
The plan was reformatted again and again. It took 24 clay versions before the team finalized what would become Expedition Everest.
Image: Disney
They’d cast the roller coaster as a scenic tourist trip through the Himalayas. Our mission? To reach Everest by way of the Forbidden Mountain pass… The one supposedly under the protection of the Yeti itself…
Speaking of which, the inevitable encounter with the mythical Yeti wouldn’t just be the highlight of this new E-Ticket… it would be the driving force behind the entire plot, deeply embedded in Tibetan culture. Joe Rohde commented, “We position the Yeti as justifiably angry. He is sabotaging the railroad; driving us out of the mountain. His message is ‘You don’t have a right to everything you might want to claim.'”
Image: Disney
The otherworldly beast would be represented in many different forms and media throughout the park and the ride’s queue, hinting at its mysterious and larger-than-life presence in the community, but as for what the “real” Yeti inside the ride would look like? To figure that out, Imagineers worked with biologist Stuart Sumida to use the primate features we know and logically create a creature that could survive in the Himalayas.
In so doing, Disney’s Animal Kingdom would also recieve its first ever “imaginary” animal… (Or is it?)
Expedition Everest: Legend of the Forbidden Mountain offically opened on April 7, 2006, extending the park’s Asia and creating a new outer loop between Asia and Dinoland along the edge of the Discovery River.
On the next page, we’ll step into Animal Kingdom’s Anandapur and then explore the wonders of Everest to face to Yeti at last! Read on…
The path to Everest
In 1999, the first of Disney’s Animal Kingdom’s Phase II growth opened… Asia. Back then, only half of the eventual Asia we’re in today had come to be. Just as the park’s Africa is localized and incarnate in the village of Harambe, a trip to the park’s Asia invites us into the kingdom of Anadapur (in Sanskrit, “the place of many delight”) at the deltas of the Discovery and Chakranadi Rivers.
The realm is one of serenity and mysticism; misty Asian ruins, churning waters, and habitable villages – just one of the unique aspects of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Unlike the fantasy-infused “lands” at Magic Kingdom with their quasi-historic, perfected, idealized story book sights, the kingdom of Anandapur might as well be a brick-by-brick recreation of a real place on the map. It feels inhabited, lived in, and authentic… a photorealistic recreation of a true Asian village.
Image: HarshLight, Flickr (license)
Even the most experienced world travelers would gaze upon Disney’s Asian village at the river’s edge in wonder, eager to discover the layers of detail in this lived-in world. And there are plenty.
In true Animal Kingdom style, every square inch of the land is faithfully dedicated to in-universe storytelling and immersion. Throughout the land’s restaurants, shops, and paths, the legend of Anadapur unfolds. Chalk that up to the hard work of Joe Rohde and his team of Imagineers who went to immeasurably great lengths to make sure the worlds of Animal Kingdom indeed feel rooted in reality… every smell, texture, sound, and symbol is real, created tirelessly as part of a commitment to “ambient storytelling,” subconsciously setting a story through deeply layered detail.
Image: Disney
Take, for example, the land’s signature animal experience, the Maharajah Jungle Trek. Along its course, guests pass by the tomb of the kingdom’s founder. Observant trekkers will note that this rainforest sanctuary is so-named because it was once the private hunting grounds of the Maharajah of Anandapur (who died in a not-at-all-ironic hunting accident). Soon after, it was retained as an imperial British outpost before being turned over to the villagers of Anadapur years ago for its transformation into a nature preserve.
Layer upon layer of this deeply-woven story reveals itself for those who look.
Image: Jeremy Thompson, Flickr (license)
Like so many, this village is kept alive by water… the Chakranadi River winds along the village’s edge and around a set of toppled temples and neighboring rainforest. Home of the Kali River Rapids, this tumultuous river journey (the first in Disney’s ride line-up) not only guides guests through the beauty and majesty of Asia, but through the too-true realities of deforestation that plagues the planet.
Maps of the kingdom throughout the land signify that this misty, royal village of Anandapur is only half the story, with the churning waters of the Chakranadi ever flowing from the heights of a nearby mountain range… And in 2006, that missing half of the story was finally told.
Click and expand for a larger and more detailed view. Image: Disney
Continuing along fthrough Anandapur, distant chimes and ethereal chanting signal our arrival here at Serka Zong, a Tibetan village in the foothills of the Himalayas. As the altitude changes, so does the atmosphere. Prayer flags and windchimes flutter in the chilly breeze as metal signs and wooden structures look wholly impermanent. There’s a more mystical, otherworldly feeling here… spiritual… soft.
Serka Zong is a place of reverence and, maybe, fear.
Image: Disney
And we may have evidence why. Throughout the land’s shops and restaurants, intricate wooden carvings, masks, murals, and shrines signify that this village stands in quiet reverence… a creature is represented time and time again, though never in quite the same form… Locals are certain that the frigid peaks of the legendary Forbidden Mountains looming over the village are home to a guardian spirit. Could this be the legendary Yeti said to guard the path to Everest itself?
There’s just one way to find out…
Image: Disney
Plastered among signs warning of the mythical creature’s presence deep within the snow-capped mountains, the entrance to Expedition Everest lies ahead… Do you dare make the journey?
Expedition: EVEREST
The village of Serka Zong is centuries old, but the most prominent structures here are the remains of the Royal Anandapur Tea Company. We can’t be sure when exactly they pulled out of the town, but the ramshackle structures from which they operated were quickly overtaken by tour companies cashing on the recent surge of tourists here in the Himalayan foothills. One particular group, Himalayan Escapes, is offering a one-of-a-kind tour they call EXPEDITION EVEREST.
It’s enough to draw us in, of course, despite the fluttering posters all around of locals desperately warning of sightings of the horrific Yeti, said to guard the sacred, untouched grounds of Everest where man dare not encroach. Who could bother to read those preachy warnings when those glowing snow-capped peaks dominate the skyline?
Himalayan Escapes – founded by the enterprising Norbu and Bob, if you take in the details – has a leg up on the competition, as only they have control of the old Darjeeling Ko Rail steam train route that once gathered tea leaves from the foothills, now offering speedy shuttle service to the Base Camp at the foot of Everest by way of a shortcut through the Forbidden Mountain.
Image: Disney
The queue carries us through a “Yeti Museum” set up for us tourists, showcasing the incontrovertible proof collected over decades and decades of what this legendary beast may look like… if you believe that sort of thing. From footprints and stool samples to photos (many taken by Rohde), our tour takes us past local shrines and evidence of a so-called “lost expedition” that disappeared – supposedly at the Yeti’s hand – during a run through the Forbidden Mountain pass in 1982… the very shortcut we’re about to take.
A final word of advice from the curator of the Yeti Museum waits at the queue’s end: “You are about to enter the sacred domain of the Yeti, guardian and protector of the Forbidden mountain. Those who proceed with respect and reverence for the sanctity of the natural environment and its creations should have no fear. To all others – a warning: you risk the wrath of the Yeti. Prof. Pema Dorje, PhD, Curator, the Yeti Museum.“
Image: Disney
An addendum beneath offers, “The opinions expressed by the curator of the Yeti Museum in no way reflect the views of the owners and operators of Himalayan Escapes, Tours, and Expeditions. Norbu and Bob, proprietors.”
Around the corner, we enter into the enclosed train shed just in time for an empty steam train to arrive. Covered in rusted rivets and loose panels, any hope of this bucket-of-bolts getting us to the Base Camp is slim. As it pulls into the station, steam bellows impressively from its engine. The ultra-long train can hold 34 passengers in 17 rows, and once all are on-board, it effortlessly glides out of the station. We’re on the way.
Image: Disney
The train chugs through the bamboo and underbrush as peacocks sound around us before the engine engages with the first lift hill on the ride. As it effortlessly lifts the train up and over a grassy hill, the towering Forbidden Mountain comes into view, a glacial waterfall pouring off its western face.
Image: Disney
Leaping along the uneven terrain, the train swings around and begins to climb a 100-foot-high lift hill. The train is pulled upward and through a temple perched on a rocky outcropping. As mystical sounds bellow through the temple, it becomes quickly apparent that candlelit shrines inside are all in honor of the Yeti, with an enormous high art mural of the creature reigning overhead… One thing is certain: the people of this world believe in the Yeti and revere and protect the Himalayas as its domain.
In a matter of seconds, the train has been lifted to the mountain’s height. As it crests the peak, the coaster picks up speed, now dipping into the snowy, icy trenches of the col. (During the ride’s early years, this portion of track was obscured by a thick, ever-present layer of fog that hid the track entirely from view, billowing off of the mountain’s height. It was discontinued when the fog allegedly interfered with the ride’s optical sensors, causing extensive downtime.) Dipping through an icy cavern, the train races forward up an inclined straightaway…
… No way.
Tattered prayer flags accentuate what may be one of the best one-off visuals on any Disney attraction: the gnarled, uprooted, torn tracks of the railway ahead ripped skyward. The train continues barreling forward, closer and closer to the end before slamming on the brakes. As the wind howls and a bird glides in the frozen air overhead, a distant roar seems to vibrate the air around us. It can’t be…
Our only hope now is to return to Anandapur. But before we can formulate a plan, the train releases, falling helplessly backwards into the cavern. Falling farther and farther through the icy darkness, the train helixes and twists as stomachs drop and riders scream. Finally, the train comes to a rest somewhere deep inside the peak… Our only source of light from behind, casting the silhouette of a train track on the jagged mountain wall ahead.
Image: Disney
Then, the wall is overcome with the shadow of some… thing… some unspeakable creature… A massive primate of some kind leaps onto the track and, we see in its silhouette, grabs it, heaves, and tears it upward as if it were made of tissue paper. Hearing our train’s brakes release, the creature looks up. But before he can react, we’re off. The train launches uphill, racing forward toward a break in the mountain’s exterior.
Image: Disney
The train plunges down a staggering 80-foot drop, twisting onto its side and racing around back toward the mountain. It leaps again through the darkness as the deafening cry of the Yeti surrounds the train from all sides. Twisting through the mountain’s core, the train again barrels out of an opening hidden in the rear of the mountain, diving into a massive, upward-spiraling helix. There’s only one way out now…
The coaster rights itself as it re-enters the Forbidden mountain in complete, pitch-black darkness. But ahead, a single source of light flashes and flickers… The train races into a massive rocky chamber and, ahead, the Yeti himself waits. Our encounter with the 25-foot figure is over in a second, his massive paw extended to within feet of our faces as he shrieks. At the very last second, the train pulls ahead, lurching to the side and emerging once more in the serene valley of Serka Zong.
We have survived our journey through the Forbidden Mountain in tact. To celebrate, watch this low-light point-of-view video from our friends at Attractions 360, giving perhaps the best idea of what it’s really like to ride Everest… even in the blackout moments:
Onward
Sure, we may have made it out of Everest by the skin of our teeth… but there’s more to this mammoth E-Ticket than meets the eye. On the last page, we’ll dissect the massive roller coaster to see how it works, then face the elephant in the room: one very large, very expensive, and very broken Audio Animatronics figure… We’ve got rare footage of the beast and all that you need to know. Read on…
Behind Everest
Image: Disney
Expedition Everest may be among the largest projects Disney Imagineering has ever tackled… a multi-sensory roller coaster dark ride, the experience is a masterclass in what Joe Rohde called “ambient storytelling.” While you may not recognize the finer points, dates, and details all dutifully and painstakingly baked into the pie, the build-up to the attraction contains all the information you need to enjoy the ride – whether you’re the kind who’s breathless at each subsequent discovery, or the kind who just wants to experience Disney’s amazing roller coaster creation.
With the benefit of 21st century technologies, Everest is a true Modern Marvel marked by astounding dimensions, astronomical budgets, and amazing engineering.
Click and expand for a larger and more detailed view. Image: Disney via wdwthemeparks.com
The roller coaster itself was manufactured by Vekoma (a Disney favorite, responsible for modern Space Mountains, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coasters, Big Thunder Mountains, Seven Dwarfs Mine Trains, and TRON Lightcycle Power Run[s]). A traditional steel coaster (with a few tricks up its sleeve), the 4,400 foot long course includes two track switches and a Disney-record 80-foot plunge, making it far and away one of the most overt thrills in Disney’s stateside portfolio.
Image: Disney / Discovery
Of course, it’s Disney’s storytelling that elevates the experience. To enter into the mountain with lights on, you’d be surrounded in a veritable bird’s nest of steel supports criss-crossing one another throughout the hollow interior. Supports painted black attach to the roller coaster track itself, intentionally free to vibrate, rumble, and sway with the passing trains. Red supports separately connect to the 200,000 square feet of rebar that forms the mountain’s carefully sculpted and static exterior, holding 18.7 million pounds of concrete covered in 2,000 gallons of paint.
Image: Disney
Speaking of records, Expedition Everest would also earn the title of the most expensive ride at Walt Disney World (reportedly topping $100 million). That, almost without a doubt, would also make it the most expensive roller coaster ever built.
But that’s not the only thing massive about Everest… We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the elephant in the room.
The Yeti
So here’s the story…
Expedition Everest is narratively and literally built around one figure: the Yeti.
Image: Disney
An amazing twenty-five feet tall (so imagine five humans standing on each other’s shoulders), the gargantuan, 10-ton Yeti is often cited as one of the most elaborate Audio-Animatronics figures ever. In true form, Disney consulted with primatologists to design a creature adapted for “the Forbidden Mountain” and its inhospitable conditions; dutifully studied the would-be creature’s musculature and movement; packed soil and sediment between its toes.
As each roller coaster train bolted past, the snarling, wild creature would swing out five feet toward the track and drop 18 inches in a simulated face-to-paw encounter with the dreaded beast. Each swipe would require the thrust of a jet engine to move the massive, menacing figure, resetting just in time for the next band of explorers to rocket past. You can see the Yeti’s dramatic attack in the work-lights-on demo reel footage above (though, it’s worth noting that the experience – however astounding – only lasted a second, as evidenced in this rare, early on-ride video.)
The issue is that the Yeti only “worked” for a few months after the ride’s opening, at which point something mysterious happened that prevents its operation today. If you ask insiders, it’s that a structural failure of the Yeti’s support and foundation (a third, separate structure after the coaster track and mountain) prevents its safe operation, and that access to repair that structural failure would require a very lengthy closure of the ride… absolutely unthinkable back when Animal Kingdom had only four rides, and unlikely today while the park’s in the spotlight thanks to Pandora – The World of Avatar.
Image: Disney
Uncharacteristically, a Disney spokesperson confirmed that “the complex functions have presented some challenges affecting its operation,” and that Disney’s Imagineering team “purposefully took measures … to reduce unnecessary stress … while we studied long-term solutions.”
Those temporary, stress-reducing measures have, for more than a decade, been the same: the creature was repositioned to its most intimidating pose and frozen in place. To give the impression of movement as trains sail past, fans blow on its fur and a flashing strobe creates the fleeting illusion of action. In essence, the Yeti’s secondary B-mode turns the ultra-sophisticated Audio Animatronic into a very large mannequin.
Though Disney fans have humorously deemed it the “Disco Yeti,” the B-mode of the Animatronic does a passable job…! After all, several times a year, eagle-eyed fans race to Twitter and message boards to proudly announce, “The Yeti is working!” It’s not. They’re just falling for the strobe light trick themselves, which is a good thing! It means that the simple effect really does give the impression of movement, and in the split second the train races by, that’s enough for most guests. That’s why the Yeti earned an impressive rank on our must-read Countdown: The 25 Best Animatronics on Earth – one of our favorite features.
Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
Image: Disney
Expedition Everest earns its place among our revered collection of Modern Marvels for so many reasons. It’s incontrovertible evidence that Disney can, will, and does create astounding, original, intellectual-property-free adventures for the American parks, and that the spirit of exploration still abounds in Imagineering.
Designed to augment Animal Kingdom’s lineup with more thrills, beauty, and excitement, Everest exceeded all expectations and became an instant classic. One-of-a-kind, it ranks among Disney’s best rides ever, transforming the standards of what a roller coaster can be and the stories it can tell yet again. As both an monument to and evolutionary Spiritual Sequel to Disneyland’s Matterhorn Bobsleds, the ride is a living piece of Disney history and every bit as spectacular as Disney’s best…
If you enjoyed your ascent to Everest in this feature, make the jump to our In-Depth Features Library and set course for another Modern Marvel.
Now, we want to hear from you. Does Expedition Everest deserve a spot in our Modern Marvels series? What memories have you made on this astounding roller coaster in its first decade? What other attractions – from Disney or its peers – do you think should have their stories told in our Modern Marvels series?
