Behind Everest
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.
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.
Over 200,000 square feet of rebar forms the mountain’s carefully sculpted and static exterior, holding 18.7 million pounds of concrete covered in 2,000 gallons of paint.
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. Red supports hold the mountain exterior while supports painted black attach to the roller coaster track itself, intentionally free to vibrate, rumble, and sway with the passing trains.
Speaking of records, Expedition Everest would also make the short list 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.
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 a rare on-ride video in our look at the best animatronics on earth.)
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.
Uncharacteristically, a Disney spokesperson went on the record to confirm 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.” That’s why the Yeti also makes our list of unbeleivable Audio-Animatronic malfunctions… and we’re not talking about a one-off mess-up.
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.
Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
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 (even if Everest itself is the most recent from-scratch E-Ticket not connected to an existing IP).
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…
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If you enjoyed your ascent to Everest in this feature, make the jump to our Modern Marvels collection to set course for another fan-favorite.
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?