Expedition Everest: Any advice for a First-Time rider?

[CaptiveJustin]

Hello My Disney Friends, (Yes, I consider you ALL to be my "Disney Friends")

With 1 week & 6 days to spare, I need to start asking for some advice about WDW's top thrill rides. I find this to be a helpful way to overcome my long-time "Fear" of Rollercoasters and Thrill rides. During my vacation to WDW this year, I would like to ride Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom. I have never been on this ride before, and get "Chills" knowing how much larger it will be in "Real Life." I would greatly appreciate any- advice from people who have been on Expedition Everest. Most of the time, Me + Rollercoaster = (Calm & Collective at first, and then I go- "Crazy.") Not to mention, I might be the only person in my family actual willing to do this..... However, I am somewhat "Confident" that- after riding Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Rolling Thunder Mountain and Astro Orbiter, that I will be able to finally ride Expedition Everest. Although, ALOT of advice would make that chance ALOT higher.

-Thanks in advance,
(Your Pal) Justin

 

[judaloo]

I am currently trying to convince anyone in my family to ride it! I will say this...the hill is NOT as big as it looks from the ground. Yes, you go up to a pretty decent height, but the descent is pretty short. You do not go all the way back down as in many traditional coasters. It's more of a graduated descent through a tunnel and banking turns. I love coasters and I find all of the coasters at disney to be this way. Not a big drop..you may be surprised at how well you do. Go to the single rider line, you'll get right on..and maybe you'll end up with a child (I often do!), and it will calm your nerves Have fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Surahrah]

I remember first seeing it and I was like there is no way I am going on that haha...I did get on it eventually though and it wasnt nearly as bad as I thought it would be (coming from a roller coaster chicken). Dont be intimidated when youo see it because it may scare you off if you over think it. Also, you can go on youtube and search for any of the rides and usually theres a front seat of everything, just so you know what to expect

 

[snoozin'cruisin]

Hello My Disney Friends, (Yes, I consider you ALL to be my "Disney Friends")

With 1 week & 6 days to spare, I need to start asking for some advice about WDW's top thrill rides. I find this to be a helpful way to overcome my long-time "Fear" of Rollercoasters and Thrill rides. During my vacation to WDW this year, I would like to ride Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom. I have never been on this ride before, and get "Chills" knowing how much larger it will be in "Real Life." I would greatly appreciate any- advice from people who have been on Expedition Everest. Most of the time, Me + Rollercoaster = (Calm & Collective at first, and then I go- "Crazy.") Not to mention, I might be the only person in my family actual willing to do this..... However, I am somewhat "Confident" that- after riding Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Rolling Thunder Mountain and Astro Orbiter, that I will be able to finally ride Expedition Everest. Although, ALOT of advice would make that chance ALOT higher.

-Thanks in advance,
(Your Pal) Justin

Hi, I'm 70plus and loved the expedition everest. It was a thrill but not really scarey, just a great ride. Mind you my husband had been riding around the park in a wheelchair for 2 days and then decided he'd had enough and wanted to go on a ride. Well,-- we were outside of everest and he chose that one and nearly died when he went on it. I've never laughed so much at a grown man being so afraid-- he was a hoot---and he lived to talk about it---but he swears he'll never go on another ride. Just go with it and have fun.

 

[swisely]

OK, I think you will like it if you try it. It really is intimidating to look at but it is more fun than scary. It is mild going at the first of the ride when you run out of track--then you go backwards in the dark. The drop is not so scary but I will say the speed of the ride increases toward the end of the ride. Just plain ol' fun!

 

[DisneyDuo]

The only part of EE that gets to me is the backwards part, it makes me somewhat dizzy. It feels like you are doing a loop or something, but you are not. My hint is to hold your head back against the headrest during this part, and DON'T close your eyes! (I also have to make sure to take bonine, but that's my problem ;-) Trust me, it's over quickly - and then you get that great hill, such fun.

Enjoy. It's a fun ride!

Lin

 

[KeroKero]

It's not scary at all!! It looks big, but there are no real "hair raising" drops, no loops or crazy twists. It's fast, but that's about it for the scariness factor. Other than that ... the theming is amazing!

 

[asta]

This ride is so much fun. I think you will love it. I am a roller coaster chicken (I can't handle big drops) but I love this one. It definitely looks scarier than it is. Instead of a big drop you spiral down most of the ride. If you don't like heights just don't look around much when you are climbing on that outside area. That can be kind of intimidating.

 

[sue Z]

first time i ever rode this ride I was nervous has heck bu tI was fine after the worse part was going up the hill thinking it was a big drop on the other side and was like this is easy!! knowing you go backwards made me a bit nervous but once i did it it was ok lnly last a few seconds but might feel longer once you stop the track shifts and down the hill you go but as you go down it banks to you go around and up the next hill with another low hill and then its over!!
lI rode in the middle but now all I want is the front car and love it at night the most!! dont recommend that and being up front til you concor the actual fear of going the first time
the day I went up front and at night I was scared as He double hockey sticks as I couldnt see where the embankment was

now i do it like its nothing!!!

 

[CaptiveJustin]

Thanks Everyone, The look of the ride in "Real Life" tends to sometimes be a large "Fear" factor to me. However, the "Feeling" of a Roller-coaster, as if there is nothing under your feet gets me ALOT once I'm actually on the Roller-coaster. Does Expedition Everest have this feeling added to it? Yes, It's a Roller-coaster, but not all Roller-coasters tend to have this "Airplane" feeling to it. Does anybody know?

 

[bobbyshawatl]

I'm a big roller coaster lover, and not afraid of any coaster. That being said, I did not like EE the first time I rode it. I really didn't know what to expect with the backwards part, and it kind of jarred my neck. My next trip, I tried it again, this time, knowing what to expect from the backwards part, and kept head pressed back against the padding. It was a better experience that time.

My wife still won't ride it.

 

[MissMouseInTheHouse]

Don't worry about this ride, I'm not a huge fan of rollercoasters either, but after I rode this ride I was hooked! It was the first ride I'd ever riden at WDW, and I was really nervous, but when I got off I realized there was nothing to fear! It starts off with a couple off small hills, so when you go up them, look around cuz there's a great view! You go backwards once, which is my fave part actually , and isn't scary because you only go backwards and curve in a circle. The main hill does look nervewracking, but is not as big as it appears, promise! It is overall a fanastic ride and I bet you'll have a great time! Good luck!

 

[MissMouseInTheHouse]

There is floor under your feet so don't worry about that part, you are completely secure in you seat!

 

[supersuperwendy]

If you love going backwards...sit in the front of the train....if you enjoy drops...sit in the back!!

Or ride it twice...once sitting up front...once sitting in the back! It's a total different sensation each way!!

 

[Princess 'n LA]

DON'T EAT BEFORE YOU RIDE IT!!!

Hate to admit it, but had to learn this one the hard way.

 

[flyslyw]

A couple years ago I had the same problem you're having now(I still hate big drops). I was always too scared to do roller coasters at Disney or anywhere else before, but for my trip in the summer of 2009 I was determined to finally ride EE. What helped me the most was watching a youtube video of the entire ride that someone had recorded when they rode it. After watching that I had a good idea of what to expect and told myself "It doesn't look all that bad, I can do this." So I did, and now it's one of my favorites in all of Disney. And also, Rock'n Roller coaster at DHS was my first ever roller coaster, I was 17 before I finally had the courage to ride it, and I loved it. After I rode that thing I knew I could handle anything else, gave me a huge boost of confidence

 

[Hoosier37]

I don't know if anyone else has said this, but I thought I would point this out. We rode EE multiple times when there in March. At one point, my son and I were in the very front car. This is what I can tell you:

It may look scary, but the front car was booo-ring because we found out that the ride actually brakes. That "big" hill is not as big as it looks, and the front cars are braked so that the entire train does not go down too fast. My then 8-year-old scaredy-cat daughter rode it with us every time and loved it.

You could also check out a POV (point of view) video of it on Youtube, that way you know when it is going to stop, go backwards, veer to the side, etc.

Riding in the front car was a neat experience, by the way. At the top, when you pause at the broken tracks (so the track behind can switch) you can see a long way. And the front car let us see all the tracks switching in between various parts of the ride.

I've ridden lots of coasters. EE is great fun, but also quite tame. Enjoy it, I'm jealous you get to ride. And check out the Yeti cast in the museum while in the line: it is the actual cast made by the crew of Destination Truth while trekking in the Himalayas looking for evidence of the Yeti, they donated it to Disney just for the museum and the ride

 

[klmall]

I agree with many of the things PPs have said; EE is actually not that scary once you are on it! The drop on Splash Mountain bothers me more (but I enjoy it) than the drop on EE and I love thrill rides! My advice is to just go and let yourself enjoy it! I have gone several times and taken pictures while riding, Here's one:

 

[Dizneefamily+4]

Ok, I too HATE roller coasters (well, any ride with drops really.) As a matter of fact, I had a thread going last week about it. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2758958

I did EE once last summer after finally conceding to the pestering from my dh and kids. I literally cried throughout the ride. I think it was more in fear from the anticipation, not the ride itself though! My dd (5 at the time) was sitting next to me shouting with glee and screaming in ecstacy while I was sobbing. Quite a sight as evidenced by that end of the ride pic everyone gets to see of you!

I don't plan to ride again, but my advice would be to actually keep your eyes open. Might help. I hope you have better luck in overcoming your fear than I did. After the posts to my above thread, I've decided to try RnR this time because there are no drops. I don't have any issues with loops or corkscrews, just those darned drops! That's why there's no Splash for me either!

Looks like we'll be at the World at the same time (we leave in 13 days), so I'll be the one happily standing with my feet firmly on the ground snapping pics of my family coming out of the tunnel on EE!

 

[Karbase8]

Thanks for posting this I am deathly afraid of heights so I think seeing the uphill climb will be the worst for me and going backwards but the drops seem doable I am going to try it, last year my son and I stood in front of it and I got scared I wish it was all indoors I don't mind being indoors it's the height that gets me