Expedition Everest Drop

[JessiMommy]

If there's anyone else out there who does NOT like steep drops, but rode this and survived, please post! I'm really scared . . . come on, I can't be the ONLY one!

Ok I can handle Splash's drop but barely. I love the ride but seriuosly dread that part. I can tell you after riding EE 6 times this weekend it did not give me the feeling that Splash does. I don't know why... It's over so quick and the track turns to the left towards the end of the drop so it does not feel like as big of a drop as it is. HTH!

 

[JRawkSteady]

What about the crazy audio-animatronic they've been working on? Is he scary? Does he pop out at you? How would you compare him to the animatronics in Dinosaur?

 

[QueenOfCelts]

To be perfectly honest, he kind of looks like the "Bumble" in Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Only a dirty drunken version......kinda cute.....my DS hid from him though....you see his shadow once and the actual Yetti at the end....don't worry though, he doesn't get cha!

 

[stinkerbelle]

What about the crazy audio-animatronic they've been working on? Is he scary? Does he pop out at you? How would you compare him to the animatronics in Dinosaur?

spoiler alert!
this is what he looks like
http://www.jimhillmedia.com/article.php?id=1815

I have not ridden the ride...but this link was posted last week sometime.

 

[Tottwo]

I'm one of those chickens who avoids Splash Mountain only because of the drop at the end. I so much want to ride EE but the thought of an 80 foot drop will stop me from riding it. However, the thought that the drop is not straight down, but curves might help me.

I rode Mission: Space once and felt awful. I'll never go on it again. I love Space Mountain and Big Thunder Railroad. I've been on ToT a few times but think I've had my fill of ups and downs and the fast falls. Its the feeling of falling for a period of time that gets to me - do you get that feeling on EE?

Also, can someone compare the part that goes backwards to the Mummy ride at Universal? Is it worse? Better? Is it as long as that, or longer?

I'm trying to be brave... any recommendations for someone like me?

 

[Sylvester McBean]

jimhillmedia gets it wrong yet again. that's not the AA that's on the ride. as far as comparing the backwards part of EE to ROTM, it's much longer and in a wide radius. the track is extremely curved, but you have to have the straight drop to build the momentum for the ride back up into the mountain. but you're not pulling any kind of major G forces. you get a little bit of airtime. it's really not bad at all.

 

[LoveToDisney]

....as far as comparing the backwards part of EE to ROTM, it's much longer and in a wide radius. the track is extremely curved, but you have to have the straight drop to build the momentum for the ride back up into the mountain. but you're not pulling any kind of major G forces. you get a little bit of airtime. it's really not bad at all.

Please be more specific. Are you racing backwards and to the side horizontally or are you going uphill backwards and to the side or what? Some of us have neck and back issues and need specific details to decide whether we can tolerate a ride. I love ROTM, but can only ride it 2-3 times before saying enough for now. Plus I only rode ROTM after reading the complete details for every turn and knew exactly when the reverse would happen and what happened afterwards. I hope someone will post COMPLETE details of the ride (with Spoiler warnings beforehand) so those of us who need to know everything before riding. Thanks!!

 

[lovethattink]

Here's my 2 cents. I rode the ride on Saturday of CM preview weekend and on Thursday of Passholder preview. The big hill doesn't seem that steep when you're riding it. It curves so it really isn't straight down. My son is afraid of heights. The hill for him was a different story. The speed was no problem. The view for him was terrifying. He's been on it 4 times, sat in both the back and the front. I've been on it 3 times. His advice to anyone afraid of heights is to sit in the back, the view isn't nearly as intimidating. My advice to anyone who likes thrills, sit in the front. The backwards part is way more thrilling in the front. My stomach was like up in my throat when I was in the front, going backwards. For some reason, I didn't get that sensation when I rode in the back. I found the ride in the front to be more smooth, the back was a little jerky. (You could feel the "push" of the rest of the train pushing the back.) Overall the ride is very smooth, not anything like coasters of the past. The best way to describe this and to determine if you could handle it is this. It's like big thunder mountain meets test track. Can you handle the outside portion of test track in the dark going backwards at a ever so slightly slower speed? The hill really is nothing compared to the backwards.

 

[darcyt]

I don't care for any of the MK mountains, or big drops. EE didn't bother me. It reminded me of Big Thunder because it feels fast. The drop looks a lot worse than it feels. I tried to relax and not tense up while riding which really does help.

I thought going backwards was fun, and after that, my hat blew off (I caught it) and I closed my eyes. I didn't even know when the drop happened! My husband said, "There he is!" and I looked and saw the Yeti (amazing). I closed my eyes again because I was still expecting the big drop!

I would definitely recommend trying the ride once, especially if you can handle any of the mountains at MK. I would ride EE again, but this time I would hang on to my hat and (maybe) open my eyes.

Definitely watch a ride video online. It helped allay my fears before I went. Reading about the BIG drop was the worst part of the experience for me. LOL

 

[Tottwo]

I know there was a link to a video somewhere, but I haven't found it after a quick search. I actually tried to go to the site when I first saw the link but had server problems, so I never got there. Does anyone have a pointer to a recent EE video?

Thanks!

 

[jlovesee]

Here is my take on Everest, I rode it 3 times on Thursday, and was pretty impressed, my husband was somewhat let down (will get to why in a minute). The most thrilling section is the backwards part, to get an idea of the sensation ride a Boomerang, both are pretty similar sensations except there are of course no loops or inversions.

There are 3 stops or slow parts in the entire ride, the 1st small lift hill (there is no click click click as they are using an new technology for the anti roll backs) then a slow big thunder mountainish drop and curve which takes you to the larger lift hill. you drop into a curve, head for the back of the mountain and to the gnarled track. if you sit in the very front the dead end track catches you by suprise. this is where the run backwards starts, so you start in the lighted area, but quickly run back into the mountain, several tight banked curves, no big drops though going backwards.

This was my husband's problem with EE, is that if you look down while you are going backwards you can see the steel structure of the mountain EASILY, and I agree its very anti-Disney to see actually how a rides work. I mean you get rid of the anti roll back clicks, and you have a cool train whistle with smoke and then you see the innards of a ride?

Anyway, so you roll back, stop, and you see the projection of the Yeti tearing up the track, as if it was a shadow. Jeff (the husband) didn't like this either as it broke the story line, as you see the broken track and THEN you see the Yeti break up the track... it seems someone reversed page 8 and 9 of the storyboard or something. So while your watching the track switches out, you go straight, right into the "big drop" which is like Splash Mountain in that you come from the darkness directly into the light and drops, but if you sit toward the front its not bad at all. Its very comparable to an old classic wooden coaster drop, straight, but not steep, like Blue Streak/Skyliner/ Ive heard it whips you down in the very back though, I should try that this summer.

This is where it picks up a lot of speed, whips you around through a lot of curves, no drops, very fun. You run into the Yeti at the very end of the ride, if you sit in the very front it feels like he is about to literally grab you. He is very big, and very life-like, and for a little kid probably very scary.

Then your back in the station...

Jennifer

 

[QueenOfCelts]

I noticed that EXACT thing about the Yetti and his shadow and I of course asked about it....the answer I got was the Yetti is running around tearing up more track and you are supposed to worry that more is missing.........

 

[JessiMommy]

Oh, I just remembered... for all of you that are hesitant about the drop, my 60 year old mother asked my father after the drop..."where is the BIG drop?" Ha ha! She didn't even realize it had already happened, so maybe that will help you to understand how quick it is.

 

[peppers]

I rode Everest 3x yesterday for the annual passholder preview; I honestly wish I had only ridden it twice, because the third time did me in (I was nauseous for the rest of the night).

If you are worried about motion sickness at all, I would recommend sitting near the middle to the back of the train if you can. The last time I rode Everest, I was closer to the front.

Usually, you think of the back of the train as being the fastest; however, during the times when you go backward, the front of the train would then be the fastest.

I remember someone telling me that the first half of the ride is like Big Thunder and the last is like R&R Coaster. I would definitely agree with that; I personally enjoyed the beginning of the coaster very much; you get an amazing view of the other parks.

When you go backward, it is a bit intense; you really feel like you are going upside down (but you don't). The big drop is definitely worse than Splash Mountain, but it is over quickly.

I wish that the Yeti portion didn't go by so fast because seeing him was amazing!

I have to admit that I am really frustrated that sitting in the front of the train made me feel so sick, because I so enjoyed the ride. I hadn't screamed so much in a long time, and that felt great to get out some stress!

On a side note, they were filling the trains to capacity. If you are a single rider, you will have to sit with someone else, unlike the other rides at Disney. It was a bit frustrating as one time I was paired with a little girl who was TERRIFIED and bawling before the ride began. I had to console her the entire time (her dad was sitting in the row behind me).

Parents, please don't force your little ones onto this ride; let them see the drops outside first, or at least read up on the ride and see if it is something your child can handle. I felt terrible for the little girl; she was terrified beyond belief (probably 6-8 years old).

 

[Sylvester McBean]

Anyway, so you roll back, stop, and you see the projection of the Yeti tearing up the track, as if it was a shadow. Jeff (the husband) didn't like this either as it broke the story line, as you see the broken track and THEN you see the Yeti break up the track... it seems someone reversed page 8 and 9 of the storyboard or something. So while your watching the track switches out,

Jennifer

the yeti projection is supposed to be the track being ripped out behind you after you've reversed, not the first broken track section you encounter. I don't like the fact while you're in the projection room, you can see the track in front of you rotate to show the next course of direction no matter what row you are in. but, it's a Vekoma coaster and none of them are perfect.
still an excellent attraction