Expedition Everest is Official

[DisneyKidds]

Here is the "Official" Press Release from Disney News:

Thrilling New Adventure at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Brings the Legend of Yeti to Life

Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (April 22, 2003) -- Legend holds that high in the Himalayan Mountains lives an enormous creature that fiercely guards the route to Mount Everest.

Now that legend comes dramatically to life at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in a new high-speed train adventure that combines coaster-like thrills with the excitement of a close encounter of the hairy kind.

Walt Disney World guests will discover for themselves the fearsome legend of the yeti when Expedition EVEREST opens in 2006 at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park. The new thrill attraction was announced today during the park’s 5th anniversary festivities at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

“Expedition EVEREST adds a new dimension to our storytelling in Disney’s Animal Kingdom,” said Joe Rohde, executive designer at Walt Disney Imagineering and lead designer of the park. “It’s a thrilling adventure themed to the folklore of the mysterious yeti.”

In Expedition EVEREST, guests board an old mountain railway destined for the foot of Mount Everest. The train rolls through thick bamboo forests, past thundering waterfalls, along shimmering glacier fields and climbs higher and higher through the snow-capped peaks.

But suddenly the track ends in a gnarled mass of twisted metal and the thrills intensify as the train races both forward and backward through mountain caverns and icy canyons and guests head for an inevitable face-to-muzzle showdown with the mysterious yeti -- known to some as the abominable snowman.

Expedition EVEREST will be located in the Asia section of the theme park. At nearly 200 feet high, it will be the tallest mountain in Florida. Expedition EVEREST will feature Disney’s FASTPASS, an innovative system -- offered at no charge to park guests -- designed to reduce wait times at popular attractions in all four Walt Disney World theme parks.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom is a 500-acre theme park where the exciting worlds of wild and whimsical creatures come to life on an authentic African safari, in an Asian rain forest, on a trip back in time to the age of the dinosaurs and in other attractions and shows brimming with stories about animals and encounters with favorite Disney characters.

 

[DisneyKidds]

Rumor has it that the height restriction will be 42 inches. Not sure of the source of this info, but 42 inches would make sense as it would be consistent with Splash Mountain.

 

[momto4obkids]

Here`s a link to the concept art!


http://www.wdwmagic.com/members2/everest/webeverest.jpg


Amanda

 

[All Aboard]

DK, Space is 44 inches.

Sounds great. The forward and backward part is very intriguing. Lends credence to rumors of a multi-speed attraction with stops at critical parts of the story. Right now, I am very optimistic about this attraction. Hopefully, the three year timeframe is required because of the magnitude of this attraction.

 

[DisneyKidds]

DK, Space is 44 inches.

Right. If Everest is 42 inches, that would put it between Splash/Thunder (40 inches) and Space.

The concept art looks cool and the description sounds good. Three years is a long time to wait for an attraction, so they better make it good...........................and get back to the kind of attraction that made Disney great.

 

[d-r]

Now here is something fun to think about, Disneykidds.

While it won't be anything compared to millinium force or dragster, this new mt. will be just under 200 feet tall, to skirt the regulations that structures 200 feet tall or more have to have aircraft lighting. That is about the same height as tower of terror. For a roller coaster to be themed up to disney standards and have a story and still be that tall, well it rocks.

Now, the matterhorn is disneyland is about 80 feet tall. So it isn't reaching to guess that the big drop coming out of the top of that mountain is 160 feet or so - about twice the height of the matterhorn!

The forward and backwards stuff does sound promising. The concent art looks like that model that was posted here yesterday; it looks like the track will come out of the mountain for a while, hidden from view by the mountain itself and other outcroppings.

This is going to be one to give the new tower of terrors and their cave technology a run for the money, I think.

DR

PS Scoop I hope it is the new thing for the studios that are you are eluding to here, not a new epcot thing. Nevermind, I'll be happy about any new thing (just write Disney on a box and I'll ride in it

PM me scoop, I won't let it out.

 

[DisneyKidds]

Hey Scoop...................have you gone 'AV' on us? Want to quit beating around the bush and tell us if you know something we don't? As d-r said, a PM would be fine and I'll keep it all to my very self . What is the Studios rumor d-r?

 

[YoHo]

I hate to be a Killjoy, but Scoop knows as well as the rest of us that the concern isn't what's in the plans, but what happens between now and 2006. That's 3 years for Burbank to hack and destroy everything good and Wholesome about these rumors.

THAT it why some of us are naysayers. It's not that we don't think Imagineering can propose good ideas and that the suits won't announce them. Its that as time goes on those same suits will destroy everything good about the idea.

 

[Sarangel]

Also keep in mind that they may have been forced to unveil this prematurely because of M. Eisner's gaffe at the shareholder's meeting....

Sarangel

 

[d-r]

disneykidds - i don't know, i'm just saying i would like to see a new arrraction at the studios rather than epcot because the other 3 parks have something in development.

Sarangel, i dont think ME 'slipped' anything that he didn't intend to- he wanted thhe thunder. it was all set by then to announce 4/22

 

[larworth]

I like the concept art much better than the posted model renderings. The mountain looks even more impressive and inviting.

It always seems like it takes an extra year more than I would think to build one of these things. We know the coaster part could be erected in 6 months. Seems like they could build the mountain, etc in a year and a half? Must be the paperwork.

With BTMRR and the Matterhorn still seemingly popular this attraction seems like a pretty safe bet. It looks to be a fine addition to the family. My only potential stone to throw may be on the novelty factor. I hope there are more surprises in store for us inside the mountain than just a stop beside a large Yeti. I hope they try to plus the experience in more than just the bigger (scale) is better dimension.


BTW: I love these press releases. The nice segway between a height of 200 ft to this attraction will have Fastpass. They must have a maximum word length for these things.

 

[eclipseSD]

You never know with Disney.

They might scrap the costly 200 foot coaster and turn the area into a character meet and greet area.

 

[tuck]

2006 opening.... all I can say is ... come on..... what kind of contruction people is Disney hiring...........Way too Long for a attaction opening...... at least AK will have something new for it's 10th birthday.......Disney needs to get back to the old days opening new attactions atleast every 2 years at each park..... Universal down the road is smelling blood in the water... with this lack of progress from Disney.........MGM is needing some help also Eisner......if it wasn't for TOwer of Terror and R and Roller coaster... MGM will be looking like Cypress Gardens empty also....... that's from not adding anything and closing all it's great shows.. Hunchback, superstar tv, and what i'm hearing from rumors beauty and beast is on it's last leg............................on a possitve note by the time Mt. Everest opens Eisner's contract with Disney is Over...........thank god

 

[Mooobooks]

Here's a link that works:
http://www.wdwmagic.com/beastly.htm

 

[d-r]

I think it's good news too, Tuck.
DR

 

[Mr D]

 

[Bob O]

This announcement is great news as wdw needs to add something to the parks. But it shouldnt take this long to have the attraction up and running, escpecially in a climate when you can build year round ,they must not be on a ambitious work schedule!!!
The only negative's i can see is that vekoma is making the ride system(barf) and if the height limit is 42 or 44 inches. It then may make a decent family ride but will be lacking in the thrill dept with that type of height limit.
Disney needs to realize their are far superior coaster manufacturers than vekoma and a height limit several inches higher can add to the thrill aspect of the ride.

 

[OnWithTheShow]

The quality of a thrill isnt always measured by the height requirement.

 

[Bob O]

"Isnt always" is true but most of the world class steel coaster's have height limits of at least 48 inches to 54 inches as the extra inches involved gives the leeway needed to increase the intensity of the thrill elements which arent found on family coasters.

 

[YoHo]

I know Bob O well enough to know where he stands on the coaster issue, but I suspect and I think Disney would agree that opening up a 48" restricted high physical thrill puke-o-matic would do exactly zero for Animal Kingdom long term. It may wel be that Disney needs to push for more Thrill rides in general, but one coaster no matter how good will do that and by heavily restricting such a ride they would only intensify certain issues with the park.

with the Height restriction where it is, they create a ride with appeal to a far broader category of people and right now that's what they desperatly need.