Expedition Everest Question

[Lisann]

I am SO not a roller coaster person, however, I am planning on getting my courage up to ride something a little more exciting than Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

I have a question about EE. I have seen videos and it shows some of the ride in the dark, and it also shows some of the ride going backwards. My question is...how and where in the ride does it get back on track going forward? I can't seem to tell from the videos how this happens.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Jarmo]

After the backwards portion, you freeze for a bit and the track changes. You're distracted by a little shadow show of the Yeti as the changeover happens, and then you continue on your way going forward.

 

[bc7ate9]

I think it's one worth getting the courage to try - it's a really fun ride!

 

[asta]

Definitely try it. The thing I like about Disney is that their rides have just the right amount of thrill without going to far. I am not a roller coaster enthusiast but I can ride everything at WDW. To compare, I hate old wooden roller coasters, I am afraid of the Hulk at Islands of Adventure and Dragon Challenge gives me a headache. But I love the Disney coasters.

That long incline up on Everest looks very frightening but don't let that scare you too much. It drops you by winding around instead of a sudden drop.

 

[RafikiTiki21]

It's not very long in the dark/backwards, but it disorients you making this part thrilling. It's basically to re-position the cars after the track "ends", with some storytelling, then you finish the ride going forward.

Good stuff!

 

[disnut8]

That long incline up on Everest looks very frightening but don't let that scare you too much. It drops you by winding around instead of a sudden drop.

And that's the one thing people don't understand about Expedition Everest. From the outside, it looks like you just go up the incline and then plunge right back down since the downward thing is right next door. I've done the single riders line here often and will sometimes get someone who has never ridden it. That's the most fun. I had one guy (a little younger than me and I'm 53) who was a first timer. He was tense going up and then grabbed the bars for what he thought would be a quick way down. You should have heard his cries of delight with everything on inside the mountain. He yelled "no way! how are we going to get out of here?!" when he saw the broken track and then more cries of delight at the backwards part. He beamed when the ride was over and told me he was going on it again.

 

[Lisann]

I think I can do this. At first, Big Thunder was way too rough for me (I know, I'm such a wimp), but I went on a second time (because I couldn't let my daughter down), and I was okay. Just a rough, run-a-way train. No biggie!

Honestly, I think the coasters might be better (not the loopy ones, though) because their tracks tend to be much smoother in design than train-like coasters.

 

[kj2mom]

One thing to be aware of is when you are stopped after going backwards, that length of stop can vary. The first time we rode it we did not stop for very long at all, we ran around and got right back on and we were stopped long enough for people to start whispering about whether something had happened. Nope, we soon started back up again. I think because we had just done it and the stop was very brief that when it stopped for longer it didn't feel right. We rode again later that afternoon and I had to reassure the rider next to me when we were stopped for a little bit of time that it was going to be fine!

 

[tessiesevin]

I am soooo not a roller coaster person. Reason being I don't like ANY sudden drops. I LOVE EE.
It doesn't have a straight drop. Instead it's a turn which I can handle. It took me some time to build the courage.
I don't do Splash Mountain or Tower of Terror. I have tried them and I will never either one again!!

 

[BradChristian]

The thrill factor of Everest is more the mental anticipation leading up to the Yetti... Its almost like a dark ride with roller coaster.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

And that's the one thing people don't understand about Expedition Everest. From the outside, it looks like you just go up the incline and then plunge right back down since the downward thing is right next door. I've done the single riders line here often and will sometimes get someone who has never ridden it. That's the most fun. I had one guy (a little younger than me and I'm 53) who was a first timer. He was tense going up and then grabbed the bars for what he thought would be a quick way down. You should have heard his cries of delight with everything on inside the mountain. He yelled "no way! how are we going to get out of here?!" when he saw the broken track and then more cries of delight at the backwards part. He beamed when the ride was over and told me he was going on it again.

The first time I rode was in the SR line (no one in my family would ride with me...WAH WAH) but I knew what to expect. I was seated with a gentleman who didn't speak English and was totally clueless as to what was going to happen. When we stopped for the "broken track" he was so confused. I tapped him on the shoulder and pointed backwards, and at that moment we started to move and his eyes lit up with excitement. It was such a fun moment. The second time I rode was also in the SR line (yes, I have a family full of people who don't like "thrill rides") and I got seated next to a young kid who looked to be around age 12 who had never even been on a roller coaster before, and that was a pretty fun experience as well.

I am soooo not a roller coaster person. Reason being I don't like ANY sudden drops. I LOVE EE.
It doesn't have a straight drop. Instead it's a turn which I can handle. It took me some time to build the courage.
I don't do Splash Mountain or Tower of Terror. I have tried them and I will never either one again!!

Thank you for posting this! My husband HATES drops with a passion. He can do BTMRR, and he tolerates Splash occasionally but it's hard for him to get over the drop, and he'll never, ever do ToT again. I've tried to explain to him that EE isn't a drop coaster, but I don't think he believes me. He did shock me by agreeing to do it on our upcoming trip in October, since we're going to be done with Disney for awhile after this.

 

[Mom2Stitch]

It is truly one of the best themed rides ever.The backwards part can be a bit off putting at first, but as others have said it's not a straight drop. The attention to detail on this is incredible and it's one of our "gotta go again" rides every trip.

 

[marielynn724]

Go for it!! I do not like "big" roller coasters (I hate going upside down) but I absolutely love Thunder Mountain so I gave Expedition Everest a try... it is more intense than Thunder Mountain, but it's so fun!! You'll be proud of yourself afterwards too

 

[buzznina]

For Disney I really like EE but as far as roller coasters go, it is just okay, give me a wooden coaster with a very BIG drop. Nothing can beat that feeling when you are in the front car and you start slowly over the top drop and for an instant it looks like the tracks are gone and then you're literally facing straight down

 

[Simba's Mom]

I think I can do this. At first, Big Thunder was way too rough for me (I know, I'm such a wimp), but I went on a second time (because I couldn't let my daughter down), and I was okay. Just a rough, run-a-way train. No biggie!

Honestly, I think the coasters might be better (not the loopy ones, though) because their tracks tend to be much smoother in design than train-like coasters.

Good luck! And I'd be interested how it was for you. I soo wanted to like it (BIG AK fan, and even bigger Joe Rhode fan). When I got there, I had FP (this was back in the days of paper FPs) and a short stand-by line. "Wow", I thought, "I can get 2 rides on this-great!" But when it went backwards "whippy-whirly" so did my tummy. When I got off the ride, I found another solo to give my FP to, then spent the next 3 hours sitting and recovering until I was strong enough to take the railroad out to Rafiki's Planet Watch. I'm a real wimp! Only a ride sitting next to Joe Rhode himself would get me on it again.

 

[Accident]

I think it's a good choice. Many find the backwards a little bumpy but that's more because you can't see the turn coming and it just happens. I find BTMR at night to be much more jerky then EE going backwards.

 

[Polyonmymind]

What is the most efficient way to get to EE at rope drop?

 

[kj2mom]

What is the most efficient way to get to EE at rope drop?

We weren't there right at RD, the crowds had entered but we were there by the official park opening time. We stayed to the right of the tree then after going over the river again we went right until we arrived. We walked right on then got off and walked right on again. We wanted to go again but we had decided prior to this trip to try to limit repeats until we had seen a lot of what we wanted to and since it was our first ride (and we had a FP for the afternoon) we moved along. I don't know if technically going through DinoLand would be tad bit quicker but we did fine going the way we did.

 

[BobC]

I'm with you and am a coaster whimp. I won't do ToT or RRC but I'll do this.

I missed out on this ride 3 trips being scared of it but mustered up the courage and did it thankfully! It's now one of my favorite rides.

The backwards part is mild. You go backwards uphill which is a different feeling, but not bad. The drop down that you see out front isn't bad either since it curves.

Do it! You'll like it and i promise it's not bad!

Very smooth ride too

 

[Lisann]

I think it's a good choice. Many find the backwards a little bumpy but that's more because you can't see the turn coming and it just happens. I find BTMR at night to be much more jerky then EE going backwards.

See, I thought BTMR was very jerky and rough, too, and I can't imagine the coasters being much more rough than that (more speed, yes). I really don't want to be a wimp! (but I will never, ever even attempt Mission Space...now that's a whole 'nother thread).