Expedition Everest...I just don't get it!

[sknydave]

I like EE, but it is definitely overrated.

 

[sknydave]

It isn't believable? I mean you're right, it doesn't look anything like the ones we see in the zoo.

I've never seen a Saber-toothed tiger before but I'm willing to bet it doesn't move like Tony the Tiger in the Frosted Flakes commercials.

 

[DisneyDellsDude]

I'm interested in the "paranormal", and the yeti fits nicely in there.
Just from themeing, I think the storyline is very nice.
AK wants to put you in the real thing, and I think they did that perfectally with EE.

First, the queue is amazing. A lot of those artifacts are real. The queue is set up as to you collecting your items for the climb up the mountain.
First you go through the forest at the bottom. Nothing unusual, so you procede up the mountain.

You see footprints, you hear sounds, you see the track torn up. Then you see the shadow of the yeti in the cave.
If you were in the real world looking for a yeti or bigfoot, this is usually at the most what people come up with as evidence. If we saw the yeti for a good few minutes, then the yeti wouldn't be mythical anymore, and we probably wouldn't even have this ride. We'd have a captured one along with all the other primates in one of the animal walks around the park. How fun...

When we do catch a glimps of the yeti, it goes along with the eye witness reports of just seeing him for a brief moment.

And with the yeti AA always in B mode... The three trips since the attraction opened since I was there he has always been in A mode.
We always hear that the yeti is in B mode because it is something to report.

 

[DizneyPryncess]

I am one of those people who ranks Everest as one of their favorite rides - and I'll explain my reasoning for it. I don't think it has anything to do w/me being a Disney fanatic though

I'm not big on huge thrill rides w/big drops such as Tower of Terror, or gigantic roller coasters that you find at many theme parks. I don't like heights - but sometimes I want to go on something a little bit more thrilling than Fantasyland stuff. So for me Everest is great! I love the going backwards through the dark - especially the first time i rode it because it shocked me. I love the theming in the waiting cue & in the Yeti room, I think it was really well done, and I actually like the pause in the ride. It gives you a second to look around & appreciate it.

I can totally understand people not liking this ride though. It is a bit short, and it's not as thrilling as I think a lot of people like. I think everyone just has various opinions on rides.

 

[Flounder_de]

It is the synergy of the attraction. If you were just looking for an outstanding roller coaster, go some place else. The approach, the que, the coaster, the themeing, the attention to detail; well now, that's what Expedition Everest is.

That's what came to my mind as well. :wave: I experienced the coaster this year for the very first time and was hooked. Rode it several times in a row the very first morning we went there and returned several times during our trip.

Of course there are more thrilling coasters but the overall experience made it for me. Though I must also admit that it took me several rides to really recognise a movement of this huge AA ... and I am still wondering whether it was intended to be like that ... but it seems that I am not the only one who asks himself this question

Cheers,
Flounder

 

[LilMommyBug]

I am one of those people who ranks Everest as one of their favorite rides - and I'll explain my reasoning for it. I don't think it has anything to do w/me being a Disney fanatic though

I'm not big on huge thrill rides w/big drops such as Tower of Terror, or gigantic roller coasters that you find at many theme parks. I don't like heights - but sometimes I want to go on something a little bit more thrilling than Fantasyland stuff. So for me Everest is great! I love the going backwards through the dark - especially the first time i rode it because it shocked me. I love the theming in the waiting cue & in the Yeti room, I think it was really well done, and I actually like the pause in the ride. It gives you a second to look around & appreciate it.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[xsupaxmanxsfnex]

I guess you are just one of those people that analyze everything. ie, If you are watching a movie you might sit there and not be sucked in by the story but look at how they shot the scenes and did the effects. There's nothing wrong with that.
But I guess the people that love the ride enjoy the "show" that this coaster delivers. They are sucked in by the theming and almost feel like they are there.
Just 2 different view points.

 

[coasterphil]

I'm in total agreement with agent86 and think that EE is a huge disappointment. I couldn't believe that people were raving about it after my first ride. The ride itself fails on both thrills and theme. It's basically a blown up version of BTMR without the charm, with a wondeful queue thrown in. People had touted it as so much more.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

 

[jaredliu]

I have no doubt I'll be in the minority on this, but I have never understood why so many members of these discussion forums seem so impressed by Expedition Everest. I just don't get it. I think that as a coaster it's pretty boring, and from a show standpoint, it is extremely lacking. People always refer to the "amazing theming" and the "effects". Am I missing something? What is "amazing" about the theming on this ride? The part where the track is all broken is boring. You're sitting there for what seems like an eternity while they switch the track. You would think the Imagineers would have put in something interesting here to keep people's attention while they wait. What a missed opportunity. The part with the "shadow" of the Yeti is stupid. The Yeti in this part moves just like a cartoon character, and not like a real animal would move (especially one that size). It is not at all believable. When you see the "real" Yeti, you only get a glimpse of him for like half a second (and he definitely isn't moving with the same fluidness that the "cartoon" version is moving).

The other thing I've noticed is that it seems to just be the hardcore Disney fans who revere this ride so much. It seems to be on the top 5 list of nearly every member of this site, even those of the most critical of fans. But any time I hear of a friend or co-worker returning from a trip to WDW, I never hear any remarks about Everest that indicates they were impressed. Usually, people will rant and rave about things like Mission Space and others. But any time they have comments to make about Everest, it's things like "waste of time", "boring", etc.

So what gives? Why is it that it seems to be only hardcore Disney fans that seem to think it's so great?

Wow, I couldn't agree with you more. I feel EE is, along with Test Track, the most overrated ride of all WDW. I am terribly disappointed with it. Actually when watching a TV special of how they make it from travel channel, I absolutely don't know what's the fuss about it. They talked about how difficult to build the mountain and how state-of-the-art the Yeti robot is. But technology is one thing, the delivery is another. I think the delivery is pretty dry. Of course, the theming is great blah blah blah, but I was hoping for more. I like Big Thunder mountain better. Sometimes bigger is not always better. At least for me.

 

[courty]

Can someone else explain what A and B mode means...i read people talking about the Yeti being in A or B mode...this may be a stupid questions but im gonna admit i have no clue lol

 

[coasterphil]

A Mode Yeti moves (makes the lunging swipe at the train). B Mode is stationary and a strobe light is used to make it seem like it isn't just sitting there.

 

[ProfSlim]

Yup, I'd have to agree, EE, I believe misses the mark. I try to consider all the 'reasoning' for the development of an attraction. As much as there's a lot of focus on the 'themeing', let's be honest, Disney decided to invest millions of dollars to build the 'tallest' mountain in FLA and put a roller-coaster ride in it... So, the main focus of EE should have been centered around the ride. The main focus was clearly around themeing and detail...and even that I believe missed the mark.

Question: Do you feel EE or PoTC has better themeing... ? Do you feel more like you are in the Himalaya's and Nepal when you are in queue/ride for EE or do you feel more like you are in the Caribbean and 'in the prescense of pirates' when you are in the queue/ride for PoTC ?

We all know Disney focuses on themeing...I think it's the right thing to do but with EE they over engineered and over thought the themeing abnd forgot there was a ride to deal with...

 

[WildcatDen]

To my daughter's (10 and 13) it is a GREAT ride. Perhaps there favorite "Mountain" in the WDW universe. For me, I like it a lot. The theming in the queue is awesome and the ride is above average.

Coming from a King's Island perspective, I can think over 5 coasters that are better coasters but when you throw in the themeing and the overall experience, Everest beats them all (except maybe the Beast. . .)

 

[EpcotServo]

"Around here we never say 'Oh, who'll get this?', we know the right people will get it."
-Joel, on the matter of obscure jokes

 

[DisneyYorkian74]

I have no doubt I'll be in the minority on this, but I have never understood why so many members of these discussion forums seem so impressed by Expedition Everest. I just don't get it. I think that as a coaster it's pretty boring, and from a show standpoint, it is extremely lacking. People always refer to the "amazing theming" and the "effects". Am I missing something? What is "amazing" about the theming on this ride? The part where the track is all broken is boring. You're sitting there for what seems like an eternity while they switch the track. You would think the Imagineers would have put in something interesting here to keep people's attention while they wait. What a missed opportunity. The part with the "shadow" of the Yeti is stupid. The Yeti in this part moves just like a cartoon character, and not like a real animal would move (especially one that size). It is not at all believable. When you see the "real" Yeti, you only get a glimpse of him for like half a second (and he definitely isn't moving with the same fluidness that the "cartoon" version is moving).

The other thing I've noticed is that it seems to just be the hardcore Disney fans who revere this ride so much. It seems to be on the top 5 list of nearly every member of this site, even those of the most critical of fans. But any time I hear of a friend or co-worker returning from a trip to WDW, I never hear any remarks about Everest that indicates they were impressed. Usually, people will rant and rave about things like Mission Space and others. But any time they have comments to make about Everest, it's things like "waste of time", "boring", etc.

So what gives? Why is it that it seems to be only hardcore Disney fans that seem to think it's so great?

Hey Agent86 why don't you ever post anything positive about WDW?

Seriously, do all of your posts have to be so negative?

Considering Animal Kingdom's attendance has grown from 8.2 million to 9.49 million since Expedition Everest opened...

I think it's more than safe to assume that a lot more than just "hardcore Disney fans" are enjoying that ride.

 

[DisneyYorkian74]

Hmmm...Agent86. Agent? You're not an agent of Universal Studios are you?

I really don't think you said that as a joke, and I don't blame you.

All his/her opinions do seem to be consistently negative and my common sense is telling me not to take his/her opinions seriously because they're more than likely on the biased side.:hammer:

 

[mickeymagic92]

i personally love this ride but overall its not this specific ride only, some people dont like magic kingdom or rockin roller coaster and it doesnt have to do with just the fact of disney fans or not but of their taste in rides

 

[coasterphil]

Considering Animal Kingdom's attendance has grown from 8.2 million to 9.49 million since Expedition Everest opened...

I think it's more than safe to assume that a lot more than just "hardcore Disney fans" are enjoying that ride.

That has nothing to do with how much people enjoy the ride. It was a brand new E-ticket in a park that was sorely lacking excitement, it was an automatic boost.

 

[DisneyYorkian74]

That has nothing to do with how much people enjoy the ride. It was a brand new E-ticket in a park that was sorely lacking excitement, it was an automatic boost.

There's no such thing as an "automatic boost" in the theme/amusement park world.

Either a ride takes off and is really successful and theres a rise in park attendance(like Expedition Everest), or the ride doesn't have any effect on park attendance at all.

There are a lot of rides that open up at theme/amusement parks around the country and these parks see little to no change in attendance.

People view Expedition Everest as that good of a ride and that's why attendance at Animal Kingdom continues to rise.