Captain Chaos
Well-Known Member
As posted on orlandoSentinel.com today:
Disney officials head to Himalayas
By Sarah Hale Meitner
Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted May 6, 2005
A team of Walt Disney World officials and more than 20 renowned scientists will spend two months in the Himalayas this fall, gathering geological and cultural data that they'll use to authenticate Disney's newest Animal Kingdom attraction, Expedition Everest.
The coasterlike thrill ride, scheduled to debut next spring, will capture both the folklore and legend surrounding the yeti -- better known at the abominable snowman -- as well as true-to-nature elements discovered during the research trip.
By studying the region -- and its insects, birds, plants and people -- Disney officials say they'll be better equipped to give visitors an accurate portrayal of the Himalayas.
"At the highest level, it's a thrill-ride attraction," said Joe Rohde, lead designer of Animal Kingdom, who will accompany the scientists during the research trip. "But it's still about nature and the sanctity of the land."
To do this research, Disney will announce today a partnership with Conservation International, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit nature-and-wildlife preservation group and a joint partner on other Animal Kingdom initiatives.
The organization has worked with Disney since 1995 in building the company's biggest Orlando theme park, and its president, Russell A. Mittermeier, sits on the Animal Kingdom Advisory Board.
Disney also has contributed more than $2 million to the group -- money it has used to expand its Rapid Assessment Program, a research method used to quickly gather scientific information about a region.
It's a method the two teams will employ this fall during the trip to the Himalayas.
Specialists will spend more than a month in the field, backpacking to the base of Mount Everest, looking for lesser-known plant and animal species and documenting the patterns.
For instance, bird experts will identify species by both sight and sound, said Leeann Alonso, a vice president of field assessment with Conservation International. And plant experts will measure trees, growth patterns and species.
Rohde said plans also call for discussions with local residents about their relationship with the yeti.
To them, the yeti is a protector of the land. To Disney, it's a key figure in the Expedition Everest experience.
While on the ride, visitors will board an old-timey railway destined for Mount Everest. The train rolls through a thick bamboo forest, past waterfalls and through the snow.
Eventually the track ends in a gnarled mass of metal, sending riders forward and backward and into a head-on run-in with the yeti.
The joint collaboration between Disney and Conservation International for this project has been in the works for more than two years.
Although Disney officials, including Rohde, have traveled to Asia to visit the Himalayas several times in researching the attraction, this trip will be more detail-oriented and scientific.
"We've been continually studying the region and going there," Rohde said. "But we're in the homestretch now, gathering the final level of detail to be incorporated in the attraction."
Findings from the trip also will be showcased at Animal Kingdom's Conservation Station.
Conservation International will use the findings as it works to preserve the globe's most vulnerable regions, Alonso said. It's the first time the group will research the area this extensively, she said.
Disney officials head to Himalayas
By Sarah Hale Meitner
Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted May 6, 2005
A team of Walt Disney World officials and more than 20 renowned scientists will spend two months in the Himalayas this fall, gathering geological and cultural data that they'll use to authenticate Disney's newest Animal Kingdom attraction, Expedition Everest.
The coasterlike thrill ride, scheduled to debut next spring, will capture both the folklore and legend surrounding the yeti -- better known at the abominable snowman -- as well as true-to-nature elements discovered during the research trip.
By studying the region -- and its insects, birds, plants and people -- Disney officials say they'll be better equipped to give visitors an accurate portrayal of the Himalayas.
"At the highest level, it's a thrill-ride attraction," said Joe Rohde, lead designer of Animal Kingdom, who will accompany the scientists during the research trip. "But it's still about nature and the sanctity of the land."
To do this research, Disney will announce today a partnership with Conservation International, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit nature-and-wildlife preservation group and a joint partner on other Animal Kingdom initiatives.
The organization has worked with Disney since 1995 in building the company's biggest Orlando theme park, and its president, Russell A. Mittermeier, sits on the Animal Kingdom Advisory Board.
Disney also has contributed more than $2 million to the group -- money it has used to expand its Rapid Assessment Program, a research method used to quickly gather scientific information about a region.
It's a method the two teams will employ this fall during the trip to the Himalayas.
Specialists will spend more than a month in the field, backpacking to the base of Mount Everest, looking for lesser-known plant and animal species and documenting the patterns.
For instance, bird experts will identify species by both sight and sound, said Leeann Alonso, a vice president of field assessment with Conservation International. And plant experts will measure trees, growth patterns and species.
Rohde said plans also call for discussions with local residents about their relationship with the yeti.
To them, the yeti is a protector of the land. To Disney, it's a key figure in the Expedition Everest experience.
While on the ride, visitors will board an old-timey railway destined for Mount Everest. The train rolls through a thick bamboo forest, past waterfalls and through the snow.
Eventually the track ends in a gnarled mass of metal, sending riders forward and backward and into a head-on run-in with the yeti.
The joint collaboration between Disney and Conservation International for this project has been in the works for more than two years.
Although Disney officials, including Rohde, have traveled to Asia to visit the Himalayas several times in researching the attraction, this trip will be more detail-oriented and scientific.
"We've been continually studying the region and going there," Rohde said. "But we're in the homestretch now, gathering the final level of detail to be incorporated in the attraction."
Findings from the trip also will be showcased at Animal Kingdom's Conservation Station.
Conservation International will use the findings as it works to preserve the globe's most vulnerable regions, Alonso said. It's the first time the group will research the area this extensively, she said.
