Thoughts on Expedition Everest

[Master Yoda]

i don't believe its actually an animatronic, just a still figure; maybe he moves a little, but "Harold" isn't very sophisticated

Has our yeti been given a name yet?

 

[SpectroMan]

I think the part that I don't like about this ride is the lack of creativity. Everything just like formula and is old-fashioned.

Do not harp on formula. Everything Disney is is formula. All their movies and rides you probably consider innovative are formulaic in nature. Tower of Terror, Mission: Space, and Everest all have the same basic storyline. "Oh look we are going on an adventure to a place we have never been, and then oh no something is going wrong." The innovation comes from the ride elements: the moving elevator in Tower of Terror, the centrifuge/simulator in Mission: Space. Even Soarin' is just a giant simulator, and everybody considers that to be an innovative ride.

So Everest has the same formula as many rides, but its ride system is unique in itself. Of course it is a rollercoaster, but it is also innovative. It happens to be the first continuous track rollercoaster to go forwards and backwards. That in itself is engineering genius.

Read my quote from Thomas More below. Innovation is a hard thing to do without copying something else. We are so saturated with stories that every story has already been told. We now can only find new spins on old stories, and I think the Imagineers have done a great job on creating a new spin on an old story with Expedition: Everest.

 

[nicholas]

Has our yeti been given a name yet?

Not officially, but I started a thread a few months ago for fun to come up with ideas for it.

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=68801

 

[MadMax]

I was disappointed in it too, although it's not bad, I think we're ready for the next generation of Disney magic. EE is just another Disney ride and more than a few WDI old schoolers believe that the Golden era of WDI is long gone.
Think about it; It's a roller coaster with a big animatronic in it. The Vulture is a half baked idea and you see the Yeti for about 2 seconds and then it's over. They shoulda put an avalanche scene in it. They shoulda blasted us with cold air instead of mist. There should have been a stop with wind howling and some creepy narration, kind of like a base camp, and I think it should have been a little gory... I mean come on, the Yeti is a huge carniverous beast!
But that's just my 2 scents.

 

[AEfx]

I enjoyed it greatly.

That said, I expected more of a dark ride.

/shrug

AEfx

 

[jaredliu]

What rides in general have done this? I can't think of one ride at Disney that would qualify as using that concept. Truthfully, I can't think of a ride at any park that has used that concept.

Jorney into center of earth and Matterhorn. It's kind of a old trick.

 

[jaredliu]

So Everest has the same formula as many rides, but its ride system is unique in itself. Of course it is a rollercoaster, but it is also innovative. It happens to be the first continuous track rollercoaster to go forwards and backwards. That in itself is engineering genius.

Sorry but I couldn't see going backwards is worth calling "innovative". It's just expensive.Maybe engineering wise it is so so so great and so so so diffcult to do, but I don't think visitors will really feel the same. They would probably feel it is very cool, but not the first of its kind. saying the first "continous track coaster to go for/backwards" is just too detailed for normal people. They would think this is just a coaster that goes backwards. That's how I felt watching the making of EE show on Discovery Channel. I ended up enjoying more of knowing how to make it than riding it. They show how hard it is to keep the track and the mountain seperated but really close/ how complicated the Yeti figure is and has to use some technology to do whatever to control it/ switch of the track to go forwords to backwords is so hard that no one else has ever done before..... all those engneering detail are all amazing. But hey if you are a normal guest how would you ever know or how would you be interested in those details like "the track is only six inches from the mountain sturcture which is really a work of art etc....". It is a very fun ride but I can't hardly felt this is innovative in terms of my "rider's perspective".

 

[goofyfan13]

I personally think that the amount of time that you see the yeti is perfect mostly because of the realism. In real life, are you really going to stop and take pictures if you see the Yeti? Obviously you going to get out of dodge ASAP. IDK, I like seeing the yeti for 5 seconds, I think it's a perfect amount of time with respect to the story.

 

[dxwwf3]

I have a pretty good idea of what the ride is like just from spending time on the internet and watching the TV specials, and after all of that I must say my expectations are extremely low for when I actually get to ride it in June. To me, it looks like a decent attraction, but suffers in the same way Kali does in that it's just way too short. I guarantee that I won't be disapointed by the attraction because I really look forward to the queue more than the actual ride itself. Heck I look forward to the view from atop of the lift hill more than anything else on the ride. It just doesn't look like it will be all that thrilling, but hopefully it will be at least as fun as Big Thunder Mountain.

 

[should-be-BELLE]

I agree that the ride is great and that the yeti is seen for just the right amount of time. Not seeing him around every corner made me want to go back and ride to see him again and again.

I assumed that the coaster would be very dull, and although it's not RnRc, it was alot more intense than I thought, which was awesome.

I missed the Discovery specials because I was actually in AK that day riding Everest...does anyone have any re-run info?

 

[ClemsonTigger]

I found it very enjoyable, my 10 year old absolutely loved it and teenage daughter thought it was worth the wait as well. Three thumbs up!

 

[Punkss]

I for one would rather have a slightly shorter ride which is more detailed than large and boring. I find that in many theme parks the effort to make rides longer makes the scenery and detailing sparse and lame. There is nothing worse than riding a coaster which is meant to represent say fire and then just flying around a grass field.

To me detail is king and thats why me and girlfriend loved WDW so much. AK is so detailed and themed we loved it.