Expedition Everest

Arguably one of the most detailed Disney attractions to date, Joe Rohde and his team certainly did their homework while creating this Floridian facsimile of the forbidden mountain and boy, does it sure show from start to finish!  The queue line itself is a process of exploration where you find yourself discovering something new about Himalayan culture and folklore every time you venture through that small village at the base of the forbidden mountain.  This is one of the very few attractions where I’ve actually been disappointed to find a briskly moving line simply because I wanted more of a chance to take in all of the detail that the Imagineers traveled around the world to research!

Of course, the ride itself isn’t too shabby, either, although admittedly it is near the top of my threshold even for Disney rollercoasters! In truth, I’m kind of a huge wuss when it comes to these things, but I give Disney a pass because so much work goes into the story and presentation that it’s a little easier to put the fear aside for 90 seconds … even when there’s a 22-foot yeti involved in the mix!  Very cool attraction, extraordinarily innovative (there are some really neat documentaries out there about how Everest was actually built), and ultimately we can only hope that this same level of dedication goes into the next e-ticket attraction that crops up in the Animal Kingdom…

More Favorite Photos: