Disney does it again with "Expedition Everest"

A new adventure lies in the Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla. The recently opened Expedition Everest takes visitors on a journey through the Himalayan region to Mt. Everest. At just under 200 feet, the structure is the tallest of the 18 mountains created by Disney Imagineers, who actually traveled to Nepal so they could re-create the area with realistic detail.

Riders embark on the Anandapur Rail Service, an aged steam train that ascends the mountain in search of the mythical Yeti. However, the climb is halted just before the train reaches a break in the tracks, undoubtedly gnarled and twisted by the enraged beast. Although startled by the sight of this hopeless trail, riders surely will be exhilarated as the train races backwards--turning and twisting through the darkened mountain caverns and icy canyons--seeking to escape the Yeti's wrath.

The reverse trek and high-speed curves make this one of the most exciting coasters at Walt Disney World.

Expedition Everest Fast Facts

* The careening adventure includes an 80-foot drop and almost one mile of track, plus frightening encounters with the mystical Yeti.

* The mammoth-sized Audio-Animatronics Yeti has a potential thrust (in all of its hydraulic cylinders combined) of slightly more than 259,000 pounds of force--potentially more instantaneous power than a 747-400 airliner.

* To create the sense of an enormous mountain range, Imagineers painted a "mural" of shadows across the face of the mountains. The range, with its glaciers and valleys, is a canvas of rockwork, carvings, and paintings--creating a forced perspective where closer-in objects have a massive look while appliques trick the eye into perceiving far-off objects.

* Some 2,000 handcrafted items from Asia are evident in the props, cabinetry, and architectural ornamentation.

* Some 1,800 tons of steel were used in the mountain structure. That is about six times the amount employed in a traditional office building of this size.

* The mountain is crafted with more than 3,000 prefabricated "chips" created from 25,000 individual computer-molded pieces of steel.

* About 2,000 gallons of stain and paint were used on the rockwork and throughout the village. The color scheme has ritual meaning to the Himalayan culture.

* Artists from Imagineering used hammers, chainsaws, and blowtorches to "age" wood and buildings in the village, giving them the appearance of being longstanding parts of the landscape.

* More than 900 bamboo plants, 10 different types of trees, and 100 species of shrubs were planted to re-create the lowlands surrounding Mt. Everest.

* The famous final ascent of Sir Edmund Hillary in 1953 is represented in Disney's manmade mountain. The coloring of Mt. Everest differs from the rest of the range because, at more than 29,000 feet elevation, hurricane-force winds often blow snow off its peak, revealing a raw sheet of rock.

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