Wallpaper pictures of the thrilling "Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain" roller coaster in the Asia section of Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park - presented in 4:3 regular and 16:9 widescreen formats!

Set in the mountaineous region of southern Asia, "Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain" takes us deep into the Himalayan Mountains on a quest to the summit of Mount Everest on one of Walt Disney World's most thrilling and technolonically advanced rides in history.

Expedition Everest starts out with us, the travelers from far away lands, going from the Asian village of Anandapur and making the short journey to the rustic village of Serka Zong at the base of the Himilayan Mountains.  Along the way on the outskirts of Anandapur is a peculiar shrine for the Yeti and Forbidden Mountain on the edge of the lake.  Standing omninously on the horizon is the Forbidden Mountain with Mount Everest off in the distance.  Though part of a chain, the mountain itself appears to be standing alone, almost darking people to conquer its hidden dangers.

The town of Serka Zong had seen better days.  The decay of the abondoned buildings tells us that something out there is keeping the villagers from being prosperous.  One thing that is known is that the villagers are very fearful of the Yeti.  There are warning signs and shrines dedicated to the fabled creature everywhere.  Luckily, a small company called Himalayan Escapes - Tours and Expeditions moved into the town and took over a couple of buildings, even going so far as repairing the old tea trains that used to service the tea plantations.  Their top-rated tour is called Expedition Everest, and that's why we're there!

When walking up to Expedition Everest, it's fairly obvious that at some point on the ride you're going to be racing down a steep drop on the front of the mountain.  You can hear the screams of the riders from quite a ways away, and you can watch the trains from across the lake in DinoLand and Discovery Island.  This is a featured part of the ride.

"Expedition Everest" main drop video clip - July 7, 2007 1.3 mb, 12 seconds Please right-click on the picture and SAVE LINK AS to save the video to your computer's hard drive.

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After making our way through the elaborate and rather fascinating line queue, we board the steam-powered tea train and lower the lapbar.  The train's engine lets out a whistle and we're on our way!

Expedition Everest starts out nice and peaceful.  The train curves around to the right before going up the first of two lift hills.  This first one is quite small, and as we clear the top we have an outstanding view of the Forbidden Mountain and the waterfalls created from runoff snow and ice.  The train dips down a short drop and then cruises along a wide turn to the left.  The base of the mountains is a hot and semi-tropical region, but that's about to change as we make our ascent.

The tea train makes another left turn before climbing the second lift hill.  The steep climb takes us through an old fortress (now yet another Yeti shrine) and we keep climbing, higher and higher into the mountains.  The train's engine whistles again as we reach near the peak of the Forbidden Mountain.  After one last (and spectacular) look down at the park, we round the top of the hill and glide along through the ice tunnels.  We make another left turn and begin to climb another small hill when all of a sudden . . .

Without going into all of the details of the ride, I'll say that the ride involves racing through the mountain's dark tunnels backwards before going forwards again and down the main drop.  The train re-enters the mountain and then dives down again, exiting and going through a massive double helix before heading back into the mountain one last time.  This time we finally see the Yeti live in person and narrowly escape before becoming its next meal.  The trains brake quickly and then stop a the unloading station.

"Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain" is a thrilling but adventurous roller coaster-type ride.  Is is a major roller coaster like at the Six Flags parks?  No, not really.  Parts of the ride are steep, fast and thrilling, but as a roller coaster, it's a very short ride and doesn't offer as steep of drops or as high of speeds as other roller coasters.  The ride is scary enough to stop a lot of frightened people in their tracks, leaving them to stand in the path and stare in horror as the trains race down the main drop.

It's fascinating to note that the actual attraction is three structures in one.  The mountain, coaster track, and Yeti are all independent structures.  The shaking of the coaster track and intense forces behind the motions of the Yeti could each easily tear apart the mountain.  As a result, the coaster tracks stays an average of six inches away from the actual mountain itself.

Expedition Everest may still be a new ride, but it has already gone through a few small changes since its opening.

For starters, the tea train's engines had the effect of letting out steam whenever it arrived and departed from the loading station.  The steam was actually released from down by the track and just went up through the empty broiler, but it was still a cool effect.  Sadly, I haven't seen it work on many visits to the park over the past year or two.

UPDATE - While visiting Expedition Everest while at Disney's Animal Kingdom on Thursday, November 12, 2009, the steam was working again from both the engine on the train and from the large boiler next to the loading platform.

"Expedition Everest" loading station steam video clip - July 7, 2007 5.5 mb, 55 seconds Please right-click on the picture and SAVE LINK AS to save the video to your computer's hard drive.

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Second, at the very top of the mountain when we're stopped for the broken track, there used to be an Audio-Animatronic vulture that flew out from around the peak.  This bird has also been missing in action for quite some time as well, but on a visit in December of 2009, the bird was once again sighted at the top of the mountain.

And last but most certainly not least, the Yeti itself doesn't behave as originally planned.  When the ride first opened, the Yeti frequently operated in "A-mode," meaning that it dipped down, tried to grab us, and did its full range of motions.  This was awesome when it worked correctly.  When the Yeti was having technical problems, it would be in "B-mode."  The ride would still run, but the Yeti would stay still in the final room.  A strobe light and fans blowing on its fur created the illusion of movement until it could be repaired.

Lately, the Yeti has been in a different mode in a blend between A-mode and B-mode.  These days the Yeti only makes slight movements and the lights are used to create the illusion of more movement.  This is okay for the effects, but it's sad because we know that this large and frightening creature could move so much better and more convincing, making for an outstanding ride experience.  I've heard mixed stories about whether this operating mode is permanent or if something new is still in store for the Yeti.

As a whole, "Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain" is an excellent ride.  The FastPass is popular as the stand-by line can easily reach 60 minutes or longer.  This ride also offers a single-rider line queue, but being single-rider doesn't mean a short wait.  I've frequently had 20-30 minute wait times in that line.  The best bet is to get to the mountain early and just jump in the stand-by line.  The lines moves the best during the first hour of park operation as there's almost no stoppage for the FastPass line.

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- Disney's Animal Kingdom - Asia - "Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain" - 01 - regular, widescreen

- "Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain" - 02 - regular, widescreen

- "Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain" - 03 - regular, widescreen

- Forbidden Mountain - mountain peak - 01 - regular, widescreen

- Forbidden Mountain - mountain peak - 02 - regular, widescreen

- "Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain" - 04 - regular

- "Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain" - 05 - regular, widescreen

- "Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain" - 06 - regular

- Ananadapur - Forbidden Mountain & Yeti shrine - 01 - regular, widescreen

- Ananadapur - Forbidden Mountain & Yeti shrine - 02 - regular, widescreen

- Forbidden Mountain - flags - 01 - regular, widescreen

- Forbidden Mountain - flags - 02 - regular

- Forbidden Mountain - flags - 03 - regular, widescreen

- Forbidden Mountain - flags - 04 - regular, widescreen

- "Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain" - 07 - regular, widescreen

- "Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain" - 08 - regular, widescreen

- "Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain" - 09 - regular

- "Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain" - 10 - regular

- Forbidden Mountain - ancient fortress - 01 - regular

- Serka Zong - Yeti shrines and flags - 01 - regular, widescreen

- Serka Zong - stone markers - 01 - regular, widescreen

- Serka Zong - Yeti stone marker - 01 - regular

- Serka Zong - Expedition Everest welcome sign - 01 - regular, widescreen

- Serka Zong - Yeti warning sign - 01 - regular, widescreen

- Serka Zong - Expedition Everest welcome sign - 02 - regular, widescreen

Continue on the main Expedition Everest photo tour including night photos and the coaster trains in action!

See the history and construction of Expedition Everest.