The Forbidden Mountain

This ride takes place on Mount Everest, known to be the highest mountain on Earth. The tale of the Yeti has long been told. But as you ride the roller-coaster up the cliffs of this Himalayan giant, you get to experience his wrath for yourself.

The focal point for the 'Asia' section in Animal Kingdom belongs to this Mount Everest themed roller-coaster. 'Expedition Everest' is listed in the 2011 Guinness Book of World Records as the Most Expensive Roller-Coaster on Earth and features an extensive environment setting that makes guest feel as if they're walking through a Himalayan village.

Above, you can see a picture of Expedition Everest in the distance. It truly is a massive attraction and cost over $100 million to design and construct. Walking through the streets of Anandapur (the fictional Asian village) is an experience in itself. Below is a picture of Taylor exploring a scenic alley.

The queue line for Expedition Everest gave you plenty to look at to pass the time. Most of the artifacts were dedicated to the mythical Yeti creature and the destruction he has made to hikers on the mountain. There were many fictional stories and artifacts that supposedly came from real-life expeditions.

Above is a shrine dedicated to the Yeti. He is as a god-like figure to the locals living near the base of the mountain. "Local beliefs say that the Yeti is the guardian of Forbidden Mountain and the sacred realm of the Himalayas." is seen inscribed on a sign inside the Expedition Everest base camp.

Inside the base camp (along the queue line for Expedition Everest) you can see some neat things. This Yeti footprint mold was said to be cast by Prof. Dorje in 2005 while traveling through the Forbidden Mountain region. The artifacts in the camp looked real. Broken hiking supplies ruined by the Yeti were enclosed for guests to see.

Orangutan and Gigantopithecus skulls were on display next to the Yeti footprint. Gigantopithecus was known to be the largest ape to ever walk the Earth and fossils were found in the modern-day China region of the globe. This gives a possible explanation to the Yeti encounters. Was the Yeti just a long lost cousin of the Ape living in the secluded Himalayas?

The mountain structure looked real as can be. Of course, it was much smaller than the actual Mount Everest, but it looked to be made of genuine rock. The melting snow from the peak created waterfalls in a couple areas. The picture below was taken while ascending up the first main hill on the steam-train style roller-coaster.

The ride takes you on a series of looping hills along the mountain before you arrive at the summit. Unfortunately the Yeti got to the summit before the roller-coaster and destroyed the train tracks! Instead of flying off the tracks, you find yourself rolling backwards down the mountain at high speeds.

The ride continues throughout the caves of Everest until it eventually stalls. The Yeti is seen lurking in the shadows and appears to notice the train-cars. It lets out a massive roar and the ride takes off continuing it's escape down the mountain.