Everest Revisited!

[TDLFAN]

Hi all, just over a week after my first 2 rides on EE, I returned to DAK today, late afternoon in hopes of being able to re-ride again, as it was rumored the ride has been opening every so often to regular day guests for sneak previews.

Lo and behold. It was true. But first..while on my way to DAK, I've noticed "Everest" billboards are now appearing all over Orlando, conveniently placed next to heavy traffic areas in the vecinity of I4, Universal, the Beeline from the Airport and Greenway 417.

Entering DAK after a day and a half of very lousy weather, the grey clouds have already given way to a cool and sunny afternoon. Headed straight to Everest to find that the construction walls are now GONE!!! Yeah! The area in the immediate vecinity of Everest, the walkways leading towards the bridge before Theater in the Wild have now been heavily landscapped, so much so that you can't see a lot of the mountain unless you go towards the village and Bazaar and go to the observation area at the bottom of the main drop. It's an lovely area, nicely themed and great spot to relax I think.

At this point in time, Everest was down on technical difficulties so I went shopping and got me a red "Scream Like a Girl" Tee.. Perfect for WDW's Gay Days in June!!! The CM in the shop commented this was the "most popular tee design they have".. Hmmm.. I wonder why ?

Through all this, guests kept lining up outside Everest in hopes to sneak "peak" a ride before the park closed at 5pm. I went about my biz taking pics... Suddenly a roaring applause from guests nearby.. Everest was reopening for business!!! I ran to the end of the line and waited my turn. Walking thru the queue I could not help but noticed that all of the money coins that had littered the Yeti altars and gardens throughout the queue had been cleaned up and the queue looked spotless clean. Very nice! Also, most guests were playing around with the bells that hang over the queue. Inside the expedition area of the queue, look for the tea tin cans in the armoire.. The tea brand on the cans read 'Ye Tea'. Clever.

Finally reached the boarding platform... and I ended up riding in the last seat of the train.. row 17. I have to admit.. you get the biggest bang sitting in the back. You get tossed around a bit, especially when going backwards. Going backwards in near darkness makes my head feel a bit heavy and dizzy! It's happened every time I've ridden. Also, I noticed that the projection of the Yeti is partially blocked when viewed from the last row, but man..the big drop feels awesome!... throw your arms in the air as if you don't care... SCREAM! and let the air time carry you down down down...

Once the ride was over, I re-rode again... this time I got seated in row #5. You feel the gravity push from behind more than the pull you feel in the back of the train.. but the ride is just as fun no matter where you seat.

One comment I have to make.. this being my 4th time on EE, I came to the conclusion that the scene where you come upon the torn tracks and see the bird... you sit there a good 10 seconds while the track switch is in progress behind you. But not much is happening but that bird of prey hovering over the icy peak. This scene would be highly improved if they added some 3D sound effects...like sounds of stomping feet coming at you and the roar of the Yeti...to build up the expectation that he is near and coming towards you..then you escape by going backwards... That IMO would be a fun sensory effect that would greatly enhance this moment in the ride as you wait for the track to switch, just like it's also fun to see the Yeti projection as you wait for the track to switch before the main drop out the side of the mountain.

Also, the two times I rode, I noticed the waterfall outside the mountain appeared to be a bit more intense as it hit the bottom, with the water preassure being a bit stronger. So much so that both times I rode we got wet as we came out of the Yeti's cave and towards the train station.

Another observation... NONE of the trains I saw leaving the station had the steam effect on. This concerns me. As I expected...there doesn't seem to be an urgency to have these classy effects "on" at all times for the enjoyment of guest. I sure hope they don't let this efx go (or turn off) like they have deleted so many other special effects from other rides, and never fixed them again.

By the end of my second ride, it was 5pm already and time for DAK to close. Just as our train arrived at the station and we were disembarking, the ride went back down again with technical difficulties. By the time I made it out the Bazaar, the entrance into the queue area was closed to the public. Some very disappointed guests we told EE was closed for the day.

Before leaving... I made my way towards Tarzan's ex-home, the Theater in the Wild, which is now behind a construction wall... A CM nearby commented to me that the theater will be redesigned, with it's tent-like top coming down, and a totally enclosed theater ceiling built. There was also some construction going on by the side of the theater. I could not get any other info or rumors out of the CM...so I made my merry way to the exit.

And that was my quick visit to DAK... Now see it in pictures. Enjoy...

http://albums.photo.epson.com/
j/AlbumIndex?u=4334673&a=32073323&f=

[BigPigletFan]

Thank you for your report. I cannot wait to finally get myself on the other side of that now misisng "wall".

At this point in time, Everest was down on technical difficulties so I went shopping and got me a red "Scream Like a Girl" Tee.. Perfect for WDW's Gay Days in June!!! The CM in the shop commented this was the "most popular tee design they have".. Hmmm.. I wonder why ?

I heard about this shirt and various others while talking with a merch manager at DAK in early December but I wasn't able to see any of them. I would really like to see the clothing and merch that they have out for E:E because I've heard many, many good things! Do you think you could maybe take a photo of at least your shirt or maybe include some more on your next visit? Please and thank you.

[TDLFAN]

PigletFan... go back to the last picture on the pictorial.. To be honest with you.. the EE merchandise is so so... I really do not care for much of it.. Very generic feel to it. I did like the lenticular post cards, the 3d photo frame, and the snowglobe. But that's it. The Yeti plush for example.. does not look anything like the one we see in the attraction.. As a matter of fact, they can sell that plush at DL since it looks just like the Matterhorn's monster.. White from head to toes.

[captsmith84]

The Yeti plush for example.. does not look anything like the one we see in the attraction.. As a matter of fact, they can sell that plush at DL since it looks just like the Matterhorn's monster.. White from head to toes.

Ha ha, you can thank Joe Rhode for that... he was so protective of the Yeti that he refused to let marketing and merchandise see what the Yeti looked like... hence why they came up with their own designs... based upon the snowman in the Matterhorn. Funny story eh? But that means you can bet that these white Yetis will be going away soon. Time to buy this stuff!

[captsmith84]

Thank you for your report. I cannot wait to finally get myself on the other side of that now misisng "wall".


I heard about this shirt and various others while talking with a merch manager at DAK in early December but I wasn't able to see any of them. I would really like to see the clothing and merch that they have out for E:E because I've heard many, many good things! Do you think you could maybe take a photo of at least your shirt or maybe include some more on your next visit? Please and thank you.

Next time I go, you'll have photos of every Everest thing they have!

[tloolgb]

See I found the selection of merch at Everest to be quite good compared to the stuff found at many other rides such as HM or Mission: Space (now there is generic).
There was alot of stuff, and many many cool t-shirt designs, at least what I thought. Unfortunatly, the "scream like a girl" shirt was gone last weekend...all they had was a grey version with no sleeves, and seeing as how I am not "big" nor do I have a truck with a gun rack I can't wear a shirt with no sleeves and not look stupid. Anywho...

I'm sure that there was a reason for the steam not being on. I mean it is still preview time, not eveything will work.
Glad to hear it is doing previews though...when I go back in March I'm hoping to be able to ride it with my family.

[TheDisneyInquisitor]

Good review. Only 4 months until I ride it & I'm happier with each review I see!!!

As for the steam effect, do remember that the ride is in soft openings, no effect is guaranteed to work.

And as for the Theater in the Wild, they are enclosing it & putting in a Finding Nemo show similar to the Voyage of the Little Mermaid (it is being enclosed so the music won't interfere with EE).

[WDW1974]

Interesting observations, as always, TDLFAN.

The Everest billboards are out in full force in SoFla as well, along I-95 and the Turnpike. I'm sure the full media blitz will begin in April.

Glad to hear about the added landscaping in the area. The barren look was one of my few issues with EE.

As for the track switch area, I agree. You just come to a full stop ... and then nothing ... except for the bird on a stick. Some yeti howls would add something ... heck, even geneirc ominous music would be a plus. What I would have liked to have seen would have been when you get up to that point, the train stops, you see an animated bird fly off (like a warning) and then the track shakes (think the bridge on the safari or the effect on DCA's ToT where the elevator is going up ) like Mr. Yeti has landed on your track and altered the route. But, right now there's no doubt it's a dead spot in the ride.

I'm not surprised it's open and will likely be every day. WDW learned its lesson with the embarrassment over Test Track and wants months of having a major attraction running before staging a grand opening for the media.

[WDW1974]

Oh, and VERY glad to hear they cleaned up those coins that the idiots threw all around the courtyard. Clearly, they don't want them thrown there.

[mikeland]

Thanks for the pic of the t-shirt. I'll probably order some for Gay Day :-)