Disney World’s Expedition Everest – What Should I Be Afraid Of?

Almost any Disney World regular will tell you that Expedition Everest is a must-do. But what exactly might make it a scary ride? We've ridden Expedition Everest countless times and understand the ins and outs of it like the back of our hands.

This is why we at MickeyVisit put together this comprehensive ride review of Expedition Everest so you have a clear idea of what to expect when riding it.

Expedition Everest Review

In an effort to clearly define just how scary a ride is, we developed an ultra-scientific backed-by-research rating system.

We call it the Mickey Visit Ride Rating System – MVRRS for short (pretty clever, huh?)

The MVRRS goes as follows:

• Wimp Proof: Not scary at all
• Wimp Proof-ish: Seems scary at first, but after, you feel it's nothing to worry about
• Scary but Survivable: Moderately scary
• Scary: Definitely scary, but you'll be able to sleep at night
• Bravest Riders Only: The scariest ride you'll find in a theme park

Expedition Everest Ride Overview

Although it's not as popular as Avatar Flight of Passage, Expedition Everest continues to see long wait times – and for good reason.

Expedition Everest is the only true roller coaster in Disney's Animal Kingdom, taking you on a journey to the base camp of Mount Everest. Its track elements alone are thrilling enough to make roller coaster fans happy, but the storyline of the ride makes it distinctly Disney.

Disney has described Expedition Everest as a “family thrill ride.” On the spectrum of Disney World roller coasters, we like to think of it as closer to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad than Rock ‘N' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith. 

Here’s some important information to review before riding Expedition Everest:

• Access: Disney Genie+, Single Rider, Rider Switch
• Height Requirements: Guests must be at least 44″ (112cm)
• Highest Speed: 50mph
• Length: 3.5 minutes
• Highest Ride Drop: 80 feet
• Loops: 0
• Other Features: Backwards Drop

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Expedition Everest Ride Queue: What You Need to Know

Both the standby queue and Lightning Lane queue for Expedition Everest start right at the ride’s signage.

However, the single rider queue starts in a different area. When you're facing the attraction's exit (doubles as a merchandise shop), the single rider queue entrance is directly to its left. All 3 merge points for the standby queue, Lightning Lane queue, and single rider queue happen right before entering the load area. Each queue also has has you spending varying amounts of time outdoors and in the Florida heat, with the Lightning Lane queue spending the least amount of time in the heat. 

The queue starts in the office of the fictional “Himalayan Escapes” travel agency. The well-lit queue eventually has you walk through a replica temple with little holy figures and a tea garden. You'll then step into a room full of equipment from previous Mount Everest expeditions as well as a “Yeti Museum” containing information on sightings of the mysterious Yeti of Mount Everest. Especially when wait times are high for Expedition Everest, you'll have plenty of artifacts and details to look at when waiting to ride.

It's important to know however that the single rider queue skips all of these queue details.

Lastly, it's important to note that there are 2 chicken available should you choose to skip the ride. The first is at the boarding area, where you can ask a Cast Member to walk straight to the exit. The last isn't the most convenient: if you decide to sit this ride out while in the queue, you can simply turn around and walk back out the way you entered.

Expedition Everest Ride Vehicle Information

The ride vehicle for Expedition Everest is akin to a traditional roller coaster – like Incredicoaster at Disney California Adventure.

Once you make your way to the front of the queue, a Cast Member will direct you to your designated seating area. You'll then take a seat in what looks like an old tea train. So the story goes, the owners of the travel agency repurposed old tea trains into vehicles for you to take the journey up to Mount Everest. However, your vehicle is really a traditional roller coaster vehicle, with your feet on the floor and a lap bar in front of you.

Each set of roller coaster vehicles contains 6 cars with 3 rows each, seating guests 2 across. However, the last car only has 2 rows.

Expedition Everest: Ride Experience

The ride experience for Expedition Everest is one of the most unique roller coaster experiences in all of Walt Disney World.

Once you board, your train begins its climb to the summit of Mount Everest. So the story goes, the owners of the travel agency decided to take a shortcut through the Himalayas to get to Mount Everest quicker. This means that they your path cuts directly through the Forbidden Mountain to get to Everest. On the way, you'll see warnings from local villagers telling you not to board the trains.

Regardless, your train continues to push through to the summit, only to come to a halt at the broken track along a cliff. Then, in a panic, the train suddenly accelerates backwards, spiraling down an alternate track into a dark cavern.

Then, in the cavern, you come to a stop only to find out that the Yeti is real: a giant silhouette swoops down  and rips up another piece of the track.

To escape the Yeti, the train accelerates forward to get back to the base. On the way, it zooms through dark caverns and around large spirals, almost running directly into the Yeti. Making it past the Yeti by the skin of your teeth, you safely arrive at the base.

Note that if you're worried about any jerkiness, your entire ride experience is very smooth.

Let's review the aspects of the ride that that make Expedition Everest thrilling and add to its MVRRS rating: 

• Backwards Drop: After a slow and relaxing start to your ride, your train comes to a halt as your track is broken. Then, you race backwards into the darkness. Some guests (myself included) even say that the backwards drop in the dark makes you feel like you're going upside down
• Dark Portions: The dark indoor portions of this ride combined with its sweeping turns and high speeds make it feel much faster since you don't have a reference point to gauge your true speed.
• Speed: Expedition Everest reaches a top speed of 50mph. This is about 2x as fast as Space Mountain
• Drops: There are several drops throughout this ride. The highest drop on this roller coaster is 80 feet, and since majority of this ride is outdoors, you get to see how high up you are. As a side note, this also gives you incredible views of the rest of Walt Disney World and parts of the Orlando area
• Fast Turns: Expedition Everest has several fast turns and sweeping banks in which you feel the gravitational forces against you. Its drops and fast turns make this ride unadvisable for guests prone to motion sickness
• Yeti Sightings: In the midst of the chaos, you'll come face-to-face with the yeti himself. While he's not moving, there is a strobe light effect to suggest movement (many guests dub him the “Disco Yeti”). If you or your kiddos are sensitive to strobe light effects, we advise that you skip this ride
• Length: At just under 4 minutes, Expedition Everest is a little longer than Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, a little shorter than Soarin' Around the World, and about the same length as Test Track

Every single effect adds up to a very fun, thrilling ride.

Favorite Moment of Expedition Everest

Here's why you need to ride Expedition Everest.

The first time I rode Expedition Everest, I knew what I was walking into. I hadn't seen ride footage on YouTube, but a close friend of mine gave me a “nuts-and-bolts” description of it. So I knew about the backwards drop, the dark portions of the ride, and the famed “Disco Yeti.”

But hearing about the ride and experiencing it is 2 completely different things which is important to note in our Expedition Everest Ride Review.

That's why my favorite moment is when the ride vehicle comes to a halt the broken track. Before Expedition Everest, I had never ridden a roller coaster with a backwards drop. So when this moment happened, I was in a degree of shock, wondering what was about to happen and where our ride vehicle would go.

More than any of the drops, high speeds, and sweeping turns, it's this moment of mystery and anticipation that I savor the most when riding Expedition Everest.

Expedition Everest: Scary Verdict

So, how does our ride review of Expedition Everest stack up against our MVRRS?

MVRRS VERDICT: Scary but Survivable: Moderately scary

Expedition Everest is a very unique roller coaster with an incredible story. The queue alone is worth standing in a long line because of how much detail there is to look at. However, at the heart of the matter is a roller coaster with several moderately large drops, a top speed of 50mph, a backwards drop, and a dark section with strobe light effects.

All of these effects combine to make a ride that's 3 parts thrilling, 1 part scary.

Two of the scariest parts of the ride include the following:

1. The backwards drop and sweeping turn into the dark
2. Your fast approach to the “Disco Yeti”

Every time I ride Expedition Everest, the backwards drop and sweeping turn into the dark makes me feel like I'm about to go upside down. This section of the ride is arguably the most thrilling part of the ride – possibly the most thrilling part of any ride at Disney World.

Your encounter with the Yeti with its strobe light effect can also be off putting for many guests. This effect is meant to give off the feeling that the Yeti is about to reach down to grab you from your ride vehicle. 

In the end, if you or your kiddos are fans of thrill rides, Expedition Everest is the perfect ride for you as we determined in our Expedition Everest Ride Review.

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