Expedition Everest, Steel roller coaster at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Bay Lake, United States
Expedition Everest is a steel roller coaster inside Disney's Animal Kingdom Park in Bay Lake, Florida. The track winds around an artificial mountain formation and through several cave sections with painted rock walls.
Announced on April 22, 2003, for Animal Kingdom's fifth anniversary, the ride had begun construction a month earlier and took three years, using 38 miles of rebar, 5,000 tons of structural steel and 10,000 tons of concrete. Previews began January 26, 2006; Bob Iger and Jay Rasulo led the April 7, 2006 opening, which closed Disneyland's 50th-anniversary celebrations.
The queue winds through a replica Himalayan village with carved wooden doors, prayer flags, and displays of mountaineering gear. Inside the rooms, visitors see ropes, ice axes, and maps that tell of earlier expeditions.
Riders must be at least 44 inches (112 centimeters) tall to board the nearly three-minute experience. The coaster reaches top speeds of around 50 miles per hour (80 kilometers per hour) and includes brief downward sections in darkness.
The track switches direction mid-ride, sending the train backward through dark mountain tunnels. This reversal happens after a simulated track break near the highest point of the route.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,316 contributors worldwide.
