Fun Facts of

Stuffed Animals

Village of Anandapur

1. The red brick bridge to the Village of Anandapur was inspired by Nepalese temples.
   REPORTED: From "The Making of Disney's Animal Kingdom" by Melody Malmberg via David Abercrombie 30 JUL 98
2. All the electric/telephone pole in Anandapur are marked as part of Anandapur rural electrification.
   REPORTED: Tom & Renée Shaw 26 DEC 00

Maharajah Jungle Trek

1. 
2. The Jungle Trek has Komodo dragons, tapirs, and a walk thru bat cave with fruit bats having a 5 - 6 ft wing span. Then come the tigers, blackbucks, Eldt's deer, banteng, and 50 kinds of birds. The Argus pheasant has the longest tail feathers in the bird world and can be seen here. The Komodo dragon is the world's largest lizard weighing up to 250 pounds and reaching lengths of 10-12 feet. Malayan Flying Foxes, the world's largest bats, have a wingspan of 6 feet. Maharajah Jungle Trek is the only public exhibit of these bats in North America.
   REPORTED: From "The Making of Disney's Animal Kingdom" by Melody Malmberg via David Abercrombie 30 JUL 98
3. On the far side of the temple ruins where the tigers are, just past the viewing windows and the exit arch. The painting on the right shows a man holding what looks to be a building in his hands. Over his head and to the left are some clouds, the farthest one above him has three spiral clouds that form a classic Mickey. The building in the man's hands resembles the red temple that is just a few dozen yards down the trail.
   REPORTED: Steve Murray 20 MAY 99

Kali River Rapids

Kali_River_Rapids_warning_signsm.jpg
1. The name of the river is Chakranadi River
2. Imagineers visited festivals in Bhutan, gone river rafting in Nepal, elephant trekking in Thailand and India's Holi celebrations (where their skin was painted!) to obtain an understanding of the culture. They also travelled toSingapore, Bali, and Java, where they photographed temples, rivers, jungles, and homes, ambiance, and researched issues.
   REPORTED: From "The Making of Disney's Animal Kingdom" by Melody Malmberg via David Abercrombie 30 JUL 98
3. Kali River Rapids was originally known as Tiger Rapids Run. The name was changed because Disney could not be sure that guests would be able to see tigers.
4. Construction on the Kali River Rapids was begun in summer 1997
   REPORTED: From "The Making of Disney's Animal Kingdom" by Melody Malmberg via David Abercrombie 30 JUL 98
5. It is a 40-foot mountain of dirt - the highest point in the park except for the Tree of Life.
   REPORTED: From "The Making of Disney's Animal Kingdom" by Melody Malmberg via David Abercrombie 30 JUL 98
6. A mythologically historical note for Kali River Rapids: Kali is actually the Hindu goddess of destruction and war. Believe me, I'm a Hindu myself. No wonder they named the ride after Her!!
   REPORTED: Fantasmaniac 29 APR 01
7. There are no animals directly on the rafting portion of the safari. However, there is a White-cheeked Gibbon exhibit that can be seen just before guests go under the exit bridge. Depending on where the gibbons are playing, they may be visible from the raft. In fact, the gibbons greatly enjoy playing in the tall tree within their exhibit, making them highly visible to the rafters at times.
   CONFIRMED: Smitty 27 AUG 99
8. John Kavelin was the executive Imagineer
9. The Kali River Rapids Story: The rafting company is operated by local eco-entrepreneurs and describes the conflict between population explosion and a traditional respect for animals and wild places.
   REPORTED: From "The Making of Disney's Animal Kingdom" by Melody Malmberg via David Abercrombie 30 JUL 98
10. Kali River Rapids is a combination of Nepalese, Javanese, and Thai architecture.
    REPORTED: From "The Making of Disney's Animal Kingdom" by Melody Malmberg via David Abercrombie 30 JUL 98
11. The temple is surrounded by real bamboo scaffolding and live gibbons.
    REPORTED: From "The Making of Disney's Animal Kingdom" by Melody Malmberg via David Abercrombie 30 JUL 98
12. The illustrations in the "painted pavilion" are adapted from classical Indian animal fables called the Jataka tales.
    REPORTED: From "The Making of Disney's Animal Kingdom" by Melody Malmberg via David Abercrombie 30 JUL 98
13. At the bird shrine, there are polylingual Greater Hill mynahs, speaking expressions of joy and wisdom.
    REPORTED: From "The Making of Disney's Animal Kingdom" by Melody Malmberg via David Abercrombie 30 JUL 98
14. Live geckos run over the display case in the merchandise shop.
    REPORTED: From "The Making of Disney's Animal Kingdom" by Melody Malmberg via David Abercrombie 30 JUL 98
15. Reguarding the Hidden Mickeys's Mr Paniki's Shop, when the imagineers received this work from the artist in Nepal, the artist had already put them on! Thus, they were accidental and not planned by WDI.
    REPORTED: Lurch 05 MAY 99
16. The Oarroom is adapted from Katmandu's famous mountain climbers' bar, the Rumdoodle, where mountaineers sign Yeti footprints after they face the Himalayas. In the Oarroom the oars on the wall are inscribed by adventurers who have gone down the rapids before.
    REPORTED: From "The Making of Disney's Animal Kingdom" by Melody Malmberg via David Abercrombie 30 JUL 98
17. Listen at the rafting company office. The field radio warns you away from a fire at an illegal logging site.
    REPORTED: From "The Making of Disney's Animal Kingdom" by Melody Malmberg via David Abercrombie 30 JUL 98
18. well it isn't a hidden Mickey but it is a hidden michael jackson. In the back office with the murals on the walls depicting the story of the river, as you enter the room you look above the door. Michael Jackson is depicted in the mural. Another mural has a girl in a white shirt with a Nike Swoosh on it. When the imagineers received this work from the artist in Nepal, the artist had already put them on! Thus, they were accidental and not planned by WDI.
    REPORTED: Lurch 05 MAY 99
19. During your ride uphile, you will pass through a curtain of mist which is jasmine-scented on one side and on the other a strong smell of burning forest.
    REPORTED: From "The Making of Disney's Animal Kingdom" by Melody Malmberg via David Abercrombie 30 JUL 98
20. Imagineering devised a spectactular flaming forest from pipe burners, fan burners, and an "accumulation unit" that throws explosive bursts of fire.
    REPORTED: From "The Making of Disney's Animal Kingdom" by Melody Malmberg via David Abercrombie 30 JUL 98
21. The overturned truck rocks at an odd angle using complex gimbals.
    REPORTED: From "The Making of Disney's Animal Kingdom" by Melody Malmberg via David Abercrombie 30 JUL 98
22. The hidden drop was a subject of hot debate among designers and park operators. An innovation that had to be reengineered over the summer of 1998, it caused the ride opening to be delayed for a four month period of "test and adjust". Imagineers prototyped the drop in a mockup in California.
    REPORTED: From "The Making of Disney's Animal Kingdom" by Melody Malmberg via David Abercrombie 30 JUL 98
23. At the end of the ride your raft passes under the exit bridge. You then pass between two elephant sculptures. Th elephants may spray you with water. These elephants are controlled from two boxes located on the exit bridge.
    REPORTED: Tom and Renée Shaw 28 FEB 99
24. Disney deploys camo-panted heaters used when Walt Disney World gets too cold. They place the heaters at the exit so wet raft riders can dry their clothes.
    REPORTED: _ee 12 FEB 02

Yeti Palace Hotel

1. Look up and you might see the spirit of the forbidden mountain looking down at you.
   REPORTED: Tom & Renée Shaw 15 NOV 05

Expedition Everest

1. Walt Disney Imagineering spent six years researching Expedition Everest, including many trips to the Himalayas to collect reference material and observations.

2. Height restriction: 1 Yeti Foot (44 inches)
3. The remote village of Serka Zong in the Kingdom of Anandapur is located in the foothills of the Himalayas.
4. In the Himalayas, villagers commonly preserve yak dung and dry it out on village walls. They later use the hardened material as fuel in their homes. Disney Imagineers recreated the look of these walls in the Serka Zong village area.
5. In the Serka Zong village area, the buildings are made of real "rammed earth" bricks. "Rammed earth" bricks are made by mixing moist dirt and straw together and hammering it until it becomes hard.
6. Imagineering used hammers, chainsaws and blowtorches to "age" wood and buildings
7. Several village buildings that had been used by the Royal Anandapur Tea Company have been repurposed by businesses that send trekkers on various expeditions throughout the Himalayas. "Expedition Everest" is the name of a specific trek arranged by the Himalayan Escapes tour company run by Norbu and Bob in Serka Zong.
8. Norbu and Bob have refurbished a steam train that previously had been used to bring harvested tea leaves down from the mountains. It's these trains the Expedition Everest trekkers board on their way to the base camp of Mount Everest, using a shortcut.
9. The trains spiral backwards through the fog into an ice cavern.
10. Although moderate by contemporary roller-coaster standards, Expedition Everest is unique for having its trains travel forward and backward as a result of the yeti's interference with the journey.

11. The shortcut through the "forbidden mountain" is thought to be guarded by the yeti.
12. There is a Mandir, a Hindu shrine. This one is dedicated to the Himalayan yeti.
13. There is a museum that documents yeti sightings that is run by Professor Pema Dorje.


14. In the museum, there is a reproduction of Eric Shipton's original yeti footprint picture taken in 1951. Its shows the yeti print as 13 inches high by 8 inches wide.
    REPORTED: Tom & Renée Shaw 26 JUN 06

15. Some 2,000 handcrafted items from Asia are evident in the props, cabinetry and architectural ornamentation.
16. At 199 feet, it is one of 18 mountains created by Disney Imagineers at Disney parks worldwide. Expedition Everest is the tallest of the artificial mountains at Disney World, joining Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Mount Gushmore, Space Mountain, and Splash Mountain on the list of Disney-built peaks. If the Expedition Everest mountain were real, it would be ranked fourth on the list of the highest points in Florida at 320 feet above sea level.
17. The mammoth-sized Audio-Animatronic yeti has a potential thrust, in all of its hydraulic cylinders combined, of slightly over 259,000 pounds force -- potentially more instantaneous power than a 747-400 airliner.
    The Yet is not a free standing andriod, its attached to a MASSIVE boom arm which helps hold its MAMMOTH BODY from its back, and telescopes which allows it to preform 19 life-like motions. It also has 295,000 pounds of force, which is more than a 747-400 airliner. Thats pretty powerful!!
    REPORTED: anon 09 APR 06

18. In the museum, there is display showing an expedition which encountered a yeti. On the right there are the last photographs found on film recovered from the camera displayed. So of the photos are actually from the ride.
    REPORTED: Tom & Renée Shaw 26 JUN 06

19. Norbu and Bob don't believe in the yeti!
20. The range, glaciers and valleys is a canvas of rockwork, carvings and painting creating a forced perspective where closer-in objects have a massive look while appliqués trick the eye into perceiving far off objects.
21. To create the sense of an enormous mountain range, imagineers painted a "mural" of shadows across the face of the mountains.

22. More than 900 bamboo plants, 10 species of trees and 110 species of shrubs have been planted to re-create the lowlands surrounding Mount Everest.


23. Disney transplanted mulberry trees from Asia to the Expedition Everest location. These trees are used for firewood but are not chopped down. Instead branches are continually cut off spurring new growth but leaving the narled trunks you see.
    REPORTED: Tom & Renée Shaw 26 JUN 06

24. 1,800 tons of steel were used in the mountain structure. That is about six times the amount of steel used in a traditional office building of this size.
25. The mountain is crafted with more than 3,000 pre-fabricated "chips" created from 25,000 individually computer-molded pieces of steel.
26. 2,000 gallons of stain and paint were used on the rockwork and throughout the village. The color scheme has ritual meaning to the Himalayan culture.

27. The Expedition Everest is the first ride to use Vekoma's newest track system. Rather than the wheels being on the inside of the ties, they are on the outside to provide a smoother ride. The track ties themselves can be placed at a variable distince from to backbone to allow for more innovative theming. To date Vekoma has only used this system on their smaller roller coasters. This is the first large scale installation of such a system.
    Ever wonder how the track on EVEREST switches so you can go backwards, and how long it takes? Well,first it happens when you SCREECH to stop because of the ripped up tracks, and the track behind the train rotates and locks to the new track on the otherside. Its very cool to watch on the BUILDING A THRILL RIDE:EXPEDDITION EVEREST on the Discovery Networks. Oh by the way it only takes 6 seconds!!
    UPDATE: anon 11 APR 06
28. The view at the top of the lift hill is the best on property.
    REPORTED: Tom & Renée Shaw 26 JUN 06
29. HI've ridden the ride over 100x (No, the record is nearly 800 at this time).
    CONFIRMED: Dr. VH Pashtenko 12 APR 06
30. For fun, the ride imagineer told me to look at the name on the expedition 'patches' located below where you look at the photos they snap before you take the big 'drop.'
    REPORTED: Dr. VH Pashtenko 12 APR 06
31. The ride has been slowed down (especially between the 2 'tugs' when the ride starts going backwards.
    CONFIRMED: Dr. VH Pashtenko 12 APR 06
32. The back of the ride feels much, faster (especially in this specific ride).
    CONFIRMED: Dr. VH Pashtenko 12 APR 06
33. The lap bar has been much improved since the sneak pre-view.
    CONFIRMED: Dr. VH Pashtenko 12 APR 06

Expedition Everest

Fact	Figure
Type	Roller coaster
Designer	Vekoma International & WDI
Year	April 7, 2006
Mountain height	199 feet
Ride height	112 feet
Largest drop	80 feet
Ascent Angle	32°
Inversions	0
Maximum speed	52 mph
Ride Time	?
Train capacity	34 passengers in 17 two-person rows
Capacity	~1800 per hour
Cost	$100 million

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