A Resorts Gal Guide to Expedition Everest-Legend of the Forbidden Mountain

Expedition Everest-Legend of the Forbidden Mountain is one of the most popular roller coaster attractions at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. This ride is thrilling, exceptionally themed, and offers unexpected surprises.

This ride guide will discuss the attraction in detail. We’ll examine the ride’s history, the queue, and the overall experience. I’ll also provide tips for the best time to experience the attraction and how to utilize the single-rider line. The only question remains: Are you ready to take on the Yeti?

Below is a quick reference chart for experiencing Expedition Everest.

Expedition Everest	Animal Kingdom
Location:	Asia
Height Requirement:	44″
Lightning Lane:	Yes, with Lightning Lane Multi Pass
Early Theme Park Entry:	Yes
Extended Evening Hours:	Yes
Ride Type:	Rollercoaster
Seats Per Vehicle:	2
Rider Switch at Disney:	Yes
Good For:	Thrill Seekers
Scare Factor:	High, Large Drops
Must-Do List:	High Priority
Perfect For:	Tweens, Teens, and Adults
Special Mention:	*Single Rider Line *On-Ride Photo Option

Accessibility: Guests must transfer from a wheelchair or ECV. A transfer practice vehicle is available. Service animals are not permitted.

Disney Posted Warning: For safety, you should be in good health and free from high blood pressure, heart, back, or neck problems, motion sickness, or other conditions that could be aggravated by this adventure. Expectant mothers should not ride.

Make sure to check our one-stop Lightning Lane Guide to plan your attractions.

History

Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain opened in April of 2006. Joe Rohde, the executive designer of Walt Disney Imagineering and park designer, was largely responsible for the development of the attraction. The idea of the roller coaster is that you’re boarding a train that will run through the Himalayan Mountains. At the base of the coaster, you’ll enter the queue, which doubles as the booking office of Himalayan Escapes – Tours and Expeditions. The ride’s queue is elaborate, featuring props and artifacts that were purchased in Tibet and Nepal. You’ll even walk through a Yeti Museum that features evidence and photographs of the abominable snowman.

Ride Review

Expedition Everest is a thrilling ride with top speeds, tight turns, and large drops. However, the attraction doesn’t have any loops or inversions. For most, it’s considered a fun family thrill ride. But those with a fear of heights might want to skip this one. Three lines are available near the attraction’s entrance: stand-by, Lightning Lane, and single rider.

Expedition has a 44″ height requirement. If anyone in your party looks anywhere near the questionable height, a cast member will check before you enter the interior portion of the queue.

After entering the queue, you’ll make your way toward the boarding area. Once you read the loading zone, a cast member will assign everyone in your party a row. If you have an odd number of passengers, they will assign a single rider to ride with you. Each ride vehicle seats two passengers side-by-side and has a lap bar restraint. A cast member will come by to ensure your lap bar is secured. Then, you’re off to ascend the mountain. It’s a slow climb.

The anticipation grows as you travel toward the top of the mountain. Suddenly, you stop. You’ve reached the top of Mount Everest, but there’s one problem. The tracks have run out, and you can see them suspended midair ahead! At this point, the unexpected happens. After all, if you can’t go forward, there’s only one other direction you can take!

After that backward spiral, your car gets back on the right track. At about that time, a monstrous growl is heard in the background. You’re inside the mountain, and you can see the shadow of the Yeti ahead! It turns out he isn’t just a silly legend. Now, you’re in for the ride of your life straight down the mountain! It’s a steep drop, so hang on!

Expedition Everest Single Rider Line

Expedition Everest is one of a handful of Walt Disney World attractions offering a single-rider line. Therefore, anyone who wants to ride Expedition Everest as often as possible should take advantage of it. The single-rider queue is on the far right-hand side of the attraction’s entrance. It is entirely separate from the stand-by and Lightning Lane queues.

A wait time is usually posted overhead. However, it’s not always accurate. Often, I see the sign indicating a 10 to 30-minute wait.

Since we’ve ridden Expedition Everest many times, we often use a Lighting Lane for our first ride. Then, we rejoin the single-rider line to ride it again. Thankfully, Expedition Everest loads quickly, and every time an odd-numbered group of guests comes up in the queue, cast members add a single rider to make the number even. This tends to keep the single-rider line moving reasonably quickly.

Parents, if your children are old enough to ride alone, they can do the single-rider line a few times. Meanwhile, there are plenty of areas to wait outside the attraction.

Is Expedition Everest scary?

While Expedition Everest doesn’t have an inversion, it does have a steep drop and one surprise element. Unfortunately, I made one of my timid relatives ride it many years ago. Warning: smaller children might be traumatized by a parent, or in my case, an aunt, forcing them to ride this type of attraction. To this day, I wish I had not made my relative ride this attraction. So, even if your child meets the height requirement, they may still feel uncomfortable.

Other scare factors include seeing the drop and hearing other guests scream before getting in line. Sometimes, what might look like fun to you could intimidate a child. Also, while riding the attraction, the tracks in front of you appear to run out. This is one of the surprise elements. Similar to meeting characters, these kinds of things look “real” to children. I can’t tell you how often I’ve heard other kids express concern when they realize the roller coaster track has run out.

Overall, Expedition Everest offers steep drops, surprise elements, loud noises, and a glimpse at a potentially frightening creature. While this attraction is perfect for thrill-seekers, it is scary for others.

On-Ride Photos at Expedition Everest

Expedition Everest has an on-ride photo option. This photo opportunity is before the final drop. You’ll pause for a moment before the drop. As you head down the tracks, look up and smile or make your best silly face. At the end of the ride, photos are displayed on screens. If you purchased the Memory Maker upgrade, the photo should automatically appear in your My Disney Experience account.

At the end of the attraction, you’ll exit into a dump shop. From there, you can head to the stand-by or single-rider queue for another spin—if you think you can take on the Yeti again. Oh, and don’t forget to check out those views on the way up! I can see my neighborhood from way up here.

The Resorts Gal Spin on Expedition Everest

We give Expedition Everest the green light. Unless you have someone in your party who is terrified, you’ve got to ride it! It’s the best! You can usually ride this attraction with little to no wait for the first hour of the park’s opening or the last hour. We often find minimal waits posted later in the day. We’ve been known to ride it a couple of times in a row!

For more info, try our Disney’s Animal Kingdom planning guide, or you might enjoy some of these other ride reviews:

• Finding Nemo, The Big Blue…and Beyond
• Kilimanjaro Safaris at Animal Kingdom
• Na’vi River Journey
• The Animation Experience at Animal Kingdom

In the Comments

Do you plan to ride Expedition Everest when you visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom? Will everyone in your group want to ride it?