Disney World’s Animal Kingdom is set to open it’s first large scale attraction in 2 1/2 years with the introduction of the roller coaster ride Expedition Everest in early April. The ride is to give the impression of visiting the Himalayas. The ride billed as a family ride does have a 44” height restriction so the little tykes will not be able to ride it.

But it sure sounds like fun and it is nice to see Disney add a fancy ride like this to its Animal Kingdom park. The team that built Expedition Everest has used thousands of props to lend authenticity including the entryway that introduces the riders to a traditional Nepal village.

 Inside lives the biggest, most fierce creature Walt Disney ever built — and a mile-long runaway train ride through the Himalayas that brings visitors face-to-face with a mythological legend. In Nepalese lore, the mysterious yeti is thought to protect the pristine east Asian mountains and forests.

At Walt Disney World’s new Expedition Everest attraction, it’s a howling animatronic beast with more potential thrust power than a 747 airplane — and the center of the theme park giant’s first big-ticket attraction here in 2 ½ years.

Everest, set to open April 7 in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, features a train navigating an 80-foot drop, rumbling over bridges and through valleys backward and forward to escape the monster, which has twisted and broken the tracks.

With no upside-down turns, Everest isn’t as white-knuckling as some new coasters. But it could help Disney draw visitors to the Animal Kingdom, which has long lagged in popularity behind sister parks Epcot, the Magic Kingdom and Disney-MGM Studios. via the Miami Herald