For current construction info click here

20 December 2004: Latest construction video

This video shows the construction area and some closeups of the structure.

Construction Video, 5MB, 1min, 640x480, WMV
Thanks to Scott Jensen

10 December 2004:  Latest construction photos (Thanks to Nancy)

30 November 2004: Latest construction photos

Work is well underway on the load/unload areas, and the other buildings that will complete the new Everest area. The peaks of the mountain are also being assembled on the ground, prior to installation on the actual structure.

31 October 2004: Latest construction photos (Thanks to Steve)

20 October 2004: Latest construction photos (Thanks to Disnyfan89)

The main lift hill is now in place, rising up to the top of the mountain.

18 October 2004: Latest construction photos (Thanks to SeanR)

12 October 2004: Latest construction photos (Thanks to RickNWendy and Trey)

13 September 2004: Latest construction photos (Thanks to SeanR)

30 August 2004: Latest construction photos (Thanks to SeanR)

24 August 2004: Latest construction photos (Thanks to Speck76)

14 August 2004: Latest construction photos (Thanks to ImagineerGurl)

The exterior rockwork under-skin is now being applied to the mountain.

5 August 2004: Latest construction photos (Thanks to SeanR)

8 July 2004: Latest construction photos (Thanks to Speck76)

20 June 2004: Latest construction photos

What appears to be the rockwork facade is now underway at the base of the mountain, whilst work continues on the ever-towering structure. The top of the structure is now visible over the trees on the roads approaching Animal Kingdom. Thanks to KevinP for the photos below.

Thanks to Schneids for the photos below.

6 June 2004: Latest construction photos (Thanks to Chape19714)

30 May 2004: Latest construction photos (Thanks to Chape19714)

26 May 2004: Latest construction photos (Thanks to DavidZ)

10 May 2004: Latest construction photos (Thanks to Chape19714)

2 May 2004: Latest construction photos (thanks Chris K)

28 April 2004: Latest construction (Thanks TaborDude)

20 April 2004: Latest construction (Thanks Dave P)

7 April 2004: Entertainment on the Everest walkway

Management are looking at adding some live musical entertainment to the newly opened walkway alongside Everest.  As a test, the following is set to take place:

April 5 - April 11: Performances on Discovery River Boat, around Discovery Lake (between Dinoland and Asia).

April 12 - April 18: Performances on the walkway, near the new restrooms.

Performances: 11:30, 12:30, 2:15, 3:45, 5:15

1 April 2004: Construction Update (Thanks to TrendyMagic)

31 March 2004: Construction Update (Thanks to SillySpook)

24th March 2004: Construction Update (Thanks to Dan)

22 March 2004: Everest walkway video walkthrough

Complete Walk Through
320x240 WMV Video, 7MB, 2.5 mins Duration
Thanks to Laura &  ScottJ

20th March 2004: Everest walkway now open!

The walkway and bridge connecting Asia to DinoLand U.S.A., at Disney's Animal Kingdom opened on March 19 in a special Cast ceremony.

Walt Disney World Ambassador Christopher Stewart and Asia Culture Representatives Rungthip Silarujisun and Rosalin Tipsomboon from Thailand, Mariani Dermawan from Indonesia and Satyendra Singh from India helped cut a flowered vine separating the new area and welcomed the Cast to preview the walkway.

"This new pathway and bridge will provide a wonderful new way for Guests to navigate Disney's Animal Kingdom, and will also generate great awareness and excitment among our Guests as they watch Expedition: EVEREST emerge before their very eyes," Christopher said at the ceremony.

The new path opens an expanded Guest area that will feature the Expedition EVEREST: The Legend of the Forbidden Mountain attraction, scheduled to open in 2006.

The two new buildings along the path represent an unfinished trekkers hotel and an older trekkers inn one might discover while travelling to the Himalayas. The inn features a Guest restroom.

Guests travelling across the new bridge from Asia to DinoLand U.S.A. get a close-up view of Expedition EVEREST construction and a new view of The Tree of Life in the center of the theme park.

20th March 2004: Construction Update (Thanks to SillySpook)

Construction

10th March 2004: Construction Update (Thanks to SillySpook)

The new walkway from Asia is due to have an opening ceremony this coming Friday.

10th March 2004: Construction Update (Thanks to SillySpook)

The new walkway to Everest is set open to guests within the week.

Above: The entrance to the new Everest walkway from Asia

Above: A new construction wall has been put up along the walkway in front of the mountain

Above: The entrance to the village and new restrooms

10th March 2004: Construction Update (Thanks to SillySpook)

Work continues on the entire site. As you can see below, the coaster track is now clearly in guest view above the base of the mountain.

1 March 2004: Construction Update (Thanks to WEDMagic)

Below: More track and supports on site ready for installation.

Below: Track and support installed in position inside the mountain

27 February 2004: Latest Construction photos (Thanks to Bwanabob)

9 February 2004: Track Onsite

There have been several reports that coaster track is now onsite just behind the construction area ready for installation.

26 January 2004: Latest Construction photos (Thanks to GenerationX)

: 16 January 2004: Latest Construction photos (Thanks Brad T)

7 January 2004: Latest Construction photos (Thanks hmppan)

23 December 2003: Latest Construction (Thanks Jason)

19 December 2003: Latest Construction (Thanks mulvs)

12 December 2003: Panoramic Construction Update (Thanks EricM)

11 December 2003: Construction Update (Thanks Cole)

10 December 2003: Construction Update (Thanks ScottJ)

18 November 2003: Construction Update (Thanks OrlPassholder)

5 November 2003: Construction Update (Thanks OrlPassholder)

27 October 2003: Construction Update (Thanks DonickCo)

17 October 2003: Construction Update (Thanks OrlPassholder)

25 September 2003: Construction Update (Thanks SillySpook)

Construction continues on the bridge, walkways, and restrooms for the new Everest area. This portion of the project is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2004.

19 September 2003: Construction Update (Thanks SillySpook)

Vertical construction is now taking place around the new bridge and walkway areas.

15 September 2003:  Ground clearing still underway (Thanks OrlPassholder)

8 September 2003: Ground clearing still underway (Thanks Charles B)

Ground clearing is still underway at the site of the new bridge linking the Dinoland area to the new Everest area.

15 August 2003: Latest construction photos (Thanks OBJR)

5 August 2003: construction Update (Thanks to S25843 for the photos)

Construction work continues on the new bridge connecting the Tarzan Rocks area to the new attraction, and on the foundations of the new Everest site itself.

8 July 2003: The crane

A large crane is now visible working on the Everest site.

7 July 2003: Construction underway

The view from Asia

The view from Dinoland

14 May 2003: Expedition Everest details

Specific information on the attraction is still very thin on the ground, however the following has surfaced, but is yet to be fully confirmed.

Max Height of Track: 120 ft
Max Drop: 80ft
Max Speed: 50mph
Trains will travel in both forward and backward directions

12 May 2003: Expedition Everest location

Expedition Everest will be located adjacent to the lake between Asia and Dinoland, and the mountain itself with be in the region of 1 acre in size, and 200ft high. (Note that the 1 acre size does not include walkways, queue buildings, portions of the ride etc)

The map below shows its approximate position. (Note that the scale and position is approximate only). The yellow line indicates the new bridge that will link the area near to Theater in the Wild to the new attraction. New walkways will also connect the ride area to Asia, essentially making a walk around the entire lake. The yellow circle is a rough guide to where the mountain will be located.

22 April 2003: Disney Announces Expedition EVEREST

Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (April 22, 2003) -- Legend holds that high in the Himalayan Mountains lives an enormous creature that fiercely guards the route to Mount Everest.

Now that legend comes dramatically to life at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in a new high-speed train adventure that combines coaster-like thrills with the excitement of a close encounter of the hairy kind.

Walt Disney World guests will discover for themselves the fearsome legend of the yeti when Expedition EVEREST opens in 2006 at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park. The new thrill attraction was announced today during the park’s 5th anniversary festivities at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

“Expedition EVEREST adds a new dimension to our storytelling in Disney’s Animal Kingdom,” said Joe Rohde, executive designer at Walt Disney Imagineering and lead designer of the park. “It’s a thrilling adventure themed to the folklore of the mysterious yeti.”

In Expedition EVEREST, guests board an old mountain railway destined for the foot of Mount Everest. The train rolls through thick bamboo forests, past thundering waterfalls, along shimmering glacier fields and climbs higher and higher through the snow-capped peaks.

But suddenly the track ends in a gnarled mass of twisted metal and the thrills intensify as the train races both forward and backward through mountain caverns and icy canyons and guests head for an inevitable face-to-muzzle showdown with the mysterious yeti -- known to some as the abominable snowman.

Expedition EVEREST will be located in the Asia section of the theme park. At nearly 200 feet high, it will be the tallest mountain in Florida. Expedition EVEREST will feature Disney’s FASTPASS, an innovative system -- offered at no charge to park guests -- designed to reduce wait times at popular attractions in all four Walt Disney World theme parks.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom is a 500-acre theme park where the exciting worlds of wild and whimsical creatures come to life on an authentic African safari, in an Asian rain forest, on a trip back in time to the age of the dinosaurs and in other attractions and shows brimming with stories about animals and encounters with favorite Disney characters.

19 April 2003: Some backstage info

In what seems a sure sign of beginning work on the new attraction...

Backstage at AK, the parking lot is FULL of WDI fleet vehicles, Disney corporate cars, and CONSTRUCTION COMPANY CARS. Normally the lot is empty. Second, backstage between Rafiki's Planet Watch and Kali River Rapids, there is a 1-1.5 acre lot that's been sealed off from access. In there, there was a 15 foot tall dirt hill, and several construction permits, along with more WDI vehicles and construction company vehicles. Lastly, a new doublewide trailer is being delivered, and a Nationsrent company vehicle (Nationsrent specializes in hiring construction equipment to companies and individuals).

20 March 2003: Forbidden Mountain Officially Announced!

Michael Eisner has officially announced the new AK ERide at The Walt Disney Company 2003 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, held Wednesday, March 19, 2003. Official details remain sketchy, but it appears to put great weight behind the details revealed below in previous updates.

Click Here to listen to the interview

26 September 2002: The DAK Eticket

It seems that after jumping between Asia and Beastly Kingdom, management have now settled on Asia as the new ride's location.  The project now has an initial title of Forbidden Mountain.  Opening date of September 2005 is being talked about, but management are keen to open sooner rather than later. The ride is to be located behind Kali Rapids, on the large area of land that is currently visible from the Flame Tree river-side area. Plans call for a new bridge to link to Asia from the Dinoland USA area.  The ride system appears to have remained very similar to that described below in the Reign of Fire scenario. It is certainly a high speed ride (55mph), with action taking place both indoors and outdoors, and with the level of budget that is being setup for this, it should be spectacular. An official announcement is expected around the time of the park's 5th birthday in April 2003.

Remember as always, until officially confirmed, this info is subject to change.

18 September 2002: Update
The Reign of Fire project detailed below is now referred to internally as the DAK E-Ticket. This may indicate the story line is no longer being aligned with Reign of Fire (possibly due to it's relatively poor box office performance). There may also be some link with some suggestions that Asia may now be home to former Reign of Fire attraction, now know as the DAK E-Ticket. It would certainly be cheaper to install the ERide in an existing land, rather than building an entire new land such as Beastly Kingdom to accommodate the ride. As always, everything is subject to change, and it usual does!

5 November 2001: Update

Latest reported planned opening date for the new land and attraction is Spring 2006.  Remember, this is rumor and speculation, and as always may be subject to change.

More information that is coming out on the planned ride system, indicates that it is infact a coaster based system.

24 October 2001: Project Still On

Good news here. Despite the closures and cut-backs that are occurring elsewhere, this project is still on and is very much alive.  However, I hear that it has been put onto a slightly slower development pace.

19 September 2001: Reign of Fire

As promised here are some more details of the new land and MAJOR attraction heading for Animal Kingdom

• The Story, Ride System and Land layout have been finalised
• Designs include an entire new Land, and a new major E-ticket THRILL attraction
• The Eride attraction has a budget in excess of $120 million
• The attraction is currently being steered to have a tie-in with the upcoming movie "Reign of Fire" but may be subject to change depending on the movie's success
• Details on the upcoming movie can be found here http://www.upcomingmovies.com/reign-of-fire.html
• The Ride System is a track layout, but it remains unclear as to whether this will be a coaster, or a "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" type ride system
• A high proportion of the ride is to take place outside (a quarter of it will be indoors)
• The finale of the ride includes a large drop, and high G manoeuvres

Remember, as always with these things, until officially announced everything is subject to change, but the above describes how things are right now, and I can also say that this news carries a lot more weight than previous news on the BK subject has.

18 September 2001: Things are moving forward!

Well it has been almost a year since my last update on this subject.  Finally, I now have some concrete proof that this project is being VERY seriously looked at .  Not only is this a whole new land, BUT most importantly, the major Eride is also set to go.  One of the most promising elements of the project is the BIG budget that this attraction appears to have.  More details in the coming days.

22 October 2000: Interview with Joe Rohde in the Orlando Business Journal

Beastly news. Is Beastly Kingdom ever going to get built? Maybe not, according to Disney Imagineers.

Last week as Disney announced two new rides, Joe Rohde, one of the top Imagineers, questioned whether the planned thrill ride portion of Animal Kingdom would make it off the drawing board.

"We had a vision and now it's become a place holder," Rohde says. "We have all kinds of ideas and not all of them fit with the theme of Beastly Kingdom.

"I'm not even convinced there will be a Beastly Kingdom."

However, Rohde was not disappointed that the basic rides announced last week, Dino-rama and Aladdin, came before other e-ticket rides such as Fire Mountain.

The new rides, incidentally, were bought from another company and include very little work by the famed Imagineers, other than theming.

"There is a time where the solution is not to design, and this is a case where we didn't need to be in a design mode," Rohde says. "I have no doubt that we will be adding spectacular attractions in the future."

27 April 1999: Aerial photos of Animal Kingdom

Notice the 3 large construction areas.

These fantastic aerial shots were taken by GLB.  Visit his home page at http://members.tripod.com/~GLBsPhotoZone

17 April 1999: News in from an AK CM

Seems that the area behind Rainforest Cafe that we thought was for Beastly Kingdom is being used as a parking area for Cross-Utilization Cast Members.  This doesn't mean that the area will not ultimately be used for Beastly Kingdom, but it is certainly not happening right now.

The location of the AK Lodge Hotel is more likely to be to the north, just before the bus entry to AK.  The construction of the Lodge runs clear out to 192, and can be seen from the highway near the exit to Highway 27.

The area that is being cleared by the safari remains a mystery at the moment - wild guess at Australia maybe?

8 April 1999:  Recent aerial shots of the AK site clearly show two construction sites, one by Camp Mickey Minnie, and the other by the Safari.  The land is completely cleared and dotted with trucks.

One site being Beastly Kingdom, the other being the AK Suites Hotel?

The area of land that may be for BK is large, around the size of Dino Land USA.   It is visible from the WDW bus entrance to AK.  From the main ticket entrance at AK, the area of land is on your left, right behind the Rainforest Cafe.

19 March 1999:  At the official opening of Asia there were several brief comments made by a couple of senior WDW management regarding future expansions of Animal Kingdom and Beastly Kingdom.

"We have several ideas on the drawing board, but we haven't really decided what to do next," said Bob Lamb, vice president of Animal Kingdom.

It's possible," said Joe Rohde, the park's chief designer. "I think it would be a very strong addition to the park to go that direction."

12 March 1999:  The name of the stand up coaster is possibly to be "Dare the Dragon".  It was previously rumoured to be Dragon's Tower.  Neither name has been confirmed. 

3 February 1999:  There are strong rumours that indicate the thrill ride at Beastly Kingdom will be an Intamin Stand Up Coaster, with multiple inversions, a sound track and heavy theming including audio-animatronics.  

5, December 1998:  Looks like Beastly Kingdom is back on.  Rumours suggest ground clearing is to begin and the area is to include at least 1 major thrill ride and 2 other rides.

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