From Joseph Boone on July 23, 2007 at 12:12 AM
It is a shame that many people seem to ignore the back story and theming of Expedition Everest but I think the same holds true for most rides. It seems to me that unless the pre-show is very regimented and controlled (like the Terminator 3-D movie with a person giving a speech) then people just walk by oblivious as they try to keep their kids under control, talk to people in their party, etc. I try to soak up as much of it as possible myself as it really adds to the experience but I guess it isn't a priority for a lot of people.

From Iris Hernandez on July 23, 2007 at 8:12 AM
I was in Animal Kingdom yesterday and saw the Nemo musical for the first time. I agree with Robert about the benches...ouch. I too got there 45 minutes early and i was sitting on the ground in the line outside in the sun with 2 young kids. The whole time i was thinking in my head that the show had better be worth it. Believe me, when i sat down on those benches i was LIVID. But, i quickly got over it becuase the show just blew me away! It was awesome. Oh, but i'll never sit close to the stage again. Apparently the best seats are above the center aisle due to actors and performers going into that aisle. I had to turn around to see the action behind me on several occasions. But overall a two thumbs up for this show.

Warning for the guests with young children! I was NOT aware that there would be a brief yet LOUD pyrotechnic display at this show. Nor were we told by park staff there would be one. So when this display occured( i'm not saying specifics becuase i dont want to spoil the show) my 18 month old daughter FREAKED out and my 2 year old wasnt thrilled either and i got the scratches on my arms to prove it. I just wish i knew before hand a little bit of pyro was going to be used. Dont get me wrong, it was a great affect and needed. But i would've liked to prepare my daughters for it. OVERALL, great show and its a must see.

Now, for the Everest comment...When i first got on it i did take my time in line to see the intricate details disney imagineers put into the line queue. I was impressed and amused. I really didnt mind waiting in line because there was a lot of cool stuff to see and read. But now of course that I already saw everything in line and i wanted to make my wait as short as possible. Little did I know( for yesterday at least) that the single riders line actually took longer than the regular line, which had a 30 minute wait. But, i got over it, had fun and went home. It is a real pitty a lot people dont notice the great details of the ride, i'm just glad that did.

From Chris Howard on July 23, 2007 at 1:23 PM
Looking at the back story was something I enjoyed doing the first several dozen times I rode it, but now I'm much more focused on the ride itself. Remember, a great many of the people visiting the park on any given day are Florida residents who have been there many many times. My family and I maintain Florida Resident Seasonal Passes and we rode this ride back when it was only open to Annual Passholders. I normally never go through the regular line. There's no way I'm waiting over 20 minutes for any ride, not when there are fast passes and single rider lines (and Everest has both).
That said, Everest has to be one of the best rides in all of Disney World. It definitely lifts Animal Kindgom above the rest in terms of the experiences offered.

From Robert Niles on July 23, 2007 at 4:09 PM
I forgot to note, but I wanted to give Disney credit for providing backstory materials in both the FastPass and regular queues for Everest. (In fact, the stuff's easier to grasp in the abbreviated FastPass version.) There's nothing for the single rider queue, but I skipped it both times, even though I was by myself, 'cause I moved through the other queues at a fine pace.

As much as I love the museum-style exhibition, I think attractions would be better served by judicious use of video and audio to help tell the backstory. I hate the forests of overhead TV screens as much as anyone else, but top museums are using more multimedia in their exhibitions. I'd love to see the ride queue "museums" try the same.