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Large riders on Expedition Everest

Walt Disney World: Overweight and wanting to ride Everest.

From Melissa Faulkner
Posted April 19, 2011 at 3:42 PM
Could anyone tell me if Expedition Everest is "large" rider friendly? I am not a small person and just want to make sure I can close the lap bar before I embarrass myself. :)


Comments in chronological order. Most recent at the bottom. Scroll down to respond.

From KJ Simpson
Posted April 19, 2011 at 4:32 PM
Hi Melissa! Over on a different website (can I reference that here? Not sure- anyway, it's disney-centric and message me if you'd like the url), there is a ton of info on doing Disney "Pooh-sized", which is their euphemism for people with some extra pounds. From all accounts on those threads, Expedition Everest (as well as almost all Disney rides)is roomy enough for even very big riders. The main thing I've heard complaints about for size is "The Sum of All Thrills" a coaster simulator at Innoventions in Epcot.

From Anthony Murphy
Posted April 19, 2011 at 8:58 PM
I think u should be ok

From Melissa Faulkner
Posted April 19, 2011 at 9:18 PM
Thanks guys. You just never know with rides. :)

From Greg Shilton
Posted April 26, 2011 at 11:17 PM
This ride has plenty of room for riders on the larger side. They did a great job here being able to fit rather small children, and pretty large adults, be it tall or wide. No doubt you'll be fine. :)

From Roy Duncan
Posted April 27, 2011 at 11:49 AM
As a very "pooh sized" person, I completely understand your anxiety. Been there, done that, and often.

Expedition Everest is a very comfortable ride for larger people. Not only is it wide (even with a seat divider, which in many coasters makes for a tight fit for even some average sized people) but nice amount of leg room, for a coaster anyways. There are individual lap bars that also are very forgiving and nicely padded. It also has a head rest. It is not a lazy boy in terms of comfort but probably the closest you will get in a roller coaster seat.

I have only been to WDW once. I enjoy Disneyland more but this is the one ride I always miss on the west coast and probably one of the main things to draw me back to Orlando. I rode it 5 times in a half hour using the single rider line. I only stopped because I was developing a headache. The backwards part though is pretty intense, for a Disney ride anyways. Having your head firmly pressed against the head rest going backwards helps though.

If Big Thunder gets new trains as rumored, I hope the design is based on EE. This should be the gold standard for a roller coaster train.

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