Page 86 - CelebrationsSpring2020

shooting for a friendly, welcoming atmosphere here. It is called the Forbidden Mountain, after all.
To finish Expedition Everest off, 2,000 gallons of paint and stain were applied to the exterior. In fact, they used four different shades of gray paint to make the snowy peaks look as realistic as possible.
When every last detail was done and dusted, the “toothpick” beams were cut off and patched over, erasing all evidence that they had ever been there.
Oh, and about Expedition Everest’s Yeti...the Himalayan beast holds the dubious honor of so vexing Disney Imagineers that they have pretty much thrown in the towel on it. Because of technical difficulties arising from the Yeti’s intricate engineering — which started not long after the ride opened — the Audio-Animatronic no longer moves. At all. Instead, when riders come face to face with the fearful Yeti, strobe lights maintain the illusion of movement. Even though Expedition Everest explorers no longer get the full Yeti experience, the attraction remains an architectural marvel and a true Disney Parks standout.
Floating Mountains of Pandora
The latest mountainous addition to the Walt Disney World landscape comes straight out of legendary filmmaker James Cameron’s fertile imagination. On Pandora, the alien setting of Avatar, mountains snub their noses at gravity and float through the air instead. It’s a concept that looks incredible on the silver screen, but left Disney designers in a difficult position. Could these floating mountains make the leap from cinematic fantasy to theme park reality? After all, here on Earth, mountains aren’t supposed to float.
Never bet against Imagineering. When Pandora: The World of AVATAR opened to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Guests in May 2017, the floating mountains provided an otherworldly crowning touch to the much-anticipated new area, demonstrating an unflinching dedication to theming. Unlike our previous examples, the floating mountains house no attraction or walkthrough, but exist solely to draw Guests further into the world of the Na’vi.
But how were the Imagineers supposed to build mountains that could “float” in the air? No matter what
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Photos © Tim Foster