Type: Steel - Sit Down
Status: Under Construction opening 2006
Make / Model: Vekoma / Custom Other
Cost: $100,000,000 USD
Height: 112'
Drop: 80'
Inversions: 0
Speed: 50 mph
Trains: Riders must be 42" or taller to ride.
History: This will become the largest ride in Walt Disney World at a cost of $100 million (USD).
The ride will travel both forwards and backwards.
The height of the attraction is said to be nearly 200 feet. This is probably referring to the height of the mountain and not the height of the track contained within.
The Expedition Everest will be the first ride to use Vekoma's newest track system. Rather than the rails be on the inside of the ties, they will be on the outside. To date Vekoma has only used this system on their smaller roller coasters. This will be the first large scale installation of such a system.
http://www.rcdb.com/ig2389.htm <-More Pictures
I never heard this changed - there were some photos up earlier last year (I think on OrlandoRocks.com) when they installed what looked like a transfer track enabling this manuever - but who knows!? Sure hope it will be as orginally designed with both forward and backward motion.
Anyway, wow! Since '99, huh? You're going to have so much to do! I went in '99, and then my next trip after that was '02, and practically everything was different. And that was three years ago, so there's even newer stuff. I don't even know if a week will do it.