Expedition Everest

I always got e-mail from everywhere and this e-mail from Disney Insite impacted me. The following is the article, it is originally from Disney Inside.

It not every day that a new mountain arises in the enchanted lands of the Disney parks it not even every year! So the long-awaited official opening of Expedition Everest at Disney Animal Kingdom theme park on April 7 was a rare event, and one that Disney celebrated in grand style. Expedition Everest was welcomed by gala parties, a slew of celebs, and honors paid to conservation heroes a fitting acknowledgment of the message of respect and care for the natural world that is an integral part of Disney Animal Kingdom theme park, and of Expedition Everest itself.

Expedition Everest the very name spells excitement, and the attraction certainly delivers! Guests board a mountain train for a trek into the Himalayas in search of adventure but get more than they bargained for as the train careens in a runaway course along broken tracks toward an unknown fate perhaps even an encounter with the Legendary yeti itself. The attraction combines a thrilling story, the very latest in thrill-ride technology, and a message of respect for the natural world. On April 6, the day before the opening ceremonies, Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park celebrated with festivities throughout the Park. Sherpas and mountain climbers mingled among them were the sons of Sir Edmond Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, the first real-life conquerors of Mount Everest.

Uh-oh, what's up with the track? This could get exciting!
A Festival of the Yeti rocked the Park with live music, entertainment, and plenty of celebs (including Disney Channel stars) late in the evening, which concluded with spectacular fireworks.
The next afternoon luminaries including Disney CEO Bob Iger, Olympic gold medalist, Hannah Teeter, and Animal Planet Jeff Corwin were on hand for the ribbon-cutting, and the first train to careen through the icy landscape of Expedition Everest carried some familiar faces: a galaxy of stars, including the cast of Disney High School Musical.?After that first car, Guests were free to queue up for their own encounter with the fabled yeti, who lurks in the brand-new attraction. It all added up to a wowzer of a party. But perhaps the most meaningful event was one that honored some real-life adventurers who have worked tirelessly to save the world wild places.

On April 6, the day before the opening ceremonies, Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park celebrated with festivities throughout the Park. Sherpas and mountain climbers mingled among them were the sons of Sir Edmond Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, the first real-life conquerors of Mount Everest.

A Festival of the Yeti rocked the Park with live music, entertainment, and plenty of celebs (including Disney Channel stars) late in the evening, which concluded with spectacular fireworks.
The next afternoon luminaries including Disney CEO Bob Iger, Olympic gold medalist, Hannah Teeter, and Animal Planet Jeff Corwin were on hand for the ribbon-cutting, and the first train to careen through the icy landscape of Expedition Everest carried some familiar faces: a galaxy of stars, including the cast of Disney High School Musical.?After that first car, Guests were free to queue up for their own encounter with the fabled yeti, who lurks in the brand-new attraction.

It all added up to a wowzer of a party. But perhaps the most meaningful event was one that honored some real-life adventurers who have worked tirelessly to save the world wild places. On April 6, Disney Conservation Legacy Celebration took place in Disney Animal Kingdom, to celebrate the milestone of $10 million donated by Disney Animal Kingdom Guests to the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund. The DWCF was established in 1995 as a global awards program for the study and protection of the world's wildlife and ecosystems. It provides annual awards to US nonprofit conservation organizations working alongside their peers in other countries. Present were five honorees:

Jane Goodall, creator of the Jane Goodall Institute to foster youth leadership in compassion for the environment, and renowned primatologist. Iain Douglas Hamilton, of Save the Elephants, who works in Kenya to protect the world largest land mammals and to develop a new generation of young scientists. Wangari Maathai, a Nobel Prize winner for her grassroots efforts to mobilize women to create greenbelts across Africa. Isabella Rossellini, champion of animal concerns, who serves on the boards of numerous conservation foundations. John Cleese, who became involved in animal conservation after hosting a wildlife documentary. He is the founder of the Conservation Matters Foundation and works with the World Parrot Trust and the American Zoo Association.

According to Kim Sams, manager of the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund, the event was a perfect expression of what Expedition Everest, and the Park, are all about. Really it a natural extension of the messages throughout Disney Animal Kingdom. Everest has taken this to a new level by examining and supporting conservation issues facing a region, the Himalayas, and utilizing Disney resources and partnerships with Conservation International to address these issues.

Leave it to Disney Animal Kingdom to host a grand opening bash that truly wild, in every sense of the word. From the joyful screams of Guests plunging along the broken tracks of the mountain railway, to the conservation work made possible by the generosity of Guests who give to the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund, the World just keeps getting better.