No Hidden Mickeys on "Expedition Everest"?! Oh, really?

Greetings from Winsor, CT!

Flo and I just got back from Orlando. And I have traded all of the fake snow that covered "Expedition Everest" for the real cold & wet stuff that currently blankets my driveway. Man, do I wish that I was back at Disney World.

Speaking of WDW ... During my most recent trip to the resort, I got to ride "Expedition Everest" six times. And let me tell you, folks -- this new DAK attraction is truly spectacular.

By that I mean: The Imagineers didn't stint on a single section of this ride. Every aspect of this attraction features dense, multi-layered story-telling. Everything from the colorful socks that hang from the ceiling of the queue ...

Photo by Jeff Lange

... to those rather disquieting displays that you encounter as you make your way up to the load area. You know, the ones that talk about that group of explorers that journeyed to Forbidden Mountain back in 1982 ...

Photo by Jeff Lange

... never to be seen again. What actually became of these poor people? The equipment that was recovered from their abandoned campsite suggests that there must have been some awful struggle.

Photo by Jeff Lange

Could a few out-of-focus photos from a badly broken camera offer some real insight as to what might have happened to these unfortunate explorers?

Photo by Jeff Lange

Could these folks have had a run-in with that allegedly mythical beast that's supposed to have incredibly big feet?

Photo by Jeff Lange

The very same creature that the native Himalayans are said to both fear and revere ...

Photo by Jeff Lange

The Yeti.

You see what I'm saying here? "Expedition Everest" 's queue area is so hyper detailed, with so much dense, rich story-telling that it's almost an attraction unto itself.

You know what else also makes this new DAK addition very special. For the first time in years, Walt Disney Imagineering have deliberately created an attraction with no Hidden Mickeys.

That's right. No Hidden Mickeys. Or so say the Imagineers ...

Well, if that's really the case ... Then how do the guys at WDI explain this?

Photo by Jeff Lange

This rather deliberate grouping of light switches that one finds in a glass case in "Expedition Everest" 's queue area.

Photo by Jeff Lange

Could this be the work of one Imagineer who was rebelling against that "No Hidden Mickeys" edict? Or is this just something that a WDW cast member did last week after Walt Disney Imagineering officially handed this attraction off to DAK's Operations staff?

Either way, there's now a mouse lurking in the shadow of Forbidden Mountain. And if you want to know exactly where this particular Hidden Mickey is ... Just drop me a line at jeff.lange@jimhillmedia.com and I'd be happy to fill you in on its location.

Jeff Lange is the staff photographer / archivist here at JHM. He recently launched his own series of unofficial Disney theme park DVDs. Which will soon include "Fantasyland Favorites." If you'd like to learn more about this upcoming release and/or any of the other entertaining recordings that Mr. Lange has produced, we suggest that you follow this link.