My daughter has recently become obsessed with roller coasters at Disney. I am not a big coaster fanatic so we kind of started this journey together. we started small with Goofy’s Barnstormer at the Magic Kingdom, then slowly moved up to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Big Thunder Mountain, and then Space Mountain. It was only a matter of time before we moved up to the more “advanced” coasters at Disney and after some Youtube videos she decided our next step up was Expedition Everest in the Animal Kingdom.

Once inside the park we headed towards the Asia section and could immediately see the forbidden mountains soaring high in the background. Expedition Everest is certainly one of the most popular attractions here in Animal Kingdom and the line to ride can be pretty long.

Even if you have a long queue line to wait in, the details you pass by are incredible. Plus you will learn about the mysterious Yeti that is rumored to be up in the mountains.

This was certainly one of the more intense coasters my daughter and I had experienced so far. It wasn’t unbearable, but I think no matter how many videos we watched online it was a completely different experience in person. My daughter loved it, I on the other hand was a little wobbly legged when I got off.

When you exit off the ride you of course are taken through a gift shop. For those of you that are not interested in riding the coaster, fret not you can still go in and explore the gift called called the Serka Zong Bazaar.

Inside this store the incredible details continue. It’s setup to look like a place you would load up on supplies before climbing mount Everest. Plus of course with plenty of Disney merchandise and Yeti inspired items.

In the back of the store near where you can view and purchase your on ride photo is where I came across a brand new penny press machine.

If you’ve been following my travels, not too long ago Animal Kingdom went through a phase where they were updating the penny machines to the new $1 price point. This location did have a machine before but it was only a 3-design model. That machine has been removed and replaced with this beatiful piece of art work. The wood cabinet of this machine has some gorgeous carvings, and details to it that just fits with other “hard-carved” detailing that can be found throughout the store.

Some of these penny designs we have seen before in previous machines found here at Expedition Everest but I was happy to see them return. I love the “I Conquered Expedition Everest” design and made sure to press an extra penny for my daughter as a souvenir of our riding this attraction for the first time. The rest of the designs here are all themed well for the location and I think it makes for a great semi-new set of pennies for our collection.

With one more coaster under our belts my daughter is already checking out what is next for us to try. Rockin’ Roller Coaster in Hollywood Studios seems like a good option, but she is really looking at the new Guardian of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind coaster in Epcot that just recently opened. No pennies so far over there for that one, but stay tuned because as soon as some are released (fingers crossed) we will be over there to ride the attraction and press some more pennies.

Keep on Pressing!

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