Expedition Everest at Walt Disney World Across the Water

Disney’s Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World is a big park. A really big park. Much bigger than all of the other Walt Disney World parks. Because of its large size, Animal Kingdom has some really cool wide vistas, offering some great views and photo opportunities. Especially if something large is off in the distance, like the mountain of Expedition Everest:

Here, Expedition Everest can be seen in the early evening across the waters of the Discovery River, with small boats docked along the shore. At the edge of the water off in the distance  are the seating areas for the Rivers of Light show, but unfortunately that show had not yet started when we were there during our December visit, so all we got to see of it were the empty seating areas. In the time since our visit, the show has finally opened. It looks really interesting, although I do wonder if it is worth the wait that is required to get a good seat. I suppose that is a matter of personal preference, though.

From this vantage point, Expedition Everest does not look quite so tall, thanks to the framing of the tree branches overhead and the distance between us and the mountain. But of course, the mountain is quite large in size, which is why it stands so tall above the trees that are around it. Also, many people do not realize that the main mountain that you can see is not meant to represent Mount Everest. Instead, that is Forbidden Mountain, which is the home of the fearsome Yeti. The smaller peak to the right of the tallest peak is supposed to be Mount Everest off in the distance away from Forbidden Mountain. So why did they call the attraction Expedition Everest? Probably because that would give people a clearer idea of what the attraction is about instead of the more generic-sounding Forbidden Mountain. Still, many people assume that the main mountain of the attraction is Everest, just based on the name.

While the view from this point looking over at Expedition Everest is a nice one, the opposite view is also a good one:

The above photo was taken from the bridge near Expedition Everest over the Discovery River. If you click on the first photo to see the enlarged view, you can get a better view of the bridge in between the Rivers of Light seating areas. From the above view, the stone tower thing on the right is one of the seating areas, and the ramps at the left lead down from the other seating area. And just to the left of the center of the photo, you can see the top of the Tree of Life rising above the other trees. The point where I was standing to take the first photo is just to the right of center in this photo, in case you are wondering.

Also, if you are curious, the first photo in this post was taken in the early evening, while the second photo was taken in the early morning. That means that the photos are presented here in reverse chronological order, although I think it makes more sense to see them in the order that they are presented.

So as you can see, Animal Kingdom has some really interesting wide views. These are just two of them in one section of the park, but there are lots more, too!

Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep. You, Lord, preserve both people and animals. - Psalm 36:6

About the photo:

It seems that every time we go to Animal Kingdom, I end up taking a photo from the same place as the first photo, probably because it is such a good photo spot. Each one ends up being a little different, because of a slightly different vantage point, or a different time of day. Or in this case, this photo is different because of the wide angle lens. I could have used a different lens to zoom in on the mountain more, but I preferred the wide view with the mountain off in the distance. Besides, it is large enough to hold its own in the grand scheme of a wide angle photo.

Processing for both of the photos is similar to what has become my normal processing techniques of late, changing the levels in Adobe Camera Raw and loading it into Photoshop, followed by some adjustments with the Google Nik filters. And as usual, I am pleased with the results.

Here is a before-and-after version of the first photo for you to see some of the differences that the processing brought to the photo:

Photo: A single Raw exposure, processed in Photoshop. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M10
Lens: Rokinon 7.5mm f/3.5 Fisheye Lens
Date: December 19, 2016
Location: Animal Kingdom, Walt Disney World, Florida