Joe Rohde Quotations

Our story was really about the culture and the people, the areas where there is human habitation.

The ride is about the yeti, and our story is about our interaction with that yeti. When we get on this train and we go up into the forbidden mountain domain of the yeti, he destroys the track ,and the thrill part of our ride is escaping the wrath of the yeti as we return to civilization.

Seeing the yeti will really startle the guests because it is so real, so convincing.

The Himalayan culture is full of ritualized architecture, encouraging great harmony and structure. The colors of the village, the carved animal heads on the doors, the totems -- it's all very symbolic and authentic.

You have to imagine this detail exists in a certain way to be passed over by people. We don't want them to look at a building, and say, 'Oh that's a building,' or look at a rock and say, 'Oh that's a rock.' You go right past it and just accept what it is.

There are details within details within details to anchor you in the fact that we are talking about the real world, not an illustrated children's book fantasy world.

It's an adventure. I mean I spent a lot of time in the Himalayas and over the years have come to know them very well. I would say most important is the first sense you have in a place like that, and that is the sense of being on an adventure.

We go to the mountain for enlightenment, for self-realization, for adventure, for discovery. It's pregnant with meaning. When people see a mountain, they invest it with meaning. Not plot. Not character.

Expedition EVEREST adds a new dimension to our storytelling in Disney's Animal Kingdom. It's a thrilling adventure themed to the folklore of the mysterious yeti.

During my expedition to the Himalayas, I was surprised to hear the Yeti is looked upon as a creature that guards the mountain's pristine environment.