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Like mountain homes of the Himalayas, the rustic rammed-earth
and stacked-stone buildings of the mythical village of Serka Zong
sag and buckle under the weight of time. But time cannot erase
the beauty of the structures' intricately carved window frames
nor the significance of the symbolic earth-based colors layered
upon walls to protect against perceived dark forces.
Situated on the Florida flatlands at Disney's Animal Kingdom,
the mountain village anchoring the Expedition Everest attraction
welcomes Walt Disney World guests with such architectural authenticity
that those who've been to Nepal or Tibet will think they've returned
to those Himalayan lands.
"One of our park ambassadors from Kathmandu was moved to tears
because it took her right back to her grandmother's place," said
Stefan Hellwig, senior concept designer for Expedition Everest
and the village that surrounds the attraction.
With Expedition Everest, Disney Imagineers have gone to greater
lengths than ever before to create an attraction rich in storytelling,
authenticity and detail. The design, architecture, painting, materials
and props have all been carefully and specifically chosen to create
a unique environment that will immerse Disney guests in a setting
unlike any they’ve experienced.
Stacked stones and rammed-earth blocks drizzled with "slurry," a
plaster-like mud mix, rise from the rugged landscape, forming structures
which are enhanced by ornamental window carvings of animal, floral
and other traditional motifs. A traditional three-tiered temple
known as a mandir boasts a crowning finial of hammered copper.
And carved images of the mysterious fur-covered yeti -- a mammoth,
ape-like creature believed to guard the sacred mountain -- materialize
around every corner.
Hellwig and Joe Rohde, executive designer at Walt Disney Imagineering
and lead designer of the park, traveled to Nepal to research the
region's architecture and culture before completing the concept
for Serka Zong, a cluster of adjoining buildings that sets the
scene for a rousing mountain journey aboard a runaway train on
Expedition Everest. The village includes Norbu and Bob's Himalayan
Escapes booking office, Tashi's General Store and Bar, an old tea
warehouse turned yeti museum, the elaborate wood and copper mandir,
local homes and a towering monastery.
"It's a very convincing look at a Himalayan environment," said
Rohde, whose photos of the region and its people hang in the village's "museum," seen
by guests on their way to boarding the thrill ride. "The ritualized
architecture encourages great harmony, and colors are used symbolically
almost as if they had magical properties to protect you."
Just as the Chinese practice of arranging furniture based on feng
shui is meant to create balance in the home, the earth-based red-black-white
paint combinations of the Himalayas are ladled onto buildings for
balance and protection, Rohde said. The yellow candle-drip effect
over one village home signifies the residence of an old, well-established
family, and firewood stacked on the roof indicates affluence.
The architectural style and cultural references of the village
are a hybrid of Tibetan, Nepalese and other design traditions found
throughout the Himalayas. Each building was reproduced with great
care and attention to detail so that structures appear to range
in age from 50 to 300 years old. Imagineers sculpted concrete to
re-create the look of the rammed-earth block (a technique where
natives pound moistened earth with a mallet to create an adobe-like
material) and stacked-stone buildings typically built to withstand
rough Himalayan weather. Workers then sandblasted and physically
distressed the structures with chainsaws, hammers, blowtorches
and other tools to create uneven corners and sagging walls. Finally,
artisans applied paints and stains to further the illusion of structural
aging.
"We created an environment that immerses guests deep into the
story of Expedition Everest so they feel transported to a different
place and adventure," said Rohde.
Wood -- a scarce and highly valued commodity in the Himalayan
region -- is typically used only for architectural ornamentation
during construction, so Imagineers commissioned Nepalese and Balinese
craftsmen to carve more than 1,000 sal wood (a hardwood grown in
the region) and teak pieces placed in and upon every village building.
Pieces like window frames were thoroughly "tortured," Rohde said,
with corners broken and the frames tweaked into an almost-trapezoid
shape "as if the weight of the sagging, buckling building had pushed
it down."
The three-story mandir, a pagoda-type building, was hand carved
with 1,000 yeti images in Nepal, then shipped, aged and re-assembled
at the Serka Zong site. A tall, brick-red block building with heavy
wood doors and protective animal carvings represents a monastery
similar to one Rohde and Hellwig visited in Nepal. A village entrance
wall built of mani stones carved with auspicious symbols like the
wheel of life, an endless knot and other representations portends
good luck. Carved totems representing the Tibetan phurba -- a triple-sided
ritual stake or dagger -- are driven into the ground to contain
threatening elements.
"It's a world in which everything has meaning," Rohde says. "There's
a lot to be read into the environment, including the idea that
this world is full of forces that have to be held in check, and
our villagers are trying to keep them away."
Other Himalayan traditions are represented by piles of firewood
that rest on village roofs to avoid pilferage, bronze bells that
dangle from buildings, and carvings of yaks, goats and horses represented
on door knockers, masks and other building adornments. Rows of
worn but colorful prayer flags with symbols like the snow lion
and wind horse "add motion and visual delight to the environment," Rohde
said. The many yeti shrines and totems show how the creature is
depicted differently based on each culture's version of the mythology.
At least 8,000 props purchased mostly from Nepal add a lived-in
look to the village and other areas of the Expedition Everest attraction.
The authentic artifacts include a Mani Rimdu dance costume typically
worn by a monk during a two-week festival, a 3-D yeti stamp from
Bhutan, yeti dolls, a Nepalese coke bottle, antique Chinese ceramics
and waterproof barrels designed for mountain treks.
Expedition Everest Project Manager Mike Lentz concludes, "When
they see the village, our guests are going to say, 'I'm not in
Central Florida any longer.'"
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