Signs, Signs, Everywhere

The sign of truly brilliant placemaking in a theme park setting is when details not only reinforce story elements throughout the area, but also hint at a larger "world" than what can physically be visited within the boundaries of the park itself. Some perfect examples can be found in this hodgepodge of signs and ads at an intersection in Anandapur.

Some of the graphics on display really do point the way to legitimate locations nearby: Public Telephone, Restrooms, Maharajah Jungle Trek, Kali River Rapids.

Others reinforce story points from the area's attractions. The "Spectacular Bat Cliffs of Anandapur" can be visited on the Maharajah Jungle Trek. Kali Rapids Expeditions is the rafting company that takes Guests out on the Chakranadi River at Kali River Rapids. Serka Zong is the village at the foot of the Forbidden Mountain as featured in the story line of Expedition Everest. It's from Serka Zong that adventurers who have signed up with Himalayan Escapes Tours and Expeditions depart on the trains of Anandapur Rail Services for the base camp where they'll begin their ascent of Mount Everest.

The Shangri-La Trekker's Inn & Internet Cafe is the setting of the restroom facilities nearest Expedition Everest, but it's not a place we can actually visit. Other signs here further expand the story of the Anandapur District by making it appear that this is a full-blown community, rather than just a corner of a Florida theme park. Anandapur Woodcarving, Flying Yak Air Transport, Manam Travel & Tours Ltd. and the bicycle rentals only exist to help make this place more believable.

Perhaps the most intriguing of these graphics is the one at the top of the collection of signs, for Seven Summits Mountain Trekking. On one level, the name of this fictional company refers to the highest peaks on each of the seven continents on Earth (Everest being highest of all), but it goes further than that. Seven Summits Expeditions is also referenced on a window on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom, as part of a tribute to former Disney President Frank Wells.

Frank was a true adventurer. In 1983, a year before joining Disney, he set out to accomplish something no one at that point had ever done; to reach the peak of all seven summits within a twelve-month span. Frank made it up six of the seven, forced to turn back before reaching the top of Mount Everest. His 1986 book, Seven Summits, recounted the experience. This detail, placed in the shadow of Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom, pays subtle tribute.