Quetzalcoaster
Written by @PerGron
When the word "quetzal" is said, many associate the word with the legend of Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec god of wind and wisdom that presides throughout El Dorado. Say Quetzalcoatl and the locals will quiver in fear and respect, but what you may not realize is that Quetzalcoatl is not the only divine being with this name. No, for associated with the serpent god is a small and humble being, one that symbolizes light and hope: the quetzal bird.
According to legend, the Resplendent Quetzal was a drab bird, brown and dirty, nothing very special about him at all. All of the other birds would tease him and laugh at him, for he was ugly and boring and they were beautiful and striking. The other birds would constantly harass quetzal, chasing away any friends that he had.
One day, quetzal was flying through the jungle when he came across a beautiful young woman. She was gentle and kind, and while he was hesitant to go near, the young woman called to him, and eventually, he came. He flew to her finger and she spoke to him, treating him with love and respect. The other birds laughed and mocked him, but secretly they were jealous. Why should this drab and ugly bird get attention from a human?
The woman visited quetzal every day, bringing him treats and talking to him, but one day, when the woman came, she was followed by a man. This man had evil in his eyes and with him he carried a torch. The man lit the brush on fire, soon consuming the entire jungle in flames.
The birds took to the skies as the animals ran as fast as they could, but the woman could not escape for she could not see. She was wandering, aimlessly, getting caught in the smoke. The other birds watched from above, scared for their homes, but quetzal was brave and he had to save his friend. He flew into the flames, finding the woman and leading her to safety. Unfortunately for quetzal, the smoke was too much for him and he quickly died in his friend's arms. All of the other birds looked on, realizing how brave this drab little bird was and cried for him. Each of the tears of all of the animals of the jungle summoned Quetzalcoatl, who saw the little bird and heard the stories from each of the jungle animals and he raised the little bird from the dead, looking to him and honoring his bravery, the god gave the little bird the most beautiful coat of feathers matching his own. A red chest would signify the fire he flew into as well as the red of his heart showcasing the love he had for the girl who treated him so kindly, and the green for the forest that he braved, against all odds, to save the one he cared about.
From that day on, Quetzalcoatl kept a special eye on the bird, giving him the power of love and light to bring to all of the people, even to this very day. If you ever see a quetzal in the wild, you will have love and good luck brought to you in the coming days.
The Quetzalcoaster is a family-style coaster similar to Big Thunder Mountain telling the story of the Quetzal as you travel through the jungle at high speeds to save the young woman who cares for him.
Queue
The queue of this attraction takes you through the hut of a shaman storyteller. Scrolls and books are flipped open to pages recounting myths and legends found in Latin America. As you wind through the queue, guests can check out the stories of When Jaguars ate the moon and why anteaters walk on their hind legs. These stories are all in small but digestable chunks to allow guests to get a quick read through as they walk by as an interesting feature.
Once through the hut, you enter the loading dock that looks over the golden palace of Quetzalcoatl where small animatronics of quetzals that sit atop the trees. Once on the platform, guests board their trains that are colored like a quetzal with green cars and red undersides. Two wings jutt out from the sides with long fiberglass "tails" extend from the final car.
Ridethrough
The ride sets off from the platform from the attraction and takes off into the jungle, smoothly gliding through the air as they pass animatronics of a drab bird surrounded by beautiful birds. The bird is designed to look sad as the other birds squack and cry at the bird.
A gentle glide swoops around the corner as we swoop through the jungle as they pass by an animatronic of a woman talking to the brown bird. We see a man behind with a torch as we enter through a burning forest.
The burning forest surrounds us as we climb a lift hill to see birds watching over before diving below on a drop, looping around to soar through the forest that is ablaze. We see the bird leading the woman as you soar past, exiting from the forest and encounter a glowing light as the animatronic of the bird switches to the beautiful and colorfor quetzal, before ending the attraction back at the dock.