We’re not going to lie. Our heads are STILL spinning after all the announcements Disney made during its Experiences Showcase several nights ago at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event. SO much stuff is HAPPENING. We got more details about Magic Kingdom’s Cars expansion, Monstropolis in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Villains Land in Magic Kingdom, and more. We even learned that Dreamfinder is returning to EPCOT.

But Dreamfinder isn’t the ONLY Disney character making a comeback. Disney also shocked us with an announcement that they are finally fixing the Yeti on Expedition Everest in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. So, let’s take a closer look at that announcement and what it might mean for the ride.

Okay, let’s take a look at Expedition Everest’s history, which includes the history of the Yeti. On the ride, the Yeti appears at the top of the mountain to terrify riders before the ride reverses and goes backwards. It’s a pretty momentous moment on the roller coaster. The roller coaster originally opened in 2006, and originally the Yeti at the top of the ride actually moved. At the time, it was the largest and most complex Audio-Animatronic figure Disney had ever created.

The Yeti soon turned into a problem for the ride, though. Just a few months after the ride opened, its framing split, which meant that if it continued operating in “A” mode (AKA at full capacity), it could very well cause real damage to the roller coaster. So, the Audio-Animatronic features of the Yeti were turned off, and it’s been operating in “B” mode ever since. If you’ve been on the ride, you’ll know the static Yeti just now has a strobe lighting effect, making it seem as if it’s moving. This earned it the nickname “Disco Yeti.”

So why hasn’t it been fixed? Well, speculation is that part of the mountain would have to be removed to fix it. However, in 2023, former Disney Imagineer and Disney Legend Joe Rohde confirmed those rumors weren’t true. He tweeted that the issue is more of “a complex interface between finance, operations, marketing, design, timing, engineering, and narrative, and… guest satisfaction.” At the time, he also said there were solutions.

No that rumor is not true. The issue is a complex interface between finance, operations, marketing, design, timing, engineering, s
narrative l, and … guest satisfaction. All of these need to line up to make a viable solution. There are solutions. There are not opportunities. https://t.co/lozrHfBSbw

— Joe Rohde (@Joe_Rohde) June 20, 2023

Well, it seems Disney finally decided on a solution to fix the Yeti now that it’s been announced. However, it’s also very likely that the fix will require Expedition Everest to be closed for a long time, perhaps for even a year or longer. Disney has not yet given a timeline on when the ride will close, but if we had to guess, we might think it will be after the new land, Pueblo Esperanza, opens, or there won’t be very many rides left in Animal Kingdom to ride! Right now, with the closer of DinoLand, U.S.A., only five rides remain open in the park.

We’ll be keeping an eye out for more announcements about Expedition Everest, so stay tuned to DFB for more.

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What do you think about the Yeti finally being fixed? Let us know in the comments!