
Fall 2021 at Walt Disney World Resort is going to be one to remember. There’s the good… and then there’s the bad. The good? WDW is celebrating its 50th Anniversary with two new nighttime spectaculars, a new ride, new daytime entertainment, a new restaurant, shops, and more. We have high hopes that when the celebration kicks off on October 1, 2021, it will be a grand 18-month long party! What’s the bad news? The dreaded Disney Genie that Disney fans have shown their disapproval for is coming soon with an upcharge “Disney Genie+” and “Lightning Lane” programs kicking out the complimentary FastPass system. On top of that, Walt Disney World’s new Annual Passes just went on sale today with higher prices and fewer perks. On the heels of today’s Annual Pass availability, it is now being revealed that the popular Disney’s Animal Kingdom roller coaster attraction – Expedition Everest: Legend of the Forbidden Mountain – will be undergoing a very lengthy refurbishment in early 2022.
According to WDWMagic: “Expedition Everest at Disney’s Animal Kingdom is scheduled to be closed for a multi-month refurbishment in early 2022. The rollercoaster will be closed from January 4, 2022, until mid-April 2022. Unfortunately, the closure will not see any improvements to the show, or a repair of the Yeti animatronic figure. Work will take place on the ride control system.”
The Disney Park legendary Yeti on the Mount Everest coaster is a massive animatronic that is rather terrifying to look at! Unfortunately, just a few months after the ride opened in 2006, the Yeti’s framing split and has been deemed a “threatening catastrophic malfunction”. Disney’s Imagineers decided to go with plan B and added a strobe-light effect around the Yeti animatronic to give it the appearance of moving as your train zooms by. Hence… this is why you may hear Disney fans call the Yeti “Disco Yeti”. It looks like despite the three-month Expedition Everest attraction closure, “Disco Yeti” is here to stay.
Are you planning to visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom anytime between January and April 2022? If so, you’ll want to be sure to scratch the Expedition Everest ride off your theme Park must-do list.