When planning a trip to Disney World, a park-goer usually makes a list of the rides that they absolutely have to hit up before the end of their trip. So when a major, celebrated one is shut down, it can be an immense disappointment, especially when that ride has already been shut down for many months previously. Unfortunately, Expedition Everest fans are experiencing that very thing, as the attraction is still having problems following a three-month refurbishment period.
Expedition Everest, a rollercoaster located in Disney's Animal Kingdom Park, has seen its share of ups and downs as of late. The ride was refurbished earlier this month and ultimately re-opened this past April. However, as reported by WDW Magic, it was closed for the entirety of last Friday and was again closed on Saturday for a time before ultimately reopening. While the latter portion of that news is good to hear, it's unfortunate that the attraction is still seeing issues.
The fan-favorite attraction has had a series of problems over the years, with one of the most notable pertaining to the famous Yeti animatronic. When the ride opened in 2006, it prominently featured the large creature, which had a range of motion that allowed for its arms to swing while guests zoomed below it. At the time, the robotic creation was supposed to be the biggest draw for the ride, as it was a product of cutting-edge technology. Imagineers had a hard time securing the animatronic due to its size and weight, though. It hasn’t been fully operating since 2006 because it started to malfunction a few months into the ride’s debut, and repairing it has been unsuccessful. (You can read more on the history of the wayward Yeti in CinemaBlend’s breakdown on Everest and its yeti.)
Even this year, the refurbishment the ride underwent took longer than anticipated, with Expedition Everest's reopening date pushed back due to reasons that were unknown at the time. Despite this, it's still a major favorite, and considered to be one of Disney World’s best attractions. The coaster moves forwards and backwards, and is the tallest ride at the Orlando theme park, with Tower of Terror trailing just behind it.
Expedition Everest isn’t the only ride that's experienced updates at Walt Disney World either. Splash Mountain is currently being phased out, and characters are being removed from the ride. Based on the vintage Disney film Song of the South, the attraction is set to be re-themed as a Princess and the Frog ride called Tiana's Bayou Adventure, complete with updated animatronics. The current iteration of the ride will be retired by 2024.
While Expedition Everest probably isn’t undergoing changes quite so drastic, there's still reason to take note of these recent closings. Hopefully, they won't become too frequent moving forward. To stay up to date on everything happening at the park, take a look at CinemaBlend's guide on what's heading to Disney World in 2022.
