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One of Disney’s Animal Kingdom’s biggest attractions is finally getting an update fans have wanted for roughly two decades. But bringing that change to life could come with a major downside for anyone planning a Walt Disney World vacation.
Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain is expected to eventually close for what could be a substantial refurbishment.
Disney has confirmed plans to finally address the attraction’s famous Yeti Animatronic, which has spent most of the coaster’s history operating without its original movement. What Disney hasn’t announced is exactly when Expedition Everest will close, how long the project will take, or precisely what crews will have to do inside the mountain.
That leaves one major question: When will Disney actually take one of Animal Kingdom’s most important rides offline?
Based on everything happening around the park, a late 2027 or early 2028 closure appears to be a logical window. However, that timing remains an expectation rather than an officially announced Disney date.
Disney Is Finally Going After the ‘Disco Yeti’
The coaster sends guests through a Tibetan-inspired village before they board a train headed toward Mount Everest. Things quickly go wrong when riders discover damaged track and encounter the legendary Yeti.
Disney designed that Yeti to be far more than a stationary figure.
The enormous Animatronic reportedly stands about 25 feet tall, with roughly 1,000 square feet of fur and skin. Its original movements allowed it to move vertically and horizontally, creating the illusion that the creature was reaching toward passing riders.
That effect didn’t last long.
Within months of Expedition Everest’s opening, the Yeti’s movement became severely limited. Disney eventually began using strobe lighting around the stationary figure to simulate motion. Fans gave the effect its now-famous nickname: the “Disco Yeti.”
For years, fixing it became one of those Disney projects fans heard about but never actually saw happen.
Now, that is finally changing.
Disney Confirms the Yeti Will Be Fixed
During the 2026 D23 Ultimate Fan Event, Disney announced that it intends to fix the Yeti. The company even leaned into the attraction’s history by bringing out Gloria Gaynor as part of a playful farewell to the “Disco Yeti.”
That announcement was significant because repairing the figure has never appeared to be a simple matter of replacing a motor or swapping out a few components.
Expedition Everest consists of multiple intertwined structures. The mountain shell, coaster track and structure supporting the Yeti were designed separately but exist together inside the enormous attraction.
Over the years, the difficulty of reaching and repairing the Yeti has become almost as famous as the broken figure itself.
Former Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde previously explained just how complicated the situation was. At the 2013 D23 Expo, Rohde described the Yeti as a giant machine sitting on a roughly 46-foot tower inside a completed building.
That makes a major repair considerably more complicated than simply closing Expedition Everest for a few weeks and fixing the Animatronic.
Disney has not yet revealed whether Imagineers will repair the existing figure, substantially rebuild it or replace portions of the Yeti system altogether. The company also hasn’t announced the scope of any work required elsewhere inside the mountain.
That uncertainty could eventually translate into a lengthy shutdown.
When Could Expedition Everest Close?
This is where Animal Kingdom’s larger transformation becomes especially important.
We expect Expedition Everest will likely remain open until Tropical Americas is operating, putting a potential shutdown around late 2027 or early 2028.
That timeline has not been confirmed by Walt Disney World, so guests should not treat it as an official closure date. But from an operational standpoint, waiting until the park adds its new attractions would make sense.
Animal Kingdom is currently undergoing a massive transformation as the former DinoLand U.S.A. area becomes Pueblo Esperanza, the centerpiece of Disney’s new Tropical Americas land.
Taking Expedition Everest offline before those additions arrive would remove another major attraction while Animal Kingdom is already dealing with a reduced ride lineup.
Once Tropical Americas begins welcoming guests, Disney would have considerably more flexibility.
That could give Imagineers the opening they need to tackle Expedition Everest.
Why an Expedition Everest Shutdown Would Be a Big Deal
Even after Tropical Americas opens, losing Expedition Everest temporarily would have a noticeable effect on Animal Kingdom.
Unlike Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom doesn’t have a huge inventory of rides capable of absorbing thousands of additional guests throughout the day.
Expedition Everest is also one of the park’s major thrill rides. For many guests, it sits alongside Avatar Flight of Passage as one of the attractions they consider essential during an Animal Kingdom visit.
A lengthy refurbishment could therefore reshape how guests tour the park.
Disney may also decide that if Expedition Everest has to close for an extensive period, it makes sense to complete other maintenance at the same time. A project large enough to address the Yeti could give crews an opportunity to perform additional work throughout the attraction while trains aren’t running.
For now, however, Disney has only confirmed the major headline: the Yeti is getting fixed.
Exactly how much additional work comes with that project remains unknown.
Fixing the Yeti Could Require More Than a Normal Refurbishment
Expedition Everest has closed for refurbishments before, but the Yeti presents a very different challenge.
This isn’t simply repainting portions of the mountain or performing routine coaster maintenance.
The Animatronic sits deep inside one of Walt Disney World’s most complicated attraction structures. If Imagineers have to access portions of the support structure or remove major components, Disney could be dealing with a project measured in months rather than weeks.
Again, Disney has not announced the length of the future closure.
That distinction matters because there is currently no official shutdown date or reopening date for Expedition Everest.
Still, after roughly two decades of seeing the Yeti frozen in place, fans finally know Disney intends to do something about it.
And when the work begins, guests should prepare for Expedition Everest to disappear from the Animal Kingdom attraction lineup for at least some period of time.
Animal Kingdom Could Look Very Different by 2028
Instead of shutting down Expedition Everest while the park is still waiting for major new capacity, Disney could use its upcoming additions to help carry the park through another significant refurbishment.
That would mean guests could see Animal Kingdom move almost directly from one major construction era into another.
Tropical Americas could open, Expedition Everest could subsequently close, and Imagineers could finally tackle a problem that dates back almost to the coaster’s opening.
For longtime Disney fans, the result could be worth the disruption.
The Yeti was designed as the climax of Expedition Everest’s story. Its enormous size and original movement were supposed to make riders feel as though they had come dangerously close to the legendary creature before escaping the mountain.
For most guests over the last two decades, that original experience simply hasn’t existed.
Disney now has plans to change that.
The company still owes guests several important details, particularly when Expedition Everest will close and how long the coaster will remain unavailable. Until Disney releases that schedule, late 2027 to early 2028 remains an expected window rather than a confirmed timeline.
But one thing is no longer speculation: Disney has committed to fixing the Yeti.
And eventually, doing that will mean shutting down one of Animal Kingdom’s most recognizable rides.
