Expedition Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom Nearly Started as a Bigfoot Ride, and the Yeti Is Finally Getting Attention
Joe Rohde says Expedition Everest began as a Bigfoot concept, and Disney has confirmed the ride's Yeti figure will be revived.
Expedition Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom almost had a very different creature at the center of its story. Former Imagineer Joe Rohde says the coaster began with a Bigfoot idea, and Disney has now confirmed the attraction's long-troubled Yeti figure is set to be revived, though no timetable has been shared.
Before Everest, there was Bigfoot
Rohde shared that the earliest version of what became Expedition Everest started with a basic problem: Disney's Animal Kingdom needed a thrill ride, and a roller coaster would require a large footprint. He said the team first looked at Camp Minnie-Mickey, an opening-day area that served as a stand-in for the delayed Beastly Kingdom concept.
That space had more open land than much of the park, but its wooded summer-camp setting did not naturally connect to a major coaster story. Rohde said the team briefly landed on a Bigfoot idea as a possible fit for that setting, but it did not move beyond an early name, place and concept because it would have required much more creation around it.
Even so, that first pass helped point the project toward the version fans know today. Rohde said Bigfoot led the team to think about the Yeti, which aligned with Animal Kingdom's broader interest in animals from the past, present and imagination. He also said a Himalayan snow leopard concept had been discussed in 1991 or 1992, before Animal Kingdom existed, and that idea later blended with the Yeti concept. The result was the attraction eventually built on its site in the park's Asia section, where Expedition Everest opened in 2006.
What changes for fans now
The backstory arrives with another Expedition Everest update that matters more directly to riders. The ride's large Yeti animatronic has had problems since the attraction's 2006 debut, and Disney has used lighting effects in place of its intended movement, giving fans the nickname Disco Yeti.
At D23, Disney confirmed the figure will be revived inside Expedition Everest. The company has not said what form that work will take or when guests will see the change in the ride.
For Animal Kingdom visitors, that means the coaster's origin story is newly public now, while the promised Yeti update remains one to watch. Fans who want more of Rohde's account will get it in his book Floating Mountains, which is scheduled for release on September 8.
