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On Saturday, March 5, Walt Disney World is hosting a birthday celebration for Expedition Everest, the E-ticket attraction that opened at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 2006.
Annual passholders who register ahead of time online will get to attend the special after-hours event from 6 to 9 p.m. Registration begins at disneyworld.com/passholder on Feb. 18.
It’s not yet clear if Disney plans to have the attraction’s infamous Yeti fully functional once again by its fifth anniversary. In recent months, the massive Audio-Animatronic creature has been less-than-lifelike, with its massive arm-swooping motion over the heads of passengers, replaced by strobe lights to simulate movement. Creating the Yeti for Expedition Everest was a major undertaking, requiring so much force to operate that it needed its own structure built independently from the rest of the mountain. Since then, it has proved to be a maintenance nightmare and fans have expressed displeasure of the ride’s signature animatronic element being less-than-animated.
But even without the Yeti in full force, Expedition Everest is still home to a thrilling roller coaster ride, sending guests forward as well as backward, twisting through darkness. It’s a favorite attraction at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and passholders are surely to enjoy an after-hours trip during the upcoming special event.
The event was announced in the latest edition of the passholder newsletter, the Mickey Monitor, which wishes “the Yeti and his mountain a very happy birthday.”
