Credit: DisneyExpedition Everest is one of the best rides at Walt Disney World, but there are a few glaring issues that we just can’t ignore.
The Hair Ties
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Disney went to great lengths to make sure Expedition Everest was as realistic and immersive as possible. This is why it’s so frustrating to see guests litter and damage the ride and its queue. Everest is hardly the only ride at Walt Disney World showing its age, but it’s still kept relatively clean, at least aside from the infamous piles of hair ties.
Up at the very top of Everest, right before guests descend backwards, they can spot bundles of hair ties thrown into the sides of the track.
Just like coins in fountains, some riders feel an urge to throw their loose hair ties on the ground. It’s against the rules and not encouraged by Disney, but it happens. Everest’s hair tie problem is so infamous that former Walt Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde weighed in on the issue.
Rohde was and still is one of the most important and influential people to work for Disney, playing a major role in the design and creation of Expedition Everest and Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park as a whole. Rohde seemed displeased with the act itself, but highlighted how it mirrored similar traditions carried out by real-life climbers and explorers, and that the likes of hair ties actually added to the man-made mountain in an interesting, organic way.
Still, we’d prefer if people stopped throwing their belongings onto one of Disney’s most iconic roller coasters.
The Wait
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Being one of Disney’s most popular and legendary rides, waiting for Expedition Everest can take quite a long time. A typical day for Everest sees the coaster sit between a 25-45 minute wait, though this can and has gotten longer.
Everest being the only roller coaster at Animal Kingdom certainly doesn’t help anything here. All we’re saying is, be prepared to wait for this one. For those riding by themselves, Expedition Everest does offer a single rider queue, which can cut down on wait times considerably.
Broken Effects
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As we mentioned earlier, Expedition Everest is showing its age. The coaster opened in 2006, making it nearly 20 years old. It’s still a blast, but the ride has lost a lot of what made it unique over the years.
A number of effects have been out of commission for years, like the misters at the top of the mountain, as well as the static bird prop lovingly named “bird on a stick.”
Other effects seem to work on an occasional basis, such as the ride’s exterior waterfalls and faux train car steam.
Of course, Expedition Everest’s most notorious broken effect is the massive yeti. The 25-foot-tall creature was the most complex and largest animatronic built by Disney at the time, and still serves as one of the company’s most impressive creations. However, the yeti would be a lot more impressive if it actually still moved. Due to an error either with the yeti or the mountain itself, the animatronic has remained motionless for most of its life.
The yeti has been updated occasionally and is now operating in what fans refer to as “disco yeti” mode. It’s unclear if Disney will ever actually fix the yeti. Back in 2013, Joe Rohde publicly stated he would fix the yeti one day. Rohde officially retired from Disney in 2021, with the yeti still sitting motionless to this day.
Do you agree or disagree? What is your favorite part of Expedition Everest?