Twenty years after Expedition Everest opened at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, one of its biggest problems is finally getting addressed.
But fixing it comes with a catch.
Disney confirmed at D23 that the legendary Yeti inside Expedition Everest will finally be repaired. The figure has spent years operating in the stationary mode Disney fans have come to know all too well.
Now Disney plans to bring it back to life.
The company isn't building a replacement figure, either. Current plans call for Disney to repair the existing Yeti and leave it in the same position inside the attraction.
For longtime Animal Kingdom fans, that's enormous news.
For future vacation planners, it also signals that a major Expedition Everest shutdown is somewhere on the horizon.
The Yeti Can't Be Fixed With Everest Running Normally
Disney hasn't announced when Expedition Everest will close.
It also hasn't revealed how long the refurbishment will take, leaving the closure timeline as one of the biggest questions following D23.
But this isn't the type of project Disney can simply handle overnight.
The company plans to restore movement to the enormous figure after years of questions surrounding whether such a repair would ever actually happen.
At some point, Disney is going to need time to do the work.
That means Expedition Everest will eventually disappear from Animal Kingdom's daily attraction lineup.
The bigger question is when.
Disney Has a Good Reason to Wait
We wouldn't expect Disney to shut down Expedition Everest in the immediate future.
Animal Kingdom is already dealing with a massive transformation elsewhere in the park.
Tropical Americas is expected to open in late 2027, and until that new land is operating, Expedition Everest remains particularly important to the park's attraction capacity.
Closing Everest while another major portion of Animal Kingdom remains under construction would create a difficult situation.
That's why 2028 currently looks like the earliest realistic window.
The report on the Yeti repair reaches the same general conclusion, suggesting that Expedition Everest likely won't close until Tropical Americas is operating.
Disney hasn't confirmed that date, so 2028 remains an estimate rather than an official timeline.
Still, waiting makes sense.
How Long Could Expedition Everest Close?
That's where things get even more interesting.
Expedition Everest has closed for significant refurbishment work before. A previous project kept the attraction unavailable for multiple months, but Disney made clear that refurbishment wouldn't include fixing the Yeti.
Now, fixing the Yeti is specifically part of Disney's plan.
Disney still hasn't explained exactly how crews will repair the figure after all these years. Questions remain about both the logistics of the project and what will be required to make it happen.
Until Disney provides those answers, predicting an exact closure length would be little more than guessing.
But guests should prepare for the possibility that this isn't a short refurbishment.
Expedition Everest's Next Chapter Is Coming
There's plenty we still don't know.
Disney hasn't announced a closing date. It hasn't announced a reopening date. And it hasn't said whether Expedition Everest will remain unavailable for weeks, months, or potentially longer.
But we finally know something much bigger.
The Yeti is getting fixed.
Our expectation is that Disney keeps Expedition Everest operating through the construction of Tropical Americas before turning its attention toward the mountain, potentially in 2028.
After two decades at Animal Kingdom, Expedition Everest appears headed toward one of the most important refurbishments of its lifetime.
The shutdown may be inconvenient when it arrives.
But if guests eventually race through the mountain and see the Yeti moving again, it will mark the return of something Disney World fans have been waiting years to experience.
