Plenty of Walt Disney World's most iconic rides have origin stories that would genuinely surprise the guests who ride them every year, and Expedition Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom might be the best example of that.
The snow covered coaster that's been sending guests racing through the mock Himalayas since 2006 nearly took shape as a completely different attraction before Imagineers landed on the Yeti. Former Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde recently pulled back the curtain on that early creative process in an exclusive conversation with Entertainment Weekly, revealing that the ride's very first concept was actually built around Bigfoot, not the mythical Himalayan creature guests know today.
The Coaster That Started With an Entirely Different Creature
Rohde shared the full story with Entertainment Weekly at this year's D23 convention, expanding on a topic briefly mentioned in his upcoming book Floating Mountains, set for release September 8. As the Imagineer who led Disney's internal design team responsible for building Animal Kingdom ahead of its 1998 opening, Rohde explained that the push to include a thrill ride came straight from company leadership during the park's early planning stages.
“In the cascade of ideas, we have to put in a roller coaster,” Rohde said, describing how the concept phase unfolded. The real challenge quickly became finding physical space large enough to actually house something like that. “Coasters are land-hungry because speed equals real estate,” he explained. “If you're going to go fast, you're going to cover ground, if you're going to cover ground, you need a lot of ground to put in this thing. Whatever this thing is, it's going to be big. Where even in this park is anywhere we can put something big, right?”
Looking at Camp Minnie-Mickey as a Possible Location
According to what Rohde told Entertainment Weekly, his team first considered Camp Minnie-Mickey, an area that opened alongside Animal Kingdom as a temporary stand-in for the long delayed Beastly Kingdom expansion, which was originally planned around mythical creatures but never actually got built. Camp Minnie-Mickey had a woodsy, distinctly non-jungle feel centered on classic Disney characters camping outdoors, and it housed live shows including Festival of the Lion King, which later moved over to the park's Africa section, along with Pocahontas and Her Forest Friends.
Given how much open land Camp Minnie-Mickey offered compared to the rest of Animal Kingdom's jungle theming, Rohde believed the area could realistically support a large scale coaster. The problem was connecting that idea thematically. “There's no money for a land. Right now we have Camp Minnie-Mickey down there. What in the world would even remotely connect to a little Adirondack summer camp thing? Maybe we could do this Bigfoot thing,” Rohde recalled telling his team at the time. “It never goes further: A name, an idea, and a place, but that's not going to fly. We'd have to do so much additional creation. Forget it, right?”
The Unexpected Path From Bigfoot to the Yeti
Even though the Bigfoot idea never made it past that initial conversation, it ended up sparking the concept that eventually became Expedition Everest. Rohde explained the connection simply: “Bigfoot puts into your mind the Yeti.” That association pushed his team toward exploring other fantastical, folklore based creatures that would fit Animal Kingdom's broader storytelling mission, highlighting animals of the past, present, and imagination, a theme the park reflected for years through its now retired dinosaur themed area as well.
Rohde also told Entertainment Weekly that his team had actually kicked around the idea of a Himalayan snow leopard themed attraction as far back as 1991 or 1992, well before Animal Kingdom even opened its gates. That early interest in Himalayan theming eventually merged with the Yeti concept, landing on the same section of land within the park's Asia area that would go on to become Expedition Everest when it finally opened in 2006.
Looking back on the overall creative process, Rohde told EW, “There's a logical underlying process before you get to the question of, okay, if that's what we're going to do, how are we going to tell this story in a rich, interesting, surprising way?” That process, tracing all the way from Bigfoot to the Yeti, ultimately produced one of Disney's most technically impressive attractions.
A Broken Animatronic That Became a Fan Favorite Joke
Despite all the creative work behind it, Expedition Everest's centerpiece Yeti animatronic has had a bumpy history since the ride debuted in 2006. Not long after opening, the elaborate figure that confronts guests near the end of the ride's track stopped working correctly and never got fully fixed. Rather than remove the broken animatronic entirely, Disney installed flashing strobe lights to fake a sense of motion as ride vehicles sped past it, a workaround that fans lovingly nicknamed “Disco Yeti” over the years.
That long running inside joke among Disney fans might finally be nearing its end. At this year's D23 convention, Disney confirmed plans to bring the Yeti “back to life” within Expedition Everest, though the company hasn't released specific details yet about what the restoration will involve or when it will actually be completed.
Why This History Adds Something to Your Next Ride
For anyone planning an upcoming visit to Disney's Animal Kingdom, this behind the scenes history genuinely enriches what's already one of the park's most popular attractions. Knowing that Expedition Everest almost became a Bigfoot themed ride instead makes the finished attraction feel even more intentional the next time you're racing through the mock Himalayas. It's also worth keeping tabs on future Yeti restoration updates, since a fully functioning animatronic could meaningfully change the experience for anyone who's only ever encountered “Disco Yeti” mid-ride.
If Expedition Everest is already on your Walt Disney World itinerary, it's worth checking for restoration updates before your trip, since Disney could share more concrete details as the project develops further.
Did you know Expedition Everest almost started out as a Bigfoot themed ride, or are you more focused on finally seeing a working Yeti again? Let us know in the comments what you're hoping to see once Disney reveals more about the restoration.
Credit to Entertainment Weekly for the original exclusive interview with Joe Rohde that inspired this story.
