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Original Expedition Everest Yeti Animator Celebrates Disney’s Plan to Bring the Animatronic Back to Life
The Yeti is getting ready to move again, and one of the people who helped bring the legendary Expedition Everest figure to life the first time could not be happier about it. Following Disney’s announcement at D23 that the massive Yeti animatronic at Disney’s Animal Kingdom will finally be restored, original Yeti animator Ethan Reed shared his reaction and some fascinating history behind the figure.
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Reed worked on the Yeti during its development and pre-programming, spending a significant amount of time helping create the movements that guests briefly saw when Expedition Everest first opened. He said he only saw the figure fully operating inside the attraction once, as he was pulled onto work for Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue before the Yeti’s final installation and integration. For nearly 20 years, the figure has remained largely motionless, earning the fan nickname “Disco Yeti” thanks to the strobe-light effect used to simulate movement as ride vehicles race past.
Interestingly, Reed also revealed that he was the person who suggested that strobe effect as the attraction’s backup mode. He said he has carried some regret about the effect becoming the long-term replacement for the original animation, making Disney’s decision to restore the figure especially meaningful for him. Reed praised the Walt Disney World and Walt Disney Imagineering teams working on the project and said he is looking forward to finally seeing the Yeti move again.
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Disney added a little extra fun to the D23 announcement by having Gloria Gaynor perform “I Will Survive” during the reveal, something Reed found particularly fitting. He shared that while animating the Yeti back in 2005, he often listened to the Man on the Moon soundtrack, which included Tony Clifton’s version of the same song. After nearly two decades of flashing lights and frozen claws, the king of Forbidden Mountain is finally preparing for his comeback.
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