Disney just confirmed something Expedition Everest fans have waited years to hear.The Yeti is finally going to move again.Disney revealed during D23 that it plans to repair the massive Yeti figure inside Expedition Everest at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The figure has remained stationary for years, with lighting and strobe effects creating the illusion of movement as trains race past.Disney isn’t replacing the Yeti, either. The company plans to repair the existing figure and keep it in its current location inside the attraction.That’s exciting news for longtime Disney World fans.Credit: Sean X Liu, FlickrBut there’s another side to this announcement that guests planning future vacations should keep in mind.You don’t repair something as massive and complicated as the Expedition Everest Yeti without taking the attraction offline.And while Disney hasn’t announced a closure date yet, all signs point toward an extended shutdown eventually coming to Animal Kingdom.Disney Is Finally Fixing the Expedition Everest YetiExpedition Everest opened at Animal Kingdom in 2006, with the enormous Yeti serving as one of the attraction’s biggest technological achievements.The figure was designed to move as riders passed beneath it. However, it has operated in what fans commonly call “B-Mode” for years. Instead of moving, the Yeti remains stationary while a strobe effect helps create the appearance of motion.That is finally going to change.Disney confirmed at D23 that the current figure will be repaired rather than replaced with a completely new Audio-Animatronic. It will also remain in the same position and scene guests see today.That answers two major questions surrounding the project.It doesn’t answer the biggest one.When exactly will Disney close Expedition Everest to make it happen?An Expedition Everest Closure Appears InevitableDisney has not announced an official closure date for Expedition Everest, nor has the company revealed how long the attraction will need to remain unavailable.Still, the nature of this project makes a significant refurbishment difficult to avoid.This isn’t a simple overnight repair. Disney is talking about restoring the existing Yeti figure after years of operating it without its original movement.Even the report detailing the project raises two major unanswered questions: when Expedition Everest will close and how long Disney will need to complete the work.The attraction has already experienced lengthy refurbishments before. In fact, Expedition Everest previously underwent a multi-month refurbishment in which Disney specifically said the Yeti would not be repaired.This time, the Yeti is the project.That makes the timing particularly interesting.Don’t Expect Disney to Shut It Down Anytime SoonAlthough Disney has now confirmed the Yeti repair, we’d be surprised to see Expedition Everest suddenly disappear from the Animal Kingdom lineup in the immediate future.There’s a much bigger reason Disney needs Everest operating right now.Animal Kingdom is already undergoing one of the largest transformations in its history with Tropical Americas.With that massive project still under construction, taking one of Animal Kingdom’s biggest existing attractions offline would put even more pressure on a park that already has a relatively limited attraction lineup.That’s why 2028 makes considerably more sense.The report on Disney’s Yeti plans reaches a similar conclusion, suggesting Expedition Everest may not close until Tropical Americas is operating and placing 2028 as the earliest likely timeframe.Disney has not confirmed that 2028 timeline, so guests shouldn’t circle a date on the calendar yet. Still, it gives us an idea of how Disney could approach this enormous project.Credit: DisneyTropical Americas Could Clear the WayTropical Americas is expected to open in late 2027, bringing major new experiences to Animal Kingdom.Once that project is finished, Disney would have far more flexibility to remove Expedition Everest from the attraction lineup temporarily.That’s why we believe the most logical scenario has Expedition Everest operating throughout the Tropical Americas construction period before closing sometime in 2028.Disney could theoretically wait even longer. Until the company releases an official refurbishment schedule, 2028 remains an estimate rather than a confirmed date.But the larger point hasn’t changed.Expedition Everest now has a major refurbishment waiting somewhere in its future.How Long Could Expedition Everest Stay Closed?That’s the question Disney hasn’t answered.There’s currently no confirmed refurbishment length, and trying to attach a specific number of months to the project would be speculation.However, guests shouldn’t necessarily expect this to resemble a routine refurbishment.Disney plans to bring an enormous figure back to life after years of questions surrounding whether the company could realistically repair it. The project raises both logistical and technical questions that Disney has yet to explain publicly.That could mean significant work beyond what guests ever see from the ride vehicle.Until Disney explains how it intends to complete the repair, there’s simply no way to know whether Expedition Everest will disappear for several months or potentially longer.What we do know is that Disney has finally committed to doing something fans once wondered if they would ever see.Credit: DisneyA Major Animal Kingdom Shutdown Is Coming EventuallyFor now, guests can continue riding Expedition Everest and seeing the Yeti in its familiar stationary form.That won’t last forever.Disney has officially committed to repairing the existing Yeti and restoring the figure rather than replacing it. Eventually, crews will need the opportunity to actually complete that work.Our expectation is that Disney waits until Tropical Americas opens in late 2027 before touching Expedition Everest. That would make 2028 the earliest logical window for a substantial closure.Disney could announce a different timeline, and there is currently no official closure date.But after the D23 announcement, the bigger question surrounding Expedition Everest is no longer whether Disney will ever fix the Yeti.It’s when Disney will shut down the mountain long enough to finally do it.The post NEW: Disney’s Expedition Everest To Face Extended Shutdown at Animal Kingdom appeared first on Inside the Magic.