Thursday, April 06, 2006

It's a Yeti world after all


Tomorrow Disney will open their new "Expedition Everest" thrill ride at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Florida. Normally this would be yawn-worthy news to us here at Blogfoot, except that their ride prominently features the Yeti, or "Abominable Snowman", as he's known to the cognescenti. Guests will whiz around tracks on a runaway train past a replica of an ancient Himalayan village and through a six-acre version of Everest. Then, just as it would happen in real life, tracks are ripped to shreds, forcing the train to a halt, and visitors are confronted by the fearsome Yeti (see inset photo), guardian of the mountain peaks.

It's about time Disney stopped trying to make us believe in things like robot presidents, mermaids and flying elephants and concentrated on representing something that actually exists. This is just the shot of credibility that this oft-maligned subject has needed. After the ride, skeptics-turned-believers can mull over this staggering change to their views on evolution and the unknowable mysteries of the world while spinning around in a giant teacup.