Yetis were thought to be hairy creatures that walked on two legs. In the local language, the word means "that thing there." This is a model from the 1977 movie "Yeti." Sir Edmund Hillary, the first Westerner to reach the top of Everest, claimed to have found Yeti hair.

The creature at the center of the Expedition Everest attraction at Disney's Animal Kingdom is the Yeti, also known as the "Abominable Snowman." According to the ride's lore, the Yeti is the fierce protector of the "Forbidden Mountain" in the Himalayas. The animatronic itself is a 25-foot tall, 20,000-pound masterpiece of Imagineering. However, in 2026, fans still refer to it as the "Disco Yeti." This is because a structural crack in the animatronic's foundation shortly after opening in 2006 made it unsafe to operate in its "A-Mode" (lunging at riders). Instead, it remains in "B-Mode," where it is stationary and lit by strobe lights to simulate movement. Despite its lack of physical motion, the Yeti remains one of the most iconic and imposing figures in theme park history, serving as the "boss" of the mountain.