Mouse Extra

As development of the Animal Kingdom out of the dreaded “half-day park” status continues, construction on a very important piece in that plan moves forward.  Animal Kingdom is terribly short on worthwhile sit-down dinner options, and as I am sure you know, Disney is hoping the Yak and Yeti is the answer.

The signs say it is scheduled to open in 2007, but judging from the apparently early stages they are now in, it will likely be very late in 2007.  There are only seven months left in the year, and the frame work is not finished.

I walked passed the site a number of times this week, and the only thing I ever saw was some welding going on, and never a crew of more than 3 or 4 people were visible.  Now the barricade could be blocking others from view, but there was no audio evidence of other work besides the welding going on either.

Personally, I am not excited about an Asian restaurant, as this type of food is not my cup of tea.  The most important thing for me is that they build something which fits the theme and maybe even adds to it.  I think the Animal Kingdom has some of the best theme-work Imagineering has done in decades, and I would hate it to be sacrificed here.  The restaurant shares a name with a famous hotel in Katmandu, which at least hints to the possibility this may be as authentic as other parts of the park.  (I must admit, using the work “yak” for a place to get food seems somewhat…awkward)

What I am looking forward to, however, is what the success of this endeavor may bring to the park.  In order to keep people in the park long enough to fill reservations for dinner, Disney will need to add more nighttime friendly attractions.  This is a topic we’ve discussed here many times, but I think this restaurant goes hand-in-hand with any such plans.