Expedition Everest's Single Rider sign vanished and went back up midday, but the line's usefulness is already gone

Solo riders at Disney's Animal Kingdom just had a strange few days. The Single Rider Entrance sign at Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain came off the rock wall, stayed off long enough for two outlets to write its obituary, and then went back up midday on Monday. Disney has not said a word about any of it.

The Single Rider Entrance sign back on the rock wall at Expedition Everest, with the swappable placard set to Open. (Photo: Blog Mickey)

What went missing: WDW News Today reported on Saturday that signage for the dedicated single rider line had been removed from the attraction's entrance. The sign normally sits on the reddish rock face at an exterior corner of the Serka Zong Bazaar gift shop, to the right of the standby queue entrance, and points solo guests into a small area with a few switchback barriers that feeds the load zone. While it was down, the separate queue was no longer advertised as a regular option.

What Cast Members said: WDW News Today wrote that "Cast Members stationed around the entrance clarified with us that single rider loading is still technically open; you will just have to ask the Cast Member standing under the umbrella. However, we were told the dedicated single rider queue will officially close soon." That mattered because, as the outlet put it, "Animal Kingdom will soon officially lose its only single rider offering."

The same sign photographed before it came down, with the placard flipped to Not Available. (Photo: WDW News Today)

Then it came back: Blog Mickey checked the entrance on Monday morning and found the sign still missing. By the afternoon it was back on the wall with a smaller placard beneath it reading "Open." The outlet reported that the sign had been reinstalled in the middle of the operating day, which it called somewhat of a rarity at Walt Disney World, given how many projects are completed overnight.

A rope closing off a walkway near the Expedition Everest queue, photographed on Monday morning while the sign was still missing. (Photo: Blog Mickey)

Then Blog Mickey walked its own read back: Blog Mickey's first story on Monday ran under the headline "Single Riders Left Out in the Cold at Expedition Everest" and agreed the line was on its way out, saying the removed signage "reinforces our thought that it will be killed off soon." After the sign reappeared that afternoon, the outlet published an update with a much calmer read. "It is our understanding that the sign was damaged a few days ago and returned as soon as it was fixed," it wrote, adding that "as of right now, there is no indication that the Single Rider offering will be removed." In its morning story, Blog Mickey said it reached out to Disney for comment and did not hear back. So WDW News Today was told the dedicated queue is closing, while Blog Mickey now treats the missing sign as a repair rather than a signal.

The change that actually hurt: Whichever version holds, both outlets agree the useful part of the Single Rider line is already gone. WDW News Today noted that a change to Everest's loading procedure earlier this year dramatically increased single rider waits. Blog Mickey explained the mechanism: "Cast Members sort standby guests into odd and even numbered groups before they reach the loading platform. That gives Cast Members a ready supply of riders to fill empty seats without needing to call on Single Rider nearly as often." Blog Mickey wrote that on a recent visit the Single Rider line opened for only a few minutes out of each hour.

Still on the books: The option has not disappeared from Disney's own channels. WDW News Today noted that the My Disney Experience app still lists "Single Rider Offered" under Accessibility & Other Information for the attraction, and Blog Mickey wrote that the line "still exists on paper (and in the My Disney Experience app and Walt Disney World website)."

Where else you can ride solo: Expedition Everest is Animal Kingdom's only single rider attraction, which is why its status is worth watching. Elsewhere on property, WDW News Today lists Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets at Disney's Hollywood Studios, plus Remy's Ratatouille Adventure and Test Track at EPCOT.

If you are heading there: Everest sits in the Asia section of the park. The sign is back up with its placard set to Open, but that is not a promise of a short wait. WDW News Today says single rider loading is still technically open, and that guests who want it should ask the Cast Member standing under the umbrella at the entrance. Blog Mickey's experience was less encouraging: it reported that the Cast Member mostly tells guests the line is closed.

Sources

• WDW News Today: Single Rider Entrance Sign Removed From Expedition Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom
• Blog Mickey: Single Riders Left Out in the Cold at Expedition Everest
• Blog Mickey: Expedition Everest Single Rider Sign Reinstalled Midday at Animal Kingdom

Image credits: Photos by Blog Mickey and WDW News Today.