Colorful cloth now wraps the banyan tree outside Yak & Yeti at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Layered bands of orange, yellow, light blue, red and pink fabric cover the trunk, and bright orange strips wrap several of the thick roots that spread out at its base.
The tree is one of the more photographed spots in the park, and a Disney PhotoPass photographer is stationed at its base. Anyone who stops for a picture now gets a more colorful backdrop, with the cloth set against the tree’s green canopy.
What The New Cloth Looks Like
The fabric goes well beyond the trunk. Strips are tied around the larger limbs with loose ends left to hang down through the leaves, and longer pieces hang in rows from the branches, some strung together like garlands. Not all of it looks new. Many of the hanging pieces are faded blue satin, mesh and burlap-style textures, so the crisp new bands sit alongside cloth that already looks weathered.
Up close there’s more to find. Brass-colored bells hang from rope and fabric throughout the canopy, including a nested pair with an animal figure etched into the metal and a rusty one with a wooden clapper. Garlands that look like dried flowers and seed pods, in yellow, pink, red and green, wrap the trunk and hang from wire, with a pale blue ribbon threaded through one cluster and a small silver ornament tucked into another.
Down at the base, the banyan’s roots still wrap around a toppled stone carving of a creature with claws and a toothy head.
Bouncing Back From The Deep Freeze
The banyan needed help after the deep freeze earlier this year. Disney’s horticulture team pruned it heavily in late April, cutting it back to bare branches, and trimmed other large trees nearby as well. By July the canopy had filled back in substantially, even though the branches still showed stunted spots from the cuts. The cloth and bells are the newest addition on top of that recovery.
If You’re Heading To Asia
The tree stands just outside the entrance to Yak & Yeti Restaurant, so you don’t need a reservation or a detour to see it. The bells and garlands are easy to miss at walking speed, so it’s worth slowing down under the canopy, especially if you’re waiting on a table or a PhotoPass shot.
If you’re planning to eat there, the table-service restaurant serves lunch and dinner, and the current dishes and drinks are on our Yak & Yeti Restaurant menu.
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