What's with the hairbands on Expedition Everest?

[Kidd McFluff]

We noticed loads of hairbands had been thrown onto the scenery at the very top of Expedition Everest.

Does anyone know when this started and why?

[littlelish0544]

No i dont but would like to know A) why and B) why dont they get cleared up each day? I hate it... seems chavvy!

[purikura]

I can't remember where I saw it (maybe a Youtube video) but I remember hearing it is part of 'ski culture' where people tend to throw stuff off of chair lifts.
I've also heard its a crowd thing where once a few people have chucked something, others follow (similar to the coins in it's a small world in Paris).

[A&S&O]

The chairlift theory makes sense - there's also loads under the chairlift at Blizzard Beach.

Agree, they look horrible.

[Kraken]

Having ski-ed in Colorado a fair bit, there is certainly a culture throw shiny bead chains from the chairlifts onto the adjacent trees. Given the proximity of the trees to the chairlifts - i.e. a goos "safety envelope" away, it makes removal very difficult.

I would have thought Disney could quite easily remove the discarded items daily, if they wanted to.

[Gill H]

It's been going for years, no idea why, seems silly to me.

[Kidd McFluff]

I've not noticed it on other rides so I guess it must be a ski thing? I'm now going to be checking all the rides to see if there are hairbands on Splash, Thunder etc.

[dreamadream]

We noticed this too! Thought it was strange and even more so that Disney didn’t take them away

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by dreamadream

We noticed this too! Thought it was strange and even more so that Disney didn’t take them away

See more...

From what I've read Disney do take them away, albeit once a week not daily (the area is not that easy to get to), but people keep adding more. It seems to have become a 'thing' now.

There doesn't seem to be a definitive answer as to why they are there. It's been suggested that some people dropped a couple there (whether accidentally or because of the ski tradition thing) and then others just copied them. And, by now, it's become something that some people do, just... because.

The fact that something similar happens at the Blizzard Beach ski lift implies that it's a bit of that ski tradition thing plus others copying them.

TBH, I've never really noticed them. I'm too busy working myself into a big ball of nervousness because of what's about to happen next. I hate the backwards bit.

[Kidd McFluff]

I'm no fan of the backwards bit either! Seems a shame... My daughter can never find a hairband when she needs one!