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Are the feelings for the Yeti unreasonable?
- Thread starter SirWillow
- Start date
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
I’m
Sure...but it’s 14 years old so I doubt a major retrofit has been done yet
Epcot_Imagineer
Well-Known Member
I have decided to create and become head of the Yeti Education Task Force. I will try to reply to any post with incorrect Yeti info and educate.
Janir, it appears that you have heard the rumors that in-order to fix the Yeti, the attraction would have to be rebuilt. This is incorrect, my friend. The only thing needed to fix the Yeti is a healthy amount of Disney Dollars. The Yeti has been removed before in the third-shift and replaced by the next morning. This talk of "ripping open the whole mountain" to fix the Yeti is untrue!
Have a good day, and tell your friends that the Yeti's foundation is not cracked!
BoarderPhreak
Well-Known Member
It's not the broken yeti that's the problem - it's Disney blowing it off as irrelevant. It illustrates the dichotomy between the Disney that once was and today's.
MikeyK72
Well-Known Member
I'll bite...what actually is the problem then? I've been led to believe it was the foundation for the Yeti (which is supposed to be separate from the foundation for the track or mountain.) Can you elaborate on the actual problem or is it top secret?
Imagine, if you will, having a vision executed in excruciating detail.. From the surrounding areas up through to the queue, artifacts and legend documented in detail, your suspense builds and the drama slowly unfolds in exquisite detail...the evidence of the mountain yeti builds up to a climax point after near death at the top of Mount Everest...only to be a still standing animatronic let down... at the exact moment you want to have the reality of the Yeti legend come to LIFE!!! I get it....the damn thing should work and I would be irked endlessly had I been the imaginer who worked so hard on this attraction for it to not work and to not have the pay off at the only moment you in fact "see "the Yeti in his glory.I know this one has some strong feelings from some people, and I have to admit I'm a little bemused by some of it, and figure I must be missing somethings. Especially after I saw a couple of people attack Iger on the thread about him as if he's directly responsible for it and it's a high crime to not have fixed the Yeti.
We all know the issue- the Yeti on Expedition Everest used to move. Now he doesn't, and instead has a strobe light effect projected onto him. The reason seems to be that the figure itself broke at some point, or it was causing structural issues with the mountain itself and they shut it down. Or both. From what I've seen the only way to fix it is to close the ride for months, actually have to remove the top of the mountain, lift the figure out for repairs, and also do some work on the mountain itself so that it can properly support the moving Yeti. And to do so is going to cost tens of millions of dollars. Do I have that basically right?
So a ton of money and downtime for something that nominally affects the ride, at best. I rode it before it opened, and over the course of the 5 years I worked there- starting about the time they opened the ride- and other visits, I've been on it plenty. The impact difference of moving yeti vs strobe yeti is small- small enough that I doubt most people would even notice it.
I don't understand thinking it's necessary to spend millions on a moment that lasts maybe a second. What return on their investment would they get that would make it worth it to spend that much money. An advertising campaign? "Look, the Yeti moves!"
I'm sure there is someone here who will be happy to put my ignorant self in place and explain how this one thing ruins their whole entire vacation at Disney, or how Disney would make billions if they fixed it, or something like that. But I don't get it.
I saw it. Quite a few times. It was admittedly pretty neat to see it take a quick swipe as you went by. But honestly, the impact that it had in the overall ride compared to what it is now with Disco Yeti wasn't that big a difference. And with the number of people I rode with- family, friends, other CM's, I don't remember it ever being a main point of conversation on the ride. A minor subpoint that came up, sure. But for my whole family it's really a "cool while it happened, but really not a big deal, not a big difference, and certainly not a deal breaker that it's a strobe now" feeling about it.
It was actually the very first WDW ride/ attraction we experienced, and sadly I think bird on a stick had as much of a visual impact on the ride as the moving Yeti did. maybe more as we've certainly talked about it more.
TongaToast21
Active Member
thank you for this. Honestly this is just becoming a place for people to complain because they *can* complain. A 2:50 - 3:30 ride duration (depending on who you ask) isn't defined by a 2 second aspect of it. It's defined by the theming AND actual mechanics/thrill of the ride. You can try to argue the yeti is part of the theming, but that shouldn't discount every other piece of theming, from the queve to the prayer flags on top of the summit. While everyone here is both entitled and not necessarily wrong to be angry at Disney/ Imagineers/Iger for not fixing the yeti... its really silly to call the entire ride "broken". Does the broken Yeti keep you from riding? Imagineering/ Management fail? sure.... Ride fail? please...I saw it. Quite a few times. It was admittedly pretty neat to see it take a quick swipe as you went by. But honestly, the impact that it had in the overall ride compared to what it is now with Disco Yeti wasn't that big a difference. And with the number of people I rode with- family, friends, other CM's, I don't remember it ever being a main point of conversation on the ride. A minor subpoint that came up, sure. But for my whole family it's really a "cool while it happened, but really not a big deal, not a big difference, and certainly not a deal breaker that it's a strobe now" feeling about it.
It was actually the very first WDW ride/ attraction we experienced, and sadly I think bird on a stick had as much of a visual impact on the ride as the moving Yeti did. maybe more as we've certainly talked about it more.
Epcot_Imagineer
Well-Known Member
Here are the facts, with sources from insiders, that I compiled on everything related to the broken Yeti. The problem is not the foundation, but with the AA breaking itself apart, due to its programmed movement being too harsh.
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
I saw it. Quite a few times. It was admittedly pretty neat to see it take a quick swipe as you went by. But honestly, the impact that it had in the overall ride compared to what it is now with Disco Yeti wasn't that big a difference. And with the number of people I rode with- family, friends, other CM's, I don't remember it ever being a main point of conversation on the ride. A minor subpoint that came up, sure. But for my whole family it's really a "cool while it happened, but really not a big deal, not a big difference, and certainly not a deal breaker that it's a strobe now" feeling about it.
It was actually the very first WDW ride/ attraction we experienced, and sadly I think bird on a stick had as much of a visual impact on the ride as the moving Yeti did. maybe more as we've certainly talked about it more.
So you’re not one of them? Ok - got it.
But unfortunately for you...you never got to see the operational heyday of Disney parks. There is some context here.
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
It’s a medium intensity Dutch coaster without...you realize that,right?
TongaToast21
Active Member
that gives the sensation of an inversion while travelling backwards in the dark, which for WDW roller coaster standards, is pretty damn good...We aren't talking about Cedar Point here..
So do you just sit in your seat with your arms crossed and looking bored and unimpressed while riding it?
NormC
Well-Known Member
I do not think it has had a shutdown refurbishment yet.
Model3 McQueen
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
Some of you are gonna tell me that this isn't worth fixing? Really, come on..
RandySavage
Well-Known Member
I'm definitely on the side of "it made a big difference." It's simple: good climax [strobe] versus a great climax [working].
TongaToast21
Active Member
It is worth fixing, and it should be fixed! IMO it makes a great ride even better... my issue lies with those who are calling the ride a "failure". The Yeti is a failure. The ride as a whole is not. Or am I still in the minority to think it's still a great ride?
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
I never feel that whole “inversion” thing...I’ll keep an eye out for it
It’s a decent stand alone ride...I like curves and dips.
But there always seems to be a great deal of cherry pick on this issue.
If imagineering is a blend of “art, story and engineering” - I think I read that somewhere once - then how do we rate a WDI designed attraction otherwise?
It can’t - by definition - be a “great” ride without a key element by their own admission. So by default the yeti “matters”. That’s my take. Good hunting on other opinions. We all can disagree....or get along
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
What would WDI call it? That’s kinda the thing.
Model3 McQueen
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
No I hear you. I mean it is a great ride, but it needs some TLC in the form of a refurb. The vibrate-y trains, the broken yeti, it could use a repaint.
TongaToast21
Active Member
Spoiler alert: I actually am a proponent of the disco yeti to push my new merchandising idea !(if i had more time i would stuck Iger's face on the woman)
