Disco Yeti Forever

RunnerEd

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I'm not sure everyone knows how WDI works. They are basically contractors which do the design and contract most of the work out. They are project managers which do a job which Disney provides the budget. Like Everest, WDI doesn't have any responsibility for that attraction once they turn it over to Operations. If they want WDI to fix the Yeti, then TDO needs to provide the budget and the funding to allow WDI to re-engineer it or properly repair it.

DAK Operations and Maintenance(actually Engineering Services) are responsible for the operation and upkeep of the attraction which includes the show and the ride. So if DAK wants to repair it, then they will have to come up with the money. But right now, the focus is on Primeval Whirl and that is where most of the budget is going.

A bulldozer can't be that expensive to "repair" that carnival junk.
 

maxairmike

Well-Known Member
I'm not sure everyone knows how WDI works. They are basically contractors which do the design and contract most of the work out. They are project managers which do a job which Disney provides the budget. Like Everest, WDI doesn't have any responsibility for that attraction once they turn it over to Operations. If they want WDI to fix the Yeti, then TDO needs to provide the budget and the funding to allow WDI to re-engineer it or properly repair it.

DAK Operations and Maintenance(actually Engineering Services) are responsible for the operation and upkeep of the attraction which includes the show and the ride. So if DAK wants to repair it, then they will have to come up with the money. But right now, the focus is on Primeval Whirl and that is where most of the budget is going.

Actually, WDI does have quite a bit of say over the attractions while they are operating*, and they are always around checking on show (usually the larger/more popular attractions and the parks in general). In terms of operations and general upkeep, yeah, that's out of their hands. If something needs changed from what was originally used/in the attraction, though, WDI doesn't let anyone else touch it (from what I understand).

Sometimes I wish they would make it over to Stitch, because I would like to think they would burn it to the ground then and there. :drevil:

*Just want to clarify what I mean. From my understanding, they can't halt operations or anything like that. They do, however, retain creative control, and any deviation from the original "show" down to the tiniest detail that most probably wouldn't even notice likely goes through them. Say, for example, operations wanted to make it easier for guests in wheelchairs at Stitch to know they're supposed to go through the middle door to the second show room by adding a handicapped symbol somewhere. Think they could just slap up a decal on a door or the floor? Nope, no changes to the attraction unless its through WDI, even if its something like that. Again, that is my understanding from some personal conversations, so any or all of that could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that's decently accurate.
 

AEfx

Well-Known Member
Again, I'm not saying that I disagree with you, or that they have not been false advertising, just that I dont remember it, so I wanted to know how much is really out there.

WDW doesn't generally do attraction specific ads (like 30 second TV spots), but they sure as heck promoted the holy heck out of it at the time.

There was not one but two Travel Channel specials (at least one of which continues to air), the in-resort TV, and countless articles and interviews where PR and Imagineers interviewed that hyped the whole thing up. "It's got the power of a 747!!!"

And the attraction itself builds, from the entrance on, the anticipation of seeing this crazy Yeti that's coming after you. The whole place, including merchandise, pretty much revolves around it.

Yet, he doesn't move, LOL.

It's easily the most embarrassing thing I've ever seen in a Disney park, ever. I wish they had just gone with a big AA of the upper body that growls at you when you are close, but they didn't because they thought it too similar to Kong.

That would have been much more impressive than what we have now, of course, and to be honest would have been a better idea in general - even when the Yeti was working fully, because of where they placed it many people have their eyes closed or sped past so quickly not everyone saw it to begin with.
 

cymbaldiva

Active Member
If you want to see a quick glimpse of the Yeti in "A Mode", click on the link to my YouTube page in my signature and watch the Expedition Everest video that I recorded from February 2006...

Start at the 5 minute mark here and you'll see the Yeti's intended range of motion....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7EkgChz_qg&feature=related


And of course you'll hear all the imagineers jinx themselves ala "the unsinkable Titanic"....

Thank you both - in all my rides I have yet to notice the Yeti doing anything!
 

sshindel

The Epcot Manifesto
WDW doesn't generally do attraction specific ads (like 30 second TV spots), but they sure as heck promoted the holy heck out of it at the time.

There was not one but two Travel Channel specials (at least one of which continues to air), the in-resort TV, and countless articles and interviews where PR and Imagineers interviewed that hyped the whole thing up. "It's got the power of a 747!!!"

Then I dont know if we can fault them too much for "false advertising" as when they made all of these, the Yeti worked and they had all intents that it would always work, and probably had no idea of what issues it might have at a later time.

And the attraction itself builds, from the entrance on, the anticipation of seeing this crazy Yeti that's coming after you. The whole place, including merchandise, pretty much revolves around it.

Yet, he doesn't move, LOL.
But there is a Yeti, and you do see him, for something around 2 seconds, so again, if you are not paying close attention, most visitors just don't know he is either supposed to move, or that he didnt move. I know it took me about 10 rides and a visit to these forums to really put it all together that he was always in B mode when I saw him.



It's easily the most embarrassing thing I've ever seen in a Disney park, ever. I wish they had just gone with a big AA of the upper body that growls at you when you are close, but they didn't because they thought it too similar to Kong.

Personally I think the more embarrasing things are the entire projects that seem like an embarrasment. Like Tiki Room UNM (thank you fire) and Stitch. Those ones were designed by groups of people, story boarded, developed, greenlit, and put into parks and are pretty terrible. I guess I dont fault them too much for trying unsuccessfully to push the boundries of what an AA can do.

That would have been much more impressive than what we have now, of course, and to be honest would have been a better idea in general - even when the Yeti was working fully, because of where they placed it many people have their eyes closed or sped past so quickly not everyone saw it to begin with.

This I totally agree with, in hindsight of course. I would have been MUCH better to have this than the Disco Yeti we have today.


I guess it just does not bother me too much because I still very much enjoy the ride as is currently, and would hate to have it down for a lenghty refurb on a trip that I plan to fix this. I'd also rather, if money was to be spend in the park (knowing full well new ride development and maintenance probably are totally different budgets), I'd rather they spend it developing a new ride(s) or areas that would help lessen the capacity issues, so that they eventually could bring it back to it's original form.

Just my opinion though, not saying anyone else's opinion is any less valid than mine.
 

sshindel

The Epcot Manifesto
Now that Shaq is retired, could we convince him to put a Yeti costume on?
Florida and the no state-income tax thing might get him down there. When I saw his wax figure at Madame Tussauds in Vegas years ago, I couldn't believe how freaking huge he is.

Maybe the NBA players, now that they are locked out, can take shifts. They have the size and build to pose a fairly intimidating Yeti right?
I mean, couldn't Marc Gasol do it right now?
marc-gasol.jpg
 

raven

Well-Known Member
WDI knows of the coined phrase "Disco Yeti" and the website associated with it. That being said I can't say I know of any plans to either fix it or start making Disco Yeti merchandise. :lol:
 

lebeau

Well-Known Member
WDI knows of the coined phrase "Disco Yeti" and the website associated with it. That being said I can't say I know of any plans to either fix it or start making Disco Yeti merchandise. :lol:

I'm looking forward to the Disco Yeti meet and greet in which the cast member stands very still and has a strobe light pointed at him.
 

sshindel

The Epcot Manifesto
I'm looking forward to the Disco Yeti meet and greet in which the cast member stands very still and has a strobe light pointed at him.

Oh how I wish I was going to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party this year! I'd get a Yeti costume and strap a battery powered strobe light around my neck...
 

cheezbat

Well-Known Member
Oh how I wish I was going to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party this year! I'd get a Yeti costume and strap a battery powered strobe light around my neck...

Did something like that last year...Even said Disco Yeti on the back of my shirt! Cast members were all laughing at it...some of management gave me dirty looks...good times! :ROFLOL:
 

Skipper Dan

Active Member
In the grand scheme of everyone who goes to Walt Disney World, "so many people" becomes "a very vocal minority, constituting a miniscule percentage of the customer base, the vast majority of whom will continue coming regardless of what's broken." If you don't know that the yeti is supposed to swipe down at the train, you come off of EE thinking what an amazing and creative ride it was.

Just because "the vast majority" of people cannot tell the difference between the quality of a digital, or 35mm film projector, doesn't mean that the digital's quality isn't better. :wave:
 

WeLoveTheMouse

New Member
I really don't care whether the Yeti moves or not. I've seen him in A mode and B mode and somehow have miraculously managed to have a great time riding EE either way. The ride itself is the highlight to me, not whether it moves or not.
 

wizards8507

Active Member
Just because "the vast majority" of people cannot tell the difference between the quality of a digital, or 35mm film projector, doesn't mean that the digital's quality isn't better. :wave:

If you cared to read the post that I had quoted, I was writing in response to a poster who's main point was that a large majority of people would know the difference. I agree that there's a quality difference. I highly disagree that "so many people" notice.

:wave:

I really don't understand why Disney doesn't spend more time fixing what is broken. So many people notice all the little things that no longer work and comment on the boards. I'm sure as with everything they put there money else where. But it is also like the jumping fountains in Spalsh Mountain. If you are a dedicated Disney vacationer you notice those things and it disappoints you.
 

Slowjack

Well-Known Member
Just because "the vast majority" of people cannot tell the difference between the quality of a digital, or 35mm film projector, doesn't mean that the digital's quality isn't better. :wave:
Off subject, but actually there are plenty of reasons some people might prefer analog projection over digital. Studies have shown that the different types of projection activate different parts of brain in viewers, and some have theorized that analog projectors put the viewer into more of a dream-like state. Also, of course, highly-compressed digital is effectively lower resolution than film, and then you have factors not related to the projection type--properly lit analog beats underlit digital by a mile in book, but you so rarely get properly lit projection anywhere these days that it's moot. Digital is generally better, but it's not a universal truth.

Getting back on-topic, though, "better" is always a subjective judgment. If people are looking in the place where the Yeti is, and many are not, it's meaningless to say how much better A mode is. It saddens me that Disney is unwilling to spend the money to fit the Yeti (and I do think it's a matter of money, more so than any closure time), but I don't honestly think it makes a difference to the subjective experience of might riders (which is a real weakness of the ride, in my opinion, but there you go).
 

AEfx

Well-Known Member
Getting back on-topic, though, "better" is always a subjective judgment. If people are looking in the place where the Yeti is, and many are not, it's meaningless to say how much better A mode is. It saddens me that Disney is unwilling to spend the money to fit the Yeti (and I do think it's a matter of money, more so than any closure time), but I don't honestly think it makes a difference to the subjective experience of might riders (which is a real weakness of the ride, in my opinion, but there you go).

That's what I've been saying for a long time, and also what I believe to be the real reason it hasn't been fixed.

Because, if they spend the 5 or 10 million or whatever it would take...most people STILL wouldn't notice because of the awful placement.

You have fans here who will argue that isn't the case to the death, but it's true. It's in a place where your car is going so fast, and as it's a roller coaster many people have their eyes closed at a point like that. Even with eyes open, you had to know where to look to really see him. The hand did *not* ever come right in front of you, as some seem to remember.

It's just a poorly designed attraction to me. The queue was overblown (I would have much rather they used those funds to work on the "dark ride" portion inside, which was originally supposed to be much more detailed and not simply steel beams holding up the structure). And the choice of where to put this "revolutionary Yeti" was similarly ill-conceived.

Irony though is, like I said, most people don't care. Interestingly enough, they posted a "How would you describe Everest to someone who hadn't been on it?" question on Disney's Facebook page today. There were 500+ posts in the first 15 minutes, "OHH MOST AMAZINGIST EVER!" "CHILLS YER BONES!" "BEST RIDE EVEAH!" Occasionally after every 10 or 20 of those you'd see someone a mention that it was broken.

This confirmed for me two things - one, that the average Disney fan cannot construct a decent sentence to save their lives, and two, that the reason it's sat broken for five years is because Disney knows that most people don't seem to give a crap and even when it was running it didn't seem to matter much anyway.
 

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