News Disney names D’Amaro as Chairman Disney Parks Experiences and Products

jpeden

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
I’m not sure it is that important...

...except that Disney doesn’t build “rides”...they build story based concepts.

Without the yeti...the concept of the ride...from gate to gate...is incomplete.

It’s not a great pure rollercoaster. People act like it is- but it’s not. Disney isn’t for rollercoasters as we know.

So the whole concept needs the yeti to be complete. It’s splash mountain without the AA or Tower without the show scenes.

It’s also Disney largest mechanical failure in wdw - maybe ever.

And that rubs some as it crosses the “line”

I really can’t fathom why they haven’t fixed the thing yet. It’s a huge show quality issue and that’s something Disney used to be known for. I honestly get upset when I see burnt out popcorn lights and other things not show ready. For what they charge that should not happen and based on what Walt wanted the parks to be should not happen.
 

Lilofan

Well-Known Member
I really can’t fathom why they haven’t fixed the thing yet. It’s a huge show quality issue and that’s something Disney used to be known for. I honestly get upset when I see burnt out popcorn lights and other things not show ready. For what they charge that should not happen and based on what Walt wanted the parks to be should not happen.
The new WDW President is Jeff Vahle. He spent most of his career in charge of the WDW Engineering teams. Perhaps he can now leverage his important position to get things fixed including the Yeti.
 

peter11435

Well-Known Member
I can't see him prying the cash from Iger unless it's from his cold dead hands
It won’t be Iger he needs to get the money from.

Oddly enough the last time there was some serious consideration towards restoring motion to the yeti it was blocked and halted by an unlikely source.
 

TiggerDad

Well-Known Member
The shoulder seams fit right; they fall right at the 'corner' of the shoulder. So, the issue is that the manufacturer assumes someone that wide and tall is also big in the belly. All he needs to do is look for 'trim' or 'athletic' fit. Or, with his supposed salary increase, get them tailored.

Disney really needs to hire someone to do image for all their top execs. For being a millionaire, Iger's been known to wear eye-rolling fashion. And let's not forget about a certain someone with a penchant for spay-on jeans. And Filoni's gotta lose the hat.
Glad we can count on the fellow wearing a tux for fashion advice.
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
Also, the Yeti is still there, it just has strobe lighting to simulate motion instead of its arm actually swinging at you. I'd wager that the vast majority of WDW guests have no idea it ever moved and wouldn't care if they did know, but for many among the message-board demographic it has become a symbol of everything they feel is wrong about the parks today.
But it doesn’t work. And I wouldn’t care at all if it worked...
...IF the “message board” people talk about how it’s “maybe the best ride!”

That’s a sad commentary on rides. But mine train is more barnstormer than space and people laud that too
The new WDW President is Jeff Vahle. He spent most of his career in charge of the WDW Engineering teams. Perhaps he can now leverage his important position to get things fixed including the Yeti.
Not likely...there’s no reason to invest when people accept whatever.

Hell...imagination was ruined 22 years ago and they still haven’t bothered.
 

Nunu

Wanderluster
Premium Member
The shoulder seams fit right; they fall right at the 'corner' of the shoulder. So, the issue is that the manufacturer assumes someone that wide and tall is also big in the belly. All he needs to do is look for 'trim' or 'athletic' fit. Or, with his supposed salary increase, get them tailored.

Disney really needs to hire someone to do image for all their top execs. For being a millionaire, Iger's been known to wear eye-rolling fashion. And let's not forget about a certain someone with a penchant for spay-on jeans. And Filoni's gotta lose the hat.
Since we're still talking Disney Executives' Fashion ;), I have to say that Jeff's baggy-ish , too high waisted slacks, are not up to date either. Fashionable, modern men wear an overall "slim fit" these days.

Granted, not all body shapes can carry slim-fitted styles (like Josh can), but Jeff looks like a tall and still in good shape guy, to be wearing such outdated clothes.

Hope he's not wearing "Dad Jeans", too!
 
Last edited:

Lilofan

Well-Known Member
The shoulder seams fit right; they fall right at the 'corner' of the shoulder. So, the issue is that the manufacturer assumes someone that wide and tall is also big in the belly. All he needs to do is look for 'trim' or 'athletic' fit. Or, with his supposed salary increase, get them tailored.

Disney really needs to hire someone to do image for all their top execs. For being a millionaire, Iger's been known to wear eye-rolling fashion. And let's not forget about a certain someone with a penchant for spay-on jeans. And Filoni's gotta lose the hat.
That would be a nice perk among exec perks to help improve his professional image. When Jay Rasulo was a top exec at TWDC he did take away an exec perk in the midst of layoffs at that time. There was a generous $900 monthly car allowance perk that he helped eliminate.
 
Last edited:

Giss Neric

Well-Known Member
Can I ask an off-topic question?

I am not a thrill ride person. I do not ride rollercoasters. So I have never ridden Everest, with or without the yeti. The most I have seen of it is walking past it in the park.

But all I ever hear about regarding Everest is the yeti, the yeti, the yeti.

Can anyone explain to someone who has never been on the ride why the yeti is so important?
Everest is not even considered thrilling for most. Have you not ridden other DIsney coasters like Big Thunder or Space? How about Slinky? What is it that you don't like? Is it the height, the speed or the stomach dropping sensation?
 

TrojanUSC

Well-Known Member
Can I ask an off-topic question?

I am not a thrill ride person. I do not ride rollercoasters. So I have never ridden Everest, with or without the yeti. The most I have seen of it is walking past it in the park.

But all I ever hear about regarding Everest is the yeti, the yeti, the yeti.

Can anyone explain to someone who has never been on the ride why the yeti is so important?

The ride is a well-themed roller coaster. The whole ride you see signs of the yeti (torn track, a projection of him from a distance, etc) and at the end you finally have an up close encounter. It's the big finale! All this buildup to see something so impressive that has sat motionless for many years.

Personally, while I think that the movement was indeed impressive (when it worked), it happens so fast that I think the "wow" effect was never really what they intended - especially for your average guest. At DINOSAUR, for example, your vehicle pauses for a second at the Carnotaurus encounter, which gives you that real fear effect. Same with INDY at Disneyland, you're stopped as this huge boulder rolls towards you before ducking out of the way moments before impact. On Everest, you never stop moving, which removes some of the "danger," while also not really giving you a chance to admire the size of it all. Given this I've thought the Yeti (were it working) would have been far more impactful, had they designed the coaster so the train paused for a second or two to give you a proper thrill before making the final descent.
 

Donaldfan1934

Well-Known Member
The ride is a well-themed roller coaster. The whole ride you see signs of the yeti (torn track, a projection of him from a distance, etc) and at the end you finally have an up close encounter. It's the big finale! All this buildup to see something so impressive that has sat motionless for many years.

Personally, while I think that the movement was indeed impressive (when it worked), it happens so fast that I think the "wow" effect was never really what they intended - especially for your average guest. At DINOSAUR, for example, your vehicle pauses for a second at the Carnotaurus encounter, which gives you that real fear effect. Same with INDY at Disneyland, you're stopped as this huge boulder rolls towards you before ducking out of the way moments before impact. On Everest, you never stop moving, which removes some of the "danger," while also not really giving you a chance to admire the size of it all. Given this I've thought the Yeti (were it working) would have been far more impactful, had they designed the coaster so the train paused for a second or two to give you a proper thrill before making the final descent.
Based on this concept art, it looked liked they were considering something similar to what you’re saying. If they went with the design shown here, the Yeti would’ve been far more prominent and probably wouldn’t have destroyed its own foundation.
27A7A74B-7DC1-4B93-9044-443052BD5523.jpeg
 

Donaldfan1934

Well-Known Member
The foundation is fine. The problem is with the figure itself.
Sorry, I’ve always heard that the AA while in motion caused damage to its support structure and that the problem can’t be fixed without taking the area surrounding the figure apart. Is that at least partially true?
 

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
Sorry, I’ve always heard that the AA while in motion caused damage to its support structure and that the problem can’t be fixed without taking the area surrounding the figure apart. Is that at least partially true?

From the Yeti thread...

I've been meaning to post this for quite a while, but just haven't had time. Thanks to a recent reminder from @Master Yoda to try and shed some light on the Yeti debacle....

Ok, so back in September I was at a conference at WDW, and the wife decided to book a Dine With An Imagineer lunch at DHS. I skipped one of my educational sessions to do this, and we ended up with a 2-for-1. The main imagineer was a Show Design and Production manager, who was a DWAI veteran (and most recently involved in the Frozen Ever After project); the other guy was a mechanical engineer in charge of show quality, who was a newbie-in-training, at least when it came to these dinners. He explained to us that it was his job to do periodic "reviews" of the rides, and point out areas where show quality is falling below certain standards. He's also heavily involved in maintaining ride systems and animatronics. It was a fantastic experience, and we learned a lot about how things work behind the scenes, but nearing the end of our time, I (obviously) couldn't resist bringing up the Yeti.

Immediately upon my mentioning the Yeti, I could see that it was an obvious a sore spot for him. He stated that there have been multiple proposals put forth for repairing it, but none of the "big shots" have been on board. As for the specific problem, he mentioned that there are a couple of factors: flaws in the original "design calculations" (these were his words), particularly with regard to operational and maintenance conditions on such a large animatronic, and inability to perform proper maintenance on the Yeti. No mention of "shifting/failed foundations" as is often suggested. As a practicing structural engineer, I wanted to know whether this was the problem, and he indicated that the main issue is the animatronic itself.

The other factor is the ability to perform maintenance on the animatronic. I think this is the source of rumors that they "can't replace /fix it without opening up the mountain" rumors, but it's actually much simpler, and this issue ties into the first. He specifically talked about unanticipated stresses in parts of the animatronic due to lack of maintenance in other parts. If one of the motors in the yeti's elbow wears out or isn't functioning properly, but they continue to operate under those conditions, then higher stresses are transferred to the shoulder and chest, etc. My best guess regarding his comments about "incorrect calculations" is that he was referring to fatigue related problems in the robotic parts, and possibly in other structural supports.

The other major factor is that things have changed dramatically at WDW in the last few years regarding their compliance with OSHA standards for maintenance and fall protection. Any new work done to get the Yeti operational means that they have to update the design to meet these standards, so that ongoing maintenance on the animatronic can be safely performed. This would involve major upgrades to allow compliance with fall protection and other things related to maintenance workers.

It was encouraging at least to see how much it bothered him that it didn't work. He brought up the Universal dig re: their Kong animatronic (it moves...) and said that he and his colleagues all read blogs and other social media comments for research and to pick up on things they miss in their reviews. So, there you have it. Take it for what it's worth, but this guy was no bus driver...;)
The problem with the Yeti is internal. The rods and pistons can't withstand the amount of torque caused by the swinging arm/body.

So, it needs a new skeleton. Which is basically a whole new Yeti. Additionally, a new Yeti has a higher replacement cost since it has to be built in such a way as to adhere to more stringent rules for several hundred pounds to be swinging over guests' heads.

Two groups within Disney (I think WDI and Ops) are refusing to pay for it, saying the other should. And so, WDW has settled for the way things are.

And that's it.

The metal scaffolding the Yeti is on is separate from the coaster. The scaffolding is fine. The scaffolding is in a cement base. The cement base is fine.

When looking into problems with the Yeti, it has been removed and put back overnight. It's almost plug 'n play. There's a big service door in the back of the ride.

Replacing the Yeti is easy. Getting a new one built seems to be hard.
 

rreading

Well-Known Member
The counterpoint to the "we need a new yeti!" perspective is that you only see it for maybe two seconds. Whether it's an effect of the strobe light and/or the fact that we see it while we are moving, both of my children (11 and 15) swear that it looks like it's moving. I tell them that it isn't and they don't believe it.

I'm sure that the actual effect of seeing the arm swinging by you would be amazing. But I'm certain that the casual guest feels like the yeti is there just as he's supposed to be.

So I expect that the ROI on getting a new yeti is essentially nil. Personally I'd rather they fixed Space Mountain and Imagination (were we to choose)
 

MythBuster

Active Member
The new WDW President is Jeff Vahle. He spent most of his career in charge of the WDW Engineering teams. Perhaps he can now leverage his important position to get things fixed including the Yeti.

He was the Senior VP in charge of all the WDW Engineering Teams when the Yeti had its problems, he didn't want the spend the money to fix it then, so I'm sure he doesn't want to spend it now.
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom