Expedition Everest effects status watch

[HauntedPirate]

Rode E:E on November 18, and no bird-on-a-stick, no steam, and only the Disco Yeti. BTW - Was it wrong of me to yell, "Disco Yeti!!!!" when we passed by?

The difference I see around the problems with E:E vs. the problems with the ToT, as a recent post pointed out: A few minor effects missing from one of four elevators in the ToT doesn't turn it from an attraction into just a ride - the entirety of the story is still intact. (Quite frankly, I'm more upset about the removal of 'EVL TOWER U R DOOMED' than anything, but I admit that I am a bit OCD on those sort of little things.) On the other hand, the problems with E:E do, IMHO, downgrade it from an attraction to just a ride. The focal point of the story is the Yeti; if the Yeti animatronic is not working, then what is it? A roller coaster. A very cool roller coaster, in all honesty, but a roller coaster nonetheless.

Oh, BTW - I love the 'sherpa animatronic' comment.

 

[Master Yoda]

Rode E:E on November 18, and no bird-on-a-stick, no steam, and only the Disco Yeti. BTW - Was it wrong of me to yell, "Disco Yeti!!!!" when we passed by?

The difference I see around the problems with E:E vs. the problems with the ToT, as a recent post pointed out: A few minor effects missing from one of four elevators in the ToT doesn't turn it from an attraction into just a ride - the entirety of the story is still intact. (Quite frankly, I'm more upset about the removal of 'EVL TOWER U R DOOMED' than anything, but I admit that I am a bit OCD on those sort of little things.) On the other hand, the problems with E:E do, IMHO, downgrade it from an attraction to just a ride. The focal point of the story is the Yeti; if the Yeti animatronic is not working, then what is it? A roller coaster. A very cool roller coaster, in all honesty, but a roller coaster nonetheless.

Oh, BTW - I love the 'sherpa animatronic' comment.

Exactly. The take away from the whole is much less when 2 of 20 effects are 101 vs 1 of 5. It also does not help when the 1 of 5 is the biggest effect of the attraction.

 

[Clever Name]

...but I admit that I am a bit OCD on those sort of little things.

A bit?

 

[Tom Morrow]

A lot more is wrong than ToT than just "a handful of effects." And broken effects on a ride like Tower, where the experience is 75% show elements, matter more than Everest, which is 90% roller coaster.

And to re-iterate, I'm not justifying or excusing the broken Yeti, but you still see it, so the story is still in tact.

 

[IWant2GoNow]

WDW's Facebook page posted a picture of E:E for some contest. I've already posted my displeasure with the attraction in its current state as well as posted the blog article I wrote in the comments. Have at it, everyone!

 

[Clever Name]

I told them the disco Yeti looked great (in hopes of improving my chances of wining the contest).

 

[thelookingglass]

As of Saturday, 12/8/12 - Steam at load very prominent, both waterfalls working, projection scene looks great. Yeti scene lit with dim blue lighting, strobes (there is more than one strobe light), and the yeti's eyes glowed red.

What's disappointing is that large chunks of the landscape around the outside of the mountain are still totally barren from when they chopped down all the bamboo earlier this year. Instead its flat patches of grass and dirt. A couple of plants here and there. The different outside sections of the ride used to feel very separated from each other and far apart, but now you can see the helix near the end of the ride from the beginning of the ride. Maintenance building still very visible from load. They've had nearly half a year to plant new foliage!

 

[habuma]

As of Saturday, 12/8/12 - Steam at load very prominent, both waterfalls working, projection scene looks great. Yeti scene lit with dim blue lighting, strobes (there is more than one strobe light), and the yeti's eyes glowed red.

That pretty much describes my experience on 12/3/12.

Sadly, I've never witnessed a working yeti. That is, unless you count the video at http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/animal-kingdom/attractions/expedition-everest/.

This has probably been thought of before, but I was thinking it'd be great to organize a campaign where we send as many "Get Well Soon" cards to the yeti, c/o Joe Rohde. Burying his desk in get well soon cards may not fix the yeti...but it would at least be fun.

 

[Tom Morrow]

How much power does Joe Rohde have in getting it fixed? Seems like he would want it fixed more than anyone...

 

[Clever Name]

How much power does Joe Rohde have in getting it fixed? Seems like he would want it fixed more than anyone...

It's not a matter of power. It's a matter of common sense and money. The root of the problem is that they'll have to do some exploratory work on the foundation to determine the extent of the problem. That is risky because they could end up doing more harm than good. The karst geology in that area is very challenging. Doing nothing is their best option.

 

[marni1971]

It is now a matter of politics and (not huge) cost.

There are now two ACHIEVABLE proposals for restoring the show scene to something resembling a show.

The argument is who will pay extra money for a moving object above guests heads. Kind of like what's been happening for decades around the world in various parks and attractions. Recent issues of gravity taking control, as it tends to do to things not maintained, only give added impetus to the "why bother" mentality.

 

[networkpro]

Theres a good reason to remove the bamboo, it periodically dies out en mass. Now I enjoyed my rides on EE this week, lots of steam on the trains, Disco yeti and all.

 

[thelookingglass]

Theres a good reason to remove the bamboo, it periodically dies out en mass. Now I enjoyed my rides on EE this week, lots of steam on the trains, Disco yeti and all.

They removed it over the summer. Is there a good reason most of the ride has not been properly re-landscaped after half a year? Do they not have a tree and horticulture farm on property for this exact purpose?

 

[elbushman]

A lot more is wrong than ToT than just "a handful of effects." And broken effects on a ride like Tower, where the experience is 75% show elements, matter more than Everest, which is 90% roller coaster.

And to re-iterate, I'm not justifying or excusing the broken Yeti, but you still see it, so the story is still in tact.

What effects are broken on TOT? This is the first I have heard of it. I am going to the World for the first time in over 7 years next month and TOT is my absolute favorite attraction.

Jerry

 

[Tom Morrow]

Off the top of my head from my visit two weeks ago, both of the fake "for show" motors in the loading area either don't work or barely work. When your service elevator "arrives", it is quiet and dull and ordinary. In the first scene, the screens are not properly calibrated and patches of fiber optic stars are missing - the ones on the floor do not work at all, so instead of looking like a solid mass of stars, the "set" is still totally visible. In the fifth dimension on the right side ("foxtrot"), only one of the star doors leading into the drop shaft was working. Numerous lighting effects not working during the drop sequence. With ToT offering four separate ride paths, I can only account for one of them, but each has similar and ongoing issues that have needed attention for years.

And of course there's the fact that for years now, the audio has popped, skipped, been out of sync, and in general mostly too quiet to be appropriately heard and effective. Don't believe me? Try and ride "Bravo" - the second service elevator from the left in the boiler room. Don't cough or sneeze! - you might cover up the narration and music.

 

[marni1971]

Towers effects are in a real mess right now. Bellhops are in despair since most care dearly for their hotel.

Management gave up trying to solve the audio issues a few years ago. Their basic reply to internal complaints was "it's good enough"

 

[jmuboy]

They removed it over the summer. Is there a good reason most of the ride has not been properly re-landscaped after half a year? Do they not have a tree and horticulture farm on property for this exact purpose?

They removed it over the summer. Is there a good reason most of the ride has not been properly re-landscaped after half a year? Do they not have a tree and horticulture farm on property for this exact purpose?

The bamboo is replanted I think. It's just not grown in yet. It will take a year or so to get back to the height and density we were used to.

Someone who goes to the parks more often than I can confirm.

 

[WDWNooby]

We saw no Yeti whatsoever during our trip as the entire ride was down the day (Saturday, December 15) we went to Animal Kingdom. We tried to ride in the morning to no avail.

 

[Tom Morrow]

The bamboo is replanted I think. It's just not grown in yet. It will take a year or so to get back to the height and density we were used to.

Someone who goes to the parks more often than I can confirm.

It has not been replanted. The remaining, sparse bamboo trees you see were the only ones not cut down. The ride is still barren with large patches of blank ground where lush bamboo tree patches and vegetation used to be.

 

[WDW97]

Doesn't bamboo grow back by itself, as long as it has something to originate from?