JoeCamel
Well-Known Member
With the number of people that swear they have seen it in A mode maybe the goal was accomplished? We have reports of fleeting "did I just see that" yeti encounters on a regular basis in the real world
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News Expedition Everest refurbishment in 2022
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
Slowjack
Well-Known Member
I agree that the idea works for the story, but I also agree with @insert name here that, if the animitronic had been more featured, they wouldn't have been able to get away with leaving it as-is. I mean, it was sold as a major element of the ride, was surely very expensive to design and make, and now that it sits there, lifeless, Disney has determined, apparently correctly, that the ride is essentially the same without it working. I have to consider that a design flaw.
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
They could easily amplify the scene with some projection mapping.
GCTales
Well-Known Member
You have to remember that the people on here are not the norm or majority if those who visit Disney World. I started going after it entered B mode in late 2007 and until I came in here, never knew that B mode was not how it was designed to be.
I would bet the vast majority of those who have visited AK have never seen A mode and have no idea it ever existed.
So where is the incentive to fix it, if 99.9% of visitors have no idea that is not how it was supposed to be.
If you took away all the details that only a fraction of guests consciously connect with, you wouldn’t have much of AK left.
Tom Morrow
Well-Known Member
I rode it during previews and saw it in A mode several times, so here's my take. You saw it just long enough for it to be scary and startling. Although it moved very fast and powerful looking, its range of movement was still limited. Consider how on Skull Island: Reign of Kong, the Kong animatronic is extremely impressive, but you park in front of it for long enough to realize it's just a head looking back and forth and it kind of loses its impact when it doesn't do more. So seeing the yeti for any longer than you did would ruin the startling impact of the figure and the aspect of being not totally sure of what you just saw, appropriate for a cryptid.
Having said that, I do not think it makes or breaks the ride, or that its absence in any way makes the ride not worth riding. Three seconds out of a three minute roller coaster that would still be fun even with no show elements just isn't enough to make it not worth riding. For a long time when we still thought there was a chance that A Mode would come back, B Mode resulted in disappointment after riding - but not because the ride was now pointless, but rather because you really wanted to see this hyped figure again, or for others, the first time.
Having said that, I do not think it makes or breaks the ride, or that its absence in any way makes the ride not worth riding. Three seconds out of a three minute roller coaster that would still be fun even with no show elements just isn't enough to make it not worth riding. For a long time when we still thought there was a chance that A Mode would come back, B Mode resulted in disappointment after riding - but not because the ride was now pointless, but rather because you really wanted to see this hyped figure again, or for others, the first time.
GCTales
Well-Known Member
Personally, I agree. It is the small things that always made Disney superior.
My point is- the the bean counters (in charge) don't see it that way.
GimpYancIent
Well-Known Member
JoeCamel
Well-Known Member
I think the unsaid subtext was "given enough funding"
Considering Joe is no longer employed by TWDC, we’ll need to be really patient if we think he will fix it.
Personally, I think the legend of it has made the "A Mode Yeti" far more impressive than it actually was. Because so few people saw it, it has built up this aura around it that makes people believe it was something you had to see to believe.
In reality it was impressive, but because you move by it so fast and in such a dark corridor, you barely had time to observe it, let alone fear it. Had nobody told you these amazing facts about it (or watched YouTube videos about it), you might not even realize how impressive it was. In my opinion they missed an opportunity by not having you park in front of it for even 2-3 seconds before continuing the drop. It would have been a lot more impressive and given you a genuine fright. Agreed, though, that too long and the seams start to show.
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mysto
Well-Known Member
I sort of agree, but, we just like animatronics don't we? I do.
I actually went when AK first opened, I liked it.
It was truly impressive, even though seeing it was oh-so-brief. But that was the point, it was the payoff for the buildup that started outside the queue. And it made you want to go back and see it again.
TikibirdLand
Well-Known Member
Impressive was Kongfrontation at USO. Incredible AA that you got to see multiple times, from multiple angles. Shows how incredible an imagineer Bob Gurr is! I STILL remember that ride fondly and disappointed that they tore it down.
rreading
Well-Known Member
Well clearly it would be anchored! As it is, there was something thrusting forward with the thrust of a passenger airline!
rreading
Well-Known Member
So with the caveat that I would like so see it in A mode, I've told my kids time and again that it used to move but that it doesn't, but they have claimed repeatedly that they see it move. Seeing the difference in the video is impressive but as much as we love to complain about it, the effect works for those who don't know any better. Were there no strobe effect, we might notice it's not moving but the strobe (while a somewhat silly idea) is effective
If I'm remembering the Everest Effect thread properly it was also partially the safety of yeti's location/motion above guests that has delayed his fixing, damage or no damage.