Hopper missing from It's Tough to be a Bug.

[Alektronic]

When we were there in November Hopper was a total no-show. His voice continued but there was no indication he was there. I felt like it did impact the show. I've seen the show plenty of times but to hear the voice and see nothing there was a definite disconnect. If I had never seen the show I know I would've felt a moment of --> :veryconfu . I realize Hopper is a very sophisticated AA. He seems to have disappeared randomly for quite some time now which is sorta odd. I read he was missing in some TRs earlier in 2010 and now up thru present. :shrug: It'd be wonderful if the show were designed with a B-mode so if Hopper's AA isn't working he somehow makes it onto the screen so you still have the visual in the show to keep you connected. Same thing for Flik's AA. If he can't make his AA appearance there should be another version of the film that incorporates him. How weird would it be to see the entire show without Flik's AA???

That is their B show. A show is with Hopper and B show is without Hopper. They are hoping that most guests don't notice or don't know and won't notice the difference. Nobody complains at Guest Relations that Hopper wasn't in the show, so management thinks everyone is happy about it.

 

[JWG]

hm... although we already have 17 posts about "It was working" and "When I was there a few years ago..." I figured I would throw my own input in. I was there in late December and Hopper was working quite fine... :shrug:

Ditto...

 

[Mansion Butler]

Or they're smart enough to realize that an adult without kids probably doesn't want to hear a cutesy answer.

That excuse isn't going to help them if a manager hears them actually tell a guest that something specifically is wrong.

 

[imagineer boy]

Why do they even run the show if he's not working? He's a major show element.

 

[NMBC1993]

That is their B show. A show is with Hopper and B show is without Hopper. They are hoping that most guests don't notice or don't know and won't notice the difference. Nobody complains at Guest Relations that Hopper wasn't in the show, so management thinks everyone is happy about it.

This is correct, I know a CM who works at the tree and he was telling me awhile ago that they ran the B-Show and explained what that was. Apparently the maintenance team is doing all they can, with the budget they have to keep ITTBAB up and running. Something else that was giving them a hard time awhile ago was the bug spray effect. The effect worked a little too well and it took longer for the smoke to be cleared out of the theater.

 

[beyondyou]

It sounds like Dak should just go 101 for a while. Just fix the park please. Make sure that the limited rides you have are working well and perhaps add something else to the park.

 

[pumpkin7]

although we were last there in august, he was working fine then.. lol.
but he does seem like a major show element, and he looked absolutally awesome! can't imagine the show without him.
flik on the other hand, he looked a bit worse for wear. it appeared like he was meant to have 'googley eyes' but all the water had drained out of them! one was kind of googley, the other just didn't move.

 

[Neverland]

That excuse isn't going to help them if a manager hears them actually tell a guest that something specifically is wrong.

Yeah, there's a reason cast members have cutesy answers. CMs aren't supposed to ruin the magic for kids or adults, no matter how mad the adults get, and believe me, some do get mad.

Besides, most people wouldn't understand attractions lingo anyway. If a CM told a guest that a ride was down because there was a sensor failure in zone 7, that guest would likely have no idea what that meant.

 

[Slowjack]

Yeah, there's a reason cast members have cutesy answers. CMs aren't supposed to ruin the magic for kids or adults, no matter how mad the adults get, and believe me, some do get mad.

Besides, most people wouldn't understand attractions lingo anyway. If a CM told a guest that a ride was down because there was a sensor failure in zone 7, that guest would likely have no idea what that meant.

I've gotten annoyed at cutesy answers more than once myself. When talking to an adult, I'm sorry, it's just infantile to talk that way. My daughter is four and knows that the characters in the shows are robots, for Pete's sake.

 

[Thrill]

So is it now safe to say Animal Kingdom as a whole is in B-Mode? With the Disco Yeti, broken Dinosaur effects, broken bridge in Kilamanjaro Safaris, and now broken Hopper, I think it is. XD

Also, if this happens occasionally but gets fixed, shouldn't the show just 101? Does WDW even have any 101 AAs anymore?

 

[sweetpee_1993]

That is their B show. A show is with Hopper and B show is without Hopper. They are hoping that most guests don't notice or don't know and won't notice the difference. Nobody complains at Guest Relations that Hopper wasn't in the show, so management thinks everyone is happy about it.

Well, then the B-mode is rather similar to the A-mode with an element just not visible. I dunno. Felt kinda sloppy to me. :shrug:

 

[T-1MILLION]

Well, then the B-mode is rather similar to the A-mode with an element just not visible. I dunno. Felt kinda sloppy to me. :shrug:

I agree. I consider a B mode a less impressive but still an effect or element that gets the point across.

I remember when Disney was about going the extra bit so there would be things you would miss if they were not there, rather than letting the show go without things that they feel are good enough either way.

 

[janoimagine]

Just got back last night, have lots of reports and comments, but let's
start with this one.

One year ago--I was at Animal Kingdom, and Hopper did not appear
during It's Tough to be a Bug.

Was there on Friday and, again, he was a no-show.

Asked a CM, and he said "he's broken, it is going to be several weeks before he is fixed".

Should we start a "Hopper watch"?

Anyone have any info on this? When I commented on this a year ago, I was told that Hopper not working should trigger an attraction closure.

Do we have a Disco Hopper in our future? Or merely inviso-Hopper?

I can tell you that when we were there last October, he was a no-show for both times we went to the attraction. I went to guest services and filed a complaint, bad enough they have one headline AA out of comission, but two is just pathetic. You would think they would get there act together.

 

[WDW_Princess]

I was there in October 2009 and May 2010. He did not hop out either time. His voice played, of course, but he was a no show.
I just assumed he was broken like everything else.

 

[Mansion Butler]

I've gotten annoyed at cutesy answers more than once myself. When talking to an adult, I'm sorry, it's just infantile to talk that way. My daughter is four and knows that the characters in the shows are robots, for Pete's sake.

Take it up with someone who won't get in trouble for deviating from marching orders. It's not our job to decide who does and does not want to be fully immersed in show, it's our job to assume everyone wants to be fully immersed in show.

On top of that, for obvious reasons, they don't want to be spreading ideas such as things breaking, and, for obvious reasons, don't want actual attraction information related.

 

[Neverland]

Take it up with someone who won't get in trouble for deviating from marching orders. It's not our job to decide who does and does not want to be fully immersed in show, it's our job to assume everyone wants to be fully immersed in show.

Precisely. You and your daughter might not think Hopper is real, but the six year old next to you might. It's about consistency.

 

[IlikeDW]

He didnt appear in September when I was there either.

He was also a no show first week of Jan when we were there.

 

[Rich1]

I'm not calling any body a liar but.....I sorta am going to. I've been in this attraction quite a few times lately and he is working great. Im not saying he is never down but I think some of u posters just stir the pot for the sake of finding stuff to bash.

 

[TP2000]

It sounds like Dak should just go 101 for a while. Just fix the park please.

There have been multiple people in this thread stating Hopper was also a No Show for them during their various visits in the last six months. And yet, after looking at some old online rehab calendars, I can find no evidence that It's Tough To Be A Bug had a rehab scheduled at DAK in 2010. And there is nothing scheduled for it in 2011 either. So no wonder the thing doesn't work; it's yet another sophisticated WDW attraction that is not getting routine maintenance and is being run into the ground to keep the thing open.

Contast that to Disneyland Resort, where the It's Tough To Be A Bug attraction at DCA has conistently closed for one or two weeks every year for the last few years at least. (It last got a 6 day rehab in January, 2010)

The 2011 rehab for this DCA attraction, which is in great shape as I saw it in January and Hopper and all effects were in working order, is February 28th - March 4th, 2011. They'll give the DCA theater all a tune up and polish, and it will be back in operation until it's next regular rehab. And this in a park that is already full of construction walls! But Anaheim management still knows they have to do the annual maintenance required to keep stuff in top shape.

Why, oh why, can't WDW management plan and schedule rehabs for their attractions?!? What is it about that basic maintenance concept that is so offensive to WDW management? And yes, there's the fabulous old line about WDW that "REHABS RUIN VACATIONS!!!" , but really, the condition of most attractions is getting bad out there.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I'm not calling any body a liar but.....I sorta am going to. I've been in this attraction quite a few times lately and he is working great. Im not saying he is never down but I think some of u posters just stir the pot for the sake of finding stuff to bash.

No bashing here. I didn't see him in November 2010, just 3 months ago. Instead of pointing fingers I find thinking up solutions is a more positive & productive thing. So if something isn't working, in this case Hopper's AA, perhaps it would be less confusing and create a better show if there was an alternate version of the movie that had him projected in perhaps hovering up near the corner where he would normally be positioned. No?

I wouldn't call all the people who have seen Hopper recently liars either. I think what we see in all these conflicting reports is a lack of consistancy. Any product, I don't care if it's a hot fudge sundae at Sonic, needs to have consistancy in quality in order to maintain consumer confidence. :wave: