How long has Expedition Everest looked like this?

[prfctlyximprct]

This has made me listen to disco yeti again.

 

[Californian Elitist]

They could have easily brought in camo netting and some potted plants, really, there is no excuse. If this was Jungle Cruise in Disneyland and guests had to see the backstage area of Main Street (which is right next to the Jungle Cruise), there would be a line at City Hall.

So very, very true.

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

Everest looks bad, it seems like this was an over reaction, but if it's a "fix" that's resolved in a month or two then it's not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things. It's no different than them leaving Kilimanjaro Safaris open during that construction.

Haven't been to WDW in a while, but it looks like all of this backstage stuff is visible from the load area. Meaning if you are standing there for a minute or so, you have plenty of time to look at this stuff. If it is still this way in a month then I would say that is a major breakdown in show standards!

Remember, this isn't a construction project which has to get done, this in a ride that was built years ago and the solution, even a temporary one, is relatively cheap and quick.

It would be like if during Pirates the boats had to be rerouted through the dry dock area for a couple months . . .

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

Oh I definitely agree with both parts. While the travel to the large lift is swift, there should have been more than some foliage to look at - rockwork, maybe even some more structures representing more of the village of Serka Zong/Anadapur. The concrete wall should have been painted, yes - but I'd like to point out that until the bamboo wall was chopped down, being able to see it through the trees was literally a non-issue and I don't think ever even brought up on this board. In fact, if you know where to look, you will see backstage through trees in MANY places.

You can see backstage stuff in Disneyland if you know where to look, but most of the time it is painted some shade of "no see-um" green, or even blue sometimes to blend in with the sky. Something white sticks out more often, and even if the average guest doesn't consciously notice it, your brain still sees it on some level and it destroys the reality of the show environment.

You can see the white structures on the video with the bamboo still up, I'm sure some guests noticed this.

 

[marni1971]

I remember hearing after the Paris Thunder accident (rock falling on train), and the Tree of Life incident (branch falling down) that Disney would no longer approve of overhead show elements.

And that was fan gossip too. Paris' PotC actually has its swinging AA Pirate working again after a loooong time of being static. He swings directly above the boats.

 

[sshindel]

Anyone know the typical growth rate of bamboo? Just trying to determine how long this looks to be an issue for, if it is indeed bamboo that has been replanted.

Also, what about the average airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?

 

[Master Yoda]

Anyone know the typical growth rate of bamboo? Just trying to determine how long this looks to be an issue for, if it is indeed bamboo that has been replanted.

It depends on the species and growing conditions. On average it is about 1-4 inches per day during peak growing season. We are right about at the end of that season but if we have another mild winter it might keep growing for a few more months.

Also, what about the average airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?

African or European?

 

[MickeyPeace]

Another view pre-bamboo removal.

 

[PhilharMagician]

The hacking here looks a little excessive. They have been able to trim and manage the Bamboo throughout the rest of the park over the past 13+ years that it has been growing, why couldn't the same proceedures have been used here? With bamboo a root blocking system has to be installed to keep it from growing/spreading out of control.

Another failure!

 

[sam_disney]

thats really bad! :-(

 

[Rasvar]

I'm not one to slam the horticulture folks (truthfully it is probably not their fault) but why was this never layered? You clear and plant a line every couple of years. If you have three lines of bamboo with some spacing, you clear the front line then middle line a few years later and then the back line. By the time you clear the back line, your front line is sufficient. Lather, rinse, repeat. Not well thought out.

That is what they should do now. I'm still curious what triggered this. Not really seeing the tie in to the Tree of Life incident. Did someone actually get hit or grabbed the bamboo? Not getting 2+2=4 here.

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

I'm not one to slam the horticulture folks (truthfully it is probably not their fault) but why was this never layered? You clear and plant a line every couple of years. If you have three lines of bamboo with some spacing, you clear the front line then middle line a few years later and then the back line. By the time you clear the back line, your front line is sufficient. Lather, rinse, repeat. Not well thought out.

That is what they should do now. I'm still curious what triggered this. Not really seeing the tie in to the Tree of Life incident. Did someone actually get hit or grabbed the bamboo? Not getting 2+2=4 here.

It's possibly true isn't the horticulture folks fault, probably some mid-level manager somewhere didn't want to pay for a berm or rockwork. And somebody else, like the manager for this section of AK, would have to make the decision to put in some potted plants and a camo tarp or something to block the view.

I'm having a hard time coming up with an "emergency" decision for the removal, outside of some fungal disease or something. The bamboo didn't seem like it was close enough for guests to touch, and there is bamboo elsewhere in the ride.

Its kinda of surprising that they didn't plant anything else as there is a lot of empty space there now.

 

[Alektronic]

I'm not one to slam the horticulture folks (truthfully it is probably not their fault) but why was this never layered? You clear and plant a line every couple of years. If you have three lines of bamboo with some spacing, you clear the front line then middle line a few years later and then the back line. By the time you clear the back line, your front line is sufficient. Lather, rinse, repeat. Not well thought out.

That is what they should do now. I'm still curious what triggered this. Not really seeing the tie in to the Tree of Life incident. Did someone actually get hit or grabbed the bamboo? Not getting 2+2=4 here.

It doesn't look like Disney Horticulture to me, it looks like the work of an outside contractor like Valley Crest. They are usually pretty rough on the vegetation. They don't worry about show issues. They are also pretty rough on the surrounding items like ground lights and ground speakers.

 

[PhilharMagician]

It doesn't look like Disney Horticulture to me, it looks like the work of an outside contractor like Valley Crest. They are usually pretty rough on the vegetation. They don't worry about show issues. They are also pretty rough on the surrounding items like ground lights and ground speakers.

But why would his not be done in house? Outsourcing the removal in this fairly small area does not make sense.

 

[Alektronic]

But why would his not be done in house? Outsourcing the removal in this fairly small area does not make sense.

You would be surprised to see all the things that are contracted out now, a lot of basic things like carpet cleaning.

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

View attachment 28134

Can't help but notice that they also chopped down some of the trees that were there too. (Or maybe they were lamp posts as one of them with the speaker seems to be completely missing. Maybe to get at the lamp posts they figured the needed to take out the bamboo too?

guess long term, having trees/unstable lamp posts that close to the track could in theory endanger guests, but they got trees everywhere in the parks (and lamp posts), but maybe they were concerned about a branch being hit by a roller coaster?

 

[scoobygirl39541]

When I first saw these pictures I couldn't find what was wrong with them. I searched for pealing paint, rust, bad wood... the last thing I expected was complaints because you could see the building I had to actually scroll through the comments to see what the problem was because I didn't see anything worth complaining about.

 

[HM Spectre]

They're not cartoonishly evil enough that they're trying to their customers off. They're just so dumb that they think their customers won't notice or care; they don't realize that doing little things like this (if we can call this little) is what made them king of the theme park industry.

They're tourists, what do THEY know?

 

[Skyway]

they got trees everywhere in the parks (and lamp posts), but maybe they were concerned about a branch being hit by a roller coaster?

As I pointed out earlier, roller coasters and the Kali boats have no way of stopping if a tree falls in their path. Furthermore, visitors are strapped into their seats, so there is nothing they can do to avoid being struck.

Years ago I recall talking to a CM about the bamboo along the track, and the "telephone pole" that had wires that looked like they were holding up the bamboo. I was told that the telephone pole placement was authentic to the Himilayas, and was not truly holding up the bamboo as it appeared.

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

As I pointed out earlier, roller coasters and the Kali boats have no way of stopping if a tree falls in their path. Furthermore, visitors are strapped into their seats, so there is nothing they can do to avoid being struck.

Only the bamboo was right after the load station, the operator could see if there was bamboo on the track, plus the ride vehicle isn't going very fast at this point, a stray bamboo on the track would probably get pushed out of the way. I guess, maybe if one of the bamboo shoots broke and was bent just right, then a guest could get whacked in the head. They seem to have planted bambo that gets very tall.

I would think that there are species of bambo which don't grow as tall, and which they could plant back a bit.

Interestingly, it seems they left half a dozen or so of the plants and they're just letting them grow back . . .

I don't think they care about the bamboo, but that they just had to remove the lamp posts as one of them tipped over and they were all probably just set in holes in the ground, instead of using concrete to do a proper job.