This is just pathetic.
WDW CAN fix it.
They CHOOSE not to.
Blame the budget, blame management, blame crowd levels, the fact is WDW is perfectly happy settling for less.
Once the best, now just good enough to get by.
I went on and on about this in one of the other many threads about the broken Yeti, but I'll hit the high points again.
Yes, the Yeti is broken, and to those of us on the outside, it "appears" that they're not doing anything about it, and that they haven't for 3 years.
However, everyone needs to consider what has likely taken place in that time. First, they designed the ride and built it. Fate had decided that this problem would appear before it was even built. Nobody on here knows for sure, but the problem is EITHER a design flaw, or a construction flaw.
So, as soon as someone noticed a cracking foundation or flexing beam, they hit the big red PANIC button to stop the Yeti, not knowing how bad it was. Then came the giant investigation process, which is like trying to start a freight train from a dead stop. Nothing happens overnight when it comes to investigating a design/construction failure.
There was probably a lot of finger pointing initially - between WDI and the actual design/engineering firms. WDI accusing the engineers of not designing foundations and steel that could hold their Yeti...and the engineers accusing WDI of designing a Yeti that didn't meet the original specs provided.
Either way, a big legal mess. All the while, nobody was actively looking at a solution because "He's still there and guests can see him. It'll do for now."
The actual investigation of a structure that is only unoccupied at night is hard to do, and could honestly take several months (or years, obviously). When it comes to a possible structural failure, you flat out don't jump to conclusions and just start band-aiding things together. It requires forensic investigations to test for stress fractures, hidden cracks, weak spots in the steel (from top to bottom) and anything else that could have been damaged over time from the perpetual forces exerted by the Yeti's movement.
It's going to be expensive. Depending on how much damage has been done, the repair bill could be in the millions. That could mean it will be in court for years to decide whose fault it is before anyone foots the bill.
In summary, all of us die-hards are upset with the lack of an A-Mode Yeti and their apparent lack of dedication toward fixing it. But having been involved with very similar problems in "normal" buildings, I really believe that they've been working on a solution for quite a while, and that when it IS fixed, it will be done right. The fact that they actually took him out of service a few weeks ago is promising.
