When are you going to fix that yeti?

[Rhinocerous]

I suspect none of us knows what repair would actually entail. It’s possible the ride wouldn’t need to go down at all. I recall hearing there is a maintenance bay for the yeti inside the mountain. Could they not install a slightly higher quality yeti-on-a-stick while they work on the real deal out of sight? C mode?

Or maybe they can’t. I legitimately don’t know.

 

[JoeCamel]

I suspect none of us knows what repair would actually entail. It’s possible the ride wouldn’t need to go down at all. I recall hearing there is a maintenance bay for the yeti inside the mountain. Could they not install a slightly higher quality yeti-on-a-stick while they work on the real deal out of sight? C mode?

Or maybe they can’t. I legitimately don’t know.

It is not if they can fix it but many factors like who will pay, does legal clear a moving heavy object above guests? like that. Physically it could be fixed without pulling the mountain down or other myths that arose around the failure to restore the AA but lots of factors would have to align to get it done.
The mantra today is "does it make a return and is the return in line with our mandates" not how can we make the guests feel special

 

[Rhinocerous]

It is not if they can fix it but many factors like who will pay, does legal clear a moving heavy object above guests? like that. Physically it could be fixed without pulling the mountain down or other myths that arose around the failure to restore the AA but lots of factors would have to align to get it done.
The mantra today is "does it make a return and is the return in line with our mandates" not how can we make the guests feel special

Agreed. I was focusing entirely on the ‘would they close a high volume E-ticket’ aspect of the discussion. I rather doubt it will ever actually happen for the reasons you cited.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Agreed. I was focusing entirely on the ‘would they close a high volume E-ticket’ aspect of the discussion. I rather doubt it will ever actually happen for the reasons you cited.

You blink and you miss Disco Yeti. There'd be no issue if the ride was Yeti-less for a few days during a transition. The ride doesn't have to go down except maybe a day or two. It goes down longer for yearly maintenance.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I suspect none of us knows what repair would actually entail. It’s possible the ride wouldn’t need to go down at all. I recall hearing there is a maintenance bay for the yeti inside the mountain. Could they not install a slightly higher quality yeti-on-a-stick while they work on the real deal out of sight? C mode?

Or maybe they can’t. I legitimately don’t know.

The figure has been removed in the past without closing the ride. In theory it’d be possible to just build a replacement, which would be more likely than a repair, and then place it when done. You’d want some time for checks and testing, but that should not require a prolonged closure.

 

[BlakeW39]

So let me get this straight.

TWDC can lose billions of dollars on D+ and lose hundreds of millions of dollars on movies that randomly hit and miss, but fixing the Yeti is a complex interface between finance, operations, marketing, design, timing, engineering and … guest satisfaction.

Got it!

Lol exactly man.

I love Joe Rohde don't get me wrong and I have huge respect for the guy as an imagineer...but his answer here was just ridiculous.

The yeti isn't some uniquely complex problem TWDC just can't find any opportunity to fix. TWDC never fixes their d@m attractions lol. The yeti is just par for the course.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Lol exactly man.

I love Joe Rohde don't get me wrong and I have huge respect for the guy as an imagineer...but his answer here was just ridiculous.

The yeti isn't some uniquely complex problem TWDC just can't find any opportunity to fix. TWDC never fixes their d@m attractions . The yeti is just par for the course.

Disney as a company is not just a singular monolithic entity. The various different stakeholders in who would be involved in fixing the yeti are distinct groups with their own budgets and resources to manage. How the yeti came to its current state is a direct result of how those different groups work and their responsibilities to each other.

 

[BlakeW39]

Disney as a company is not just a singular monolithic entity. The various different stakeholders in who would be involved in fixing the yeti are distinct groups with their own budgets and resources to manage. How the yeti came to its current state is a direct result of how those different groups work and their responsibilities to each other.

That may be true— but what is also true is that the yeti is not a statistical outlier. We don't need any explanation for why the yeti specifically hasn't been fixed. We need an explanation for why major attraction effects in general are not fixed. The yeti isn't some unique or interesting special case. It's a continuation of a broader trend. Every single pre-Pandora E-ticket in Animal Kingdom has a plethora of abandoned effects.

 

[lazyboy97o]

That may be true— but what is also true is that the yeti is not a statistical outlier. We don't need any explanation for why the yeti specifically hasn't been fixed. We need an explanation for major attraction effects in general are not fixed. The yeti isn't some unique or interesting special case. It's a continuation of a broader trend. Every pre-Pandora E-ticket in the park as a plethora of abandoned effects.

Just because an outcome is similar does not mean the underlying causes are similar. The yeti is unique. Even in a situation where show quality standards were better maintained the yeti would still be a unique problem.

 

[BlakeW39]

Just because an outcome is similar does not mean the underlying causes are similar. The yeti is unique. Even in a situation where show quality standards were better maintained the yeti would still be a unique problem.

Mmm... yes, that is true... but it doesn't change two things:

1. The argument that the yeti isn't being fixed because it's an 'especially complex issue' doesn't hold any water. Similar, but less complex issues than the yeti are frequently not addressed. Therefore, the yeti problem's complexity isn't a compelling explanation for why it hasn't been addressed. TWDC fails to address similar, but far simpler issues all the time. Thus the yeti, while it may be an especially complex problem, is likely being ignored not because it's an overly complex scenario without comparison. Rather, it's likely not being addressed for the same reasons other similar, but much simpler issues are also not addressed. We have on good authority that the WDC tends to cut show elements rather than maintain them in order to avoid overhead costs. The yeti is just a glaring example of that already established trend.

2. Everything Joe said was definitely correct... but it's also not a compelling excuse for why management has repeatedly failed to fix the yeti. It's been 17 years, and during that time frame TWDC has dealt with how many complex issues that deal with finance/guest satifaction/operations/engineering/marketing? The difference is that in those cases, they had initiative to address the problem. Here they do not.

 

[marni1971]

I suspect none of us knows what repair would actually entail. It’s possible the ride wouldn’t need to go down at all

Correct. Or at worse just during regular maintenance. Alternate designs have been looked at.

Biggest problem is who pays.

 

[Squishy]

Correct. Or at worse just during regular maintenance. Alternate designs have been looked at.

Biggest problem is who pays.

Hope one day they will find a executive that has enough balls to setup a gofundme

 

[Indy_UK]

I think sadly where the Yeti was working for so little of the rides existence that I don’t Disney will ever go back and fix it now. 90% of guests probably wouldn’t know

 

[Disstevefan1]

Lol exactly man.

I love Joe Rohde don't get me wrong and I have huge respect for the guy as an imagineer...but his answer here was just ridiculous.

The yeti isn't some uniquely complex problem TWDC just can't find any opportunity to fix. TWDC never fixes their d@m attractions lol. The yeti is just par for the course.

 

[SamusAranX]

That may be true— but what is also true is that the yeti is not a statistical outlier. We don't need any explanation for why the yeti specifically hasn't been fixed. We need an explanation for why major attraction effects in general are not fixed. The yeti isn't some unique or interesting special case. It's a continuation of a broader trend. Every single pre-Pandora E-ticket in Animal Kingdom has a plethora of abandoned effects.

This. It has continued with RotR. #discoturbolasers

 

[James Alucobond]

The argument that the yeti isn't being fixed because it's an 'especially complex issue' doesn't hold any water. Similar, but less complex issues than the yeti are frequently not addressed. Therefore, the yeti problem's complexity isn't a compelling explanation for why it hasn't been addressed. TWDC fails to address similar, but far simpler issues all the time. Thus the yeti, while it may be an especially complex problem, is likely being ignored not because it's an overly complex scenario without comparison. Rather, it's likely not being addressed for the same reasons other similar, but much simpler issues are also not addressed. We have on good authority that the WDC tends to cut show elements rather than maintain them in order to avoid overhead costs. The yeti is just a glaring example of that already established trend.

I don’t think complexity is the fundamental issue here. It’s that the yeti, as originally designed, is mechanically flawed. He may be easier than the rumor mill suggested to extract and replace, but it’s not solved by making a 1:1 swap for a new figure. Like with the Everest mist effect and the cannons in Rise, there are explicit operational or safety reasons for them to be currently disabled, and a funded, coordinated team across multiple disciplines is needed to go back to the drawing board and solve the inherent problems.

That’s why you can’t compare it to a broken figure on Small World that you simply need to refabricate and replace.

 

[Smiley/OCD]

Nobody but nobody wants the yeti fixed more than I do, but I think the better improvement to EE would be to pick up those damned hair bands… this just looks SO bush league and Six Flags…

 

[erasure fan1]

You blink and you miss Disco Yeti. There'd be no issue if the ride was Yeti-less for a few days during a transition. The ride doesn't have to go down except maybe a day or two. It goes down longer for yearly maintenance.

Yea, I'm not sure why so many stick up for Disney on this one. They don't want to take the ride down, it's too complicated, it costs too much.... We all know that they will not restore the yeti to it's original state. That ship sailed long ago. So at this point, fixing it so it is acceptable show, is what most are looking for. And that wouldn't require a complete shutdown of the ride for months like some want to imply. Disney is just ok with bad show. Especially when it's like you said, blink and you miss it.

 

[James Alucobond]

Disney is just ok with bad show. Especially when it's like you said, blink and you miss it.

The question is if imperceptibly bad show even qualifies as bad show. Something about a tree falling in the forest.

In a maintenance importance/difficulty matrix, this would qualify as an extreme luxury since the importance to the business is incredibly low (negligible or nonexistent impact to GSAT) and the difficulty is very high relative to other maintenance which generally just requires budget and a suitable refurbishment window. Should a company like Disney, which charges luxury prices, tackle luxury items? Sure. But everyone always goes for the low-hanging fruit first that people actually notice.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I don’t think complexity is the fundamental issue here. It’s that the yeti, as originally designed, is mechanically flawed. He may be easier than the rumor mill suggested to extract and replace, but it’s not solved by making a 1:1 swap for a new figure. Like with the Everest mist effect and the cannons in Rise, there are explicit operational or safety reasons for them to be currently disabled, and a funded, coordinated team across multiple disciplines is needed to go back to the drawing board and solve the inherent problems.

That’s why you can’t compare it to a broken figure on Small World that you simply need to refabricate and replace.

There is complexity, 1) in the technical development of a figure that will be animated to a desirable level to make the effort worthwhile without having similar issues and in meeting Disney’s overhead show element standards and 2) the interplay of the internal stakeholders.

Maintaining attractions is not the responsibility of Walt Disney Imagineering. Once they hand over an attraction to the park it is no longer theirs to be messing with. They’ll be brought back for things like refurbishments but even the scope of those can limit who is involved with a project. That Imagineering has been involved in trying to resolve the yeti issue is evidence of it being treated differently than other show elements.

I can’t imagine anyone who laments the yeti’s lack of functionality, which includes myself, honestly saying they would sacrifice their own work performance metrics.