Yeti is indeed being fixed! Update 8/4/2014

[cheezbat]

All you need is some 70's attire, the Yeti suit, and you've got yourself an awesome MNSSHP costume.

Did it last year at the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and cast members LOVED it! Managers...i got some laughs, and some not-so-good looks.

 

[mp2bill]

Hopefully they are able to get it back up to "A" mode. When I was there last, it was the first time I was able to go on EE. It was great, and it wasn't until later that I found out that the yeti wasn't fully operational...so I can only imagine how great it'll be when its operation is back up to snuff.

 

[mp2bill]

Have you ever been to China?

Seriously.

Human rights in the USA aren't what they once were either and using buzzwords like freedom, liberty and justice over and over and over just tends to make them meaningless (wishes, dreams and MAGIC anyone?)

(starting my clock ... now)

Just google "Foxconn news 2010" without the quotes.

 

[flavious27]

So what will happen first, the yeti being fixed or bin laden being found?

 

[wizards8507]

So what will happen first, the yeti being fixed or bin laden being found?

bin laden broke the yeti.

 

[Rose Marie]

bin laden broke the yeti.

Maybe bin laden is hiding in the Yeti. :lookaroun

 

[AEfx]

He was the creative force behind Animal Kingdom as a whole. While the park does have some operational issues, you cannot deny that it is possibly the best themed park in Disney.

Best themed? Sure, but you've just hit the nail on the head as to the problem with Rhode.

Yes, yes, we all know - pretty queues are important, pretty around you is important. But it's not THE most important thing, which is the mistake he seems to keep making.

I'm in the "nothing to do there" camp when it comes to AK. Pretty? Sure, it's a gorgeous park. But the point of a theme park is to have rides and activities to enjoy. AK has very, very little of that.

It's sort of like World Showcase. You will find people who claim it's the most magnificent complex ever created, and others that think it's just one big glorified shopping mall. (In reality, it's a little of both.)

Also like WS, some people pretend you must be daft or unintelligent if you don't "get" it, when in fact I "get" AK very well. It was meant to be a hybrid zoo/Disney Park, but the problem is it pretty much fails on both levels because it excels at neither.

It's incredibly difficult to see live Animals at AK. The Safari is only decent if you catch it very early in the day, the rest of the day it's, "gee if you look past that rock way over there you can see the ear of a sleeping tiger inching above it" just before the crap-narration kicks in and you speed away.

The rest of the live animal stuff is mediocre at best - they do it better, much better, in other parts of the country (AK has nothing on the Bronx Zoo).

Take that away, and you have Dinosaur, the only other real ride there besides Kali (a much abbreviated version of what it could have been). I love Dinosaur - except for the horrid upkeep, of course (and broken effects - a trend at AK).

Then you have FOLK and Nemo, two shows that do impress people but they have to schedule against each other so you are forced to spend more time at AK if you want to possibly make both. FOLK is OK, but I don't care for Nemo at all - in large part because of the awfully uncomfortable seats. Neither of them are worth the two hour investment for me, I only go if I must when I bring new guests.

And...that's pretty much it. Add in a 3-D movie (which I actually enjoy quite a bit), and the two crap off the shelf things in Dinoland, and you've got...a whole theme park? Not so much.

So instead of focusing on the experience of all these great adventures we could be having, they spent the lions share of the money and effort on theming - great, but if there are so few decent attractions it can be themed amazingly and it doesn't matter. Welcome to the reason why AK did nothing to WDW's bottom line. Max, it's a 1-day park, and only because of the short hours they are open and the intentional staggering of show times to force you to stay longer if you wish to see both.

Heck, there aren't even any decent gift shops there.

I hate to hate on AK, it's not totally awful - it's just too much time spent on the icing and they forgot to finish baking the cake. Just like Everest.

This is why I'm not part of the cult of Rhode - he's definitely got vision, but he's a Walt - and every Walt needs his Roy, because if you don't have a Roy all the vision in the world isn't going to work because no one is grounded enough to see the experience for exactly what it is. No one seems to be doing that for him - the suits cut the budget, but when they do, he cuts the experience people are there for, but he makes sure that queue sure is snazzy.

Although snazzy queues and great theming are certainly central to the Disney experience, without attractions to back it up...well, you end up with something like AK. I don't hate AK, but it's certainly severely lacking in the attractions and rides department. No amount of pretty, lush scenery changes that, unfortunately. And here we have the flagship ride of the park, sitting broken for what's going on half a decade now.

 

[Silver Figment]

Yep. Every hour a new CP kid will have to get into the suit...

That is just perfect.

 

[juniorthomas]

Yep. Every hour a new CP kid will have to get into the suit...

I'm fairly certain that would do the job. Most people, including myself, have never even seen the functioning yeti. Once they saw this, for any of a number of reasons, they'd likely be terrified to go back on Everest ever again.

 

[flavious27]

Maybe bin laden is hiding in the Yeti. :lookaroun

hiding where we will least suspect him to be at?

 

[flavious27]

Best themed? Sure, but you've just hit the nail on the head as to the problem with Rhode.

Yes, yes, we all know - pretty queues are important, pretty around you is important. But it's not THE most important thing, which is the mistake he seems to keep making.

I'm in the "nothing to do there" camp when it comes to AK. Pretty? Sure, it's a gorgeous park. But the point of a theme park is to have rides and activities to enjoy. AK has very, very little of that.

It's sort of like World Showcase. You will find people who claim it's the most magnificent complex ever created, and others that think it's just one big glorified shopping mall. (In reality, it's a little of both.)

Also like WS, some people pretend you must be daft or unintelligent if you don't "get" it, when in fact I "get" AK very well. It was meant to be a hybrid zoo/Disney Park, but the problem is it pretty much fails on both levels because it excels at neither.

It's incredibly difficult to see live Animals at AK. The Safari is only decent if you catch it very early in the day, the rest of the day it's, "gee if you look past that rock way over there you can see the ear of a sleeping tiger inching above it" just before the crap-narration kicks in and you speed away.

The rest of the live animal stuff is mediocre at best - they do it better, much better, in other parts of the country (AK has nothing on the Bronx Zoo).

Take that away, and you have Dinosaur, the only other real ride there besides Kali (a much abbreviated version of what it could have been). I love Dinosaur - except for the horrid upkeep, of course (and broken effects - a trend at AK).

Then you have FOLK and Nemo, two shows that do impress people but they have to schedule against each other so you are forced to spend more time at AK if you want to possibly make both. FOLK is OK, but I don't care for Nemo at all - in large part because of the awfully uncomfortable seats. Neither of them are worth the two hour investment for me, I only go if I must when I bring new guests.

And...that's pretty much it. Add in a 3-D movie (which I actually enjoy quite a bit), and the two crap off the shelf things in Dinoland, and you've got...a whole theme park? Not so much.

So instead of focusing on the experience of all these great adventures we could be having, they spent the lions share of the money and effort on theming - great, but if there are so few decent attractions it can be themed amazingly and it doesn't matter. Welcome to the reason why AK did nothing to WDW's bottom line. Max, it's a 1-day park, and only because of the short hours they are open and the intentional staggering of show times to force you to stay longer if you wish to see both.

Heck, there aren't even any decent gift shops there.

I hate to hate on AK, it's not totally awful - it's just too much time spent on the icing and they forgot to finish baking the cake. Just like Everest.

This is why I'm not part of the cult of Rhode - he's definitely got vision, but he's a Walt - and every Walt needs his Roy, because if you don't have a Roy all the vision in the world isn't going to work because no one is grounded enough to see the experience for exactly what it is. No one seems to be doing that for him - the suits cut the budget, but when they do, he cuts the experience people are there for, but he makes sure that queue sure is snazzy.

Although snazzy queues and great theming are certainly central to the Disney experience, without attractions to back it up...well, you end up with something like AK. I don't hate AK, but it's certainly severely lacking in the attractions and rides department. No amount of pretty, lush scenery changes that, unfortunately. And here we have the flagship ride of the park, sitting broken for what's going on half a decade now.

I agree for the most part, dak needs tlc in many areas. I think that part of the problem is that the amusement park rides we expect would have been part of Beastly Kingdom, much like how Sunset Boulevard fits that bill for dhs.

The Safari would be better if the animals were not as far away from the action or laying around, but that is what they do during the day. I think that disney knew this and is why they have the story of the missing elephant. The only thing I could see them do to make the ride better, is to extend the ride time while adding more animals to see. Really I think of the safari as a land based jungle cruise with real animals.

Disney could make dak a better park if they added more lands and attractions. There has been mention of turning the large tract of land in the NW part of the park into a South American land, which would fit and be the addition the park needs. I would like to see a WRE attraction added there with an aerial lift into and out of that land. After that, Beastly Kingdom could be built if the attendance increases a substantial amount.

 

[Lucky]

I agree for the most part, dak needs tlc in many areas. I think that part of the problem is that the amusement park rides we expect would have been part of Beastly Kingdom, much like how Sunset Boulevard fits that bill for dhs.

The Safari would be better if the animals were not as far away from the action or laying around, but that is what they do during the day. I think that disney knew this and is why they have the story of the missing elephant. The only thing I could see them do to make the ride better, is to extend the ride time while adding more animals to see. Really I think of the safari as a land based jungle cruise with real animals.

Disney could make dak a better park if they added more lands and attractions. There has been mention of turning the large tract of land in the NW part of the park into a South American land, which would fit and be the addition the park needs. I would like to see a WRE attraction added there with an aerial lift into and out of that land. After that, Beastly Kingdom could be built if the attendance increases a substantial amount.

DAK is a great park. It's still new, by theme park standards, so it's not really fair to judge it yet as a finished product. It would be nice to add a third continent, either South America/Amazonia or Australia, but only if and when they can do it in a way that maintains the high quality standards set by Asia and Africa.

 

[marni1971]

DAK is a great park. It's still new, by theme park standards, so it's not really fair to judge it yet as a finished product.

???

 

[Malvito]

???

Really?
After 13 years?

According to That Great Quote From Mr. Disney, the parks are/will never be "finished," so I tend to agree with Mr. Lucky.

 

[Lee]

DAK is a great park. It's still new, by theme park standards, so it's not really fair to judge it yet as a finished product.

Really?
After 13 years?
:lookaroun

Compare to MK's development over the same time frame. AK is developing much more (too) slowly.

 

[Malvito]

Really?
After 13 years?
:lookaroun

Compare to MK's development over the same time frame. AK is developing much more (too) slowly.

Is that a fair comparison? MK didn't have to compete for allocations of funding and Imagineering with three other parks.

 

[marni1971]

Is that a fair comparison? MK didn't have to compete for allocations of funding and Imagineering with three other parks.

It is very fair. It is a the 4th gated attraction at the worlds number one vacation destination with an overall attraction capacity far lower than it should be for its size or appeal. I know, it was never meant to be attraction-led but that`s what the paying public expect.

 

[Pioneer Hall]

Best themed? Sure, but you've just hit the nail on the head as to the problem with Rhode.

Yes, yes, we all know - pretty queues are important, pretty around you is important. But it's not THE most important thing, which is the mistake he seems to keep making.

I'm in the "nothing to do there" camp when it comes to AK. Pretty? Sure, it's a gorgeous park. But the point of a theme park is to have rides and activities to enjoy. AK has very, very little of that.

It's sort of like World Showcase. You will find people who claim it's the most magnificent complex ever created, and others that think it's just one big glorified shopping mall. (In reality, it's a little of both.)

Also like WS, some people pretend you must be daft or unintelligent if you don't "get" it, when in fact I "get" AK very well. It was meant to be a hybrid zoo/Disney Park, but the problem is it pretty much fails on both levels because it excels at neither.

It's incredibly difficult to see live Animals at AK. The Safari is only decent if you catch it very early in the day, the rest of the day it's, "gee if you look past that rock way over there you can see the ear of a sleeping tiger inching above it" just before the crap-narration kicks in and you speed away.

The rest of the live animal stuff is mediocre at best - they do it better, much better, in other parts of the country (AK has nothing on the Bronx Zoo).

Take that away, and you have Dinosaur, the only other real ride there besides Kali (a much abbreviated version of what it could have been). I love Dinosaur - except for the horrid upkeep, of course (and broken effects - a trend at AK).

Then you have FOLK and Nemo, two shows that do impress people but they have to schedule against each other so you are forced to spend more time at AK if you want to possibly make both. FOLK is OK, but I don't care for Nemo at all - in large part because of the awfully uncomfortable seats. Neither of them are worth the two hour investment for me, I only go if I must when I bring new guests.

And...that's pretty much it. Add in a 3-D movie (which I actually enjoy quite a bit), and the two crap off the shelf things in Dinoland, and you've got...a whole theme park? Not so much.

So instead of focusing on the experience of all these great adventures we could be having, they spent the lions share of the money and effort on theming - great, but if there are so few decent attractions it can be themed amazingly and it doesn't matter. Welcome to the reason why AK did nothing to WDW's bottom line. Max, it's a 1-day park, and only because of the short hours they are open and the intentional staggering of show times to force you to stay longer if you wish to see both.

Heck, there aren't even any decent gift shops there.

I hate to hate on AK, it's not totally awful - it's just too much time spent on the icing and they forgot to finish baking the cake. Just like Everest.

This is why I'm not part of the cult of Rhode - he's definitely got vision, but he's a Walt - and every Walt needs his Roy, because if you don't have a Roy all the vision in the world isn't going to work because no one is grounded enough to see the experience for exactly what it is. No one seems to be doing that for him - the suits cut the budget, but when they do, he cuts the experience people are there for, but he makes sure that queue sure is snazzy.

Although snazzy queues and great theming are certainly central to the Disney experience, without attractions to back it up...well, you end up with something like AK. I don't hate AK, but it's certainly severely lacking in the attractions and rides department. No amount of pretty, lush scenery changes that, unfortunately. And here we have the flagship ride of the park, sitting broken for what's going on half a decade now.

I don't disagree with you one bit, but I think you missed the point of what I originally said. He was the Creative force behind animal kingdom. I personally do not fault Rhode (or any other imagineer for that matter) for the budget cuts that management decides to hand them. These are some of the best people in the world at their craft and for quite some time they are told to do what they do with less and less. I don't argue with anyone that AK needs some serious TLC and improvements, but I think that by design and creativity the place is fantastic. I also agree with doing something right the first time instead and making it look the best you can. While I want more attractions, I am happy that we have (for the most part) good solid attractions that are themed well from beginning to end. I'll take one everest or safari over 3 imaginations any day.

Budgets can unfortunately be a disaster if the wrong people are in charge of them. But, for a point of comparison, take a look at what the Imagineers can do in Tokyo with the much more generous budgets that OLC gives them.

 

[Lee]

According to That Great Quote From Mr. Disney, the parks are/will never be "finished," so I tend to agree with Mr. Lucky.

And Mr. Disney would agree that AK needs to be plussed....'cause it ain't finished.

Make no mistake, I love the park. I just often feel like I've done it to death. It needs some new life.

 

[marni1971]

I'll take one everest or safari over 3 imaginations any day.

Budgets can unfortunately be a disaster if the wrong people are in charge of them.

Good call.

Horizons is still so fondly remembered. But no one complains about the budget cuts made as work began on that pavilion...