C.FERNIE
Well-Known Member
I think you are right, they are stalling untill they can take it down for a refurb without lowering attendance!
-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
Yeti is indeed being fixed! Update 8/4/2014
- Thread starter jjharvpro
- Start date
Disneyfanatic!!
Member
I definitely think this is the plan. I expect this massive refurb will occur as soon as the hype dies down from Avatar, so sometime around 2016/2017, which is 10 years after Everest opened and right before AK's 20th anniversary!
... Or maybe I'm just thinking too much into it.
Im guessing you must have some technical knowledge of AAs?
awilliams4
Well-Known Member
I am suprised (read disappointed ) that there has not been an oppurtunity to ask the why is the Yeti down question to an upper mgt person at an awkward time. Say at a D23 Question/Answer period.
I wonder if we could just get a hint if the intent is to eventually be fixed if the right person was cornered at the right time.
I wonder if we could just get a hint if the intent is to eventually be fixed if the right person was cornered at the right time.
RSoxNo1
Well-Known Member
It sounds like the cost issue is a major one (no department wants to pay for the repair), and I'm sure that they don't want to take the attraction offline either. I have long suggested that a refurb of Dinosaur come first with legitimate enhancements made to the attraction. This could help offset the attendance drop that may result from Everest being closed for 6 months. I know money doesn't quite move around the same way I drew this up, but say Disney estimates they would lose 500K guests if Everest was closed for 6 months. If Disney values each guest per day at $150, you're talking about losing $75,000,000. I have to believe these are the types of things that they're looking at.
They painted themselves into a corner by under-building that park and now it seems they're refusing to fix what they have. So now the under-built park is in a state of disrepair, and because it's under-built they can't afford to take the broken rides offline to fix them.
I can also see a scenario with some modifications/additions being made to the Discovery River Boats that would allow Disney to bring these back as an actual attraction instead of the mode of transportation that it actually was when it opened. Before anyone jumps in with, "they tried to do that and it failed" - they would actually have to invest money into these to make it work. They can't pull out insects and reptiles from Rafiki's Planet Watch and call it an enhancement. They would need to add events to the ride such as the encounters with mythical animals that were originally planned.
They painted themselves into a corner by under-building that park and now it seems they're refusing to fix what they have. So now the under-built park is in a state of disrepair, and because it's under-built they can't afford to take the broken rides offline to fix them.
I can also see a scenario with some modifications/additions being made to the Discovery River Boats that would allow Disney to bring these back as an actual attraction instead of the mode of transportation that it actually was when it opened. Before anyone jumps in with, "they tried to do that and it failed" - they would actually have to invest money into these to make it work. They can't pull out insects and reptiles from Rafiki's Planet Watch and call it an enhancement. They would need to add events to the ride such as the encounters with mythical animals that were originally planned.
Tom Morrow
Well-Known Member
I'm guessing some of the refusal to fix the situation has to do with Everest not seeing any drop in ridership and presumably, in TDO's eyes, nowhere near enough complaints to justify the cost of fixing it and the effect closing EE would have on DAK.
AswaySuller
Well-Known Member
I'll tell you what I have got..... a degree in common sense!
It's like having to take the engine of a car out to fix the cd player!
No, it is not.
alissafalco
Well-Known Member
I get depressed every time I read something about the yeti!! It doesn't seem like there is any hope of it getting fixed any time in the near future...oh well
Interesting. I don't get depressed about the yeti, because I would rather go to WDW with a static yeti than not go to WDW.I get depressed every time I read something about the yeti!! It doesn't seem like there is any hope of it getting fixed any time in the near future...oh well
rle4lunch
Well-Known Member
While I understand what you're getting at, it's still kinda a cop out with what you're saying there. Yes, I'd rather go to WDW than not go at all, that's a given. But....
I'll preface this statement saying that I'm not an AA engineer, but I am an aeropsace engineer and have higher business graduate degrees and I see every corporate situation through a "green" shaded lens, i.e., money. It's all about money, that's what this boils down to. Fact is, EE is the major, albeit only ticket draw for AK. Without it running, the park would have a quarter of its attendance than it does now. Other rides in the park are okay, and the safari is fun, but there truly isn't anything in the park that'll keep people in the park longer than 3-4 hours.
And while I like zoo atmosphere, and it's great to experience that adds to overall theme, there are detractors to the park that outweigh staying in there for a full day. 'Dinosaur' is pale in comparison to its cousin Indiana Jones at DL and is in need of major updating and is almost not worth riding, and 'Primeval Whirl' is (aka Mulholland Madness aka Goofy's Sky School) very limited fun for anyone over 6 years old. The accompanied land that those two rides are in is just plain awful. It feels like you're walking onto the set of Flintstone's part 2, cheesy and cheap.
So, I assume that either a) EE needs to be completely shut down for troubleshooting purposes that would take longer than a 3rd shift lasts, and/or needs a lot of test and check equipment set up that can't be hidden during park hours. b) TDO doesn't see any ROI for fixing the ride, considering that the ride isn't seeing a dropoff of ridership with Yeti broken (because 95% of the people riding it probably haven't a clue that its broke). c) TDO is indeed waiting for the scheduled EE refurb, whenever that may be.
When I visit in December, I will be going to AK and will be riding EE, and it will still be fun. The bad part is that the rest of the group I'm going with might not ever see the ride the way its supposed to be originally enjoyed, leaving me to explain how its supposed to be, which is a shame.
montyz81
Well-Known Member
Or they are waiting for Avitar to be complete so they can bring down EE without sacrificing a big ticket draw.
Tod&BigMamaOdie
Well-Known Member
A tinker fairy was sent last week to fix the Yeti but she was not allowed in the gate.
alissafalco
Well-Known Member
rle4lunch
Well-Known Member
Quite possibly, but with all the other stuff going on, I don't see Avatarland coming online for another 5 years or so.
flynnibus
Premium Member
EE did not triple the attendance at AK. And there are large parts of the Disney demographic that can't even ride EE. So while it's a major hit.. would they lose 75% attendance? No way.
You do realize PW is different than the ride in DCA right? They are both wild mouse style tracks... but PW 'whirls' while MM/GSS is a fixed classic wild mouse design.[/quote]
RSoxNo1
Well-Known Member
Everest and Finding Nemo the Musical resulted in 1 million more guests going to DAK
They're both lousy rides and the comparison is apt. Yes they're different types of vehicles, but neither belong in a Disney theme park.