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

[Sabriel]

While I am glad the yeti is *hopefully* going to be fixed, how much do we want to bet that TDO will try to pass this off as a new and improved experience rather than a much needed repair? I can already see the DPB posts...

 

[hokielutz]

It seems like we are going to disagree on this, and I'm fine with that. It's important to you, I get it. But we can agree on one thing, we are both excited to see that it is going to get fixed.

Yes, Absolutely!

 

[Disneyhead'71]

The fact that the attractions centerpiece has been broken for 7 years and PI sat boarded up for 6 years is completely understandable. Disney is a business.

 

[Communicore]

The yeti will simply be repainted. That would be the fix!

 

[Kamikaze]

While I am glad the yeti is *hopefully* going to be fixed, how much do we want to bet that TDO will try to pass this off as a new and improved experience rather than a much needed repair? I can already see the DPB posts...

To almost everyone, it would be. The few months it operated in full A mode it only saw a fraction of the people that have seen it since.

 

[Figaro928]

Ok - so i just read 7 pages worth of everyone hopes and dreams and another 3 pages worth of other people crushing them down. Yet I failed to see any other reputable source either confirm nor deny what can only be called a rumor at this point.

 

[Zac Skellington]

I wonder if Joe Rohde said "Make a plan to fix my Yeti, then I will agree to work on Avatar to the end."

We can only imagine the behind the scenes meetings and shuffling. It is also nice the think Harambe Nights helped secure the fix. I will gladly support the after hours hard ticket events like that if this is part of the result.

Maybe the current shindigs at EPCOT will help pay for an Ellen refurb/redo or ::gasp:: a new ending for Spaceship Earth??

You don't think $100 per guest entry, and ridiculous food/beverage prices are enough? $$$ for cheaply made merch...

 

[Castle Cake Apologist]

No offense, but this basically invalidates your statement. If an key showpiece of your ride is non-functional, then you immediately close the ride and fix it. Show above all else.

Safety comes before all else, not show. The yeti was shut off because it was not safe to have it operational.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Ok - so i just read 7 pages worth of everyone hopes and dreams and another 3 pages worth of other people crushing them down. Yet I failed to see any other reputable source either confirm nor deny what can only be called a rumor at this point.

@tikiman would be the reputable source.

 

[Figaro928]

@tikiman would be the reputable source.

I don't doubt that at all. But he had no details whatsoever (BTW kudos @tikiman for not making assumptions and being clear with what you didn't know.) so i read another ten pages of petty garbelly gook. But I guess a "Duh, what did you expect on an internet forum" is in order!

 

[Finiamh123]

You don't think $100 per guest entry, and ridiculous food/beverage prices are enough? $$$ for cheaply made merch...

That pays payroll, maintenance, refurbs of buildings and rides, costuming all the way down to hiring Orange County Sheriff for extra security. I said If it helps for the purse strings of the Yeti, I have no allusions that it goes to pure profit too.

 

[Buried20KLeague]

If it will take 3 months to fix it and you have a B mode then wait until a scheduled refurb.

Even if it takes 10 years to have their very first major scheduled refurb. Literally.

Think for a second how crazy that sounds. What you're suggesting wouldn't be that big a deal if there were a shorter yearly refurb. Or even every two years. Yeti is down. Okay, we'll tackle it in 8 months when we have the scheduled closure already. That would be fine. But EE has been running with basically no real downtime for refurb since it's been built. A 200 foot tall, high speed E ticket attraction in the Florida heat that has gone nearly 10 years without any real work done to it. That's insane.

EE is the poster child for how TDO will almost literally run something into the ground before giving it major attention rather than routine smaller recurring maintenance refurbs. And that's all assuming this info is correct and they're actually GOING to do a refurb. I would absolutely not be surprised if it doesn't happen, and EE continues to have issues pile up with no resolutions, just like the neutered Dinosaur across the park.

Or Kali. Which even got a refurb and had very little addressed (just ask @marni1971). Kali is exactly the reason I don't buy the whole "They can't take down an E ticket at AK because capacity!" argument. I believe it's about money, and nothing more. They take down Kali when they need to, then choose not to spend the money to fix the issues anyway. They close a high capacity show like FotLK for months, even when they probably could have figured out a way to do it with no impact to the show. They close the safari from time to time. It's about money, not capacity.

And no offense, but the people that empower them to operate that way are the biggest part of the problem. The "thank you Sir, may I have another" mindset is absolutely maddening.

If I were TDO, I'd probably do the exact same thing, especially if my bonus structure were tied to it (which I virtually guarantee it is). I would probably run things exactly the same way, and then laugh at the sheep-um, I mean GUESTS-that continue to turn the mickey heads green with their Mickey Cuffs.

Anyone that responds to the yeti issue at EE with "but it's still a good coaster and my family likes it" instantly loses all credibility with me. Those people just don't "get it". Those people are accepting a lesser product than they have been offered in the past, WHILE BEING CHARGED MORE THAN THEY EVER HAVE FOR THE PRODUCT, and take it with a smile on their faces. Why? Because of nostalgia. Because they're "making memories".

Apply this same principle to almost any other purchased product, and those same people would think you were nuts. "I'm going to pay for a fully loaded brand new vehicle, but I'm going to take a base model that's a year old".

Yet that's what people do here. And it's all because TDO can prey on nostalgia and "making memories".

 

[Cesar R M]

It's important to remember that WDW is a business and needs to factor in a lot of things.

I agree with most people here that the animitronics should be working and there is really no excuse for the Yeti to still be broken other than lack of will (to open up the purse strings, take down all the marketing on the billboards/busses around Orlando, deal with the mass amount of complaints for however many months it would have to be down for, etc). Disney Parks are known for their quality, maintenance, cleanliness, friendly employees, efficient operations, attention to detail, etc. It is extremely important to their business to stay on top in all these fields or they WILL lose business.

BUT to think that every single little thing is going to be working 24/7 is totally unrealistic. While I agree that the Yeti should be fixed, if some small show effect (like one of those dancing fountains on Splash Mountain) stops working, it would be irresponsible to close down the ride and anger thousands of people who paid big bucks, when they should fix it that night third shift. There are way too many show effects on so many rides to close the ride down and fix it every time a little one may break.

Disney needs to balance all these factors and obviously still make sure they are putting on great show: there are a few things that should be fixed right away (Kali River Rapids show effects for example), there are some things that could be fixed third shift without having to take down for rehab (some stuff that people complain about here don't necessarily warrant rehabs but could be touched up), and there are some things that need full-on rehabs in order to address (the Yeti).

they alternatively can work just at night.. DAK does not open 24/7 and have no 24/7 events (yet)

 

[Cesar R M]

I agree with you, but don't turn this into a Dis vs Uni discussion. Disney proved how fast an attraction could be built long before Uni did, but the current regime refuses to read history books.

Disney can build fast IF THEY WANT.
How long did they take to rebuild the lion king theatre despite using most of the old tech? (aka, de-assemble, build and reinstall)

 

[Cesar R M]

OK, I did ride Everest when "A" mode was fully functional. So my arguments won't be "invalid"?

I categorically disagree with you. The overal ride experience of Everest was diminished when the Yeti stopped working, but it was [is] still an amazing ride experience. Honestly? "Safety above all else". It was not safe to operate the Yeti in "A" mode once it started having problems and Disney did the right thing. People with knowledge of what was wrong and what would be required to fix it made a determination not to proceed at that time. Just because you and other "purists" didn't like that decision changes absolutely nothing. In the grand scheme of things, they did what they did and fans complaining and expressing their indignation didn't change the fact that the ride has continued to run at capacity ever since.

They have now determined that the time is right to fix it. I'll be happy to see the result.

But the issue is really a "safety above all else?" or ECONOMICAL? if it was really safety.. they would have gutted the whole thing quickly to keep it running safely.

 

[tikiman]

I don't doubt that at all. But he had no details whatsoever (BTW kudos @tikiman for not making assumptions and being clear with what you didn't know.) so i read another ten pages of petty garbelly gook. But I guess a "Duh, what did you expect on an internet forum" is in order!

I am not offended if people don’t believe the info. I trust the sources and they mentioned it like it was being planned and not just a rumor, but to all of you it is hearsay so you can only take it for what it is worth. I was more surprised that it had not been leaked already.
At this point I am just hoping that someone else has heard more about this. I gave you all I got and I am will many of you in hoping it happens. I don’t doubt for a minute that they are planning this but it would not be the first time I have heard of a plan that ended up getting stopped….Night Kingdom is a good example.

 

[Mawg]

Even if it takes 10 years to have their very first major scheduled refurb. Literally.

Think for a second how crazy that sounds. What you're suggesting wouldn't be that big a deal if there were a shorter yearly refurb. Or even every two years. Yeti is down. Okay, we'll tackle it in 8 months when we have the scheduled closure already. That would be fine. But EE has been running with basically no real downtime for refurb since it's been built. A 200 foot tall, high speed E ticket attraction in the Florida heat that has gone nearly 10 years without any real work done to it. That's insane.

EE is the poster child for how TDO will almost literally run something into the ground before giving it major attention rather than routine smaller recurring maintenance refurbs. And that's all assuming this info is correct and they're actually GOING to do a refurb. I would absolutely not be surprised if it doesn't happen, and EE continues to have issues pile up with no resolutions, just like the neutered Dinosaur across the park.

Or Kali. Which even got a refurb and had very little addressed (just ask @marni1971). Kali is exactly the reason I don't buy the whole "They can't take down an E ticket at AK because capacity!" argument. I believe it's about money, and nothing more. They take down Kali when they need to, then choose not to spend the money to fix the issues anyway. They close a high capacity show like FotLK for months, even when they probably could have figured out a way to do it with no impact to the show. They close the safari from time to time. It's about money, not capacity.

And no offense, but the people that empower them to operate that way are the biggest part of the problem. The "thank you Sir, may I have another" mindset is absolutely maddening.

If I were TDO, I'd probably do the exact same thing, especially if my bonus structure were tied to it (which I virtually guarantee it is). I would probably run things exactly the same way, and then laugh at the sheep-um, I mean GUESTS-that continue to turn the mickey heads green with their Mickey Cuffs.

Anyone that responds to the yeti issue at EE with "but it's still a good coaster and my family likes it" instantly loses all credibility with me. Those people just don't "get it". Those people are accepting a lesser product than they have been offered in the past, WHILE BEING CHARGED MORE THAN THEY EVER HAVE FOR THE PRODUCT, and take it with a smile on their faces. Why? Because of nostalgia. Because they're "making memories".

Apply this same principle to almost any other purchased product, and those same people would think you were nuts. "I'm going to pay for a fully loaded brand new vehicle, but I'm going to take a base model that's a year old".

Yet that's what people do here. And it's all because TDO can prey on nostalgia and "making memories".

If you had read all of my posts my points were that it is a good management decision to wait until a scheduled refurb for this size of a fix but it was a bad management decision to wait this long for a scheduled refurb. But, I'll also end with this:
But it's still a good coaster and my family likes it!

 

[articos]

Is there any independent confirmation of tikiman's info? @marni1971 @Lee @WDW1974 @articos

Anyone?

Edit: not that I doubt tikiman as a source, I just would feel more confident that this is going to happen with confirmation from other insiders.

Yup. Check a few months ago in the broken track thread.

 

[minsmk]

If this is true, this would help remove a major stain on the Disney legacy of quality.

I mean, it's so pitiful: Universal opens that incredible Diagon Alley and Hogwarts Express, and Disney can't/won't even fix an AA in one of its major rides. And even if it does fix it, how many years did it take? Ridiculous.

Yep, Diagon Alley looks amazing but I still can't afford passes for UO. I probably (Once I start working at WDW..) will switch my passes to UO. Some people I know have said "But Universal is dirty and nasty and isn't the same!!" well it's not the same but it's still on the same level at this point IMO.

I have only seen videos but DA looks AMAZING and, done way better than New Fantasyland. I feel like disney has just been going downhill since Bob Iger and Eisner messed up the place. I think disney is trying to redeem it's self by jumping on cash cows (Frozen and Avatar for example..) to get more people in daily.

Back to the EE and Yeti talk, I'll have to ask my friend who works over at EE if there is any date set. I like EE (Athough I don't ride it much because the backwards part messes me up.) so I am super happy for the news! And I hope that Betty will be in A mode or A/B or I guess C mode XD.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I think the point is, not that they knew it wasn't "working" or not - but that something was "missing" in general. The big build up through the ride to something that is pretty difficult to see and easy to miss.

So while they may not know the technical details, even though it's still ridden as a great coaster - I have no doubt a lot of guests go "huh?" after it all wondering if they missed something or wondering what the big fuss about the Yeti all through the queue, etc. was all about.

(Cue someone jumping in and saying "well there are always long lines" - which is true - but this is AK we are talking about, which has a severe lack of rides to begin with.)

It's unrealized entertainment. As you said, Expedition Everest is still a solid ride without a working Yeti. That doesn't mean the ride can't benefit from the Yeti working. Say the average guest leaves Everest 85% satisfied. They don't know that the Yeti was supposed to swipe at you but they know they were 85% satisfied. If that same guest went on the ride and the yeti swiped at them they might be 95% satisfied. If guests are 10% more satisfied and that translates to 10% more sales in the gift shop, then mission accomplished.