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

[Nick Wilde]

This is the 2nd most active thread I've ever seen. Next to The Sorcerer's Apprentice 2nd Season.

 

[G00fyDad]

I wish that was the case but there has to be more to it than that. I know TDO doesn't make a lot of good decisions but if all they had to do is what you say I think they would have done it by now. If it doesn't have to be down a long time and they still won't fix it, than its a pretty safe bet to say WDW is doomed.

Then maybe they are doomed because it is as simple as pulling the Yeti out of the ride without shutting the ride down. It has already been done at least once.

 

[erasure fan1]

Then maybe they are doomed because it is as simple as pulling the Yeti out of the ride without shutting the ride down. It has already been done at least once.

But that was my point, there has to be more to it than just the yeti itself. Like my first post said, I believe its a mix of a few problems. Others have said, Disney has never come out and said exactly why it went down in the first place. I also haven't seen a true reason, so at this point, anyone could be right.

 

[landauh]

Then maybe they are doomed because it is as simple as pulling the Yeti out of the ride without shutting the ride down. It has already been done at least once.

Since you have obviously been in the planning meetings and know what is required to fix the problem maybe you could just let the rest of know.

 

[RayTheFirefly]

Got a link for this confirmation? i'd like to see it. I believe you, I'm just curious.

It's somewhere in here. I believe @marni1971 said it?

 

[G00fyDad]

Since you have obviously been in the planning meetings and know what is required to fix the problem maybe you could just let the rest of know.

Sure. I'll get back to you on it.

 

[Rob562]

It's not easy to remove the Yeti. I heard in a documentary about the ride, that they would have to almost completely dismantle the ride to fix him. That's why it would take some 6-7 months.

The fact that the Yeti was in a warehouse in California (where the Discovery Channel special was filmed) until the mountain was almost completely done is additional proof that the mountain does *not* have to be torn down to remove him...

-Rob

 

[Mawg]

Like everyone says on here pulling out the Yeti is easy (I don't doubt that), Maybe the real problem is with something else. But if the problem is with the Yeti and you can pull it out and fix it and keep the ride going then it seems like a no brainer. I guess TDO just really likes the Disco Yeti better than A mode. This all make sense to me now!

 

[marni1971]

Got a link for this confirmation? i'd like to see it. I believe you, I'm just curious.

I posted it a few pages back.

 

[elfshadowreaper]

If the issue isn't the yet, but the structure, would they even have to remove the yeti? It seems like the could just repair the structure and leave the yeti in place.

 

[Mawg]

I wonder if overall the Yeti is just a money pit. They fix this issue and they know they'll have another a few month from then and the cost to constantly maintain it just wasn't worth it in the end. In other words they realized afterwards they just went too big for something that has to be running 12 hrs a day 365 days a year.

 

[Hula Popper]

But people ARE sheep, largely. Not many think for themselves. They just don't. They follow the herd. And 50 million of their fellow herd visit WDW yearly, so... It's gotta be worth it, right?? There can't possibly be a similar and better product elsewhere, right??

In other words "I'm smarter, more sophisticated, and more knowledgeable than everyone else. Those who don't look at things the way I see it, and don't do what I want them to do, are mindless, no-thinking sheep because my opinion about an inherently subjective matter is obviously the only valid opinion."

 

[JoeCamel]

OK, I'll play. How about if the problem really is the foundation of the mechanics for the yeti and they also tied some of the ride support to that same foundation? Then you DO have to shut down the ride to fix the yeti. No one knows and no one is telling so unless someone can convince an insider to spill WDW secrets then we are not going to know what the fix is til it is done and maybe not even then.

 

[Master Yoda]

OK, I'll play. How about if the problem really is the foundation of the mechanics for the yeti and they also tied some of the ride support to that same foundation? Then you DO have to shut down the ride to fix the yeti. No one knows and no one is telling so unless someone can convince an insider to spill WDW secrets then we are not going to know what the fix is til it is done and maybe not even then.

It had been widely reported by Disney that the track, the yeti and the mountain itself are 3 separate structures that do not share support or come in contact with each other.

 

[danlb_2000]

There are all kinds of holes in your analogy, the largest being that not everyone is ignorant of the fact it's a lesser product. I believe, certainly, that you are correct that the majority are. We all know that the core audience for WDW is once in a lifetime families, or once every 5 years. That's been said before, by Disney themselves, if I recall. I don't fault those people, because as you say, they don't know any better. I fault the people that know the bill of goods they're being sold, and aren't bothered by it... Which is a large majority of the people on this site, and the people that I'm discussing the topic with.

My problem isn't with the ignorant. It's with the willing.

And as to my park touring habits... I practice what I preach. We were a family that would spend 10 days at the parks 3 times each year, staying on site for every single trip. That stopped 6 or 7 years ago when we first visited Tokyo Disneyland. It really opened our eyes to what the parks in Florida COULD be, and where they were falling short. It became easier and easier to see the issues in Florida (while watching the prices raise), and we started taking our vacation dollars elsewhere. Since then, we've been season passholders at Disneyland, made trips to DLP, Hong Kong, and then recently back to TDL for what was the best Disney Parks trip of our entire lives. Our dollars spent at WDW have been severely cut back. We've been there once for 5 days in the past 3 years and stayed off site. We've spent days at UNI instead. We've gone on cruises. We've taken beach vacations. That trip to Tokyo changed us. We'll never look at things the same, and we're happy for that. We reward performance with our vacation dollars, and we're happier and have gotten a better value for it.

And we're fully aware we're a drop in WDW's collective bucket. We know that when we step out of line, someone else will step in. But my point is that I'm doing my part. I'm spending elsewhere. I'm getting articles written in the Sentinel about this very Yeti issue. I'm trying to open other people's eyes on a forum that is largely visited (and supported) by people that know there's something wrong at our beloved WDW. Some see it, some don't. Some that see it are so addicted they can't stop going even though they want to. Some willingly feed the addiction and don't care who knows it. Others just don't seem to understand you can get your fix elsewhere, and feel an equal (or better) euphoria. What frustrates me is I know that if enough people do what I have done, our beloved WDW WOULD be fixed. They wouldn't have a choice. I could once again call WDW my "home". But people ARE sheep, largely. Not many think for themselves. They just don't. They follow the herd. And 50 million of their fellow herd visit WDW yearly, so... It's gotta be worth it, right?? There can't possibly be a similar and better product elsewhere, right??

Frustrating.

And after I say all that... I will say there are some positives happening at WDW. More now than in the recent few years (thanks UNI!!). So it's not all completely doom and gloom. If this yeti gets restored to A mode, I'll tell my friends about it just as I've used it as the poster child for why to NOT visit WDW currently. But the list is still long, and it'll take more than a moving yeti to make WDW a better Disney Parks destination than DL currently.

One other possibility, and this is the group I am in, is that we recognize that there are problems with WDW, but the good for us still outweighs the bad. I fully acknowledge that WDW has issues, but I still enjoy my time there. I also enjoy my time at Uni, so yes I know there are good alternatives. I also understand that by going I am supporting the current state of things, but I am not willing to sacrifice my enjoyment of Disney in the hope that enough other people also stop going to get them to change their ways.

 

[Mawg]

It had been widely reported by Disney that the track, the yeti and the mountain itself are 3 separate structures that do not share support or come in contact with each other.

Yes, that was even said on the Discovery documentary. But it doesn't mean that they are not in the way of one another when it comes to fixing the Yeti.

 

[G00fyDad]

If the issue isn't the yet, but the structure, would they even have to remove the yeti? It seems like the could just repair the structure and leave the yeti in place.

It IS the Yeti, and not the foundation.

Yes, that was even said on the Discovery documentary. But it doesn't mean that they are not in the way of one another when it comes to fixing the Yeti.

But since they have already pulled him out once before with no shutdown of the ride, why do you think it is now a problem?

 

[wdw71fan]

from my understanding, the righteous and proper 'repairs' are more like an overhaul and 'rebuild' of the backbone of the yeti. While the extremities don't need the same attention, he basically has to be drawn and quartered to make it happen, while engineering a new torso/core... It has a heft price tag, and believe it or not, Disney isn't the only major company to wince at spending millions. an yes, I said millions.

 

[G00fyDad]

For those who understand engineering, is it possible to replace much of the metal components with carbon fiber to reduce the chances of this fracturing happening again?

 

[Master Yoda]

For those who understand engineering, is it possible to replace much of the metal components with carbon fiber to reduce the chances of this fracturing happening again?

It is a bit out of my discipline, but I am going to go with no.

Carbon fiber is an incredible materiel of you are designing something that needs to resist loads in one direction. (The video below is a great example of that) However, carbon fiber performance drops if a structure needs to be strong in more than one direction. It also can not take any kind of physical wear (eg abrasion). You can actually severely damage carbon fiber with a steak knife.