Yeti news

[askmike1]

Am I the only one who really doesn't care much about the Yeti? I rode Everest when he was in A mode, and sure it was better than now, but it's like 2 seconds. Is it THAT big of a deal.

When that's the culmination of the story then yes. It would be like ripping out the end of romeo and Juliet and replacing it with the end of high school musical.

 

[Master Yoda]

Your an engineer? Nice. Think you could go over there and give these guys a gentle push in the right direction on fixing this badboy?

I doubt the engineers are the problem. My guess would be the bean counters and park operations are the ones who need to be put in the trunk of a car and taken for a ride into the country.

 

[Helena123]

Maybe someone needs to remind those in management of Mickey's Commandment Number 10.
From the book "Walt Disney Imagineering: A Behind the Scenes Look at Making More Magic Real":

10. Keep it up! (maintain it)
In a Disney park or resort, everything must work!
Poor maintenance is poor show!

I know the yeti technically does "work" but I think the point still stands.

 

[NadieMasK2]

I believe it. Look how deteriorated Space Mountain had become when it FINALLY got a refurb, and that was with having other headliner attractions in the park. And even at that the refurb was underwhelming compared to DL. I consider myself one of the lucky ones to have seen it in the early years in full mode because I don't think we'll see it again.

 

[RunnerEd]

I agree completely with one post who said that they don't want to close the attraction because attendance will drop. That's because when you shut down an attraction in Animal Kingdom, you've shut down 1/8 of the parks attractions. The biggest deal here isn't the Yeti (although that's huge), the biggest deal is the $85 a day zoo that has a few rides in it.:brick:

 

[Fable McCloud]

When that's the culmination of the story then yes. It would be like ripping out the end of romeo and Juliet and replacing it with the end of high school musical.

Ouch! I don't think I could handle the end of "Romeo & Juliet" morphing suddenly into HSM. I just taught that play and the image that is now seared into my head is terrifying.

 

[redshoesrock]

A park wide 10% or more drop in attendance that is not connected to a recession or disaster.

QFT. Anyone seriously think Harry Potter at Universal had nothing to do with the giant Fantasyland overhaul?

 

[Evil Genius]

Am I the only one who really doesn't care much about the Yeti? I rode Everest when he was in A mode, and sure it was better than now, but it's like 2 seconds. Is it THAT big of a deal.

I'm with you on this. In fact, I remember riding E:E during the A mode days and needing to ride it multiple times to to actually SEE the Yeti! It happens too fast!

After riding it in B mode..eh...I mean I understand the issue with TDO not wanting to do what's needed to fix it...that in itself is just another facet of a larger problem...but quite honestly it doesn't effect the overall fun of the attraction.

 

[Master Yoda]

QFT. Anyone seriously think Harry Potter at Universal had nothing to do with the giant Fantasyland overhaul?

What the hell are you talking about? Where in this discussion was WWOHP or the FLE even mentioned?

 

[Tom]

From what I've heard, and I've heard this about a year and a half ago from a, then engineer at WDI, their was a part/piece in the Yeti that kept breaking/failing. This caused the Yeti to go into "B-Mode". The part/piece that caused the Yeti to be put into "B-Mode" costs around $130,000 to replace. The person didn't go into details about it because I didn't press the issue. But this person did go onto say not to hold your breath if you expect it to be fixed. That is just what I was told, and I figured I'd share it.

They probably spend $130,000 on one maintenance project, like replacing HVAC units around property. $130,000 is literally pennies to WDW Parks & Resorts. A $130,000 part isn't the problem. Structural failure is the problem...combined with bad PR and lost revenues when they shut down 1/3 of AK for a few months.

To this entire idea of it never being fixed...

I always thought it would be a waste of time to stand outside E:E with "Fix the Yeti" signs and t-shirts but I'm getting so irritated at the lack of response by Disney that I think maybe we should start doing it.

Who am I kidding? It wouldn't help.

It would help you get kicked out of the park. Your Freedom of Assembly doesn't apply on private property

I am an engineer, not a PE mind you, and it has been my experience that quite a few PE would not know which end of a hammer to hold.

OMG - 100% true. :lol:

 

[Fable McCloud]

QFT. Anyone seriously think Harry Potter at Universal had nothing to do with the giant Fantasyland overhaul?

I completly agree with that. I mean, Disney probably had the idea for the expansion ages ago, but the attendence at the Harry Potter park is probably what caused the "let's expand right now" mindset.

 

[wizards8507]

I mean I understand the issue with TDO not wanting to do what's needed to fix it...that in itself is just another facet of a larger problem...but quite honestly it doesn't effect the overall fun of the attraction.

This whole "TDO" vs. "TDA" notion is fallacious when it comes to projects like this. Imagineering and Finance personnel who make decisions this big have responsibilities across the globe, and are not confined to one decision making team.

 

[gallerie]

This is a complete and total embarassment. This news isn't really a shock, but seeing the facts laid out so plainly really makes my blood boil. It shows just how little they care (whoever "they" are, I'm not up to date with the politics). This whole thing is infuriating and beyond disappointing.

If this news is pretty much set in stone, I think it should be reported on. This is management at its worst, and the maybe the worst "show" we've ever seen at WDW. To any reporters/columnists who read this forum, I think this story needs to continue to be brought to light. Disney's not going to do anything to fix the problems at the parks until something tarnishes their name.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[Lee]

I was under the impression that they would have to tear apart the mountain?

No. Not at all.

I can't believe Joe Rohde would allow this to happen to his baby unless it is above him.

Sadly, it ain't up to Joe. If he had his way, it would have been fixed about three years ago.

Safety
Courtesy
Show
Efficiency

Thats how it goes.

Yep. Used to, anyway.

Is it THAT big of a deal.

Yes. It is the focal point of the ride and all its publicity, marketing, merchandising, etc.
Go back and read the blog I wrote. It's about more than just those few seconds you see it in the ride.

They should have NEVER let the highlight of the ride be in view less time than it takes to sneeze.

That's what you get when you cut a ride's budget.

I doubt the engineers are the problem. My guess would be the bean counters and park operations are the ones who need to be put in the trunk of a car and taken for a ride into the country.

Yes, sir. Dead on.

QFT. Anyone seriously think Harry Potter at Universal had nothing to do with the giant Fantasyland overhaul?

Little to nothing. FLE is not intended to counter Potter. If it was, it would have been open by now. As it stands, FLE will be finished just in time to get spanked by Potter Phase 2.

This whole "TDO" vs. "TDA" notion is fallacious when it comes to projects like this. Imagineering and Finance personnel who make decisions this big have responsibilities across the globe, and are not confined to one decision making team.

Not really. This particular problem falls directly into the lap of WDW management. It's a broken effect in their park, and would be fixed using their maintenance budget. The only way Burbank would get involved is if for some reason they needed substantial additional funds. They don't. All they need to do is decide to do it, and allocate the funds.

 

[Magenta Panther]

I don't believe for a second that it's too expensive to fix.

I do believe that they are so cheap that they'll take the cheap way out and settle for a half measure.

Total and complete fail.
Those responsible should be fired

I completely agree. This is outrageous.

 

[Magenta Panther]

Am I the only one who really doesn't care much about the Yeti? I rode Everest when he was in A mode, and sure it was better than now, but it's like 2 seconds. Is it THAT big of a deal.

It is to me. The climax, the payoff of the ride is the Yeti. The story behind the ride, so carefully articulated in the queue, is never satisfyingly resolved. All we get is a too-obvious animation of a yeti tearing up some train track and maybe some strobe lights, and that's it. It's pitiful. I'm especially mad because I've never seen the yeti in full A mode - except on a hype piece on the Travel Channel, and that was just the yeti being tested - he hadn't been put in the mountain yet.

This failure is a massive indictment of the people running the parks. Combine broken Yeti with broken Dragon, PLUS the brilliance of Universal's Potter ride...and Florida, we've got a problem...

 

[BrerFrog]

Sadly, it ain't up to Joe. If he had his way, it would have been fixed about three years ago.

I feel bad for Joe. All he can do is stand back and watch his amazing park get budget cut after budget cut.

 

[RunnerEd]

I feel bad for Joe. All he can do is stand back and watch his amazing park get budget cut after budget cut.

Wouldn't it be cool if they would make an Imagineer President of Disney Parks for once. It would also be cool if we had a creative artist in charge of an annimation studio like Pixar.....oh wait. How's that division working out?

 

[RSoxNo1]

Oh, it's extremely feasible. They know exactly how to do it. People with knowledge of such things have told me so. It's only a matter of being willing to:
A) Close the ride for a couple of months
and
B) Write a check, and not one as big as you might think.

Neither of those things are "feasible" to management. Show is not important to them these days. They are more concerned about a loss of attendance (which wouldn't be a problem if the park had been properly developed over the last 12 years), and the hit to their budget.
I say again, anyone in WDW management who puts either of those factors ahead of good, quality show (which still comes before "efficiency") has no business working for Disney.

I expect their resignations on my desk by 5pm tomorrow. They can go "spend more time with their family."

We talked about this back on Episode 35 of my show. This was spawned by the Jason Garcia article in the Sentinel.

You can listen to my show here. It starts out with an interview with Jason Garcia, and then we discuss some of our own conclusions.

In my opinion, the cost to fix the Yeti is not the issue, it's the predicted drop in attendance. I figured that the drop in attendance at the park could easily cost them $50 million. Disney only has themselves to blame for this because as Lee said, they've underbuilt the park to a point where they can't afford to take Everest offline for 6 months.

I offered my solutions:

1. Put DINOSAUR down for a refurbishment to upgrade that into a major E-Ticket.
2. Add show elements to Discovery River, and re-open the Discovery River Boats
3. Break Ground on whatever they're putting in Camp Minnie Mickey.

They could do 1 of those 3 things, and have the opening coincide with the refurbishment of Expedition Everest.

Then, to acually sell the public on the Everest refurbishment - add more to the ride. Improve show scenes (if possible have the Yeti projection room involve some sort of shaking or teetering of the track for example). Make it more than just "fixing the Yeti".

In theory, you could refurb Dinosaur and prep the Discovery River Boats for re-opening at the same time. Once that's done, you close Everest, the attendance doesn't take as big of a hit, and when it Everest re-opens the park as a whole is substantially better.

 

[Dads 2 Boys]

What the hell are you talking about? Where in this discussion was WWOHP or the FLE even mentioned?

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: