Yeti Placing wrong?

mickster

New Member
It's all the story, and seeing the Yeti is the climax of the everest story. That and the scare factor being higher, and there's the reasons why. Also, being such a complicated AA, he would have to be inside, and not exposed to the elements, such as in the 1st holding area.

I'm always reading on these boards how "complicated" the Yeti AA is. How would we possibly know the difference since we go flying past it so fast that we can't even get a decent look at it. It just doesn't make logical since to build the "most advanced AA ever" and then not want to showcase how advanced it is. I'm just not buying it. There's something fishy about this claim that the Yeti AA is so advanced.
 

mickster

New Member
Do you remember the film "Jaws"? The shark was never seen until three quarters into the movie. I think the fear of the unknown makes the ride more exciting- think back to the first time you went on the ride, unless of course you ingnored the spoiler warnings & knew what was going to happen- the fun of not knowing was great. Yes it would be really neat to get a good look at the Yeti but I think it would ruin the fun.

There's a couple of problems, though, with the "Jaws" comparison. First of all, with a movie you have around 2 hours to build the story up, build suspense, get involved in the story, etc. On a 3 to 4 minute ride, you don't have that luxury of time. You need to satisfy the audience more quickly.

Second, in "Jaws" you got to see much more of the shark as the movie progressed. By the time we get to the second half of the movie, we've already seen the shark several times, and by the last third or so of the movie, we've gotten several good long looks at the shark. The movie would have left audiences feeling frustrated if we never got to see the shark throughout the entire movie (except maybe a cartoon shadow) and then at the very end we just got a 2 second glimpse. I don't think people would have come away saying, "Wow, that was really suspenseful, and now I want to see the movie again and again just see what I missed." I think people would have come away thinking it was just a low budget flick. By only giving us a brief look at the Yeti at the end of the ride, that's essentially the effect Everest has. It makes the ride come across as cheap.

Now let's take another movie comparison: "Jurassic Park". In that film, they don't just show brief shots of the dinosaurs. We see them throughout the film and most of them are scary. Additionally, when "Jurassic Park" first came out, the digital technology they used to create the dinosaurs was definitely considered very impressive, and something the filmmakers wanted to showcase to a great extent. If the Yeti on Everest is the AA equivalent of that (i.e. If the Yeti is truly as advanced as Disney and fans claim it is) then I think they would want to show it off a little more.

It's probably also worth noting that if you've seen any documentaries on the making of "Jaws", then you probably have heard about all the constant complications they had with the mechanical shark in that movie. It just wasn't nearly as sophisticated a prop as it was originally intended to be, and so Spielberg had to get pretty creative at times to work around that problem. I've often wondered if the same thing happened with the Yeti AA. Maybe it was supposed to be more sophisticated and they ended up having problems with it, and consequently they placed it at the end of a fast moving portion of the ride as a "workaround". Then they disguised the whole things as "this is great storytelling! Look at how we build suspense and make you want to keep coming back!" :rolleyes:
 

mickster

New Member
I guess you hear what you choose to hear...

I think the hardcore EE fans are probably more inclined to have things they "want to hear" much more so than someone like me, who is simply being critical of the attraction. I'm just like everyone else, in that when I first rode this attraction I wanted very badly to love it. Why would I spend the money on a vacation just to set out to "hate" a ride, right? But the difference is that I was really disappointed by the ride and I immediately saw a lot of it's shortcomings. In contrast, I think there are probably a lot of fans on this board who were looking forward to the ride so much, that when it finally opened and they got to ride it, it was sort of difficult to accept that it was such a letdown.
 

EMThompsen

Member
There's a couple of problems, though, with the "Jaws" comparison. First of all, with a movie you have around 2 hours to build the story up, build suspense, get involved in the story, etc. On a 3 to 4 minute ride, you don't have that luxury of time. You need to satisfy the audience more quickly...

Point taken about the suspense building up. However, once you see the shark in Jaws you know what you're up against . Nothing can be as scary as when you see the shark the first time & then the movie becomes a battle between man & beast In Jurrasic Park you've got many creatures so it becomes a series for battles ( I believe the T -Rex is the best part of that movie & there's lots more movie after that scene But I digress). On EE we only have to deal with one creature. We get the build up with the torn tracks & then see a shadow tearing up the tracks. Once we see the actual Yeti we know what we're up against but because we do not have the luxury of time the battle between man & beast is very short. And , yes it would be fun to see the AA a bit longer but after the build up with the stops & starts etc. during the first part of the ride we get into the climax " out of control" part of the ride & can't stop the momentum. It is a roller coaster after all.
 

mickster

New Member
It is a roller coaster after all.

True, but it's a roller coaster with a very unique feature...the fact that it stops twice and reverses direction. I completely agree with the OP that Disney missed the boat on this one. I just can't believe they didn't make better use of those two spots on the ride. They supposedly developed this "really advanced AA" and then didn't take either of these two opportunities to showcase it and let riders get a better look at it.
 

Bratstarman

New Member
True, but it's a roller coaster with a very unique feature...the fact that it stops twice and reverses direction. I completely agree with the OP that Disney missed the boat on this one. I just can't believe they didn't make better use of those two spots on the ride. They supposedly developed this "really advanced AA" and then didn't take either of these two opportunities to showcase it and let riders get a better look at it.

But, as I said before, they had "The Bird on a Stick®". Nothing beats that!
 

mickster

New Member
But, as I said before, they had "The Bird on a Stick®". Nothing beats that!

You're right. Nothing beats "The Bird on a Stick". Although the "1920's era black and white animation of a Yeti shadow that moves completely differently from the AA version of what's supposed to be the same animal" comes awfully close (with emphasis on the word "awfully"). :lol:
 

Damien666

New Member
I recall reading up on something from Jim Hill Media that showed a past concept of where the Yeti was going to be on EE. They were going to have a AA of him at several different points, thing is it actually looked really cheesy. For examply one part was straight out of the defunct "King Kong" attraction at Universal.

But the way I see things, I don't mind the placement of the Yeti AA. I feel in some attractions you gotta save the big thing for last and it works for EE. Now while some would want him at one of the stopping points, I see it could pose a big problem if the AA breaks down.

Now another thing is the size of the mechanism that moves the Yeti, as we know they had to put the Yeti is a seperate area from the moutain structure. Since the structure is pretty big and uses a lot of force to move him, it would do a lot of wear and tear on the mountain if it was in one of the stopping points.
 

mickster

New Member
Since the structure is pretty big and uses a lot of force to move him, it would do a lot of wear and tear on the mountain if it was in one of the stopping points.

I'm not sure I follow you here. Why would it put "a lot of wear and tear on the mountain" in one of the stopping points but it doesn't put wear and tear on the mountain where it is now?
 

CThaddeus

New Member
I think my only real problem with the Yeti placement is that he/she is placed within seconds of the end of the ride. True, the Yeti is considered the climax of the attraction, however, a climax is usually followed by a wrap-up, of sorts...if for no other reason than the Yeti is just mere feet from the exit. I'm not sure what it needs...it just always feels like there needs to be a bit more space between the Yeti and the exit. I guess the best example of a complete story is Splash Mountain. After the drop (the climax), the ride isn't over. There's a final scene wrapping up the Br'er Rabbit story, followed by a coasting (or bumping, as the case may be) into the station.
Am I the only one who feels this way?
 

mickster

New Member
I think my only real problem with the Yeti placement is that he/she is placed within seconds of the end of the ride. True, the Yeti is considered the climax of the attraction, however, a climax is usually followed by a wrap-up, of sorts...if for no other reason than the Yeti is just mere feet from the exit. I'm not sure what it needs...it just always feels like there needs to be a bit more space between the Yeti and the exit. I guess the best example of a complete story is Splash Mountain. After the drop (the climax), the ride isn't over. There's a final scene wrapping up the Br'er Rabbit story, followed by a coasting (or bumping, as the case may be) into the station.
Am I the only one who feels this way?

I totally agree with you! Splash Mt is an excellent example of great Disney storytelling. Everest is not.
 

Damien666

New Member
I'm not sure I follow you here. Why would it put "a lot of wear and tear on the mountain" in one of the stopping points but it doesn't put wear and tear on the mountain where it is now?

If they had the AA at one of the stopping points, then it would probably have to be on one of the supports of the track. You don't want to have a lot of extra weight and force on the supports since it could do damage overtime.

Inside the moutain the Imagineers had to make sure the supports didn't touch eachother, the supports are really close to eachother but they do not touch. The force of the the Yeti AA could very well have the supports touch or smack eachother.

That's why the Yeti AA is housed in a seperate building from the mountain.
 

mickster

New Member
If they had the AA at one of the stopping points, then it would probably have to be on one of the supports of the track. You don't want to have a lot of extra weight and force on the supports since it could do damage overtime.

Inside the moutain the Imagineers had to make sure the supports didn't touch eachother, the supports are really close to eachother but they do not touch. The force of the the Yeti AA could very well have the supports touch or smack eachother.

That's why the Yeti AA is housed in a seperate building from the mountain.

I guess maybe I'm missing something. Why couldn't they have just had the same setup that they have now, only place it at one of the stopping points instead?
 

Damien666

New Member
I guess maybe I'm missing something. Why couldn't they have just had the same setup that they have now, only place it at one of the stopping points instead?

I have three words for that.

Lack of Space.

At the top of the moutain or in the middle there is no "Free Room" they can place the yeti AA without placing it near or on the supports.
 

PBarton

Active Member
I think my only real problem with the Yeti placement is that he/she is placed within seconds of the end of the ride. True, the Yeti is considered the climax of the attraction, however, a climax is usually followed by a wrap-up, of sorts...if for no other reason than the Yeti is just mere feet from the exit. I'm not sure what it needs...it just always feels like there needs to be a bit more space between the Yeti and the exit.
Exactly!

As the ride enters the Yeti AA scene, it is supposed to be a moment of sheer terror...

The train shoots through under the Yeti, travels on for a short distance and then stops... Phew, we just escaped from the Yeti - he will never catch up with us as he is about 200 feet behind us.....

He is realy angry, but too lazy to chase after us! Believe me, I would want to be at the other side of the planet before I stopped running! LOL

Should have made the ride last a little longer from the AA scene to the unload area..
 

Bratstarman

New Member
You're right. Nothing beats "The Bird on a Stick". Although the "1920's era black and white animation of a Yeti shadow that moves completely differently from the AA version of what's supposed to be the same animal" comes awfully close (with emphasis on the word "awfully"). :lol:

You mean "Steamboat Yeti"?
 

disnyfan89

Well-Known Member
I remember talking to a manager when I first rode the ride and he was telling me that originally at the twisted tracks the yeti was supposed to walk over the hill and push you back down the mountain. The imagineers decided that it ruined the suspense of the attraction and instead went with subtle references like the foot prints in the snow and all the claw marks.
 

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