Yeti to be never fixed... solid evidence!

[Alektronic]

Would Disney link Pandora's construction with a major Yeti repair??? Maybe using the back side lot near Asia and grouping the construction into one time period fixing Everest early in the timeline? I don't know but just curious.

Nope. Totally different budgets, totally different divisions and departments.

 

[djkidkaz]

I'm personally not excited for Avatar at all but I think it will be the catalyst that finally gets the yeti fixed. Especially with all the big wigs that will be in and out of that park over the next few years while Avatar is being constructed. That and the fact they will be expecting a huge surge in AK's attendance.

And I'd just like to add that I wish they would expand the wildlife express train at AK to tour more of the park.

 

[TheDisneyMagic]

I see it as being more likely for them to wait for Avatar land to be finished and opened before they fox the yeti. Then capacity won't be hurt as much.

 

[PlaneJane]

You know what Walt would have done when he saw the yeti not working?

First he would gone very fast but friendly to the nearest backstage area. Then put in a line all the people responsible for the Yeti to remain broken. He would then give them the tongue lashing of a lifetime and then possibly stare at them with the one eyebrow cocked look, until someone cries and runs off from extreme fear.

He might have said:

What the hell was that damn mess I saw in there? I don't care what it takes I want that damn thing moving the same if not better than when it first opened. If you don't do it you're all gone and I'll find someone who will!

 

[Hakunamatata]

You know what Walt would have done when he saw the yeti not working?

First he would gone very fast but friendly to the nearest backstage area. Then put in a line all the people responsible for the Yeti to remain broken. He would then give them the tongue lashing of a lifetime and then possibly stare at them with the one eyebrow cocked look, until someone cries and runs off from extreme fear.

He might have said:

What the hell was that damn mess I saw in there? I don't care what it takes I want that damn thing moving the same if not better than when it first opened. If you don't do it you're all gone and I'll find someone who will!

Doubtful.

 

[PlaneJane]

Doubtful.

I bet Bob Gurr would say otherwise

 

[Hakunamatata]

I bet Bob Gurr would say otherwise

That's nice.

 

[PlaneJane]

That's nice.

Well considering that Gurr worked with Walt on the engineering side from Disneyland's preopening to Walt's Death in 1966 I would say he would be an expert on how Walt would behave in the workplace.

 

[Tigger1988]

What would Walt do about the Yeti? Nothing, he's dead.

 

[PlaneJane]

What would Walt do about the Yeti? Nothing, he's dead.

Hey, thanks for the smart a$$ answer. Congrads on not actually being able to bring a respectable thought out reply to my original post.

 

[Hakunamatata]

Well considering that Gurr worked with Walt on the engineering side from Disneyland's preopening to Walt's Death in 1966 I would say he would be an expert on how Walt would behave in the workplace.

Actually he would be considered an expert on Disney engineering. I doubt he could testify as to how Walt might react to a given situation.

 

[unkadug]

I can't believe that you are arguing about what a dead person might have said about something that they knew nothing about.

 

[Tigger1988]

Hey, thanks for the smart a$$ answer. Congrads on not actually being able to bring a respectable thought out reply to my original post.

Seems thought out to me. Walt's dead, been dead for decades. He knew nothing of the Yeti and would have no opinion on it. It's dumb to sit around making up stories of what he "would have done."

 

[PlaneJane]

Actually he would be considered an expert on Disney engineering. I doubt he could testify as to how Walt might react to a given situation.

From a Laughing Place article that Bob Gurr wrote:

"Sometime in 1958 as I was designing the Charging Hippo animation for the Jungle Cruise, Art Director Vic Greene said a strange thing to me. "Bob, its just not fair, Walt never picks on you." This puzzled me at the time because Walt had been very friendly to me ever since I met him in October 1954 when I was hired to design the body for the new Disneyland Autopia Car.

In the years after Vic had told me that, I became more aware of Walt's actions with others, watching out for the picking on that Vic complained about. Sure enough, some of the guys did get a snip or snarl from time to time, certainly a lot worse than the infamous single raised eyebrow. Then it dawned on me. When a guy was in the same exact business as Walt, a clash could occur. But Walt was not in the auto design business, and I was not in the cartoon and movie business. No conflict!

The next thing I became aware of was EGO. I had sort of noticed that everything was Walt Disney This, and Walt Disney That. No matter what anyone created at Walt Disney Productions and WED Enterprises, it was always a Walt Disney Creation. I guess I was having too much fun and satisfaction designing one thing after another that I never got around to trying to get some authorship publicity. The fact that the stuff worked and Disneyland guests were enjoying it was pay enough for me.

But Neal Gabler's book taught me that those amazing animator guys did indeed have big egos. Walt's ego was way bigger, so the clashes were inevitable. Neal also indicates that a lot of the guys just never backed off to become happy with just being a Number Two. Walt was Number One at animation, film, and Disneyland, while I was Number One at vehicle design. We were in two different trades. I couldn't have an opposing opinion on Mickey Mouse, and Walt couldn't quibble about Autopias and Monorails. I got away with all this without getting picked on.

My boss, Roger Broggie, told me once just how this Walt-Clashing would go. Seems an employee had built a model conestoga wagon and was trying to show his skill off to Walt in a business meeting, but with little result. The poor soul asked Walt "Don't I get an E for effort?" Walt snapped back "I'll give you S for ****."

Interestingly, I never saw Walt and Roger ever have cross words. I can understand now that Roger in his always understated way absolutely worshipped Walt. And I think Walt totally trusted Roger in every situation. Two guys with big egos, one that dominated, and one that operated very wisely indeed all the years I saw them together. Look at the lovely live steam model locomotive Lily Belle and the backyard train that those two fellows jointly built. This was a no-friction work relationship that Disneyphiles should know about.

I only suffered one upset with Walt, and it was not about ego. After a fatal accident at a nearby amusement park on a RotoJet Ride similar to the one at Disneyland, Construction VP Admiral Joe Fowler had Roger instruct me to design a safety cage for our ride, called the AstroJet. The cage was pretty ugly and we built an operating prototype of my design. The thing was sort of hidden by a staircase leading to Rogers upstairs office in the Studio Machine Shop.

A day or so later I was in the administration parking lot down at Disneyland when I saw Walt headed straight for me with the eyebrows arched in rage mode. "I just saw that GD thing in your shop...that GD thing is not going in MY GD PARK. Understand? This is my GD Park and I'm the only one who says what goes in it." He emphasized this with a painful jab to my chest with that famous boney finger. He didn't want to hear that it was Joe and Roger who put me up to it."

and if you have ever seen my signature on wdwmagic it was that part at the end that I mistakenly deleted one day

 

[Hakunamatata]

From a Laughing Place article that Bob Gurr wrote:



and if you have ever seen my signature on wdwmagic it was that part at the end that I mistakenly deleted one day

Didn't see anything about a Yeti in a park that Walt new nothing about. Given EPCOT was Walts main focus after MK, I personally think we would not have seen DAK or DHS if Walt were still around.

 

[PlaneJane]

Seems thought out to me. Walt's dead, been dead for decades. He knew nothing of the Yeti and would have no opinion on it. It's dumb to sit around making up stories of what he "would have done."

Well I know money is King in today's atmosphere but man what a difference it would make it those high up executives would just take one page out of Walt's book.

 

[Magenta Panther]

Hey, thanks for the smart a$$ answer. Congrads on not actually being able to bring a respectable thought out reply to my original post.

If I may add a thought or two...It's always interesting to speculate on what Walt would have done. And in some ways it's easy, because Walt seemed pretty consistent throughout his life in his approaches to invention and creativity. Extrapolating from his past behaviors, I'm convinced he would not have bought the Muppets or Marvel or have had the slightest interest in Avatar - because his studio didn't invent them. And similarly, I'm convinced that there is no way he would have let the Yeti stay broken. It's kind of disingenuous to say "Oh well we don't know what he would have done". We can't know, obviously, but there is such a thing as character in a person's makeup, and it's that character that allows us to know a person, trust a person, and anticipate a person's thoughts and desires. If you study the various sources that relate Walt's life and work, his character seems pretty clear. He was an original. He wanted to create or recreate things in an original way. He cared passionately about quality. People's opinions may differ about what Walt would have done in a given situation, but what counts, to me, is whether or not it's an educated opinion.

 

[Magenta Panther]

From a Laughing Place article that Bob Gurr wrote:



and if you have ever seen my signature on wdwmagic it was that part at the end that I mistakenly deleted one day

Great piece! Thanks for sharing that!

I can just imagine how Walt would react to the broken yeti...:lookaroun

 

[Scuttle]

Great piece! Thanks for sharing that!

I can just imagine how Walt would react to the broken yeti...:lookaroun

Ya I'm sure he would be mad, but I think he would quickly realize there's not much to do about it. They simply can't put Everest down for a year. If Everest was in MK or Epcot it wouldn't be a problem and probably wouldn't even alter attendance, but since it is one of six rides at AK and a super headliner they can't put if down. I'm actually tired of hearing people complain about the yeti. We shouldn't be complaining about the yeti not being fixed we should be complaining about how it was engineered and how it was plagued from day one.

 

[unkadug]

Ya I'm sure he would be mad, but I think he would quickly realize there's not much to do about it. They simply can't put Everest down for a year. If Everest was in MK or Epcot it wouldn't be a problem and probably wouldn't even alter attendance, but since it is one of six rides at AK and a super headliner they can't put if down. I'm actually tired of hearing people complain about Yeti. We shouldn't be complain about the yet not being fixed we should be complaining about how it was engineered and how it was plagued from day one.

AK survived without EE when the park opened....it can certainly survive a closing for rehab of EE now.

I get tired of people using that as an excuse for Disney NOT repairing the Yeti.