EE Yeti

[LarryBoy]

"The Yeti isn't on-stage for long enough"... You know, I once thought that it would be great if there was a once-in-a-blue-moon C-mode version of the ride where the EE train cars would come to a stop for an unprecedented third time --right in front of the Yeti in the Yeti chamber --and the whoolly beast suddenly straightens up into a formal stance, grabs an imaginary lapel with his left hand and starts to recite the first few lines from the Gettysburgh Address... then your car suddenly starts moving again, hurtling out of the mountain...

I'm serious about that last one!

I was thinking Shakepeare, perhaps some Hamlet or King Lear, would be more Yeti like, but otherwise I like this idea.

[cgriff]

Uh oh....we have another one on the dust...Perhaps you need to ride more than just Everest and Big Thunder...

"poquito manners", indeed!

[lockedoutlogic]

"poquito manners", indeed!

that's the second time i got that this week....going for the Hat Trick...

seriously though.....everest is meek for a coaster built in 2005....

don't let my jabs dull the point.....errrr.....yeah....that's what i ment

And you are way to corporate on this....no offense (buy i was right on the clock in thing....wasn't I?)

and by the way....try not to selectively edit posts to take the guts out of them and leave the quips.....

I'm harsh....but usually I have some type of fact or reasonable opinion in there somewhere

[cgriff]

that's the second time i got that this week....going for the Hat Trick...

"poquito manners", indeed! (There's the hat trick). But when the hat trick is scored *against you*, that's normally something one doesn't strive for...

I don't think that Expedition Everest is a meek coaster at all. I don't see how that makes me "corporate".

and by the way....try not to selectively edit posts to take the guts out of them and leave the quips...

ICDWTHIWTD! Is that an example of me being "corporate" or of me being "incorporate"?

[lockedoutlogic]

"poquito manners", indeed! (There's the hat trick). But when the hat trick is scored *against you*, that's normally something one doesn't strive for...

I don't think that Expedition Everest is a meek coaster at all. I don't see how that makes me "corporate".



ICDWTHIWTD! Is that an example of me being "corporate" or of me being "incorporate"?

Woah there...i'm just playing with you a little.....

I do disagree with your stance that the Yeti is "no big thing"

Perhaps if they had not hyped it that way...i'd let it slide....

But the yeti and the coaster and the mountain were a package deal....according to DISNEY

So yeah I'm harsh...it's probably annoying to many....

Kinda like all the "i'm offended by this" that comes on out on practically EVERY topic....even when they're benign....

so it's really more style points than anything

[Mousemates]

lockedoutlogic to cgriff

and by the way....try not to selectively edit posts to take the guts out of them and leave the quips.....

While we are in general agreement about EE, when I went back and read cgriffs post i didn't see any attempt at evisceration, disembowelment, or the gutting of your post. (gee....i hope its not the dust).

All I saw was a focused quotation which pointed out the particular comments he took umbrage with. I actually prefer this approach (as you can see from my quotation) since it leaves no doubt as to what the point of contention actually is. But to each his own.

[JPL]

For anyone that doesn't think the Yeti was meant to be a big deal or the main focus of the ride go back and listen to Joe Rhode speak about the attraction and the purpose the Yeti serves in the story.

[cgriff]

I do disagree with your stance that the Yeti is "no big thing"

The Yeti is huge. What are you talking about?

Oh... do you mean when I say that the ride is a great ride whether the Yeti is in A mode or in B mode? Well, I stand by that statement. It doesn't mean that I don't like the Yeti.

This new argument you've developed now, about the hype leading up to the opening of the attraction (4 years ago), and that because of the hype back then the ride must always remain the way that it did on opening day, disregarding that it might now be dangerous to operate the Yeti in A mode... That argument doesn't charm me, sorry.

It's not dust, but it might be

[GrumpyFan]

For anyone that doesn't think the Yeti was meant to be a big deal or the main focus of the ride go back and listen to Joe Rhode speak about the attraction and the purpose the Yeti serves in the story.

Most definitely! That's why the story is built up all thru the queue with news stories, photos and dozens of miscellaneous items supposedly relating to past Yeti sightings, all in an effort to prepare you for your own encounter with him.

[lockedoutlogic]

The Yeti is huge. What are you talking about?

Oh... do you mean when I say that the ride is a great ride whether the Yeti is in A mode or in B mode? Well, I stand by that statement. It doesn't mean that I don't like the Yeti.

This new argument you've developed now, about the hype leading up to the opening of the attraction (4 years ago), and that because of the hype back then the ride must always remain the way that it did on opening day, disregarding that it might now be dangerous to operate the Yeti in A mode... That argument doesn't charm me, sorry.

It's not dust, but it might be

Ok...let's be completely literal...something i choose rarely to do...

THE RIDE WITHOUT THE YETI IS MERELY A SLIGHT UPGRADE OVER BIG THUNDER MOUNTAIN AND SHOULD NOT BE ACCEPTIBLE TO EITHER THE DISNEY COMPANY OR THE CONSUMER (ME).
I BELIEVE IT IS EMBARASSING - AND DOES NOT EVEN FULFILL IT'S GOAL OF PLUGGING PART OF THE HOLE AT ANIMAL KINGDOM THAT HAS BEEN THERE SINCE THE DAY IT OPENED BECAUSE THEY CHOOSE TO NOT FULLY DEVELOP THE FOOTPRINT OF THE PARK....A LA MGM

how's that?

[Ian]

Walt referred to it as a weenie I beleive...

Well ... technically he used the term weenie only when describing ways to draw guests from one place to another.

I.E. he wanted to draw guests up Main Street and into the park so he placed a big "weenie" (Sleeping Beauty Castle) at the hub.

Not that I want to get into the whole Walt would turn over in his grave debate, etc. But, the Yeti is the draw for EE, says so all over the queue. To not see the yeti is a let down.

But see, you still see the yeti. You just don't see it moving. The alleged "story" doesn't suffer because the yeti is still present.

Zoom! -- Zip! -- Woosh! -- Gone! Half the people who rode EE on opening day didn't "see the yeti"! And that was when he was in A+++ mode!

You're rarely going to hear me say this ... which probably reflects well on cgriff ... but I agree with cgriff.

People are over-reacting ... the thing is still there. It just doesn't move.

[BrerGnat]

Alright, here's my take. I just went to WDW a couple weeks ago. Last time I was there was in Feb 2007. At that time, the Yeti was fully functional.

THIS time, I had NO idea that he was broken. In fact, I just found this out right now while reading this post.

I rode EE, and I enjoyed it as much as I did in 2007. And you know what? I didn't even NOTICE that the Yeti was any different! I did notice the strobe lights, but I didn't realize it was different from what I experienced back in 2007. We all enjoyed the ride as much as we did 2 years ago.

My point is, and I bet Disney is using this argument as a valid (to them) reason to leave the ride "as is" for now, the "average guest" is NOT going to notice the difference. They will enjoy the ride regardless of whether the Yeti is in A mode or B mode. The "average" guest, or the first time guest on EE will not be reading all these discussion boards, and won't necessarily know what the Yeti is CAPABLE of doing, or what he is SUPPOSED to do. They will get off the ride, along with the other THOUSANDS every day and exclaim how awesome of a ride it is.

The 90+ minute waits all week I was there are testament to the ride's continued popularity.

I still saw the Yeti for the same amount of time I did 2 years ago. All that was missing was the swipe of the hand, and really, at the time, I didn't even notice it was missing! It's only now, that I think back, that I realize "oh yeah, he didn't really move." But I still had a great time, especially since we were chosen as the "magical moments guests of the hour" and escorted through the Fastpass line, and got to skip that darn 90 min line! THAT was sweet.

[GrumpyFan]

My point is, and I bet Disney is using this argument as a valid (to them) reason to leave the ride "as is" for now, the "average guest" is NOT going to notice the difference. They will enjoy the ride regardless of whether the Yeti is in A mode or B mode. The "average" guest, or the first time guest on EE will not be reading all these discussion boards, and won't necessarily know what the Yeti is CAPABLE of doing, or what he is SUPPOSED to do. They will get off the ride, along with the other THOUSANDS every day and exclaim how awesome of a ride it is.

Agreed. To the "average guest", which is probably about 90% of those who visit, the reduced functioning, "B mode" will go unnoticed. Those of us who are the fanatics represent a small portion of the guests visiting, and thus don't really matter in the grand scheme because we also make up less than 10% of the revenue generated. So, IF the Yeti is ever fixed, it could be a long time from now.

[Ian]

And I would just like to point out that Nat and I are both most decidedly not "just regular guests" and it doesn't affect our enjoyment of the ride either.

So you can probably bump that 90% number up even higher.

Honestly, I'll get ripped for saying this, but if you're truly talking about repairs that would cost millions and result in a lengthy shutdown of the attraction then I agree with Disney's decision to leave it as-is.

I don't see any way that cost-benefit analysis could come out on the right end for fixing the yeti.

[BMan62]

I must say that I have to agree with Ian in that, from a cost analysis viewpoint, it does not make sense to 'fix' the Yeti if 90+% of the people riding EE do not even notice the difference.

My thoughts FOR fixing the Yeti are that 1) there were 'tests' of two or three versions of the Yeti animatronic (A, B, C modes) and the majority of test riders preferred the moving arm Yeti; 2) most, if not all, promotional materials played up the animatronic Yeti, not a statue of a Yeti; and 3) I, personally, thought the arm swinging out over the track was 'cool!'

Maybe they could make it so the Yeti arm is extended over the track, lock it in that position, and use the strobes to make it seem to be in motion? I actually have never seen the Yeti in B or C modes, so I don't know what affect those modes have on the ride, but as others have said, this goes by so quickly - does it really matter?

[JPL]

Once again I will point out that the most likely cause of this problem is Maintenance as stated the ride has not gone for a refurb in almost 4 years! It's long overdue!

As for people not noticing that could be true but it's much easier to miss a static object with strob lights than one reaching out at you.


And I am sorry but people who think $2.1M is too much money to fix a component of a ride that cost over a $100M. That's about 2% of the cost of the attraction I'm sure it has brought more than $2.1M in revenues in over the past 4 years.

Sorry it also just sets a disturbing trend what's next oh half the Pirates aren't working but leave the ride open our guests won't notice it.

[GrumpyFan]

And I am sorry but people who think $2.1M is too much money to fix a component of a ride that cost over a $100M. That's about 2% of the cost of the attraction I'm sure it has brought more than $2.1M in revenues in over the past 4 years.

Sorry it also just sets a disturbing trend what's next oh half the Pirates aren't working but leave the ride open our guests won't notice it.

I think we all agree here, that it SHOULD be fixed, regardless of the cost. But, if I had to guess, I would say that the budget for the maintenance department to fix it is not set up such that they can spend THAT kind of money. Besides that, they're probably arguing internally about WHO should fix it, Imagineering or Maintenance. The way things work at Disney is once a new project is completed by Imagineering, it's future maintenance and upkeep is turned over to the parks' maintenance department. So, it's probably stuck between the two. Imagineering spent all the money they were budgeted to build the attraction, and the repairs exceed or would wipe out the allotted budget that maintenance has to work with. Also, during this time in which all departments are cutting costs everywhere, I would imagine that Disney is very resistant to taking their main thrill attraction for AK offline, especially considering
that it's largely responsible for boosting AK's attendance for the last few years. And, if it's operating safely and there are no other major issues, why would they?

Don't get me wrong, I want to see it fixed and restored to it's original state. But, I understand why they're not in a rush to do it. From a business stand-point, It's just not reasonable. It would be like you or I sending our primary automobile that we use to drive to work everyday into the shop for a couple of weeks to be painted. And, don't give me the line about "Walt would fix it", because really, we don't know what he would do, because he's not here.

[DizneyRox]

My problem is not with one malfunction, or one problem. My problem is with the trend... For years, Disney has been doing this. They started skimping on nightly maintenance. Then they started reducing upkeep of the grounds, then they started reducing hours a bit, then this went down and didn't get fixed, then that, what's next?

The less is more and more for less attitude is really disturbing. Maybe more for me because I know I've got DVC there pulling me back and I know that I'll need to expect less and less each year. I'm done giving them the benefit of the doubt, they have proved time and time again that they don't have the guest in mind anymore at all. Unless there's a dollar still left in their pocket, but they'll do only what's necessary to get it.

[lockedoutlogic]

I gotta say...

I'm shocked by Ian and BMan taking the stance that "from a cost standpoint"...it shouldn't be fixed....

It's about quality....the quality of the ride and the product that Disney sells to us....

And you guys.....like many including myself....insist that the decline in quality..or disney tradition in general...is perhaps the single biggest problem at WDW....

Isn't the abandoning of a key element of a feature attraction 4 years into it's operation (or more like 3...actually) not a textbook example of that?

It should be fixed....because it SHOULD be embarrassing to Disney.

[BMan62]

I gotta say...

I'm shocked by Ian and BMan taking the stance that "from a cost standpoint"...it shouldn't be fixed....

It's about quality....the quality of the ride and the product that Disney sells to us....

And you guys.....like many including myself....insist that the decline in quality..or disney tradition in general...is perhaps the single biggest problem at WDW....

Isn't the abandoning of a key element of a feature attraction 4 years into it's operation (or more like 3...actually) not a textbook example of that?

It should be fixed....because it SHOULD be embarrassing to Disney.

After the beat down I took on saying that Disney should be investing in park infrastructure and attractions, I started looking at the costs that they are cutting. If they can put off, indefinitely, maintenance on something like the Yeti, maybe they can keep a couple more CM's employed.

No, it's not a good answer, but there are more important things to avoid cuts on right now.

BTW - I was the first to sign the HELPYETI petition, so understand that I do want it fixed - eventually.