Yeti Update?

Originally Posted By The Duck

I'm sorry if this was covered recently, but since seeing the stationary yeti at Expedition Everest last January, does anyone know if it's operational yet?

 

Originally Posted By FerretAfros

From what I understand, there is no effort being made to repair the yeti. It cracked the foundation with its big movements, and fixing it would be extremely difficult, costly, and time consuming, which are 3 things that Disney tries to avoid.

 

Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer

There have been rumors about a refurb for E:E in early 2010...but I doubt it.

 

Originally Posted By MPierce

What happen to the partial movement refurb that some folks were praising not to long ago?

 

Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer

It's off and on I think...

 

Originally Posted By sassystitch

What do you guys mean by stationary Yeti? I was just on the ride last week and he was moving. Unless I imagined it. You're talking about the huge animatronic that swings his arm down at the train right?

 

Originally Posted By The Duck

<What do you guys mean by stationary Yeti? I was just on the ride last week and he was moving. Unless I imagined it. You're talking about the huge animatronic that swings his arm down at the train right?> When I rode Everest last January, the yeti wasn't working and was (sorta-kinda) given the illusion of movement with a strobe light.

 

Originally Posted By Longhorn12

I rode it 3 times in march and he moved every time...?

 

Originally Posted By davewasbaloo

At least you guys have seen him. When we road a couple of times during opening year, the cave was just pitch black. I was so upset because he was the main reason why I wanted to go to WDW.

 

Originally Posted By Mr X

***I was so upset because he was the main reason why I wanted to go to WDW.***

A few seconds of looking at a fairly impressive animatronic robot was your main reason for crossing an ocean?

Yikes.

;p

(the monster worked for me a couple of years ago, but it still kinda sucked...the ride itself was way cool though, I'd ride again and again; functional brief robot viewing or not!)

 

Originally Posted By davewasbaloo

Well a few other reasons, like getting Jessica's first hair cut done, but it was the main catalyst (sad, I know). Just like TDS tipped me over the edge in my quest to get to Japan.

 

Originally Posted By davewasbaloo

To me, Disney is largely about the AA's. They still facinate me. And I am saddened by their use less and less in the parks. Heck, WDSP only has the sea gulls from Finding Nemo, and they are in a loading area of a ride half my family cannot enjoy.

 

Originally Posted By Mr X

You mean DisneySea, right?

Well, that's a whole park though.

I would assume that if you travelled all this way and the Lava Monster wasn't working (truth be told, if it wasn't you wouldn't get on the ride anyway but that's beside the point) would you feel your entire journey a waste?

I think riding the Pooh attraction would make you feel better (and Sindbad, and 20,000 Leagues, and all the rest of the awesomeness ;p).

Definitely appreciate your love for AA's, I love em too (VERY much so...a ride with animatronics trumps crap rides that don't have them in my book...I LOVE Pirates, and Spaceship Earth, and back in the day Horizons, etc, etc...).

 

Originally Posted By Mr X

***I think riding the Pooh attraction would make you feel better (and Sindbad, and 20,000 Leagues, and all the rest of the awesomeness ;p).***

All of the above containing a veritable PLETHORA of AA's, by the way.

 

Originally Posted By davewasbaloo

Ya true. But as virtually everything else that went in to WDW between our Honeymoon in 2000 and our visit to WDW in 2006 were transplants from California or Paris, thrill based (ok, I know Everest was) or toon based, it was really EE and AKL that drew us in (plus a really cheap deal).

But almost everything new Disney had was a disappointment:

Nemo was a lame replacement for the Living Seas hydrolators et al (and the Angler fish was not working). The Yeti was broken (as were so many AA's in the MK). We got stuck in the same scene of COP for three times on the same show (I love the show, but not that much). The Finding Nemo show was meh. Mission Space was an overrated waste of time. I also think Philharmagic is really overrated too. And don't get me started on what they did to Tomorrowland.

In all honestly, the only new additions that had a positive impact once we got there were:

The rest of EE (but again, the lack of Yeti was very VERY disappointing).

Soarin' (which we love at DCA and has shorted waits there)

The new China film

One Man's Dream was awesome though.

LMA was not as enjoyable to me as in Paris.

And that is really the impression I had of the new stuff.

What I liked about WDW were the cool Star Tours encounter, getting Jessica's first haircut done in the MK, and seeing our friends. But the resort, well, it was a huge disappointment compared to our 2000 trip. And I honestly think staying on site and using the buses made it worse than if we had a car and had WDW as a part of a trip.

 

Originally Posted By Mr X

***And I honestly think staying on site and using the buses made it worse than if we had a car and had WDW as a part of a trip.***

I think I already told you that.

Renting a car (a MUST!) and getting OFF the property (when you feel like it of course) is key to an enjoyable vacation imho.

 

Originally Posted By SuperDry

<<< Renting a car (a MUST!) and getting OFF the property (when you feel like it of course) is key to an enjoyable vacation imho. >>>

The two are not mutually exclusive. You can do very well by yourself by renting a car even if you stay on property. There are *some* cases where using a WDW transport makes sense if you're on-site even if you have a car, but in most cases, having your own car makes things much easier.

 

Originally Posted By Mr X

Well, that's why I wrote "when you feel like it", which probably should've been "if/when".

 

Originally Posted By SuperDry

<<< Well, that's why I wrote "when you feel like it", which probably should've been "if/when". >>>

I know that's what you meant - I just wanted to clarify for those that may not read what you wrote that carefully.

 

Originally Posted By SuperDry

<<< ***I was so upset because he was the main reason why I wanted to go to WDW.***

A few seconds of looking at a fairly impressive animatronic robot was your main reason for crossing an ocean? >>>

Well, that was the big thing promoted at WDW that year wasn't it? "Come meet the Yeti!" So, when the signature item of the new attraction is broken, it would be disappointing. Not necessarily because it's really that big a deal in the big scheme of things, but when Disney marketing has been hyping it all year and telling you how great it is, you're going to look forward to seeing it.

Kind of like how this past summer's marketing centerpiece of the entire DL resort, the new fire-breathing dragon for Fantasmic!, wasn't actually working until after Labor Day.

<<< You mean DisneySea, right?

I would assume that if you travelled all this way and the Lava Monster wasn't working (truth be told, if it wasn't you wouldn't get on the ride anyway but that's beside the point) >>>

But that is exactly the point. The Lava Monster was engineered correctly to begin with. Plus, as you point out, if it were for some reason to stop working, the ride would be shut down until it was fixed, rather than just let it run for hours, days, or even months with it broken, as has been the case with the Yeti. And because it's a mandatory component of one of the park's main E-ticket attractions, you can be sure that engineering thought has been put into its maintenance, such that whatever is likely to wear out gets serviced or replaced during the annual refurb so that it's unlikely to break down while the ride is in service. Compare this to the "run until failure" mentality that has crept into stateside maintenance (famously at DL during the late 90-'s/early 2000's, and to some degree elsewhere).