EE refurb. could it be possible?

[thesplashmountaineer]

Now that diney just proved thaqt they can do some refurb without closing an attraction (the hitchhiking ghosts at HM), do you think it could be possible to work on the Yeti without closing expedition everest???

Perhaps they could put a giant screen and use projectors just like the new castle show while they are working to get the Yeti back in A-mode???

I wouldn't mind a screen for a couple of weeks just to be able to experience the yeti working in full effect!

[Mousemates]

possible and likely are two different beasts...yes, in a theoretical sense it could be possible. however, I would rate it to be extremely unlikely.

[PopPhan]

Highly unlikely as the problem with the Yeti has to do with the base it is mounted on. They will probably need to remove the animatronic completely to redo the base support. Since this would probably force them to remove a section of the 'mountain' to remove the Yeti, so that work can proceed, they will undoubtedly put the whole ride in major rehab mode for months to get it done.

Yeah, lots of 'probably's in there, but I am not a structural engineer, not do I have the blueprints for the attraction, so this is all conjecture on my part based on what has been said in the past by others more knowledgeable on the subject.

[DizneyFreak2002]

The Yeti can be removed without removing the mountain... I believe the issue is MONEY, plain and simple... I'm sure they have ideas and plans on how to fix it... They are just being cheap... The regular guest doesn't know or care about the state if the Yeti, why should Park Ops??? That is their thinking at this time...

Plus, take down the most popular ride in Animal Kingdom without another major E ticket to eat up the crowd, and there is a crowd problem... Another reason they are reluctant to take EE offline to fix the yeti..

I don't know how much I like the screen idea honestly... We all know how much they love screen technology... The screen would be a 20 year temporary replacement...

Plus, screens technology, ie digital projections, will ruin the look of Everest... The one they play already takes a bit away from the "realism"...

[ransam]

the track, the mountain, and the yedi are not connected. you can remove it w/o taking down the mountain or the track. You might have to close for a day to remove it, but it can be done, at least i think it can. ha

[BrerGnat]

Doesn't the Yeti have a support structure that goes below ground, like a hundred feet? Wasn't the mountain built around said support structure?

I don't think it's feasible to fix the yeti and not shut down the attraction.

[DizneyFreak2002]

The Yeti's room is not part of the ride though... If you look at back of the mountain pictures, you can see two big doors that lead into the yeti's showroom... The yeti can be taken apart and removed out these doors, probably over night if they wanted to..

But without a replacement to put there for the time being, the entire attraction would have to go offline, and that is something I doubt they want to do... Like I said, they have plans in place to fix the yeti.. They have plans in place to keep the ride open while the yeti is worked on... They are not moving forward because of money...

Disco yeti is here to stay, unlike Disco Duck.. LoL..

[Strmchsr]

Just an FYI - they are actually doing it right now. The Yeti is currently dark with a scrim up (at least it was a day or two ago). No word on what is actually being done, though. Don't know if they are looking over the possibility of a future refurb, are actually in process of a fix now, or if they are just doing something else temporary like Disco Yeti. My friends at WDI aren't saying anything at the moment, but I'm anxious to find out.

[Allenfow98]

well my two cents... i would love to see the yeti fully working. However, we were down in February, and i only had one complaint. as fast as you are flying past the yeti, whether he was moving or not, we couldnt see him at all. The only way i even knew he was there, was because i knew where he was. they atleast need to fix the lighting RIGHT NOW. put some strobe lights on it or something. I was with seven people, and only myself and my daughter had ridden the ride before, so we have seen it in working order. There were five others with us who had no idea the Yeti was even there.it was just to dark....It was almost embarrassing because i built up the yeti so much and had so much disappointment.

[DizneyFreak2002]

Just an FYI - they are actually doing it right now. The Yeti is currently dark with a scrim up (at least it was a day or two ago). No word on what is actually being done, though. Don't know if they are looking over the possibility of a future refurb, are actually in process of a fix now, or if they are just doing something else temporary like Disco Yeti. My friends at WDI aren't saying anything at the moment, but I'm anxious to find out.

Did not hear about this... If it is behind scrims, then what do the guests see at the end of the ride???

[JPL]

Did not hear about this... If it is behind scrims, then what do the guests see at the end of the ride???

Probably the same thing you see on one of those Discovery Channel Bigfoot shows absolutely nothing

[DizneyFreak2002]

Probably the same thing you see on one of those Discovery Channel Bigfoot shows absolutely nothing

LOL... Nothing is better than Disco Yeti...

[WDWfanatic742]

It's news to me, haven't seen this anywhere yet.

Most recent video I could find real quick was recorded on the 13th, and I could see nada in the Yeti room with zero disco lights or anything. So that could mean that it's completely dark, or the guy couldn't hold the darn camera straight

[RBrooksC]

Ok, as usual in these posts about the Yeti, somebody writes that Disney is being "cheap." I have a question, would one rather have large amounts of money poured into a Yeti that most people miss, most people don't care about and it not working does not take way from the ride or would you rather Disney spend their money on a Fantasyland refurb and expansions elsewhere in the parks?

It will never be a matter of being cheap. It is a matter of Corporate responsibility to its shareholders to spend their dollars wisely. If the money is better spent elsewhere, then that is where it should be spent.

[Strmchsr]

Most recent video I could find real quick was recorded on the 13th, and I could see nada in the Yeti room with zero disco lights or anything. So that could mean that it's completely dark, or the guy couldn't hold the darn camera straight

It's completely dark so that guests can't see the scrim. Not the camera operators fault in that case. I tried to find out more details yesterday, but my friends won't say anything yet.

[PopPhan]

Thanks for the info, Chris! Not getting my hopes up too much, but it would be nice to see a fully functioning Yeti again!!!

[WDWfanatic742]

Ok, as usual in these posts about the Yeti, somebody writes that Disney is being "cheap." I have a question, would one rather have large amounts of money poured into a Yeti that most people miss, most people don't care about and it not working does not take way from the ride or would you rather Disney spend their money on a Fantasyland refurb and expansions elsewhere in the parks?

It will never be a matter of being cheap. It is a matter of Corporate responsibility to its shareholders to spend their dollars wisely. If the money is better spent elsewhere, then that is where it should be spent.

Without the yeti, there is no story to the ride at all. It's a big mountain with a rollercoaster in and around it. It would be like (first thing I could come up with off the top of my head) Jurassic Park at IoA if the big dinosaur at the end of the ride wasn't there. Yeah 99% of people wouldn't care if it's working or not because all they care about is the ride and not what is around them, but the theming and story is why the 1% of us love Disney rather than Six Flags or whatever.

Here's my thing with it. They built the thing and spent the money on it. Generally you wouldn't want such an investment to go to waste. Someone somewhere didn't do their job if the concrete structure couldn't stand up to the rigors of everyday show for only a couple months after the ride opened. Yeah, the ride could and is running without it because like I said before most wouldn't care and don't even notice. But it's bad show for the rest of us.

Would I want them to spend the money elsewhere and build something new? Absolutely. But if they are going to build something that is THAT integral to the story, I'd like it to work for more than a few months after it opened...

[Tygger7]

But without a replacement to put there for the time being, the entire attraction would have to go offline, and that is something I doubt they want to do... Like I said, they have plans in place to fix the yeti.. They have plans in place to keep the ride open while the yeti is worked on... They are not moving forward because of money...

Disco yeti is here to stay, unlike Disco Duck.. LoL..

Gee...I thought it was dark because the yeti has a new gig in the tv ad for the GMC Terrain. Not only is the Terrain "yeti-friendly", but if you look closely, the yeti is "family-friendly"..he's holding the little girls hand.

[WDWdriver]

Just an FYI - they are actually doing it right now. The Yeti is currently dark with a scrim up.....

Yep. Something is finally happening. Don't expect a "fully functioning" yeti to emerge, but I think most of us will be happy with the result.

[RBrooksC]

Without the yeti, there is no story to the ride at all. It's a big mountain with a rollercoaster in and around it. It would be like (first thing I could come up with off the top of my head) Jurassic Park at IoA if the big dinosaur at the end of the ride wasn't there. Yeah 99% of people wouldn't care if it's working or not because all they care about is the ride and not what is around them, but the theming and story is why the 1% of us love Disney rather than Six Flags or whatever.

Here's my thing with it. They built the thing and spent the money on it. Generally you wouldn't want such an investment to go to waste. Someone somewhere didn't do their job if the concrete structure couldn't stand up to the rigors of everyday show for only a couple months after the ride opened. Yeah, the ride could and is running without it because like I said before most wouldn't care and don't even notice. But it's bad show for the rest of us.

Would I want them to spend the money elsewhere and build something new? Absolutely. But if they are going to build something that is THAT integral to the story, I'd like it to work for more than a few months after it opened...

But the Yeti is there. You see the tracks ripped up at the top of the mountain and you see him in the middle of the ride. I mean, with the speed one is going, just have a roar and a static Yeti would suffice.

I can remember being on that ride and almost missing him the first time I saw him. And he was in full-functioning mode when I almost missed him. The story can be told without a Yeti waving his arms at me. If the cost of this project is excessive, I would say funnel the money elsewhere and come back to this at a later date.