Can anyone confirm? The yeti is working again?

[SkaGoat]

The only reason it hasn't been fixed is they would have to shut the ride down for an extended period of time. Animal Kingdom doesn't have enough capacity without EE. My guess is once Avatar land is in full swing, they'll do a full refurb on EE.

 

[bethbuchall]

There was definitely a difference in lighting between the first time I rode it on August 11th and the last time I rode it on August 20th. I think it was almost completely dark on the 11th. It was much more visible on the 20th.

 

[puffkin]

Rode today. I was one of the lucky ones to see the yeti in its glory at opening so yes, there is no question it is not working. It is definitely still disco yeti...but the strobes definitely were different than our last trip in March.

 

[Ariel8676]

Haha no I didn't see the beast in France

My kids said that It looked as if it came toward the train and swiped its hand... We just got back a few days ago, I guess they were wrong

 

[Brian_WDW74]

My kids said that It looked as if it came toward the train and swiped its hand... We just got back a few days ago, I guess they were wrong

The forward motion of the train combined with the strobe effect can make it seem like the yeti is moving, but he actually isn't. It sounds like the strobe has been changed recently, but the old fellow is still as immobile as ever.

 

[joshsmom]

Yes they are definitely fixing the Yeti just as soon as they extend the monorail to the Animal Kingdom with a station that will let you off just by Mt. Everest. They are combining the projects and will be done with both just as soon as the first one is done is the official word.

I think one of the bus drivers told me this exact thing!! MUST be true, right?

 

[1000HappyWishes]

Even after Avatarland, I doubt that Disco Yeti will ever be back to her old glory...ever...

 

[THESCHULTZFIVE]

I know Joe Rohde said it will work again, but he didn't give a time frame, right?

 

[Brian_WDW74]

I know Joe Rohde said it will work again, but he didn't give a time frame, right?

Sort of. When he was asked during the recent D23 Expo if the yeti would ever be fixed, his reply was: "It's very complicated to work on, we are working on it. I will fix the yeti some day, I swear."

Whether this means there are concrete plans to fix it or it's just hopeful thinking on Joe's part is unclear. But I wouldn't count on the yeti moving anytime soon.

 

[THESCHULTZFIVE]

Sort of. When he was asked during the recent D23 Expo if the yeti would ever be fixed, his reply was: "It's very complicated to work on, we are working on it. I will fix the yeti some day, I swear."

Whether this means there are concrete plans to fix it or it's just hopeful thinking on Joe's part is unclear. But I wouldn't count on the yeti moving anytime soon.

"Some day"....that's what it was. Oh we'll, I guess that's better than its never going to happen so get used to it.

 

[PatMcDuck]

I think the problem with the Yeti is that they cannot just replace him, they need to fix him. To even attempt it, they would need to close the ride for who knows how long. I think they inserted the Yeti at one point in the construction, (and his much larger support system) and sort of built the mountain around him. So it is a bit of a nightmare.

I hope they only attempt it, after they figure it out, so they only have to close the ride for a short time.

I miss the Yeti that moved, it was a much better effect.

 

[DVCcurious]

I just rode EE for the first time today and I can tell you all with certainty that the Yeti is moving. I can see why it would've been a problem to fix because it is really deep and high in the mountain, but it was moving and everything.

Here's what I saw...you start the ride going in circles on the ground and then you go up the mountain, then at the top you turn left and you see that the tracks are ripped up. Then the ride goes backwards and then it kinda goes up and backwards until you are sort of hanging there in the dark.

Then, right in front of you, the Yeti jumps out and howls. Then the Yeti grabs the track and rips it up. Then she jumps away.

Then your train goes down this huge hill and it's just a normal roller coaster.

But the Yeti is moving. I saw it with my own eyes. There was no strobe light or wind effect.

 

[LilGMom]

I just rode EE for the first time today and I can tell you all with certainty that the Yeti is moving. I can see why it would've been a problem to fix because it is really deep and high in the mountain, but it was moving and everything.

Here's what I saw...you start the ride going in circles on the ground and then you go up the mountain, then at the top you turn left and you see that the tracks are ripped up. Then the ride goes backwards and then it kinda goes up and backwards until you are sort of hanging there in the dark.

Then, right in front of you, the Yeti jumps out and howls. Then the Yeti grabs the track and rips it up. Then she jumps away.

Then your train goes down this huge hill and it's just a normal roller coaster.

But the Yeti is moving. I saw it with my own eyes. There was no strobe light or wind effect.

What you described sounds like the part of the ride where the coaster stops to switch tracks and you see a "video" on an upper mountain wall. I think most people are wondering if the actual large Yeti animatronic is swinging her arm down at the track as the train goes racing past.

 

[DVCcurious]

I saw a video but it was a video of the Yeti and it was moving. It wasn't a still picture or anything.

I didn't see a large animatronic. Where is that supposed to be?

 

[Micca]

I think the problem with the Yeti is that they cannot just replace him, they need to fix him. To even attempt it, they would need to close the ride for who knows how long. I think they inserted the Yeti at one point in the construction, (and his much larger support system) and sort of built the mountain around him. So it is a bit of a nightmare.

I hope they only attempt it, after they figure it out, so they only have to close the ride for a short time.

I miss the Yeti that moved, it was a much better effect.

This is my understanding too: The yeti is actually built in to the infrastructure of the mountain. My totally non-technical guess is that the yeti movement was actually damaging the infrastructure which over a period of time could be not only aesthetically unpleasing but possibly unsafe. The challenge is to restore the movement without having to dismantle and restore a major chunk of the mountain.
I'd guess that would be a very long, very expensive proposition.

I believe those who report having seen it functioning recently. Perhaps they've done some tweaking to the mechanism and are doing some test runs. If they felt they found a permanent solution, I don't believe they'd be keeping it a secret.

 

[mesaboy2]

I saw a video but it was a video of the Yeti and it was moving. It wasn't a still picture or anything.

I didn't see a large animatronic. Where is that supposed to be?

Yeah, you saw the animation on the wall that I referred to earlier. There is also a giant animatronic in the last tunnel that is after the big drop with the left turn at the bottom (the one that nonriders can see you best on). Betty is sometimes lit with a strobe with a fan on her, and she is sometimes not lit at all. She goes by fast in either case, so you may not see her either way.

 

[drgnfly30]

I saw a video but it was a video of the Yeti and it was moving. It wasn't a still picture or anything.

I didn't see a large animatronic. Where is that supposed to be?

Look at the videos I posted earlier, two of them are of the full ride. You are talking about the video which is before you meet Betti.

 

[Gorechick]

If you lookup the Disney Parks travel shows on Netflix, one of them talks about the Yeti quite a bit . It might be Behind the Scenes or Animal Kingdom, i forget which one. The imagineers are explaining how realistic and revolutionary the animatronic is and you get to see it really in action.

 

[Nixie]

I just rode EE for the first time today and I can tell you all with certainty that the Yeti is moving. I can see why it would've been a problem to fix because it is really deep and high in the mountain, but it was moving and everything.

Here's what I saw...you start the ride going in circles on the ground and then you go up the mountain, then at the top you turn left and you see that the tracks are ripped up. Then the ride goes backwards and then it kinda goes up and backwards until you are sort of hanging there in the dark.

Then, right in front of you, the Yeti jumps out and howls. Then the Yeti grabs the track and rips it up. Then she jumps away.

Then your train goes down this huge hill and it's just a normal roller coaster.

But the Yeti is moving. I saw it with my own eyes. There was no strobe light or wind effect.

That is not the Yeti everyone is talking about. The real Yeti is a ginormous animatronic that is in the last "cave" before you go back to the ride unloading area. She looks like she is hanging off the side of the cave and back in the day used to actually lean out and swipe at the train cars as you went by. Now, she doesn't move at all. There are usually strobe lights on her to give the illusion of movement as you fly by, but sometimes they even leave those off in which case you probably wouldn't even notice her. I urge you to go look up on Utube making of Everest esp. part 4 where they actually show the yeti and how she used to work and such.

 

[Planogirl]

Doesn't it seem odd that they would install a huge animatronic in such a way? I've seen commentary that the animatronics can be quite complex and need a fair amount of maintenance and yet the yeti is so hard to get to apparently.

Anyway, the ride is still a blast even with a stationary yeti.