Sure, the redhead from Pirates of the Caribbean turns heads and John in Carousel of Progress tells tales just like my own father could, but there is something about the yeti that has always intrigued me. I must admit I had a fascination with the creature before the attraction was created, but seeing the twenty-two foot tall yeti lash out at my passing tea train for the first time reignited my curiosity for the beast.

Damage to the structural foundation of the yeti’s assembly, due to force we discussed above, an alternative yeti was activated in the attraction. Dubbed “B” Mode, the majority of the yeti’s life has been spent in suspended animation, a condition where he resides in a static state with strobe effects creating the false sense of motion for guest traveling aboard Expedition Everest’s trains. While still able to startle passengers, the strobe effects lack the swinging and swiping motions that caused guest to take pause when passing by the creature’s cave. Given the nickname of Disco Yeti, this incarnation of the attraction has been in place since the attraction’s foundation problems began.

From the footprint castings provided by Joshua Gates and Destination Truth, to the claw marks present in the snow and down to the nitty-gritty details hashed out by Joe Rohde and his team when crafting the creature, the yeti is as indelible to the Forbidden Mountain as the tea trains that carry guests along the mountainous route. Since the attraction rose from Asia in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the yeti has had a storied tale that can only be matched by its real world narrative. I, for one, wait impatiently and with great anticipation for the return of this remarkable Audio-Animatronics figure.
1 comment:
The speed they are designing into their audio animatronics is incredible. Once they get past that pesky "tearing its own self to pieces" problem, there's no end to what they could do (can you imagine a full sized "Night on Bald Mountain" at the Disney Sea?—would be a great story to tell).
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