Joe Rohde comments on Expedition Everest's broken Yeti animatronic

Jun 29, 2020 in "Expedition Everest"

Posted: Monday June 29, 2020 8:56am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Expediton Everest creator Joe Rohde has again commented on the condition of the broken Yeti audio-animatronic which has now been out of order for more than 13 years.

In response to a Twitter post suggesting maintenance access to the figure was a problem, Joe said, "It’s not an issue of maintenance access, they were part of the design team and set the standard. In fact, it was seen as a model collaborative process. It’s an unexpected and unforeseen set of issues, very complex, with no easy or timely solutions as of yet."

In a follow up response to a poster saying that in other words, it was "messed up" Joe replied with, "Not “messed up.” These guys did not ignore something or botch it. Innovation is like physical exploration of unknown spaces. There is stuff out there that you didn’t know, and you only encounter it by exploration. But then....there it is."

Joe Rohde is a Portfolio Creative Executive with Walt Disney Imagineering, and was the creative lead on Expedition Everest and Disney's Animal Kingdom.

The Yeti, Guardian of the Mountain, is a mammoth-sized Audio-Animatronics figure with a potential thrust, in all of its hydraulic cylinders combined, of slightly over 259,000 pounds force -- potentially more instantaneous power than a 747-400 airliner.

The animatronic's motion was switched off less than a year after the ride opened in 2006 due to what is believed to be various unspecified structural issues around the figure.

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sonoma1524 days ago

Last rode it last Friday, it was not on the A mode strobe lighting. Still had the work light shining on it.

EagleScout61025 days ago

A couple of people on Reddit are saying the old reduced A Mode lighting is back with the strobe light, at least for now. Can anyone confirm? Edit: It seems like the red lighting and work lights were on at least last month:

Smiley/OCDOct 08, 2024

Nah, it’s never too early, just DON’T hold your breath…

EagleScout610Oct 08, 2024

So is it too early to start the "After Encanto/Indy then they'll fix the yeti" train?

Eric GrahamOct 07, 2024

Wait wait wait...i was under the delusional impression that Disney does everything wonderfully...am i not correct on that assumption? ;)

EagleScout610Oct 07, 2024

EagleScout610Oct 06, 2024

Yeti has been removed in the past, it's about who foots the bill to fix the thing.

SirwalterraleighOct 06, 2024

Drew get a job yet?

G00fyDadOct 06, 2024

They wouldn't need to close it down. They just don't see the need to fix it.

lazyboy97oOct 06, 2024

They don’t even have to close it down.

freediverdudeOct 06, 2024

Disney just doesn't want to spend the money to close it down and do a permanent fix. Grade of C- for a nice coaster but refuses to fix the headliner animatronic.

EagleScout610Oct 06, 2024

Meditation is a polite way of saying "Is a corpse"

trainplane3Oct 06, 2024

Not much but a mention: @Drew the Disney Dude

PREMiERdrumApr 02, 2024

With this new lighting - assuming it's intentional and sticks around - a little articulation to his reach and perhaps his neck would do a ton. While the original animation was incredible, it could only be fully appreciated outside of the normal pace of the attraction.