Land of the Broken Yeti

I’ve recently returned from the land of the broken Yeti- aka Animal Kingdom. It had been 8 years since I'd last been to WDW. There were a handful of new attractions I was very eager to see. And there were some attractions I found disappointingly still in existence. One of the biggest things I had been looking forward to was Expedition Everest.

The country regions of Animal Kingdom I find absolutely amazing. To me it hearkens back to the core feeling that Walt Disney intended in his parks -a wonderment of the world about us, of times and far reaching places that don’t need brands and tie-ins to justify their marketability. I’m sure there were some within WDI that would have much rather seen this:


But alas Joe Rhode’s vision was left alone and an unbranded creative vision emerged -the likes we have not really seen since!. An E-ticket ride with no tie-in, with no Pixar characters, with no 3d technology, no game element. A simple idea based on a mythical legend set in an intriguing local.... So you can imagine I was very enthused to get strapped in and take a whirl through the land of the ferocious Yeti. The ride, the surroundings, the detail were all exquisite- the structure and the line itself were a true reassurance that Imagineer’s, unobstructed, left to do what they do best- do their best!

The ride was absolutely amazing except for the fact that I never saw the alleged Yeti! I assume since the allusive Yeti wasn’t working the lights were kept off him? I did see his elbow one time when someone’s flash went off as they were taking a picture. I went on it three times and on three different days and he was never working. Talk about a disappointment. The Yeti is the star of the show, his size and ferocity is inferred with the destruction of the tracks and fleeting footprints, his silhouette is hinted at for a brief moment, you hear him grumbling around certain turns, and then… nothing! Maybe an elbow if you’re lucky.

So I asked around only to hear my Yeti is “…usually broken, more often than not!” How disappointing.

After the third and last time I gave the Yeti to show himself, to no avail, we headed around the back of the attraction. It was so frustrating to walk around a corner and see a giant jarring Cal-Trans orange Dinosaur and cheesy carnival game after cheesy carnival game with the mountebank like employee’s huckstering you over to play over load speakers. That corner transported me from the Himalayas to Camp Snoopy in 2.2 seconds.

It's no wonder it looked like a ghost town. I couldn’t help but think that the cost of design, construction, and day-to-day pay roll for this "land" could pay to fix the Yeti that people were waiting 2+ hours to not see. This is precisely the garbage Walt reacted to while sitting on that bench with his daughters that inspired him to make something better.







It’s a shame that one of Disney’s best additions runs broken most of the time. The Yeti needs to be fixed. "Fix the Yeti Campaign" anyone?

Change

I was at the park this past weekend and I noticed a handful of recent changes. Some of the changes were a nice sign of things to come and others a not so nice sign of things to come.

-There are new gates/doors on the trams! Yeah! I don't know how so many people survived without these for so many years. They are really fun with strollers too since the doors don't stay open.

-The rails for the red cars are slowly being dropped into California Adventure. I'm utterly blah about the changes on the backside of DCA but the new Hollywood area I have high hopes for. Definitely a good sign.

-And there are Marvel toys on the shelves inside the parks. That didn't take long did it? This was not surprising but still disappointing to see. I wouldn't mind if they were in a store in Downtown-Not-So-Disney. But in the parks is a whole new can of worms!

The Sound of Music?

This post is a little off the usual topic but...

I'm very excited to see The Princess and the Frog. It is Disney's return to 2D, to fairytales, and to musicals, which are the three main ingredients of the classic Disney films (assuming a good story). In essence, this is Disney's “return to Disney.”

The marketing department at The Mouse has done a great job of selling the return to 2D, as well as the fact that it is a "classic," "beloved," fairytale of old. But for me they have really dropped the ball in not pushing the musical side of this film. I don't watch a ton of TV, but it is hard not to see trailers for this film. And, every one that I have seen has no clips of any of the musical/singing sequences. You see the characters dancing, etc., but you never hear any of the music!

In my humble opinion, this is a big mistake. Music has, and always will be, one of the major draws to both the Disney parks and films. I remember all the trailers of the 2nd Golden Age of Disney animated films showing little bits of all the great music scenes. Showing the ballroom sequence in Beauty and the Beast, the Genie's singing antics in “Friend Like Me” from Aladdin, and Timon and Pumba singing “Hakuna Mata” in Lion King, were great ways of getting people excited about the movies.

Marketing departments usually never miss a beat. They sell it from every possible angle, and then some, which why it seems a little surprising the music hasn't really been emphasized for The Princess and the Frog – or, maybe it's just me…?

Still Kicking

I know, I know its been awhile. I did have to think for a second about my login to do this post. But, despite emails asking "how the play was" I 'm still around and kicking. Stay tuned for some posts in the next few weeks!

Unheard Walt's Words- Money & Stockholders

"There are some people that sit and worship money as something you've got to have piled up in a big pile somewhere. I've only thought of money in one way, and that is to do something with it. You see, I don't think there is a thing that I own that I'll ever get the benefit of except through doing things with it." -Walt Disney

"Well as far as my stockholders go I've felt we'll never pay these dividends until that company is right. Because, I felt that we must build it up and we can't borrow money to pay dividends. Just what to appease some stockholder who wants his dividend. I'm building him assets. Their stock is worth a lot more today than it was. Now that's what I feel is my obligation to them. My brother and I have been right together in that right from the get-go. And we've felt that assets is the thing that we are responsible for not appeasing some stockholder. We're not afraid of the stockholder coming in to us because we know we're doing what's right for the company." -Walt Disney

(From a 1961 Interview with Peter Martin)

Unheard Walt's Words- Sequels

"That's one thing I've never believed in, is sequels to things. I've never believed in doing sequels. I didn't want to waste the time I had doing the sequel. I'd rather be using that time I had doing something new and different... they wanted me to make more (films) with the dwarfs in it, and I said no... and it worked out." -Walt Disney

(From a 1961 interview with Peter Martin)

Cryogenically Frozen

Disney appears to have realized the potential of marketing merchandise outside the "slap a character on it and sell it to the masses" mentality. Case-in-point is the emergence of a more specific, younger and stylized target audience, as manifested by the Vault 28, Tren D, and D23 retail offerings.

I'm encouraged to see that Disney has realized the huge fan base it has and that they're channeling into it with D23. I still think there is a market that is untapped...and that is the uber Disney park fans.... "Permanecer sentados por favor" ... yeah you know who you are!

Here is an example from Cryogenically Frozen on Cafe Press showing the specific fan- based merchandise. D23 would be a perfect outlet to try something like this that is so specific that only the super Disney fans will get it. Come on Disney, take a stab at it you'll be surprised!


There are a lot more designs at Cryogenically Frozen make sure to check them out, and order your favorites!