Comments on: Hey, Disney: Where Are the Yeti Books?

By: Cryptid Hunt

Cryptid Hunt — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 01:26:01 +0000

I went on Expedition Everest. TWO THUMBS UP!! Same thing the gift shop should have books and DVDs on the Yeti. I think people would buy those more than on Mt. Everest!

By: kamoeba

kamoeba — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 15:45:44 +0000

I happened to catch a little bit of a show on The Travel Channel yesterday that profiled Disney’s Himalaya Expedition attraction. They spoke at length about how their animatronic Yeti was created and what a state-of-the-art marvel it is. My wife was trying to get our 2-year-old daughter to watch the TV and she kept saying, “Look, is that King Kong?”. Then it occured to me that maybe that’s why they don’t want any Yeti-themed books in their gift stores–people would be disappointed to find that the different types of Yetis aren’t all giant monsters on a rampage and the truth is actually somewhat bland compared to their giant prop.

By the way, I don’t think Disney is the only culprit here. I have seen several Matchbox brand toys in recent years that market Bigfoot adventure/capture vehicles, playsets and figures as though Bigfoot is a giant monster.

By: mystery_man

mystery_man — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 09:24:10 +0000

Thanks for that link Kamoeba. Wow, rampage is right! I’m thinking maybe they just don’t want to sell books that might contradict their take that the Yeti is a dangerous marauding monster. It would be like having a shark attack ride and then selling books about how little a threat sharks are to man. Maybe they just want to maintain the illusion of dread.

By: kamoeba

kamoeba — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 03:27:30 +0000

For more of Disney treating the Yeti like it was a character from a monster movie, check out their entirely Yeti-on-a-rampage themed web page:

http://www.disneyeverest.com/

By: Jeremy_Wells

Jeremy_Wells — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 15:46:01 +0000

Darn editors! Oh wait… I’m part of an editorial sta… nevermind

By: Loren Coleman

Loren Coleman — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 15:42:38 +0000

For clarification’s sake, my publisher did contact the bookstore when the Expedition Everest ride-museum opened, and Disney was not interested in carrying the book. I was merely clarifying for the questioning reader that authors often are not the primary contact with bookstores (although, of course, I do it all the time). Instead it usually is the publishers and their sellers to the bookstores’ wholesale buyers who make these decisions.

However, something deeper is happening with that Disney bookstore, and I will not withdraw from the fact it may be their “mythical” approach to the question of Yeti.

The artist, Dick Klyver, who made the Yeti tee-shirts that I have mentioned at Cryptomundo, tried to sell the Disney bookstore on that product, and the Expedition Everest people were not interested.

I have no idea what books of mine or anyone else’s that Disney have in the “Yeti museum” at the ride. I have not been able to get there yet.

BTW, the decision to take “Yeti” out of my new revised edition of the book’s title is not one I was too happy about. The publisher’s other decision to not publish the index that was in the first edition certainly was also not my decision either. Authors do not have the final say on all that happens with their books, of course.

By: fuzzy

fuzzy — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 15:16:12 +0000

Could it be that it just never occurred to Disney that visitors might take "...the powerful legend of the yeti as protector of the mountain..." seriously enough to actually buy a non-fiction book about the subject?

Did Disney overlook the possibility that since most folks don't hang around the crypto-section at their local book store, that they might be intrigued enough to pop for a non-fiction treatment of the subject, as long as it was displayed right there in front of them?

Does Disney sell non-fiction books about the fictional characters in their other attractions - like (Pooh)-bears? Mice? Fairies?

Perhaps the reason this ride's "...design and supportive material of the queue line and off-ride areas are envisioned as educational..." is so that the queued adults won't feel so "Goofy" as they shuffle along.

By: kamoeba

kamoeba — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 22:58:01 +0000

Hey, I’m just agreeing with you. It makes me wonder why Disney wouldn’t want to cash in by selling Yeti-themed books at a Yeti-themed attraction. I’m saying that maybe they don’t feel that they can make money on merchandise that doesn’t promote their “property” (like the Winnie the Pooh characters). Perhaps at one time they did have Yeti-themed books and they didn’t sell well? Every museum, zoo or other educational attraction I’ve been to is willing to sell you ANYTHING that even remotely has a connection to their attraction. In the end you’re probably better off since the price of a Yeti book at a Disney gift store would be significantly more than if you bought it somewhere else.

By: Jeremy_Wells

Jeremy_Wells — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 19:04:16 +0000

Perhaps someone who has been to the exhibit could draft a letter to Disney asking them to stock books that address the Yeti from multiple perspectives (mythical, cryptozoological, pop-cultural, etc.), and could then collect signatures and send that letter. (After all, the best way to sway a corporate beast like Disney is to say “Hey, if you sold this, here are a bunch of folks who would buy it.”)

Even if they decide to comission their own new books on the subject for their own publishing arm, it would be better than no books at all. I’m also convinced that, potential personal biases of some folks acknowledge as a possibility, if Disney sees a little cash potential in selling cryptozoologically based Yeti books, they will sell them.

But folks who visit the museum need to let Disney know they would buy the books.

I’m not planning on going to Disney World anytime soon myself, but if I were to go, I’d definitely check out the ride/museum, I’d browse the book shop, and I’d sign a letter saying that I’d buy a Yeti book if someone wrote it up.

By: mystery_man

mystery_man — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 14:36:24 +0000

In light of Loren’s comments, I feel even more perplexed by the lack of Yeti themed books, as the design people seemed to be expecting lots of people and I would think they would suppose those people were indeed there to see stuff on the Yeti. Even if they were just there for entertainment, I’m sure plenty of people would be interested in picking up a book on the way out so they could look into it more. I mean, they have a whole market of people right there who obviously have some sort of fascination with the Yeti so why not tap that?

The fact that Loren was even called in for consultation seems to suggest they wanted to make sure there was accuracy and something to teach. If they just wanted entertainment, they didn’t have to do that. This seems odd that they would enlist Loren’s help, state their “educational objective” as Loren called it, and then limit the choice of books available for those who wanted to study the matter further. I hope to hear more on this story!