Did you know that some of Disney’s best rides don’t work right? Yes, attractions grow more complex each year, and when something goes wrong with one of them, park officials face a difficult decision. Should they shut down the ride and disappoint loyal guests? Or should they operate the rides in a more limited state? Disney often chooses the latter by employing something called B-Mode. What is B-Mode, and why should you care? Read on…
Defining B-Mode
Have you ever ridden through a Disney attraction, only to notice that an Audio-Animatronic isn’t working? Have you recognized other glitches where something is missing from a ride that you know by heart? These situations happen somewhat regularly, although some instances are more infamous than others.
Each time that an attraction needs repairs, the maintenance crew liaises with the park management team. The parties work together to decide whether to leave the ride online, and it’s a tough call.
For many guests, the thought of an attraction working poorly is just as much of a buzzkill. YouTube is littered with glitch videos and lights-on versions of Disney rides. Many of these sequences occur when a ride is in a state that could require the deployment of B-Mode.
For cast members, B-Mode means that one of the primary effects on an attraction isn’t working correctly. We’ll discuss specific examples in a minute, but a general rule is that the best Audio-Animatronic is down. That’s a general description, though. The central theme for B-Mode is that a primary element for an attraction doesn’t function correctly.
In a few cases, specific special effects have never worked correctly. So park officials have decided that it’s better to leave the ride running without them. In fact, a couple of Disney attractions operate in permanent B-Mode because the A-Mode version borders on impossible to fix/maintain.
Here are some rides with B-Mode functions that you might know, along with a description of what they are.
Dinosaur
As we’ll talk about it in a moment, the most famous of all B-Modes exists at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Overall, that park has it rough with several malfunctioning rides. I’ll list three examples from Animal Kingdom, which vary from minor nuisances to wildly problematic.
While riding Dinosaur, have you ever noticed the hidden Carnotaurus? I’m not referring to the one that’s the primary Audio-Animatronic (AA) on the attraction. I mean the one that’s sometimes visible when theme park tourists glance at the right spot at the photo op.
Attentive guests sometimes notice a special guest. It’s the backup Carnotaurus that Disney keeps nearby in case the primary one breaks. So, in the A-Mode version of the attraction, a menacing dinosaur glowers at you. In B-Mode, a timid critter from the same species peeks at you from his defensive position in the shrubs, almost like it’s more afraid of you than vice versa. B-Mode is, by nature, a concession about lesser ride quality.
Expedition Everest
This one’s the worst offender on the list. The problems with the main AA on this attraction are so well-documented that you’re already familiar with its B-Mode, even if you don’t know it.
During the planning phase for Expedition Everest, someone miscalculated the weight of the Yeti. When the beast stretches out its mighty paw to take a swipe at you, the movement stresses the foundation too much. In fact, park officials worried it would crack.
Clearly, Disney can’t have the Forbidden Mountain in that kind of peril. So, park officials disabled some of the movements of the AA. Since then, guests have affectionately called it the Disco Yeti. That’s not what it’s supposed to do, though. While Imagineer Joe Rohde has promised that he will fix the problem one day, Expedition Everest operates in permanent B-Mode right now.
Kali River Rapids
I swear that I’m not picking on Animal Kingdom. This park simply happens to have the most B-Mode issues. Some of them, like Expedition Everest, were difficult to envision. Others like Kali River Rapids feel preventable, at least in hindsight.
This attraction doubles as an environmental message about the importance of conservation. To drive home the point, Imagineers employ several special effects to demonstrate humanity’s connection to nature. Sadly, several of them perennially break.
During a trip down the Chakranadi River, you never know what you may discover. Sometimes, you’ll notice the pollution of smoke from (theoretical) burning. When you’re lucky, it’s accompanied by thematic chainsaw sounds. Disney’s thrown in some mist and fog that you may or may not see.
I can’t be specific here because the situation’s always fluid. Each year, cast members spend a part of the winter refurbishing the attraction. Now, that’s not a big deal on its own. The same thing happens at the water parks, and Splash Mountain regularly follows the practice, too.
However, Kali River Rapids experiences so many issues that it’s frequently in B-Mode. It’s entirely possible that you rode it at some point over the past 10 years when NONE of those features was working. Disney’s decided that they’re all insignificant enough that the ride is acceptable in B-Mode.
Na’Vi River Journey
I mentioned earlier that Disney perceives some attractions as having a primary attraction element. You can guess which one qualifies on Na’Vi River Journey.
Disney famously constructed the most complex AA ever for this attraction. At the time of her introduction, the Shaman of Songs was capable of more independent movements than any robotic in Disney history.
The remarkable lifelike Pandoran is so believable that guests buy into the illusion that she’s real. There are several problems with this, as she’s eight feet tall, blue, and alien. Also, she’s a robot. Still, the Imagineering is so good that people willingly suspend disbelief.
Unfortunately, an AA with such detail is prone to breakdowns. It’s the nature of the beast. When something can do more, it can also tear up more, an issue we’ll discuss again in a moment. Imagineers knew this going in, and so they built an organic solution into the set design.
When the AA isn’t operating, a projection monitor displays the same scene, only without the robot in place. It’s a previously filmed clip of the Shaman of Songs performing her ritual. So, it feels like a camera phone video of the end of Na’Vi River Journey rather than the ride itself.
Splash Mountain
B-Mode for Splash Mountain is actually kind of creepy. As you float down the river, you expect certain elements during this beloved attraction. Your AA animal friends keep you company, dancing, singing, playing, and getting into entertaining hijinks. What happens when they’re frozen in place?
Yes, this happens. In A-Mode, all of the AAs work correctly. In B-Mode, you’ll notice some that are glitched. Disney’s cut the power and simply shut down some of the robotics. When it happens to one or two creatures, it’s alarming.
In some rare instances, the situation is more dramatic. On extremely rare occasions, park officials have operated Splash Mountain with an entire scene in B-Mode. That final boat where everyone happily sings Zip-a-dee-doo-dah plays out like a horror show when nothing’s working.
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
When cast members constructed Rise of the Resistance, they swung for the fences. Some of its experiences are so unprecedented that I describe a specific sequence as two rides in one. They stuck one element on top of another one! During The Imagineering Story’s final episode, file footage shows the trick.
Alas, with so many difficult ride elements in play, management must accept that everything won’t work right. It’s the explanation for why Disney delayed the attraction for so long. Imagineers built a B-Mode option in a couple of places.
Rise of the Resistance will still run even when the IT-S is offline. In such scenarios, guests miss a part of the ride experience but still experience the main storyline. However, one version of B-Mode here really changes the ride.
Sometimes, the Kylo Ren AA doesn’t function correctly. When it’s unavailable, the digital monitor in the room becomes the focus. Disney walls off the broken part and places the Sith overlord in a spaceship instead. From Ren’s perspective, he doesn’t get blown into the vacuum of space this way. For theme park tourists, it’s just not the same, though.
This instance of B-Mode exemplifies the difficulty in running a theme park. Is it better to operate an attraction at less than full strength? Would you prefer that the ride close entirely while you’re there? Neither answer is great, but B-Mode provides a temporary solution.
