MK Stitch's Great Escape Replacement— Don’t Hold Your Breath

[castlecake2.0]

Off the top of my head, these are the former guest accessible spaces in MK that are no longer such:

Lafitte's Portrait Deck - storage space
House of Treasure/Pirate's League - future site of pirate bar
Tiki Tropic Shop and Elephant Tales - storage areas
Tricorn Hat Shoppe - storage space
The Keelboat Shop/Ichabod's Landing - storage space
The Keelboat dock - overflow queue for HM
Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes Dock - unused
Aunt Polly's - unused except for rare occasions
Fife and Drum Snack Bar - closed
Hook's Tavern - became PPF FastPass distribution, now empty
Seven Dwarf's Mining Co - now partially a covered seating area
Stitch's Great Escape - CM break room now?

Then there's "seasonal" stuff like Tortuga Tavern and Tomorrowland Terrace and lost attraction capacity like the Skyway

Adding to your list:

Briar Patch shop - closed
Drink stand at jungle cruise dock - closed
Candy Store in Frontierland -

I was in the ice cream shop a couple of months ago, and a CM left the door open to Stitch for quite some time. They were seemingly using it for a combination of storage and a break room, although I don't know how far back that extended.

From a few photos that have run around the internet, Stitch is 100% no longer in working condition. Other than that, it would not surprise me to see the seats gone along with most of the other mechanisms, but I don't think it would be as far gutted as to you think. No reason to do so as of yet.

stitch is gone but searing area is pretty much intact

 

[Disney Maddux]

A

I was in the ice cream shop a couple of months ago, and a CM left the door open to Stitch for quite some time. They were seemingly using it for a combination of storage and a break room, although I don't know how far back that extended.

From a few photos that have run around the internet, Stitch is 100% no longer in working condition. Other than that, it would not surprise me to see the seats gone along with most of the other mechanisms, but I don't think it would be as far gutted as to you think. No reason to do so as of yet.

Animatronics are gone (except for the cannons I believe?), but pretty much everything else is intact.

 

[danlb_2000]

Off the top of my head, these are the former guest accessible spaces in MK that are no longer such:

Lafitte's Portrait Deck - storage space
House of Treasure/Pirate's League - future site of pirate bar
Tiki Tropic Shop and Elephant Tales - storage areas
Tricorn Hat Shoppe - storage space
The Keelboat Shop/Ichabod's Landing - storage space
The Keelboat dock - overflow queue for HM
Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes Dock - unused
Aunt Polly's - unused except for rare occasions
Fife and Drum Snack Bar - closed
Hook's Tavern - became PPF FastPass distribution, now empty
Seven Dwarf's Mining Co - now partially a covered seating area
Stitch's Great Escape - CM break room now?

Then there's "seasonal" stuff like Tortuga Tavern and Tomorrowland Terrace and lost attraction capacity like the Skyway

"Here in Florida, we have something special we never enjoyed at Disneyland…the blessing of size. There’s enough land here to hold all the storage spaces we can possibly imagine.” - Walt Disney

 

[Disorbust]

It's pretty pathetic that this sit empty.The MK is so miserable with crowds. Even a crappy attraction would take some people out of the streets.

 

[SpectreJordan]

It is funny but all the different and varied shops around the Magic Kingdom h=gave it so much more dimension...When they started homogenizing their merchandise across the parks, it really made shopping less appealing. Bring back the individual shopping experiences... The Magic Shop, the arcade, the varied experiences.... I think Universal has shown with Harry Potterverse that people LOVE themed and specific shopping experiences... Shopping at WDW should be part of the event, not purely a convenience...

Atleast Pandora & Galaxy's Edge have unique merch. But I do wish this was the case throughout the parks.

It's a very bizarre decision not to. More diverse merch would lead to more sales; if someone has a special memory in Tomorrowland, they might be inclined to buy some merch unique to over something that's in every shop/park.

 

[marni1971]

How many guest can the theatre hold and how many shows pre hour when it was open??

132 seats plus 4 wheelchairs with 4 companion seats x2 theatres

THRC 1620, OC 1485

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

132 seats plus 4 wheelchairs with 4 companion seats x2 theatres

THRC 1620, OC 1485

@marni1971 Thank you

 

[DisneyDreamerxyz]

Off the top of my head, these are the former guest accessible spaces in MK that are no longer such:

Lafitte's Portrait Deck - storage space
House of Treasure/Pirate's League - future site of pirate bar
Tiki Tropic Shop and Elephant Tales - storage areas
Tricorn Hat Shoppe - storage space
The Keelboat Shop/Ichabod's Landing - storage space
The Keelboat dock - overflow queue for HM
Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes Dock - unused
Aunt Polly's - unused except for rare occasions
Fife and Drum Snack Bar - closed
Hook's Tavern - became PPF FastPass distribution, now empty
Seven Dwarf's Mining Co - now partially a covered seating area
Stitch's Great Escape - CM break room now?

Then there's "seasonal" stuff like Tortuga Tavern and Tomorrowland Terrace and lost attraction capacity like the Skyway

The Tri Cornered Hat ShopI believe was renamed to this ? Funny how this store has been closed at least a decade but the sign is still up. Elephant Tales sign also still up. That is an awkward area with signage still up for Zanzibar Trading Company and Agrabah Bazaar, although there is no stores there anymore. It is leadership offices inside now. They should really take down the Merchant of Venus signage as it makes no sense with no store there anymore, at least they reopened that spaces for guests. Don’t forget Heritage House in Liberty Square used to be an Americana themed store, now it’s used only occasionally for guest relations. Three shops in Frontierland are closed, the General Store (Candy Store) and Briar Patch, the Splash Mountain gift shop should reopen with the new ride, but no news on that. And the entry gift shop on the left side of Magic Kingdom entrance has been closed since Covid.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

View attachment 761163
The Tri Cornered Hat ShopI believe was renamed to this ? Funny how this store has been closed at least a decade but the sign is still up. Elephant Tales sign also still up. That is an awkward area with signage still up for Zanzibar Trading Company and Agrabah Bazaar, although there is no stores there anymore. It is leadership offices inside now. They should really take down the Merchant of Venus signage as it makes no sense with no store there anymore, at least they reopened that spaces for guests. Don’t forget Heritage House in Liberty Square used to be an Americana themed store, now it’s used only occasionally for guest relations. Three shops in Frontierland are closed, the General Store (Candy Store) and Briar Patch, the Splash Mountain gift shop should reopen with the new ride, but no news on that. And the entry gift shop on the left side of Magic Kingdom entrance has been closed since Covid.

Yes, that is a picture of the Tri Cornered Hat Shoppe.

I hadn't realized some of those other stores were closed. I didn't include Heritage House as its now the Liberty Square Ticket Office (or something like that) so it's at least open.

Is there a reason why the Frontierland candy store is closed? I thought all Frontierland shops on that strip were connected inside and all one store now.

 

[DisneyDreamerxyz]

Yes, that is a picture of the Tri Cornered Hat Shoppe.

I hadn't realized some of those other stores were closed. I didn't include Heritage House as its now the Liberty Square Ticket Office (or something like that) so it's at least open.

Is there a reason why the Frontierland candy store is closed? I thought all Frontierland shops on that strip were connected inside and all one store now.

They kept it closed after Covid, I don’t think there’s anything attached to it. At first there was signs in the windows that said something like “Store Closed” but now all the windows are just blacked out. So right now the only store open in Frontierland is the Mercantile that mainly sells pins. (And Big Als but that’s outdoors)

 

[Brian]

"Here in Florida, we have something special we never enjoyed at Disneyland…the blessing of size. There’s enough land here to hold all the storage spaces we can possibly imagine.” - Walt Disney

Have they considered opening up a self-storage business? Might be a good way to bring in some revenue from some otherwise freeloading spaces!

 

[𝐌𝖆𝖓 𝖎𝖓 𝐖𝖊𝖇]

Have they considered opening up a self-storage business? Might be a good way to bring in some revenue from some otherwise freeloading spaces!

Is the first month free?

 

[Rhinocerous]

Atleast Pandora & Galaxy's Edge have unique merch. But I do wish this was the case throughout the parks.

It's a very bizarre decision not to. More diverse merch would lead to more sales; if someone has a special memory in Tomorrowland, they might be inclined to buy some merch unique to over something that's in every shop/park.

I imagine some group of analysts has determined that a smaller variety of merch at higher volume will render better margins than smaller quantities of more diverse offerings. This is likely supported by data suggesting guests are committed to spending x amount on their trip, and will want to buy something, regardless of how special it is. I expect guest satisfaction factors very little into those calculations.

 

[Burgermeister]

I'd disagree. How many opening day attractions had a height requirement? All of zero?

It wasn't, "I want everyone to have fun independently at the same place," it's "I want families to have fun TOGETHER"

I do think Alien Encounter has a place at parks today. They could replace the height requirement with a strict age requirement (like 14), regardless of whether parents protest and place it in H.S.

How would cast members go about checking the ages of children?

 

[MagicHappens1971]

I do think Alien Encounter has a place at parks today. They could replace the height requirement with a strict age requirement (like 14), regardless of whether parents protest and place it in H.S.

A strict age requirement is very problematic. Aside from the guest service issues that would ensue, how would they even go about checking birthdays?

 

[Brian]

How would cast members go about checking the ages of children?

Even park admission is based on the honor system when it comes to age. There is no efficient or reasonable means of verifying the age of children on vacation.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

I imagine some group of analysts has determined that a smaller variety of merch at higher volume will render better margins than smaller quantities of more diverse offerings. This is likely supported by data suggesting guests are committed to spending x amount on their trip, and will want to buy something, regardless of how special it is. I expect guest satisfaction factors very little into those calculations.

I think the original idea was that the shopping was part of the entertainment experience, so it didn't necessarily matter if every store turned a profit on its own. Obviously, that went out the window a long time ago. One of the nice things about World Showcase is that it's one of the few areas of WDW where you still have some unique stores where the items more clearly reflect the theme and isn't necessarily just branded Disney merch.

I love this clip of Liberace from the early-1970s showing off his purchase from WDW and often wonder from what store he could have picked them up:

 

[aladdin2007]

I think the original idea was that the shopping was part of the entertainment experience, so it didn't necessarily matter if every store turned a profit on its own. Obviously, that went out the window a long time ago. One of the nice things about World Showcase is that it's one of the few areas of WDW where you still have some unique stores where the items more clearly reflect the theme and isn't necessarily just branded Disney merch.

I love this clip of Liberace from the early-1970s showing off his purchase from WDW and often wonder from what store he could have picked them up:

wow now that was a find lol, how did you ever dig that up? There use to be a small antique shop Olde World Antiques in Liberty Square.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

wow now that was a find lol, how did you ever dig that up? There use to be a small antique shop Olde World Antiques in Liberty Square.
View attachment 761246

I guess I must have gone down a rabbit hole on YouTube that somehow led me to Liberace giving a tour of his Palm Springs home!

The above shop does actually look like a place you could find a set of Czechoslovakian glassware! I assume it must have been somewhere at the Magic Kingdom, as that was the only park at the time and I can't imagine there was anywhere at Disney Village that sold anything quite so fancy.

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

How would cast members go about checking the ages of children?

And how would that make any sense even if they could? Height requirements are about physical safety. Our 13yr old is 6ft, 145. His close friend is under 5 ft, maybe pushing 5 in the right shoes, and 74lbs. How do their ages go about helping with ride safety?