Alien Encounter Question?

[Damien666]

^ Very well said dxwwf3! You hit it right on the head.

When it comes to SGE, the AA's are the only improvment. Everything else is a muddled disaster.

MK is a family park, there are rides for everyone. AE was one of the few attractions teens and adults could go on and enjoy, there are many other attractions for the kids. Disney tried advertising SGE was a "Family friendly" attraction. Yeah right, the target audience is little kids. Yet the main show scares the heck outta them and bores everyone else.

Another thing is the story, for every attraction there has to be a story. SGE's story is not solid and is riddled with plot holes. We know we are not supposed to bring any food or drink in any attraction yet Stitch somehow steals one in the audience, he calls himself Stitch yet he has not met Lilo yet. The ending is also very anti climatic, it's just like "Get out of here, we don't need you anymore"

With SGE, it's a attraction I could see it was doomed from the concept art.

 

[unkadug]

In my opinion, every attraction that has been in that location, with the exception of AE, has been LAME.

Flight To the Moon - lame
Mission To Mars - lame
Alien Encounter - NOT lame
Stitch's Great Mistake - lame

 

[Testtrack321]

I do remember an ad when it first came out where they did have alien arms lunging toward people, though they were sitting in the same way as they would if they actually had gone on it (theater in the round, so to speak). But, like the really impressive dragon in the Fantasmic! ads or the people standing up while riding the Tower of Terror, the attacking aliens were just marketing ploys to make the attraction look more exciting. If only they would actually use that dragon...

Well, for Fantasmic, that's because their using promo footage from the DL show, which the audience DOES stand up along the banks of the Rivers of America.

 

[CThaddeus]

Well, for Fantasmic, that's because their using promo footage from the DL show, which the audience DOES stand up along the banks of the Rivers of America.

I have seen the Disneyland show many, many times. In fact, I was just at Disneyland for the 4th fireworks. The dragon in the ad has never appeared in any of their shows. The reason: I believe it was a puppet created especially for the commercial. This dragon I refer to is not just a head on a stick, it's a full-form dragon. While I would love to see it at Disneyland, I know we never will.
And as for the "standing up," I was referring to Tower of Terror, not Fantasmic! You definitely do stand (unless you're in one of the first few rows) at Disneyland.
Finally, regarding Stitch, like I said, most don't agree with me. That's fine. I prefer one, while I think the other would have been better for Disney-MGM. Alien Encounter was a decent enough show, but I still don't feel it belonged in an area that's trying to show an optimistic future. It was anything but an optimistic show.

 

[dxwwf3]

Alien Encounter was a decent enough show, but I still don't feel it belonged in an area that's trying to show an optimistic future. It was anything but an optimistic show.

But I think that is the point. Everything in the whole land represented an optimistic and light hearted future and even the set up of AE fit that mold perfectly. But in all good stories there should be some conflict and the AE storyline provided that as it moved along. And it showed more than anything that Disney can be risky and they can out "adult" Universal if they wanted to.

 

[PintoColvig]

But I think that is the point. Everything in the whole land represented an optimistic and light hearted future and even the set up of AE fit that mold perfectly. But in all good stories there should be some conflict and the AE storyline provided that as it moved along. And it showed more than anything that Disney can be risky and they can out "adult" Universal if they wanted to.

I agree wholeheartedly with you on this one. There was something about the Tomorrowland during that time. I remember the old NASA-like version and liked it but the redo (was it '94?) was even better. There was such a cohesiveness about the place, especially with TK right across the way. AE seemed to fit because of how it was presented in a futuristic trade show. It was certainly not an attraction for the kiddies but it was fun nonetheless.

 

[SirGoofy]

Yes SGE IS that bad. It's story makes no sense what so ever, it's still scary for the younglings, and it's boring for the older crowd. I only got to experience AE once, and I found it to be on of Disney's best shows. The preshows were great, especially SIR, and the main show was amazing. It was funny, with the element of suprise. But most of all, it was something new, a change of pace. It was something new, a dark, funny comedical attraction.

 

[Grim Grinner]

My wife and I have a sick sense of humor, so we laughed our butts off from watching Alien Encounter. Skippy was perfect, especially how pitiful he seemed. S.I.R. was awesome, and lines like "Ahhh! My brain is on the floor!" just gave it a feeling that was unique in the world.

The "blood" effect amazed me the first time I saw the show. Overall a top notch presentation.

Strangely enough, kids would walk out afterwards- bawling their little eyes out- and then beg to go back in and see it again. However, the cautious parents refused to let them go back. I often wonder if parents were part of the reason why the repeat viewings were pretty low.

I loved AE and would love to have a video of the attraction. It shall forever remain in my mind as one of the finest examples of Disney magic lifting your imagination out of the realm of the ordinary.

Disney rides CAN be scary, you know. Mr. Toad, Snow White, Pirates, Haunted Mansion... these classics could scare the pants off of younger family members. (Note: poor Mr. Toad)

 

[disneydata]

I was reading someones post about Alien Encounter and it got me thinking about this great attraction and I was trying to remember but my memory's are a little fuzzy but wasn't there something about Eisner riding it when it was first built and making them (imagineers) redo it because it wasn't scary enough? Also I could have sworn the first time I saw a promo for it on tv they showed cars with 4 seats back to back in a plus sign pattern and more of a ride then a theater. Maybe I'm all fuzzy but that what I seem to remember.

While I have no intrest in comparing SGE and AE, the promo you spoke of is actually of the Alien Encounter game at DisneyQuest. Four people sit in that configuration in a circle-vision type pod and you ride around in a ship on a planet shooting aliens. It was pretty fun, but since I was the pilot, we didn't make it off the planet in time!

 

[T-1MILLION]

Also I could have sworn the first time I saw a promo for it on tv they showed cars with 4 seats back to back in a plus sign pattern and more of a ride then a theater. Maybe I'm all fuzzy but that what I seem to remember.

I would pretty much put money on it that you saw an old promo for the attraction and the one for Disneyquest that they put together. I remember seeing a few of those as well back when Disneyquest first opened. As far as I know it is still there at Disneyquest. "Alien Encounter attack" or something to that affect. You sit on a round-ish bench back to back all around and one person is pilot while the others shoot and you are all inside a little capsule. It never moves but it seems to and you see out the glass at these magnified seemingly giant screens. I loved it actually because it is the only thing Alien Encounter left and it was an awesome sequel to an awesome theme park attraction and the one at Disneyquest actually has queue line monitors playing a small story for it!

 

[dxwwf3]

I didn't make it to DQ on this trip, but I've got to see the preshow for that attraction before they change it. I've seen a pic of Chairmen Clench looking to be the President of the US. But I'm having a hard time making myself pay that much for admission just to watch the preshow a few times. I've heard that they still might have a discounted price after 6 pm or something along those lines and that would be good for me.