Alien Encounter: Why did it really close?

[Ziggie]

Even though my Hubby and I visit WDW every few months, I have to admit that we never went on (experienced?) Alien Encounter. And after seeing an Imagineer special yesterday on the Travel Channel, I began to wonder... why did it really close?

The Imagineers were rightfully boasting what a scary attraction it was.. fully outfitted with a new concept in sound. Admittedly, the people on the screen did look frightened.

But what happened? It didn't last very long. Did people complain that it was "too" scary? I don't really remember any other attraction having such a short park life(?)

 

[bhg469]

journey into the imagination version 2 didnt last that long. but i dont have your answer, disney seemed to go a ittle stitch crazy. maybe someone should have squirted them with a water bottle when they thought about that idea.

 

[ThreeCircles]

Stitch crazy? I'm often amused by this argument. Disney went no more "Stitch crazy" than they did "Lion King crazy."

To the OP, I think the argument that the attraction didn't fit in at the Magic Kingdom probably makes the most sense. It was probably just a bit too intense for most children and it probably did upset many parents that their kids were scared.

But, you say, what about Splash Mountain and other scary attractions? Well, while they are certainly there to produce a "thrill," I would argue that it is a much different type of thrill than what the Imagineers wanted people to get from Alien Encounter. The former being a fun scared while the latter being a terrified, fear.

I think you can see the same thing with Dinosaur. Originally, it was much more intense than the current version. It was de-scarified to a certain extent. Probably for the same reasons that Alien Encounter went buh-bye.

 

[s2jrston]

Wasn't there also a loss of interest in AE by all demographics?

 

[Ziggie]

Stitch crazy? I'm often amused by this argument. Disney went no more "Stitch crazy" than they did "Lion King crazy."

To the OP, I think the argument that the attraction didn't fit in at the Magic Kingdom probably makes the most sense. It was probably just a bit too intense for most children and it probably did upset many parents that their kids were scared.

But, you say, what about Splash Mountain and other scary attractions? Well, while they are certainly there to produce a "thrill," I would argue that it is a much different type of thrill than what the Imagineers wanted people to get from Alien Encounter. The former being a fun scared while the latter being a terrified, fear.

I think you can see the same thing with Dinosaur. Originally, it was much more intense than the current version. It was de-scarified to a certain extent. Probably for the same reasons that Alien Encounter went buh-bye.

You make some excellent points... thanks for sharing them with me. I was wondering, do they fault Eisner at all for this? Didn't he delay the launch of this attraction because it wasn't "scary" enough?

 

[RSoxNo1]

Disney went Lion King crazy because it was justified. At the time it was the highest grossing animated film in movie history and really helped out the company. Stitch on the other hand didn't do anywhere near as well in the box office, but Disney has promoted it almost as much. The intensity of Alien Encounter compared to other rides was probably hightened for small children because of the unfamiliarity with the characters. Sure talk of skinning a rabbit or the sight of the evil witch in Snow White could be frightening, but when put in context with the rest of the ride the experience isn't as nervewracking as AE was.

 

[Ziggie]

journey into the imagination version 2 didnt last that long. but i dont have your answer, disney seemed to go a ittle stitch crazy. maybe someone should have squirted them with a water bottle when they thought about that idea.

Hmmm... what was version 2? I always enjoyed the original and couldn't understand why they changed it :veryconfu The version that is there now is very poor (imo).

 

[Ziggie]

Disney went Lion King crazy because it was justified. At the time it was the highest grossing animated film in movie history and really helped out the company. Stitch on the other hand didn't do anywhere near as well in the box office, but Disney has promoted it almost as much. The intensity of Alien Encounter compared to other rides was probably hightened for small children because of the unfamiliarity with the characters. Sure talk of skinning a rabbit or the sight of the evil witch in Snow White could be frightening, but when put in context with the rest of the ride the experience isn't as nervewracking as AE was.

On the show last night they emphasized that it was entirely in the dark and that it *really* pounded on your senses. I think we all have a fear of being touched/breathed on, etc. in the dark by an unknown source. AE seems to have faded from view without much fanfare

 

[Master Yoda]

Hmmm... what was version 2? I always enjoyed the original and couldn't understand why they changed it :veryconfu The version that is there now is very poor (imo).

Ver 2 was similar to what they have now but no Figment.

 

[Captain Hank]

On the show last night they emphasized that it was entirely in the dark and that it *really* pounded on your senses. I think we all have a fear of being touched/breathed on, etc. in the dark by an unknown source. AE seems to have faded from view without much fanfare

Well, without much fanfare from the company or general public. There was one heck of a fanfare and outcry on here when it was closed, and even moreso when Stitch opened up to a *ahem* lackluster response. To several members on here, AE was a favorite attraction, and even more special because it was completely original. As for me...I went on it once and it scared the bejeezuts out of me. I was halfway thinking of giving it another try, but it was not to be.

 

[RSoxNo1]

This is coming from an individual who doesn't like Bugs life because of the bugs under your seat or hornets/wasps that sting you. I also lift my feet up when the "mice" come out in Honey I shrunk the Audience. Alien Encounter's actual touching/breathing was less intense in my mind but the environment they were placed in (a dark chamber with a scary looking alien) made it uncomfortable for people.

 

[RedBaron]

On the show last night they emphasized that it was entirely in the dark and that it *really* pounded on your senses. I think we all have a fear of being touched/breathed on, etc. in the dark by an unknown source. AE seems to have faded from view without much fanfare

It seems to me that the attraction had many fans on this forum anyway, and the Disney friends that I have. I really liked the attraction and so did my husband, and it was original. And come on, it was really not that scary, for an adult or older child anyway. There were signs up everywhere not to take little ones on the attraction, but people did not listen. Different people are afraid of different things, lets face it. For me, scary is anything with a drop like ToT and I dont find that scary fun at all, but at the same time I am not waiting for them to tear down ToT because some people wont ride and find it scary. I dont find things that go bump in the dark scary, thrilling yes, but not scary, but that is just me. I am interested to see how long Mission space lasts (I have not been on it as of yet) but if people are getting sick on it, I would think that is much worse? Maybe the attraction would have been better placed at MGM?

 

[WDWnahtazu]

I blame it on them going "stitch crazy" too. Disney finally made a non-pixar character that didn't suck so they went overboard and wanted a quick payday. again.

It didnt seem to work because the "new" stitch escape doesnt appeal to adults as much as aliens did, and theyve been consistantly raising the height requirements so it seems that its still not suited for little kids.

 

[Tornado]

Does anyone have a decent, clear picture of the alien?

 

[dxwwf3]

Does anyone have a decent, clear picture of the alien?

This action figure looks just like the AA, so this might be the clearest pic you can get to see what it looked like since the attraction was so dark:

 

[dxwwf3]

I was halfway thinking of giving it another try, but it was not to be.

Well I would invite you to take a look at my AE tribute video over on #disney-central. That way you can see the attraction again and not have to worry about the effects :wave:

 

[righttrack]

IMO, the real reason was there was no real tie-in to any movie or merchandising.

 

[Ziggie]

Well, without much fanfare from the company or general public. There was one heck of a fanfare and outcry on here when it was closed, and even moreso when Stitch opened up to a *ahem* lackluster response. To several members on here, AE was a favorite attraction, and even more special because it was completely original. As for me...I went on it once and it scared the bejeezuts out of me. I was halfway thinking of giving it another try, but it was not to be.

Being new to this site, I missed all the internet fanfare. But I remember seeing so many tv commercials for AE down here in Southern Florida. Then, poof.. they were gone.

Stitch has no appeal for me (sorry.. my daughter is grown and married). I'm sure it's quite nice tho. Is it anything like AE?

 

[Ziggie]

It seems to me that the attraction had many fans on this forum anyway, and the Disney friends that I have. I really liked the attraction and so did my husband, and it was original. And come on, it was really not that scary, for an adult or older child anyway. There were signs up everywhere not to take little ones on the attraction, but people did not listen. Different people are afraid of different things, lets face it. For me, scary is anything with a drop like ToT and I dont find that scary fun at all, but at the same time I am not waiting for them to tear down ToT because some people wont ride and find it scary. I dont find things that go bump in the dark scary, thrilling yes, but not scary, but that is just me. I am interested to see how long Mission space lasts (I have not been on it as of yet) but if people are getting sick on it, I would think that is much worse? Maybe the attraction would have been better placed at MGM?

Something brushing up against me in the dark is enough to give me a heart attack. But ToT? I could ride that forever with no ill effects.

You know, you raise an interesting point. Why did Disney allow parents to take small kids on AE? They have height requirements on rides, why not age requirements? Would that have been enough to keep AE around?

In regards to Mission Space, we didn't find time for it on our last trip, but hope to get there in Sept. My guess as to why they put it in Epcot? Maybe because it doesn't really relate to the other parks? (asking here) Could they be thinking that it's an extension of "tomorrow"? Something a future community would find normal?

 

[Ziggie]

I blame it on them going "stitch crazy" too. Disney finally made a non-pixar character that didn't suck so they went overboard and wanted a quick payday. again.

It didnt seem to work because the "new" stitch escape doesnt appeal to adults as much as aliens did, and theyve been consistantly raising the height requirements so it seems that its still not suited for little kids.

What exactly happens at the Stitch attraction?