Alien Encounter: Why did it really close?

[Ziggie]

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:

On the show last night, it reminded me of the ceiling alien on The Great Movie Ride(?)

 

[Master Yoda]

What exactly happens at the Stitch attraction?

In a nut shell take AE remove the big bad alien and replace it with Stitch, remove the real intense stuff and replace it with a little humor. While I don't find it as terrible as most do it is still not that great of an attraction.

 

[dxwwf3]

In a nut shell take AE remove the big bad alien and replace it with Stitch, remove the real intense stuff and replace it with a little humor. While I don't find it as terrible as most do it is still not that great of an attraction.

Don't forget the omission of the great XS-Tech storyline and backstory. There's no S.I.R. or Chairman Clench.

There's also the change from a teleportation demonstration at a convention center to a prisioner containment area for the Galactic Federation.

The effects and BASIC premise may be similar, but the actual attractions couldn't be more different from one another.

 

[General Grizz]

Just got an email stating Stitch will replace Donald on the "Wet Paint Signs."

 

[RSoxNo1]

It's amazing how much the AE alien resembles my mother in law

 

[General Grizz]

It's amazing how much the AE alien resembles my mother in law

Something you ate, sir? :lol:

 

[dxwwf3]

It's amazing how much the AE alien resembles my mother in law

:lol:

I just always wanted the alien to not eat me.......and eat this one. And I wonder if that guy ever found out whose brain that really was? :animwink:

 

[DukeEarthwalker]

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

I actually think you are pretty close with your statement, but I also think that it has more to do with familiarity pulling people in. For example, an un-educated person may walk by Alien Encounter because they do not know about XS-Tech and whatnot, but when someone like that sees "Stich's Great Escape" they know who that is and are more likely to get in line.

I always felt that Magic Kingdom was the wrong place for AE. Perhaps MGM with a tie in to Alien or something.

 

[DigitalDisney]

Here's the thing

Stitch will get more visitors in the short term because, as DukeEarthwalker mentioned, Stitch is a recognizable name and character.

However, Stitch won't get as many repeat visitors as AE did. AE had a cult following, which is something Stitch will never have.

Another thing that AE had going for it (besides the many reasons listed above) is that it's timeless. Stitch is based on a current character that will likely fade into the dustbin. However, AE isn't based on anything current or specific to any time or place. The story and attraction are as valid now as they will be 100 years from now. Not so much with Stitch.

 

[GIR]

Even though my Hubby and I visit WDW every few months, I have to admit that we never went on (experienced?) Alien Encounter.

Hubby?

 

[DONALDisMYhero]

Just got an email stating Stitch will replace Donald on the "Wet Paint Signs."

..boo, I love my Donald haha
(sorry, off of topic!)

 

[mrneon606]

Did the trouble that Jeffrey Jones got into play any part of the closing of this ride??

 

[dxwwf3]

Here's the thing

Stitch will get more visitors in the short term because, as DukeEarthwalker mentioned, Stitch is a recognizable name and character.

However, Stitch won't get as many repeat visitors as AE did. AE had a cult following, which is something Stitch will never have.

Another thing that AE had going for it (besides the many reasons listed above) is that it's timeless. Stitch is based on a current character that will likely fade into the dustbin. However, AE isn't based on anything current or specific to any time or place. The story and attraction are as valid now as they will be 100 years from now. Not so much with Stitch.

Excellent post as always DigitalDisney. I agree with every single statement.

 

[dxwwf3]

Did the trouble that Jeffrey Jones got into play any part of the closing of this ride??

I would certainly hope not. Most people don't even know who Jones is, much less that he is the actor playing Chairman Clench, much less his crimes :lol:

I'll just about guarantee that almost nobody went into AE and said "That's Jeffery Jones! He was convicted of child ography!" (Or whatever it was)

That MAY have had something to do with it, but I hope it didn't.

 

[dave2822]

Did the trouble that Jeffrey Jones got into play any part of the closing of this ride??

For those who are unfamiliar with the story, Jeffrey Jones pleaded no contest in a scandal involving a 14 year old boy. The origins of the incident seem to date back to 2003. Alien Encounter was closed in late 2003, and there are articles of Jones' crimes dating into that summer.

However, the rumors of an AE makeover stem as far back as 2002, and most will agree that this attraction was going to have a Stitch overlay sometime in the near future, be it permanent or otherwise. In fact, a timetable of 2004 was rumored to be set in 2002.

Did the Jeffrey Jones scandal cause the demise of AE? I don't believe so. Could it have brought it from the back burner to the front burner? Perhaps.

However, the majority of the opinions already expressed, the merchandising, scare factor, unfamiliararity, etc., was of largest concerns.

 

[marni1971]

AE for me had such a great backstory and a great tie in with the rest of the new Tomorrowland (and some of the original... Mission to Mars - fact or hoax?)

From the pre-pre show commercials to the preshow itself, the SIR X-S demonstration and the main chamber storyline on the monitors... it was so immersive. Such a waste.

 

[lawyergirl77]

AE for me had such a great backstory and a great tie in with the rest of the new Tomorrowland (and some of the original... Mission to Mars - fact or hoax?)

From the pre-pre show commercials to the preshow itself, the SIR X-S demonstration and the main chamber storyline on the monitors... it was so immersive. Such a waste.

ITA. When I first went back to the "New" Tomorrowland, I thought that the ride fit into the overall scheme brilliantly. I was impressed with how clever the whole ride was - it was the perfect combination of junk science and infomercial marketing. It cracked me up, in spite of the fact that it scared the bejeezus out of me!!!!!!!!!

I'm one of those people who loves drops but not "bumps in the night"... AE would terrify me (in spite of my muttering "It's not real... It's not real..." the whole time), but I would never miss going on it!

But I nearly cried after the new Stitch ride. Keeping the fuzzy alien at the beginning only reminded me of what was lost (although I do love that stupid thing). *sigh*

 

[Ziggie]

I actually think you are pretty close with your statement, but I also think that it has more to do with familiarity pulling people in. For example, an un-educated person may walk by Alien Encounter because they do not know about XS-Tech and whatnot, but when someone like that sees "Stich's Great Escape" they know who that is and are more likely to get in line.

I always felt that Magic Kingdom was the wrong place for AE. Perhaps MGM with a tie in to Alien or something.

I'm inclined to agree with you regarding MK not being the best park for AE.

Watching the Imagineers on that show, they really believed AE was going to be the ultimate ride experience. I wonder how many years went into developing it.. only to have it vanish so soon?

 

[Ziggie]

However, AE isn't based on anything current or specific to any time or place. The story and attraction are as valid now as they will be 100 years from now. Not so much with Stitch.

Great observation.. and I agree. Plus, there are people like me who aren't even all that familiar with Stitch :veryconfu

 

[Ziggie]

Hubby?

If you're asking if he's ever been on AE the answer would be no.