January 8 2003 Site Update: Alien Encounter/Stitch

[Sherm00]

Originally posted by mwitkus
I personally hated alien encounter and am glad to see it go. I know this is not a popular opinion, but I didn't consider it to be very Disney-like and was disappointed to experience such an attraction at what I think of as the happiest place on earth.

I agree, I didn't like it the first time I rode it and I am so glad to see it go.

 

[wed050499]

Originally posted by CP17
For you purist, what does Space Mountain or the raceway have to do with any Disney movie theme? What does the raceway have to do with the Tomorrowland theme? For the people who want clean family fun without anything that may scare kids (and it sounds like some adults), well we better take out the Haunted Mansion, the Snow White ride, Pirates of the Caribbean, I'm sure there are others. Don't get me wrong, I like new attractions as much as the old ones, but to take AE out because it is too scary is a lame excuse. Why not keep AE and take out the stage area in between Buzz adn CoP (and keep CoP open year round).

Hey,

Granted many of the attractions in MK have little or nothing to do with movies, but out of those that are, namely buzz, dumbo, snow white, or winnie the pooh, those that are connected with the characters are tremendously popular. Also granted is that many of the attractions, space mountain, the indy raceway, jungle cruise, or pirates of the carribbean are also tremendously popular. the idea for MK is balance. There's continuous balance I have seen being kept for a number of years between character connectedness and fantasy connectedness. I believe that adding stitch will continue this balance as being a thrill attraction with its ties with a character. In this, I don't believe they are taking AE out for the excuse of being too scary. I believe they are taking it out to maintain the balance of the park and also simply because they can. The imagineers have an incredibly popular character in Stitch and an awesome, fitting attraction with AE to put him in.

Just my thoughts,
Brian

 

[dopey]

Originally posted by CP17
For the people who want clean family fun without anything that may scare kids (and it sounds like some adults), well we better take out the Haunted Mansion, the Snow White ride, Pirates of the Caribbean, I'm sure there are others. Don't get me wrong, I like new attractions as much as the old ones, but to take AE out because it is too scary is a lame excuse.

As one of those people, I can tell you that there is a wide gulf between fun scary -- Grim Grinning Ghosts and wacky pirates -- and scary scary -- AE.

Granted, I simply skip the latter when I'm at WDW with the kids, and there are plenty of other things to do, so I don't begrudge anyone the thrills they get out of AE. Who knows? If it's the same schtickala with Stitch, it may wind up to be just as scary as before, and, therefore, excluded without regrets from my itinerary.

My hope, however, is that the new version will be toned down for family audiences because that's what I think MK is all about -- families (and, you know, ohana...oh, forget it).

 

[WDWspider]

Originally posted by dopey
As one of those people, I can tell you that there is a wide gulf between fun scary -- Grim Grinning Ghosts and wacky pirates -- and scary scary -- AE.

Granted, I simply skip the latter when I'm at WDW with the kids, and there are plenty of other things to do, so I don't begrudge anyone the thrills they get out of AE. Who knows? If it's the same schtickala with Stitch, it may wind up to be just as scary as before, and, therefore, excluded without regrets from my itinerary.

My hope, however, is that the new version will be toned down for family audiences because that's what I think MK is all about -- families (and, you know, ohana...oh, forget it).

I must agree, although I like AE, the tone of the ride from the pre-show on is very sinister and creepy. There are no fun or nice underscores to help ease your mind. It is set up and delivered with the intent that something horrible will and is happening.

 

[dxwwf3]

Let's hope this is all a rumor really. There are plenty of things for everyone at the Magic Kingdom and AE is something for the forgotton at WDW, the thrill seekers. This is a not to be missed show and would be a travesty to see changed. And to all of those who love changing original attractions to fit in with movies I can't wait to see the reaction if the Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion movies take off and Disney decides to make some modifications to those attractions. I'll be laughing all the way :lol: (even though I don't want to see those rides changed). I never knew when I bought a ticket to see Lilo and Stitch that I might be contributing to the demise to my favorite show at WDW. I might start waiting for DVD rentals now. :animwink:

XS TECH Forever

 

[CSOM]

Originally posted by WDW*babe
Stitch fits right in the "Tomorrowland" theme!! Great idea!!!:sohappy: :sohappy:

How does Stitch fit into Tomorrowland, the movie takes place at present day, not in a futuristic city??

 

[WDWspider]

Originally posted by CSOM
How does Stitch fit into Tomorrowland, the movie takes place at present day, not in a futuristic city??

Huh??? Tomorrowland is an exhibition land for people all over the galaxy to showcase new ideas and concepts (for our tomorrow), so if we go to the Teleporter show and accidentally teleport Stitch instead of the creature, why doesn't it fit?

 

[wed050499]

Originally posted by CSOM
How does Stitch fit into Tomorrowland, the movie takes place at present day, not in a futuristic city??

buzz and indy speedway take place in the present day also and they fit just fine.

just a thought,
Brian

 

[WDWspider]

Originally posted by wed050499
buzz and indy speedway take place in the present day also and they fit just fine.

just a thought,
Brian

I will say however that it would be innovative and cool if Disney would modify the tracks on Indy to support minature hoover cars, the lines would be out the park for that little upgrade. Oh well. Or even linear induction tracks (although the interactive part would be reduced a lot).

 

[CSOM]

Originally posted by wed050499
buzz and indy speedway take place in the present day also and they fit just fine.

just a thought,
Brian

I'm not much of a fan of the speedway either, buzz works for me somehow, but I just don't see Stitch fitting into this attraction.

 

[Ronald-Ruck]

what a joke

if Disney changes AE to accomdate that lame-o character Stitch, well, the end is a lot nearer than I thought!

It's marketing, pure and simple. But at some point, Disney should realize not all of their creations are timeless. That character is junk. 50 years from now, no one is going to be watching lilo and stitch. It's hack art and hack storytelling and now they're going to forcefeed it down our throats in a ride? What a joke.

Buzz Lightyear works because he's endearing and his whole persona/job description is a great fit for tomorrowland. The stitch creature looks like a saturday morning illustration. Unfortunately, they've been heading down that path for awhile, just regurgitating cookiecutter movies knowing kids will eat it up. Poor Walt would defintely be doing a dirt-dance in his coffin if he was in one!

-r

 

[dreamer]

Originally posted by turkey leg boy
Is adding Stitch going to want to make AE that much more of a repeat visit?

It depends what they do with him. The repeatability depends more on how entertaining the attraction is, not the specific characters involved. AE was definitely NOT repeatable.

For me, put in a decent soundtrack and I'll go back. Don't aliens like Rock and Roll?

Stitch is more of a draw than the current alien (talk about cookie-cutter characters -- like we haven't seen green beasts with long teeth before). It couldn't be any worse.

RR:
And who's force-feeding. If you don't like Stitch, just walk by. That's what we do with AE -- and used to do with Flight to the Moon. Not everything is a home run.

 

[wed050499]

Re: what a joke

Originally posted by Ronald-Ruck
if Disney changes AE to accomdate that lame-o character Stitch, well, the end is a lot nearer than I thought!

It's marketing, pure and simple. But at some point, Disney should realize not all of their creations are timeless. That character is junk. 50 years from now, no one is going to be watching lilo and stitch. It's hack art and hack storytelling and now they're going to forcefeed it down our throats in a ride? What a joke.

Buzz Lightyear works because he's endearing and his whole persona/job description is a great fit for tomorrowland. The stitch creature looks like a saturday morning illustration. Unfortunately, they've been heading down that path for awhile, just regurgitating cookiecutter movies knowing kids will eat it up. Poor Walt would defintely be doing a dirt-dance in his coffin if he was in one!

-r

Just a note,

Stitch, from what i gathered in the movie, was created by some sort of genetic engineering or mutation method and becomes, in my mind, one of the most unique and fascinating characters disney has created since gepetto put the final touches on his creation. with that in mind, the story of a creature being created by a mad scientist doesn't seem that far off to me as far as tomorrow is concerned. For instance, look already at today and the controversy over the "clone" babies. Stitch represents and adorable taste of what may just go through childrens minds when they think "clone" or "alien." Who knows. to me he fits very well with a talking toy and carries a message as buzz does that will remain timeless; namely ohana.

thanks,
Brian

 

[Ronald-Ruck]

what's next??

I know! Let's retro-fit The Country Bear Jamboree to accomodate Pocohontas! That would be cool!

C'mon! Retro-fitting rides that already exist to accomodate a totally irrelevant character doesn't work! Look how bogus the Tiki Room is now! Just because they added bird characters doesn't mean it works. All the innocence and originality is gone.

If AE doesn't work and most people don't like it, I say ditch it. I think it's refreshing having something a bit on the dark side.
But if you're going to ditch it, then ditch it and put something new in. Don't "update" it. That's weak.

 

[wed050499]

Re: what's next??

Originally posted by Ronald-Ruck


If AE doesn't work and most people don't like it, I say ditch it. I think it's refreshing having something a bit on the dark side.
But if you're going to ditch it, then ditch it and put something new in. Don't "update" it. That's weak.

However,

The makeover of AE for Stitch does not imply one way or another whether it will be "ditched" completely or reworked with the same story just with Stitch. Honestly, I would like to see something similar with what they have now at AE, but transfer the story of stitch completely into the pre-shows and show itself. That kind of change, in my mind, seems to be the only fitting one for the attraction.

thanks,
Brian

 

[General Grizz]

Some evaluation:

GOOD POSSIBLE POINTS:
(1) Family-Friendly Attraction
(2) Pleasing of Stitch Fans

BAD POINTS:
(1) Will it surpass the original?
(2) Will it please the AE fans that are there already?
(3) Will it lose its theme? Is it adding Stitch to add Stitch...but losing the foundational ideas of Tomorrowland? (I.e. Buzz Lightyear's Spaceranger Spin)

Some evaluation for Tiki Room incorporation:

GOOD POSSIBLE POINTS:
(1) Bring back FITTING music
(2) Replace Gottfrey with Stitch
(3) And have a chance to make a show that the "original" fans would enjoy more"
(4) Bring More Life to the Tiki Room as far as attendance; AE has hour waits every day

BAD POINTS:
(1) Well...I can't really think of any! Anything to help the Tiki Room!

 

[wed050499]

Hello again,

I don't know grizz. something about stitch in the tiki room seems to rub me the wrong way, but i can't just put my finger on what exactly. If you can sell me on it, perhaps, but I'm not seeing a real hook to your proposal.

thanks anyways,
Brian

 

[jwbeck3]

I feel another JIYI They should spend the money in a better way than to waste it on a pretty popular attraction.

 

[dxwwf3]

I am definately seeing your points Grizz. When I think if Lilo and Stitch I think of two things immediately. Hawaii and Elvis Presley music. Not science fiction aliens. Of course as one can tell by my last post I am a big AE fan but I also think of L&S as a Hawaiian movie. I think that the best type of attraction to put Stitch in is to have a "fake" ride or something and have mayhem ensue (of course it always does) and have Stitch take it over. Think about the teaser trailers for the movie where stitch took over a "fairytale". Now some of you might say that is exactly what would happen if he were placed in AE but to alot of the guests have already seen AE in its original form so it wouldn't be as believeable (to me at least). So my suggestion would be to add a new attraction instead of replacing one (if possible). There have been too many replacements enough as it is. Maybe if there were someway to write a Stitch ride into the Animal Kingdom. That could kill two birds with one stone by pleasing the Stitch fans and giving the AK a much needed "quality" kids attraction. Anybody agree (I'm not expecting many to agree but still :animwink: )?

 

[dreamer]

I like the Lilo and Stitch in Adventureland idea because it could incorporate the Hawaiian aspect and use the GREAT Hawaiian music from the movie. However, I agree that it shouldn't be used to retrofit the Tiki room. It would be better to totally scrap the Tiki room than to retrofit it again.

Likewise, I agree with Ronald, if they incorporate Stitch into Tomorrowland somehow, I hope they totally redo the whole attraction.