When I first read about the new Stitch show, I was extremely disappointed (but not surprised) to see the continued decline of Tomorrowland.
"New Tomorrowland" in its original incarnation with Alien Encounter and Timekeeper was my favorite area of any theme park by far. I think both of those attractions were very well done, and even better, they involved stories and characters that were original.
While I always felt those two attractions were the anchors and most important elements for the overall story of New Tomorrowland, it was the other little things scattered throughout the land that tied it all together and made it feel complete. Things like the phone booth messages, the robot newsboy, the posters and signs for different organizations on the Avenue of the Planets, Sonny Eclipse, the TTA scenes, and even the old Space Mountain tv program...all of those little surprises added up to drive home a singular cohesive story. The more you explored, the more you could learn about the futuristic "city" and the people, robots, and aliens who lived and worked there.
For me, when they replaced Alien Encounter and Timekeeper, it really diminished the overall feeling of the land. As much as I dislike SGE, MILF seems even more out of place. Other elements have been lost, too, like the Space Mountain tv program, one of the posters by the Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station, and even the welcome signs from the Loyal Order of Little Green Beings and other organizations were gone on my last trip in November of 2008 (I'm hoping it was only temporary and they were put back at some point).
Anyway, after all the disappointing changes (downgrades) that have been made, I figured the new Stitch show would be more of the same. However, I'm pleasantly surprised with the new advertisements that will be displayed between the shows. It looks as though they fit in with the New Tomorrowland story quite nicely. I had given up all hope of anything new being added that actually fits and doesn't rely on existing animated characters. I haven't seen all the new advertisements, but I'm interested to learn about some of the other "businesses" or people in Tomorrowland on my next visit. Even better, it's really cool that Timekeeper, 9-Eye, the Tomorrowland Metro Retro Historical Society, and other past or already established parts of the land are referenced here.
Anyway, long story short: it's refreshing to see some non-cartoon character references in Tomorrowland for a change. While the actual new Stitch show itself will probably not be something I enjoy, I appreciate the new advertisements and think they are cool.
Still, it's sad that something as simple as advertisements is one of the few positive changes that has been made to the land in the past fifteen years.
Now, if they'd put the old Timekeeper animatronic or something similar in a new scene on the TTA while it's closed for refurbishment, that would be awesome.
