MK Stitch's Great Escape Replacement— Don’t Hold Your Breath

[marni1971]

That begs the question.. should the magic kingdom be more geared to all ages rides/attractions while the other parks can have rides that are more adult. With 4 parks that is kind of my feeling. While I love the magic kingdom (second to epcot, although they are trying to change my feelings) they have the capability to do that. I am not saying height restricted, that's a different thing (space mountain, soon to be tron) but theming wise shouldn't things be more kiddie safe. ID love to hear peoples opinions.

It’s gone too "safe" already.

 

[Donaldfan1934]

In all fairness given the numerous warnings perhaps it wasn’t the best attraction for an 8 year old to experience.

But even for those parents who did take precautions, I wouldn't be surprised if a good portion them interpreted the warnings in relative terms. The fact is that Alien Encounter was an experience unlike any other in the Magic Kingdom and people had to see it to truly believe it.

 

[marni1971]

But even for those parents who did take precautions, I wouldn't be surprised if a good portion them interpreted the warnings in relativity. The fact is that Alien Encounter was an experience unlike any other in the Magic Kingdom and people had to see it to truly believe it.

Then people are dumb.

 

[ᗩLᘿᑕ ֊ᗩζᗩᗰ]

Then people are dumb.

you're on a roll today! lol

 

[marni1971]

you're on a roll today! lol

With all respect. You can’t legislate for stupid.

 

[ppete1975]

out of curiosity I googled it
not sure if these were here the whole time...

 

[MisterPenguin]

Maybe, if in the queue to a restored scary ride, there could be a dark black-out room in which CMs hit you with nerf bats. If that causes you or your three year old to freak out, then you don't get to ride.

 

[Hatbox Ghostbuster]

I love me some Disney attractions with parental warnings.

 

[Coaster Lover]

These theater shows have a history of of having a scene or two that can be relatively intense/scary (at least for younger kids)... the witch in Magic Journey, the snake in Honey I Shrunk the Audience, the spiders in Tough to Be a Bug... granted Alien Encounter took it to a whole new level, but having had experienced all of those other listed theater shows before hand, while I thought Alien Encounter did provide a few good scares, it wasn't anything crazy... after it had been open a bit and they started putting in a lot of the comedic commentary into the background audio of the ride, it really took a lot of the edge off...

 

[Donaldfan1934]

Then people are dumb.

While I most certainly agree that human stupidity was a big part of the problem, I can't blame every single person for having their expectations subverted since it was such an extreme tonal shift from everything else the Magic Kingdom had to offer. Keep in mind that the "scary" ride in the Magic Kingdom before Alien Encounter was the Haunted Mansion, so the precedent was there to expect something that was similarly tongue in cheek in the grand scheme of things. Yes, Disney did take measures to change perceptions early on such as changing the pre-show, but when your dealing with an attraction that is the exact opposite of what people expect out of both the park and also the Disney brand in general, even the best attempts at audience reconditioning aren't going to hit as well as they should. I understand why you feel it's a shame that current and future generations missed out on the chance to properly experience something that was well received among its highly specific audience, but it's eventual fate was sealed the second they decided to put it into the Magic Kingdom.

 

[marni1971]

While I most certainly agree that human stupidity was a big part of the problem, I can't blame every single person for having their expectations subverted since it was such an extreme tonal shift from everything else the Magic Kingdom had to offer. Keep in mind that the "scary" ride in the Magic Kingdom before Alien Encounter was the Haunted Mansion, so the precedent was there to expect something that was similarly tongue in cheek in the grand scheme of things. Yes, Disney did take measures to change perceptions early on such as changing the pre-show, but when your dealing with an attraction that is the exact opposite of what people expect out of both the park and also the Disney brand in general, even the best attempts at audience reconditioning aren't going to hit as well as they should. I understand why you feel it's a shame that current and future generations missed out on the chance to properly experience something that was well received among its highly specific audience, but it's eventual fate was sealed the second they decided to put it into the Magic Kingdom.

HM didn’t have the numerous warnings. AE was treated with the maturity it needed by the company.

What next? People thinking their wallet won’t be stolen in the Magic Kingom since it’s magical? No chance of them building a roller coaster in the dark in the most magical place on Earth?

General public can be their own worst enemy.

 

[Donaldfan1934]

out of curiosity I googled it
not sure if these were here the whole time...

My guess is that the sign attached to the facade was there on opening day whereas the standee sign was added later after enough guests experienced it. Aside from the fact that only one is a permanent nailed in fixture, you can tell the standee is newer since it specifies that the ride may be too intense for both "children and some adults" as opposed to the facade sign's warning, which strictly mentions "small children".

 

[CoasterSnoop]

out of curiosity I googled it
not sure if these were here the whole time...

All of the warning signs that were there on closing day were there on opening day. The whole idea behind AE was that it was the big scary attraction. Disney knew what they were doing.

 

[SteamboatJoe]

I am almost positive that before my family's trip in '96 we were already aware of the nature of this ride through word of mouth and we lived in Michigan at the time. Every year when I was in school at least one person in my class went to Disney and/or Universal during spring or summer break. They'd inevitably end up doing some sort of report on it.

 

[Princess Leia]

My guess is that the sign attached to the facade was there on opening day whereas the standee sign was added later after enough guests experienced it. Aside from the fact that only one is a permanent nailed in fixture, you can tell the standee is newer since it specifies that the ride may be to intense for both "children and some adults" as opposed to the facade sign's warning, which strictly mentions "small children".

The ‘some adults’ addition was probably the fine print that people needed to read, yet didn’t. I guess the best thing that could have been added would have been “recommended for teens and adults”, but some people would have gone in anyways.

 

[ChrisFL]

After searching, AE had a 48" (4 ft) height requirement. That would have kept most smaller children away from it already.

 

[WDWTank]

out of curiosity I googled it
not sure if these were here the whole time...

“May be too frightening”? It should be “Will be too frightening”.
I LOVE that mirror sign by the way

 

[Donaldfan1934]

HM didn’t have the numerous warnings. AE was treated with the maturity it needed by the company.

What next? People thinking their wallet won’t be stolen in the Magic Kingom since it’s magical? No chance of them building a roller coaster in the dark in the most magical place on Earth?

General public can be their own worst enemy.

You have a good point about how the general public can be their own worst enemy, but I can't help but feel that Disney was asking for this scenario to play out in the that way it did no matter how hard they tried to avoid it. They may have treated the attraction with maturity, but as I said, those efforts can only go so far when you're dealing with an experience that is completely subversive in the context of where it is being presented.

Thrilling, but not exclusively adult, attractions such as Space Mountain may not be everyone's cup of tea, but they are expected and don't straight up undermine what the Magic Kingdom's identity is or is percieved to be. Yes, it's important for Disney to take risks and go beyond what is expected of them, but it's also important that they don't go too far and end up achieving the opposite.

To be clear, this isn't to say that Disney shouldn't create experiences for demographics they aren't traditionally associated because they most certainly need to do so. In fact, that's the beauty of having 4 unique parks with different overall themes, tones, expectations, and, to some extent, audiences. If put in a different park, an attraction like Alien Encounter may have the opportunity to thrive. But because it was where it was, it was met with controversy that wouldn't have been remedied by simply reading signs. Just because something is read doesn't mean something is accepted.

 

[V_L_Raptor]

To be clear, this isn't to say that Disney shouldn't create experiences for demographics they aren't traditionally associated because they most certainly need to do so. In fact, that's the beauty of having 4 unique parks with different overall themes, tones, expectations, and, to some extent, audiences. If put in a different park, an attraction like Alien Encounter may have the opportunity to thrive. But because it was where it was, it was met with controversy that wouldn't have been remedied by simply reading signs. Just because something is read doesn't mean something is accepted.

Acceptance isn't the responsibility of whoever makes the sign.

 

[FigmentForver96]

You have a good point about how the general public can be their own worst enemy, but I can't help but feel that Disney was asking for this scenario to play out in the that way it did no matter how hard they tried to avoid it. They may have treated the attraction with maturity, but as I said, those efforts can only go so far when you're dealing with an experience that is completely subversive in the context of where it is being presented.

Thrilling, but not exclusively adult, attractions such as Space Mountain may not be everyone's cup of tea, but they are expected and don't straight up undermine what the Magic Kingdom's identity is or is percieved to be. Yes, it's important for Disney to take risks and go beyond what is expected of them, but it's also important that they don't go too far and end up achieving the opposite.

To be clear, this isn't to say that Disney shouldn't create experiences for demographics they aren't traditionally associated because they most certainly need to do so. In fact, that's the beauty of having 4 unique parks with different overall themes, tones, expectations, and, to some extent, audiences. If put in a different park, an attraction like Alien Encounter may have the opportunity to thrive. But because it was where it was, it was met with controversy that wouldn't have been remedied by simply reading signs. Just because something is read doesn't mean something is accepted.

Magic Kingdom once had the identity of all families, which included an array of ages and backgrounds.

Now people assume Magic Kingdom means family as in toddlers and princesses. So the ride fit just fine beyond people believing the Magic Kingdom was something it was not.