Stitch's Great Escape

[Princess Kitty]

I know people bash Stitch... but I don't remember Alien Encounters being all that great either... what exactly is the Disney theme behind the original attraction?

The "original" attraction was Flight to the Moon (which pre-dated me). I saw its replacement, Mission to Mars, when I first went to WDW and I actually prefer that attraction to Stitch. You could see projections on the ceiling and the floor, and the seats kind of vibrated or something.

I don't think I'd mind Stitch so much if he were a little more tame (post-Lilo not pre-Lilo) and he interacted with the kids (kind of like Turtle Talk). But, I really don't like the seats - they need to go.

 

[MMFanCipher]

The "original" attraction was Flight to the Moon (which pre-dated me). I saw its replacement, Mission to Mars, when I first went to WDW and I actually prefer that attraction to Stitch. You could see projections on the ceiling and the floor, and the seats kind of vibrated or something.

I don't think I'd mind Stitch so much if he were a little more tame (post-Lilo not pre-Lilo) and he interacted with the kids (kind of like Turtle Talk). But, I really don't like the seats - they need to go.

You stole my thunder!! I was going to say bring back Mission to Mars!!
Great minds must think alike! :lol:

 

[The Duck]

I remember seeing "Mission to Mars" in that same space during my first visit in 1975. It was pretty low-tech by today's standards and mostly dull. My guess is that they'll have to gut the building and start from scratch in order to get anything worthwhile in there.

 

[DisneyExplorer]

Alien Encounter truly was an exciting experience, and we always visited it on our Disney trips. Even when I was 8, I went on this attraction. It scared me to death every time (and I probably got nightmares, too), but that was part of the fun. I was always afraid to go in ... but it was still one of my favorite attractions. Back then, Tomorrowland seemed like the more grown-up part of the park, and I think it fit in nicely. I understand that this wasn't a good "show" for a lot of young kids ... but that didn't mean that they had to partake in it.

To have people complain that it was too scary and then get it dumbed down is just ridiculous. Talk about putting originality and creativity aside to please a few angry people. Think about the great many that loved Alien Encounter.

I went on Stitch about two weeks ago, and while it was a little cute, I kept comparing it to AE ... which made it that much worse. That ride is meant to be dark and frightening. I'm really glad they kept some of the pre-show intact ... though again, even that is dumped down. Love Skippy!

And for those who complained about the shoulder restraints ... yes, they were not and still are not comfortable at all. They certainly did add to the experience during the Alien Encounter days. That feeling of being trapped while the alien is loose. And if the restraints were too restrictive on your shoulders, all you had to do was push up on them and they'd raise as much as you wanted. In fact when I was on Stitch two weeks ago, one girl got so scarred (give me a break!) that the mother pushed the restraints all the way up and they left during the middle of the show.

 

[wdwfan4ver]

And for those who complained about the shoulder restraints ... yes, they were not and still are not comfortable at all. They certainly did add to the experience during the Alien Encounter days. That feeling of being trapped while the alien is loose. And if the restraints were too restrictive on your shoulders, all you had to do was push up on them and they'd raise as much as you wanted. In fact when I was on Stitch two weeks ago, one girl got so scarred (give me a break!) that the mother pushed the restraints all the way up and they left during the middle of the show.

It is still not a good attraction even without the shoulder harness problem. It is the same thing with some other people with Stitch's Great Escape.

 

[jumblue]

I really enjoyed AE while it was open, unfortunately I have not been able to visit WDW during Stitch's reign (though I guess I'm not missing much). AE, for me, in terms of what they set out to do, was WDI taking a very purist approach.

What do I mean by that? Walt Disney's vision with Disneyland was to create a series of immersive, story-driven experiences. A collection of "True Life Adventures," and the early rides do represent this, Jungle Cruise, Frontierland, leading up to Pirates and Haunted Mansion. Except for Fantasyland, the characters weren't really present in attractions. Granted, they had to go outside the House of Mouse and work with George Lucas, but I feel AE is the closest they have come to this philosophy since Walt's passing, and was really sad to learn it had also gone.

Worse was to read the descriptions of what had replaced it. This "toonification" I hope ends soon, perhaps FLE will exorcise this desire to push the characters (and subsequently their generic merchandise) on us.

 

[Admiral01]

This "toonification" I hope ends soon, perhaps FLE will exorcise this desire to push the characters (and subsequently their generic merchandise) on us.

Agreed! No more "toonification" of classic Disney rides just for the sake of getting another advertisement to push a DVD. Stitch in Tomorrowland? Bad. Nemo in Future World? Bad. I'm just waiting for the day that the family in Carousel of Progress is replaced by the family from The Incredibles or something...

 

[anonDisney]

I'm a little surprised at all of the dislike towards ExtraTERRORrestrial Alien Encounter. I absolutely loved it.

I remember the first time I went on it. I had absolutely no idea what to expect and the ride completely blew me away. It was an incredible experience and one that no other ride has yet matched.

To this today it remains one of my favorite rides of all time.

 

[Thrill Seeker]

You stole my thunder!! I was going to say bring back Mission to Mars!!
Great minds must think alike! :lol:

They did, well, the next best thing...
They built a new attraction based on the movie that was based upon it at Epcot and called it Mission: SPACE... True story...

 

[BigThunderMatt]

I think the main reason Alien Encounter got replaced was because it wasn't a kid ride.

The fault here lies with the adults that took their kids on it anyway. There was signage on the attraction and notes in the park map stating explicitly the ride would be too intense for children, and children under 7 were not even allowed into the attraction.

 

[MrMorrowTom]

The main reason everyone hates SGE is like earlier commented everyone was comparing it to AE. Now on the other hand being a former SGE cast member standing through 20 shows a shift, It isn't a bad ride. It has it moments and when all aspects of the ride are functional its not the worst but far from best. But due to lack of maintenance it took away from the experience.

The building is decent size if they wanted to gut it and put in a new ride the only problem is they would have to remove a gift shop to have decent room. My guess is they wouldn't mess with Mickey's Star Traders because that is where the PeopleMover passes through, they would take out Merchant of Venus. And Disney would never do that.

 

[imagineer boy]

Alien Encounter truly was one of the greatest attractions ever built by Disney. It was immersive, had a great story, creative premise, original characters, great use of animatronics and special effects, overall it was just great!

SGE is really scaring a lot more kids that AE ever did because it intices kids in unlike AE did. When I went on last, there were two kids behind me who I heard sob and ask their dad to make it stop through the whole thing.

 

[redshoesrock]

Alien Encounter truly was one of the greatest attractions ever built by Disney. It was immersive, had a great story, creative premise, original characters, great use of animatronics and special effects, overall it was just great!

SGE is really scaring a lot more kids that AE ever did because it intices kids in unlike AE did. When I went on last, there were two kids behind me who I heard sob and ask their dad to make it stop through the whole thing.

And that, friends, is the inherent flaw with Stitch's Great Escape: it's too scary for the target audience of Stitch (very young children) and not scary enough for those who see the "WARNING! THIS IS SCARY!" signs and enjoy a thrill in their theme park day.

 

[Thrill]

Worse was to read the descriptions of what had replaced it. This "toonification" I hope ends soon, perhaps FLE will exorcise this desire to push the characters (and subsequently their generic merchandise) on us.

I'm afraid that this may not be the case. I believe there is a division of the Disney studios specifically designed to incorporate characters into attractions. I even heard rumors that Maelstrom might be getting characters. O_O

I've never been on Alien Encounter, so I can't say how much I like that in comparison to Stitch's Great Escape. I don't think I'd be terribly fond of it, but the fact that it is unique in story makes it something that I'd rather have in the park.

 

[aladdin2007]

I'm afraid that this may not be the case. I believe there is a division of the Disney studios specifically designed to incorporate characters into attractions. I even heard rumors that Maelstrom might be getting characters. O_O

I've never been on Alien Encounter, so I can't say how much I like that in comparison to Stitch's Great Escape. I don't think I'd be terribly fond of it, but the fact that it is unique in story makes it something that I'd rather have in the park.

only more trolls, not specific characters, hopefully.