“The Great Escape to Tomorrowland”
Our story starts before the blue alien sets foot on Earth. In the 90s, Stitch’s Great Escape was formerly occupied by an attraction called ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter. This attraction was a joint project between Lucasfilm and Disney Imagineering, and opened in Tomorrowland. It was considered a “theater-in-the-round attraction in which guests encircled a stage. On this stage was a capsule pod, which contained an animatronic alien creature. During the duration of the attraction, the creature would escape the capsule and havoc would ensue. Guests became terrorized by sudden rumbles, mysterious fluids, and a pitch black atmosphere. The attraction was considered much darker in tone than other rides at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida at the time. As a result, the park received numerous complaints of how scary it was for young guests.
Flash forward to June 2002. Stitch premieres in theaters and is a hit for the studio. A little over a year later on September 21, 2003, Magic Kingdom announced Stitch’s Great Escape, which would be replacing ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter. The following month, the park revealed the attraction would be in the same style as Alien Encounter. Part of this attraction change was due to the frightening nature of Alien Encounter, with the park hoping Stitch would offer a more family friendly experience. The ride officially opened on November 6th, 2004, and to celebrate, Stitch invaded the park. This launch event was most notable for Cinderella’s Castle being tee peed, inferred to be caused by Stitch.
Stitch Cutout that was displayed at the exterior of the attraction
Notice that Stitch has his spacesuit on, indicating this takes place before the events of Lilo and Stitch
The ride featured a pre-show that takes place in the Galactic Federation Prisoner Teleport Center, with characters from Alien Encounter, appearing in this section. After this, guests are brought to the main room. The attraction itself has the same setup as Alien Encounter, only this time, Stitch is the featured alien being beamed into the room. The attraction also features similar sound, lighting, and stage effects to Alien Encounter, with the noxious smell this time being that of Chili Corn Dogs.
Signage for Stitch's Great Escape
Signage for the ride remained in the park even after Great Escape’s final day of operation in January 2018
Although the ride remained open until 2018, it was considered a flop by many. The gross corn dog smell was not received well among guests, and despite the remodel, the attraction was still considered quite scary to young guests, having retained many of the same special effects as the original Alien Encounter. Although Stitch was a character audiences were more familiar with, the ride itself took place before Stitch met Lilo, and as a result, Stitch was nothing like the character that audiences grew to adore. As someone who had personally been on Stitch’s Great Escape at an early age, I can personally attest to this attraction having been quite frightening, and one I had no desire to see again after my initial sit through.
Entrance To Stitch's Alien Encounter Character Greeting!, which utilized the same entrance sets as Stitch’s Great Escape!
Attendance for the attraction rapidly shrank over the years. A fastpass entrance was once part of the ride, before being removed due to the ride’s overall unpopularity. Starting in October 2016, the ride began operating seasonally. While not in operation, the attraction space was used as an official meet and greet spot with Stitch called Stitch's Alien Encounter Character Greeting!.
On January 6, 2018, the sit down ride saw its last day of operation. The ride would remain in the park, but inaccessible to guests. October of that year saw much of the ride being dismantled, but there was still no official word from Disney on what would be done with the attraction. The meet and greets would still continue, although would be paused due to the Covid-19 pandemic.. Finally, in July of 2020, Disney officially announced the closure of the ride. Rumors have circulated a Wreck it Ralph themed attraction could replace stitch, although nothing official has come out yet for what will take the attraction space.
Although it received mixed reactions, the ride’s jarring tone left impressionable memories for Tomorrowland visitors, and was one of the few places guests could see the iconic blue creature. For now, we say Aloha to Stitch, but the lovable abomination is sure to make a great escape to the parks again someday.