Fixing Attractions- Stitchs Great Escape

In this new series, we'll be looking at Attractions from around the theme park and amusement park worlds that desperately need some love and attention. This could range anyplace from badly needed maintenance to the entire attraction needed a new and improved show.

Now there are honestly TONS of these types of attractions lurking out there, so we'll begin slowly with everyone's favorite "Love to hate it" attraction:
Stitch's Great Escape

Image from WDWLive.com

Attraction: Stitch's Great Escape

Location: Walt Disney World, Tomorrowland

Problem: Annoying, Everyone honestly hates it. 

Backstory

   This attraction began life as "ExtraTERRORestrail Alien Encounter" in 1994 and was hailed as one of the best show style attractions ever to grace Magic Kingdom. It was re-vamped once to make the attraction even more intense and scary, it was considered "Intense, Dark Humor" at the time. This attraction closed in 2003 without any real answers as to "WHY" it happened. Some blame Disney going "Stitch Crazy", while others say interest faded and yet more agree that it didn't fit into the "Family friendly" atmosphere Magic Kingdom was always pushing for. 

   All of this is how we wound up with such a lackluster attraction such as "Stitch's Great Escape", which opened in 2004. Some feel it was quickly rushed threw to be open for the busy Christmas season and thus fell short of what the goal was. Either way, if you've seen this show you also where probably not impressed with it. 

Bit Of Trivia:  Before "Ursula" in the new "Journey of the Little Mermaid" attraction opened, Stitch was the most advanced, operating animatonic at Disney World. Remember, the Yeti is still broken.

How to Fix It?

 Well this is the harder question by far. 

It really depends how much you like Stitch as a character. Personally, I LOVE Stitch. He is easily one of my favorite characters created by Disney in a very long time, so I'd love to see an altered version of this attraction stick around.  Now, I am by no means any kind of engineer and can't begin to even tell you if their possible or not outside of my own reasonable guesses. Also please keep in mind these ideas are just my own, flushed out with the help of some awesome folks on my Twitter. With a special thanks to Alexander who also shares my love of Stitch!

Now one of the main ideas is putting in an entirely NEW ride within the space currently existing. Following a tried and true model that we've seen with Universal's Spider Man or even the independent movement the ride cars from "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" share a 'Roaming Motion Simulator'.  Beginning with a ride car that has independent movement gives the attraction FAR more depth and adding in the 3D element gives you the immersion you need to really experience a character like Stitch and his really rather large universe.

The Ride

-Idea One-

The setting (in my idea) would take place at the very beginning of the "Lilo and Stitch" movie where we find Stitch in custody of the Galactic Federation. You would be a new recruit of the Galactic Federation on your very first prisoner detail and (Oh Crap!) you get Stitch.

This attraction would take you threw Stitches adventure while escaping! 

In the beginning you first see the current animatronic of Stitch, while he plots his escape. Suddenly you turn around and go threw a massive air vent where you would encounter your very first 3D screen. You follow quickly, zigzagging threw the crazy collection of air vents while Stitch somehow manages to evade you each time you get close. 

Suddenly you turn again, your ride car bouncing around. This part would look much like your still chasing through these air vents then you would come upon an area full of tangled wires and computer controls. Hearing Stitch's laughter you keep up your pursuit before turning into another 3D Screen. Stitch is ripping the wires apart bouncing back and forth between the area, your ride car is also bouncing at this point you keep turning and lurching forward trying to catch him. 

Then you turn into the next room, with another Stitch animatronic holding a large wire plug. Suddenly he unplugs it and everything goes dark. A large beam on your ride car now turns on (like a flashlight), bouncing slightly as you try to follow the sounds of Stitch's babbling laughter. Your next 3D screen room is now in front of you. The beams of your car flicker and suddenly you "see" yourself on a platform.. rising up through bars of light. Suddenly, you burst out another air vent into the hanger bay of the Federation ship. Stitch is already in "the red one" and your in (bounding) hot pursuit!

Suddenly he takes off!CRAP!
He's got the red one and you ride car bounces into another ship and takes off right after him. Now using an old Disney trick, a rounded ceiling with projectors played upon is (much like the old Delta Dreamflight had) your in space! Stitch and 'The Red One' fly randomly around the ceiling while your ride car is tilted back and bouncing slightly. As you approach the end of the tunnel he engages his warp drive! A voice calls out and riders hit a blinking button beside them to engage your own warp drive after "clear to launch" is called. Suddenly everything on the screen blurs and your in another room with flashing and streaking lights, your ride car shudders and shivers around you to mimic the feeling of speed.

The final room is also a 3D screen. In this room you see earth quickly approaching, then Florida. Suddenly you see Stitch veer off and head towards Hawaii but your on a crash coarse and can't stop! You land right in the middle of Magic Kingdom! Everything suddenly stops and goes black, on the screen the Grand Councilwoman appears (rather ticked with you) and grudgingly orders you to explore this new land while they try to locate Stitch. 

This would then end the ride, you exit from your ride car and enter this strange new land of a human theme park!

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 Okay, so it's not perfect and probably not even really practical with the current space allotted to the  Stitch attraction unless you went full simulator for the ride.  It's also my own, personal, work-in-progress idea which even I will admit could use refinement and fine turning. It also needs something closer to a script and a layout, perhaps even images to bring it more to life. Which in time I'd very much like to work on as time permits. However, I think even in it's current rough state it's a FAR cry better then the current "Stitch's Great Escape" offering we've got at Magic Kingdom.  

 So with that being said, what would YOUR ideas be? Got something better or even an idea that hasn't popped into my own head? Let me know! I'd love to create a good working model of this attraction even if it is only for our collective amusement. 

 In the end it's fantasy, but I do hope you've enjoyed it and perhaps maybe even believe if it happened you'd enjoy riding this new attraction. 

Just for Giggles!

Just for giggles, Nat Rios over at Wonders of Life: Eterna posted up a great picture of Buzzy and Stitch for the Easter Holidays!

So go look and enjoy a smile!
Buzzy and Stitch!

Purely Amazing. Which leads into the deconstruction.

I stumbled upon a blog today which when added to all the many other things I've been reading lately in regards to Disney's Quality and the complete homogenization of the theme parks has really had me thinking long and hard. Trying to identify factors such as when these things happened, trying to understand the "How" and the ever more elusive "Why" question.  Wondering why I didn't spot these things before and speak up when perhaps my voice could have been heard in some form other then that of a blog. I suspect some parts of me knew what was happening but simply didn't believe it or didn't want to believe it. I fully admit I still have some form of nievity left even after being so very jaded. Somehow in my own head all I can think is "They are not possibly that stupid, I'm just being pessimistic" which normally leads into some form of a face-palm moment later because "Yes Carrie, they are that stupid".

Now let's begin what my dear and long suffering husband has entitled "And.. there she goes again, shes gone...".
_________________

Why is Disney feeding us this Cheap, Canned and Brainless Entertainment?
Dear Gods, it's enough to make me search for a good wall with which to bang my head upon. I'm sure on occasion the screech of my soul being ripped from my body has been heard when I've brought myself to walk the painful journey Imagination has become. In fact it's probably still echoing over Epcot with the other several hundred thousand still screaming in confusion and anger. 

See? I can get off the Horizons bandwagon on occasion!

Dr. Nigel Channing and WDI have Murdered the Dreamfinder. They stole our Figment, turned him into an obnoxious pestilence upon our beloved park and destroyed one of the most beautiful, creative rides ever given to us. Then they have the gall to slap a new coat of paint on like a band-aid on a festering cancer then act completely surprised when we're pondering which end of the stick we'd like to beat them with?  Yes, it is THEIR park to do what they like with but it's no surprise when we expect the high standards that THEY gave to us.

Imagination gave us standards. Horizons gave us standards. Spaceship Earth gave us standards. World of Motion gave us standards.

A standard which is so far above the bar that's exactly what we expect and demand now. Living up to the reputation can't be easy but let's be honest, they haven't even tried lately. The magic seems to have gone the way of the Dodo bird, extinct in the face of bad ideas and budget cuts when in reality the show should be getting better then our once dazzled minds could ever dream.

It makes part of me cringe, to see the complete decimation which was gone rampant.  To watch things become gutted in the pursuit of mindless entertainment thinking that's just what people want.

It isn't. 

You can make things educational, fun and enjoyable with a show and even if one single person in each ride gets an idea or learns something, isn't that better then a cheap fart joke? You don't need to make it pushy or crude just to get a simple message across, in fact leave the pushy agenda crap completely out of it. People will enjoy it more, won't feel pressured to conform to some random idea your stuffing into their minds and will probably have a better time while *gasp* possibly learning something!
Let the people decide what their going to take away from an attraction, stop trying to force it and just let the facts get out there.

And do it with style!
For heavens sakes, Please! Who do I have to grovel too? I could round up a posse of people just like myself who would drop to their knees in a moment to have even a single attraction put back together into what it should be.
You know how to put on a show Disney! I've seen you do it, I've got pictures and video to back this up! You know how to build and create complete worlds out of nothing but Florida sand. Their has to be some genius floating out there still, someone who can do things right with the vision so desperately lacking in the current offerings. Give them some paper and just get out of the damn way, see what happens, I'm sure you'd be surprised!

Stop with the budget cuts, the corporate bullshit decisions of people who simply don't have a clue what their talking about much less the imagination to see anything beyond dollar signs and quarterly profits. Anyone can easily tell you that it's far easier to spend the time doing something right the first time then it is to just keep going back and fixing a job which was done half-assed and on the fly. Then when it is finally done right, step back and leave it to the people who's job it is to care for it as your job is now done.


Yes, I know all things have to change and I'm perfectly okay with this. I want change but I expect it to be done properly and what we're being given barely seems like an afterthought, the leftovers if you will. It almost seems like something starts as a good idea then gets sifted down like flour to the barest possible cheap piece someone feels they can get away with before a label is slapped onto it and deconstruction begins.

Yes, get your groans out now because you know exactly what's coming.

The single best example I can give is "Stitch Great Escape" as the devolution of an attraction.
(These are my personal reactions from childhood to current day)
 Mission to Mars: Mom! Dad! This is so cool!
Alien Encounters: Simply Amazing! This has got to be the greatest thing Magic Kingdom has ever made!
Stitch's Great Escape: What the hell just happened here?!

That's not how a person should react and I think I can safely say that's pretty much how everyone reacted to "Stitch's Great Escape".  Yet I can't understand how this attraction has been around since Alien Encounters closed. I listen and watch people while I'm at theme parks, to me that's half the fun. I've yet to really hear someone who has honestly enjoyed that attraction, most of the time it's groans from adults and the occasional snicker from kids. You never hear anyone commenting about the story or the show its-self. You certainly never hear compliments or  comments on the technology used to create it, I've heard more people impressed with S.I.R and Skippy in the pre-show area then anyone impressed with Stitch no matter how complex the animatronic really is. It's slapped into a poorly written script which is riding on the flare of it's previous occupants coat-tails and we're expected to be impressed.

We're Not.

The standards have to come back. Not just for the sake of the paying guests but for the basic integrity of the parks attractions themselves.
The cuts and disintegration have to stop before this dark, downward spiral can no longer be controlled. Before people forget those once amazing standards and just accept the pathetic version being offered to us.
If not, you may as well accept a future of poor level entertainment for highest level prices that would make even the most notorious amusement parks in the business blush in embarrassment to present it.


For those of you who made it this far, the piece below is what really got me thinking on this topic.
This has to be the simple, most eloquent piece I've read in a long time with an amazing incite and point of view.

Figment