Originally Posted By J_E_Smith Here's a little "WHAT IF...?" question for fun. What would have happened back in 2004 if we had gotten a Stitch Tiki Room instead of Stitch's Great Escape? (Something along the lines of this mock-up of it I wrote, but with better writing of course: <a href="http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6972701/1/Tiki_Room_Aloha_E_Komo_Mai_Lilo_Stitch" target="_blank">http://www.fanfiction.net/s/69...o_Stitch</a>) *WOULD a Stitch Tiki Room have been better received if it had replaced Under New Management in 2004? *WOULD Stitch have the same negative reputation he has among the WDW fanbase? *WOULD Alien Encounter still be around today, or would it have been replaced by a new attraction by now? *Having Stitch in the Tiki Room in 2004 would have most likely led to a huge increase in attendance for it. However, WOULD the attendance figures hold up today, or would the attendance eventually drop off to the same low numbers that it usually suffers from?
Originally Posted By J_E_Smith Here's a little "WHAT IF...?" question for fun. What would have happened back in 2004 if we had gotten a Stitch Tiki Room instead of Stitch's Great Escape? (Something along the lines of this mock-up of it I wrote, but with better writing of course: <a href="http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6972701/1/Tiki_Room_Aloha_E_Komo_Mai_Lilo_Stitch" target="_blank">http://www.fanfiction.net/s/69...o_Stitch</a>) *WOULD a Stitch Tiki Room have been better received if it had replaced Under New Management in 2004? *WOULD Stitch have the same negative reputation he has among the WDW fanbase? *WOULD Alien Encounter still be around today, or would it have been replaced by a new attraction by now? *Having Stitch in the Tiki Room in 2004 would have most likely led to a huge increase in attendance for it. However, WOULD the attendance figures hold up today, or would the attendance eventually drop off to the same low numbers that it usually suffers from?
Originally Posted By CDF1 IMO Alien Encounter was doomed from it's opening due to the intense nature of the attraction - I think a good many guests simply did not think that Disney would dare to submit them to something really scary so despite any warnings outside to the contrary they took their small children on the ride only to find total darkness, a shoulder restraint system that holds the guest captive and some disturbing special effects of creature sounds etc. There were a lot of small kids that left that attraction unhappy when I went on the ride shortly after it opened. I thought I read somewhere where the creature originally was supposed to be the one from the Alien franchise as opposed to the multi-legged arachnid-type creature they settled on - that probably would have made the attraction even more frightening. I'm sure with the rebuild to Stitch they get much greater acceptance of the attraction by whole families as opposed to the original which probably only appealed to an audience 14-15 years and above.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<I'm sure with the rebuild to Stitch they get much greater acceptance of the attraction by whole families>> They don't. The confining nature of the seats and the long periods of darkness still scare the jeebus out of little kids. SGE is the most complained about attraction in the park.
Originally Posted By 3disneylocations Worst thing they did was get rid of Alien Encounter. Apperently, too many 5 y/o's freaked out; one of my fav experiences of the attraction ("the alien's gonna eat me!"). And there were probably some wet pants that had to be changed. I blame this on the stupid parents who would drag kids on the attraction despite the LARGE signs warning of darkness and intense effects; stoopid parents (and you need a licence to get a dog) caused the politically correct Disney folks to kill one of the best attractions in the MK.
Originally Posted By leobloom I remember seeing Alien Encounter the last night it was open. I never imagined how bad its replacement would be. In hindsight, I wish we'd gotten a Stitch Tiki Room and kept Alien Encounter as opposed to 15 years of UNM followed by the ancient Tiki Room with SGE in Tomorrowland.
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORDDU: Wasn't at least ONE of the reasons they changed Alien Encounter due to the fact that one of the alien actors in the original attraction had been involved in some sort of sexual scandal? I don't recall the details of the scandal but it seems as though Disney didn't waste much time in making a major change shortly after this particular actor was named as being a criminal suspect. ORWEN: And since Stitch was also a rising, promising star at the time, they just decided to promote the little bugger with an attraction of his own. ORGOCH: Got a quick fix?
Originally Posted By danyoung I didn't hear anything about this. I think they changed it cuz it was consistently too scary for the wee ones.
Originally Posted By danyoung OK, I stand corrected. According to wikipedia - "Another factor may have been the widely publicized sex-offense conviction of actor Jeffrey Jones (who plays Chairman L.C. Clench in the show) in early 2003." So it may or may not have been a factor.
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORDDU: It may have been due to any number of factors. I'm certain Disney Management wouldn't make any public statements regarding the actor who was in trouble because that wouldn't be Kosher on their part. The company makes all kinds of decisions based on reasons they don't feel comfortable announcing to the general public.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I doubt that was a major factor in the redo. How long after Paul Reubens' sex scandal did they finally remove his character from Star Tours? And that certainly hasn't stopped them from bringing back Captain EO (which is much more recognizable as a familiar celebrity, and with a much more well-known scandal) into the parks.
Originally Posted By sjhym333 I dont think most people knew that it was Jones under that makeup and the few who did said..."Isnt that the guy from Ferris Bueller?"
Originally Posted By danyoung While Mr. Jones may not be exactly a household name, I'm betting that anybody who had ever seen him in a movie knew that this was the same guy, just as they new the female tech was Kathy Najimy.
Originally Posted By CDF1 How far does that kind of thing go though? Ever hear Robin Williams' standup shtick? Not exactly the cleanest language you will ever hear in a show - but that didn't stop Disney from making him a featured chracter in Aladdin and in their now-defunct Timekeeper attraction.
Originally Posted By CarolinaDisneyDad went on stitch once years ago with my family and none of us cared for it. We haven't ridden it since. Love the Stitch character and wish they would give him an attraction of suitable quality. If you notice his meet and greet line is always long so kids still love him.
