When you think of Disney World as a whole, there really aren’t THAT many attractions that are still abandoned.
Tomorrowland
However, it’s more than you would expect, since you’d assume that a company like Disney would want to make use of every single space they can to bring in new attractions, and therefore new guests, right? In some ways, yes, but there are still several abandoned attractions and areas around Disney World that Disney has done absolutely nothing with. And TWO of them are in Tomorrowland, which is pretty wild. Tomorrowland Terrace is just a restaurant that’s been sitting empty for years (save for Fireworks Dessert Parties), but the REAL abandoned attraction in this area has been sitting fully abandoned for the past 6 years — Stitch’s Great Escape.
Before we go any further, we have to delve into a little history. Stitch’s Great Escape was ORIGINALLY an attraction called ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter, and it sure was terrifying. This attraction opened in 1995 in Tomorrowland and was originally going to be where guests encountered Xenomorphs, which are the aliens from the movie Alien, but Disney instead worked with George Lucas, who created an original storyline for the ride.
Alien Encounter ©Disney
In this attraction, guests become prey to a ravenous alien monster. At the beginning of the attraction, a sinister robot named S.I.R. demonstrated new teleportation technology that the guests were volunteering to test. To demonstrate the technology, the robot used a cute alien, but based on its screams, it became clear to the guests that the technology wasn’t really all that advanced. Then, guests continued into an immersive theater where they were STRAPPED DOWN to their seats and watched as something went wrong with the technology and brought a bloodthirsty alien into the room with them.
Alien Encounter Promotional Art ©Disney
But what was REALLY scary about this ride was that after you saw the alien transported into the room with you, all the lights went out and you were in PITCH BLACK. Disney then used your other senses to make it really feel like the alien was lurking right around you — you could hear, smell, and even FEEL the alien moving around you. And if that wasn’t scary enough, at one point a “maintenance technician” comes in to try to help restore the power, but after some gruesome sound effects, you got splashed with a warm liquid…and we think you know exactly what that was implying.
©Disney ExtraTERRORestiral Alien Encounter
Needless to say, this ride was genuinely TOO terrifying for Disney World and it closed in 2003. This is where Stitch’s Great Escape comes in — Disney didn’t want to change the way the theater was laid out or the basics of the attraction, so they kept the same idea and just replaced the bloodthirsty alien with Stitch. Stitch’s Great Escape officially opened in November 2004 and it was essentially the SAME attraction — but now it was Stitch going on the same rampage around the room while guests were strapped down to their seats.
©Disney Stitch’s Great Escape
Sounds better, right? Because Stitch is cute and cuddly? ABSOLUTELY NOT. The lights still went out right after you saw Stitch break out of his transportation tube and you felt, heard, and smelled (unfortunately) Stitch moving around the room. Thankfully, Stitch does not kill a maintenance worker like the original attraction had, but he did burp in your face, spit on people, and overall terrorize kids to no end.
Stitch’s Great Escape
Back in 2016, there were rumors that the attraction was going to get the chopping block and it moved to just being open seasonally. Otherwise, it was kept closed and wasn’t available. A similar schedule was continued in 2017 and it was only set to be open for just a few short weeks from the end of December 2017 into early January 2018. Around this same time, the queue of the ride became Stitch’s Alien Encounter, and the sign was changed to reflect that.
Stitch’s Alien Encounter
When the beginning of January 2018 rolled around, the attraction closed as expected…and then never reopened that year OR in 2019. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic closed down the Disney World parks, and it was then that Disney announced the official closure in 2020. Now, Stitch doesn’t even meet in this area after the pandemic closures, but you can find him wandering around Tomorrowland or over near the stage! So this area, truly, is completely abandoned.
Where Stitch’s Great Escape used to be. (Construction photo from 2020)
There have been numerous rumors over the years about what will replace this, but Disney has made no announcements for the space. For a short period of time, it was used as a pop-up shop for TRON merchandise when TRON Lightcycle / Run first opened.
And that’s the history, friends! While Stitch’s Great Escape certainly had more fans than Alien Encounter, watch different videos on YouTube of the attraction and you’ll hear plenty of genuinely terrified screaming from guests the moment those lights go out. And it was a LONG attraction too — you were in the dark for several minutes, not just a few seconds. And from a psychological perspective, that genuinely could have been scarring for guests, especially young children who didn’t understand it wasn’t real.
We’ll keep our eyes and ears peeled to see if anything may be coming to this new space, so be sure to stay tuned to DFB!
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Rode this with my fiancé back in 2009 and was not prepared for this. Why did they need to have those horrible restraints? I can only imagine how terrified children must have been on this ride. So glad they closed it.
That attraction was fantastic ! Scared the hell out of me & laughing at the same time. Should have been a warning may be to frightening for small children. This was geared for more preteen / teens & adults. C’mon ! Lighten up people , stop being so sensitive. Stiches great escape was silly. Very childish & outright idiotic. Bring back Alien W/ a warning. Gotta have a little of the adult fun stuf !
I’m sorry for the people who were disturbed, and there should have been a stronger warning, and maybe an enforced age minimum. But for guests of an appropriate age to enjoy it, it was fun, and for Stitch fans (of which Disney knows there are MANY, just look at the merch), it was the ONLY formal Stitch attraction or feature in the US parks. Stitch doesn’t even have a standard meet and greet in the parks. There is only ‘Ohana, and that is constantly being threatened to change. Disney needs to show more respect for the US Stitch fandom than just for taking their money. And Disney needs to do better than to close any attraction or location for this long and replace it with nothing. They are certainly very focused on replacing things rather than truly ‘expanding’…
I loved Alien Encounter and miss it so much. I couldn’t ride it enough. The first time I rode it I found it hysterical and laughed so hard all through it. Then it just became a hoot to ride. I can’t believe it scared people. That made the ride even funnier. The restraints were to keep panicked people from jumping up and trying to leave because they were terrified. It was so weird and funny hearing people screaming and trying to get free. It was just a ride…
Eddie is so right!! The alien encounter was awesome!! I have never been so scared in my life! Then they changed it to Stich and I never did it again because it was so much better the other way. Oh well…
Re: Elizabeth C’s question about the need for the “horrible restraints.” Most importantly, they prevented a panicked audience from stampeding to the exits in the dark. The restraints also played a minor role in the story, simulating Stitch jumping on your shoulders as he ran amok throughout the theater. I never got to experience the Alien version of the attraction, but I assume this component of the story was similar.
The original alien attraction was scary as…, well, pick your favorite metaphor. It was excellent. I agree with the earlier suggestion. Bring it back with proper disclosure.
We really liked Alien E. Sorry it was closed as it was a must do for us. I think a warning was needed for young children though.
I have been on both Alien Encounter and Stitches Great Escape and I thought Alien Encounter was fun and funny. (I guess as an adult, I couldn’t suspend disbelief enough to forget it wasn’t real and be scared.) I thought Stitch was stupid, though I’ll admit to never having been a fan of Stitch. I even liked Mission to Mars. It would be nice if they could find something to fill that space.
I loved Alien Encounter! It’s the only ride that ever really scared me. If people had paid attention to the warning signs (there were plenty) and not brought their children in we could still be enjoying it today.
I vote POSITIVE for Alien Encounter! I can still feel the hot breath on my neck. My whole family loved it. Scary and funny.
We were waiting in line for Alien Encounter, which we had been on many times before so knew how the show went. A little way ahead of us were a couple who were signing to each other. My husband commented that he wouldn’t like to go on this attraction if he were deaf as it was in total darkness and if you couldn’t hear the narration you really would have no idea what was happening.
I loved this attraction and was sufficiently scared, my daughter wanted out, so we never did that together again.