Oh, Disney World, you and your vast history never cease to amaze us.
Tomorrowland
Through its 50+ year history, many attractions around the park have come and gone. Some of them were sad goodbyes, while others were…not so missed. However, if you know where to look, there are tons of nods to old attractions that used to be, and some are more obvious than others. For example, we heard some chatter in the Magic Kingdom recently. It seems some people are confused about the large dark windows you can see in Tomorrowland, and we figured it was the perfect time to clear up the confusion!
Back in 1995, a very curious attraction opened in Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland called ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter. The mix of a show and a ride was originally inspired by the popular film Alien released in 1979, but Disney ended up working with George Lucas to create an original storyline, and it was met with mixed reviews.
Alien Encounter ©Disney
Why so divisive? Well, true to its name, the ride was not for the faint of heart. Guests were essentially hunted by a bloodthirsty, ravenous monster that you COULD. NOT. SEE. It worked like this: at the beginning of the attraction, a sinister robot named S.I.R. demonstrated new teleportation technology that guests were volunteering to test. S.I.R. used a cute alien to demonstrate, 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 heavily strapped down to their seats and watched helplessly as something went wrong with the technology and brought a terrifying alien into the room with them. You saw the alien once at the start when it was “transported” in, but then all the lights went black, and you relied on your other senses to feel the alien lurking around you.
Alien Encounter Promotional Art ©Disney
All that to say, the windows on the side of the ride building were supposed to make it look more futuristic and make it more realistic that you were stepping into a building that really could make teleportation technology happen. Then, when the attraction closed in 2003 and made way for Stitch’s Great Escape, which opened in November 2004, it still made sense since you were now traveling into the Galactic Federation building (very futuristic and, hence the name, deals with all things space).
See the windows in the background?
While Stitch’s Great Escape wasn’t as terrifying as its predecessor, you were still strapped down and stuck in the dark for a long time, and though Stitch doesn’t kill a maintenance worker like the terrifying alien did, he was still great at terrorizing people in other ways. This attraction officially lasted until 2016, when there were rumors that the attraction was going to get the chopping block, and it moved to just being open seasonally. A similar schedule 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. It was also at that same time that the queue of the ride became Stitch’s Alien Encounter, and the sign was changed to reflect that.
©Disney Stitch’s Great Escape
The attraction never reopened in 2018 or 2019 and was announced as officially closed in 2020. However, those windows are STILL there, which means, yes, the entire attraction building hasn’t been touched. It’s unclear if the impressive Stitch animatronic is still somewhere inside that building or if it’s been removed and Disney is currently using the space for storage or another use. Either way, you won’t be able to see anything when you look into those windows from the outside as they’re entirely covered with black.
Stitch’s Great Escape
For those of you who never got to experience either attraction, it may be hard to believe there’s an ENTIRE building not being used in this section of the park, but it’s true! We’re still holding out hope it’ll be used for something someday, and you know we’ll be sure to update you on all the latest news, so stay tuned to DFB!
I’ve Been Begging Disney World to Add This For 12 Years, and I’m Not Going to Stop Now
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Alien Encounter was one of my favorite rides at WDW. I still have my “Alien Encounter” hat which has “Have Fear” in big red letters on the front. The “Stitch” version was okay but nowhere near as good as “Alien Encounter.” Another classic ride lost to Disney World history.