Stitch's Great Escape! was a "theater-in-the-round" attraction found in the Tomorrowland area at Disney's Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. The ride opened on November 16, 2004, replacing the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter, and was the first Lilo & Stitch-themed attraction by the company.
Taking place before the events of the original Lilo & Stitch film, the ride was an interactive experience where Experiment 626 (better known as Stitch) had a "treat for your eyes, ears, and nose".
The premise was that the park's guests are new recruits working for the United Galactic Federation's Prisoner Teleport Center. After being welcomed by the Grand Councilwoman and debriefed by Captain Gantu and a robotic sergeant, recruits were alerted to the impending arrival of a "Level 3" prisoner and taken to a large holding cell with seats surrounding a teleportation tube in the middle. Shortly after recruits are seated, the "Level 3" prisoner was teleported in and revealed to be an adorable-looking creature called Experiment 626. Although confused at first, Gantu, his cohorts, and the recruits would soon learn why 626 is so dangerous, as the blue alien tricked his holding cell's security and began his "great escape".
After entering seasonal operation after October 1, 2016 (the 45th anniversary of Walt Disney World), the attraction last operated on January 6, 2018. As a quick replacement, a Stitch costumed character meet-and-greet called Stitch's Alien Encounter Character Greeting!note operated in the attraction's former first pre-show room until Walt Disney World temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic in March 2020. No other attraction has operated in the space since, and after two-and-a-half years of limbo and speculation, Disney eventually confirmed
its permanent closure on July 16, 2020, with signage later removed on August 10 that year. No permanent replacements have been put in place since; the theater spaces were turned into break rooms/meeting rooms for cast members according to leaked videos, while the first pre-show room—which still maintains its previous theming—has also seen use as a temporary gift shop for TRON Lightcycle / Run on the other side of Tomorrowland.
Stitch's Great Tropes!
- Accent Upon The Wrong Syllable: A strange place called Flor-EE-Da. Also a minor Call-Forward.
- Aliens Speaking English: It was a Lilo & Stitch ride, so of course this trope came into play.
- Alternate Timeline: Considering that Gantu didn't recognize Stitch when he was first revealed in the original film, and that Stitch didn't speak any English until after he arrived on Earth in the film, it's easy to say that the attraction took place in its own timeline separate from the actual canon.
- The Announcer: Pleakley guided "new recruits" (i.e. guests) between the theaters.
- Arc Welding: References to the ride and its title alien were strewn across Tomorrowland:
- When the ride first opened, Cinderella Castle was "decorated" with toilet paper and graffiti as part of Stitch's rampage through the Magic Kingdom.
- A newspaper stand near Rocket Tower Plaza has the headline "Stitch Escapes!"
- Previously, when the PeopleMover passed by the entrance to Stitch's Great Escape!, the narrator would mention that guests on the ride would have to keep Stitch from escaping, only for Stitch to interject with, "I don't think so!", followed by an Evil Laugh. After SGE! switched to seasonal operation, the lines were removed.
- Stitch's stolen police cruiser can be seen along the queue line of Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin.
- A holographic-styled 3D model of Stitch appears in the safety video of Space Mountain.
- Finally, in one of the gift shops connected to Stitch's Great Escape! (Merchant of Venus), pawprints can be seen going across the ceiling, leading all the way to a Stitch statue looking down from above. The gift shops (Mickey's Star Tradersnote and MoV) also had murals with some Lilo & Stitch-related imagery; Star Traders has one on its ceiling with Stitch and Jumba's ship appearing in an alien cityscape, while MoV has Stitch's "cousins" roaming around Tomorrowland (these murals were removed for several years when Star Wars merchandise took over the shop, then later restored by September 2018, but have since been removed again, this time seemingly for good).
- AstroTurf: Within the ride itself at one point. According to this blog post, Disney added voice clips in the background of a couple boys pointing out Stitch when he is first revealed to the audience, as well one of them incidentally spoiling the moment when Stitch hotwires the teleporter. The voice clips were later removed.
- Big Eater: The "donut guy" apparently.
- Butt-Monkey: Skippy and the "donut guy".
- Call-Forward: Stitch escaped the same way he did in the original film; he spat on someone (this time the audience), tricking the DNA-tracking blasters into firing away from him, and then he broke out of his containment as they do so. He then took a spaceship and used its hyperdrive to reach Earth.
- The Cameo:
- Skippy from the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter was seen in one of the chambers in the pre-show. According to Sergeant 90210, he was in for "jaywalking between the moons of Jupiter".
- Stitch's cousins were seen in the first part of the pre-show as criminals of the galaxy (with their names and numbers written in Tantalog), and the exit halls featured wanted posters for a few of them written in either Tantalog or English.note Of course, this ride opened when The Series was still airing on Disney Channel and ABC Kids; there was even a poster promoting the show during the first few years of operation.
- The experiments that passed through the screen in the pre-show were (in order) 625/Reubennote , 303/Amnesio, 520/Cannonball, 177/Clip, 624/Angel, 360/Drowsy, 344/Dupe, 345/Elastico, 151/Babyfier, 149/Bonnie, 150/Clyde, 222/Poxy, 258/Sample, 297/Shortstuff, 254/Mr. Stenchy... and some green creature with the number 300M.note
- Cinderella's voice was heard when Stitch enters her castle.
Stitch: Yoo-hoo! Cinderella! Your prince is here...
Cinderella: You're not my prince! Goodbye! - Canon Foreigner: Sergeant 90210 and Skippy in the pre-show, who were carried over from Alien Encounter.
- Cosmetically-Advanced Prequel: Non-canonically took place before the events of the first Lilo & Stitch film, as it featured Stitch's first run-in with the Galactic Federation.
- Decomposite Character: Skippy and the "donut guy". In Alien Encounter, Skippy was teleported to the other tube, in which he came out fried and disfigured. In this ride, the normal Skippy stays in his tube the whole time, while the disfigured Skippy is made into the messy "donut guy" who gets teleported in during the pre-show.
- Gasshole: Stitch's infamous chili dog belch, which was actually a "subtle" lampoon on the rules against eating and drinking in the theater. (He takes said chili dog from a "recruit" in the dark.)
- The Guards Must Be Crazy:
- Even when the new prisoner seemed cute and harmless, and you had both two DNA tracking cannons and a small army of recruits standing by, no good could come from raising the glass tube he's in.
- The recruits themselves were unarmed, inexperienced, and currently being forcibly held in place by DNA scanners that have already finished serving their purpose.
- Hassle-Free Hotwire: Stitch hotwires the teleporter to take him out of the prison chamber.
- Lighter and Softer: Stitch's Great Escape! was a much softer version of the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter, about which parents frequently complained to the staff that it terrified their kids even though there were warnings saying it may be too intense for children 12 and under. Alien Encounter itself was actually lighter than the original concept for the show, which was based on the Alien franchise, and featured the Xenomorph, Ripley, and the Weyland-Yutani company. The idea was abandoned when it was decided to be too dark for a Disney theme park, though Alien still appeared in The Great Movie Ride.
- Long-Runners: Despite the reception this attraction received, it managed to operate regularly for almost twelve years and existed for a little over thirteen, whereas Alien Encounter didn't even reach a decade.
- Mythology Gag: From October 2017 to March 2020,note the first pre-show room of the attraction was made into a meet-and-greet area that's titled Stitch's Alien Encounter Character Greeting!, a not-so-subtle nod to the building's third tenant.
- Named in the Sequel: Or "Named in the Non-Canon Prequel"; the hammerhead shark officer from the film is identified as "Lieutenant Sledge", the green reptilian-faced officer is named "Ensign Getco", and the armadillo-faced officer is called "First Officer Ombit". Their names have been kept as canon by the second Monopoly board game themed after the film.
- "No Talking or Phones" Warning: Along with the chili dog moment mentioned above, before that, Stitch heard someone's cell phone ring and went across the theater to answer it (this caused the restraints to press down as he "ran" in the dark). This is a reference to the rule against the use of phones in the theater.
- Overly Long Name: The robot sergeant's full name was Sergeant C4703BK2704-90210.
- Pardon My Klingon: Stitch said "Meega, nala kweesta!" a few times, first when he broke containment, then twice (in a mocking "Na na-na na, boo-boo!" tone) when he escaped.
- Potty Failure: Sergeant 90210 fainted and "oiled himself" upon hearing of a class 3 alien arriving.
- Revised Ending: The first ending showed an animation of Stitch riding Astro Orbiter, either during the day or at night depending on the time of day at the real-life Magic Kingdom. It was later changed to him climbing on and entering Cinderella Castle exclusively in broad daylight.
- Series Continuity Error: Experiment 626 actually called himself "Stitch", even though he had not met Lilo yet.
- X Days Since: Was seen in the exit. Apparently, they had a very good track record before Stitch came along.
Ensign Getco: It appears we've been licked, sir!
Captain Gantu: What a day... Release the Tropers. I need a vacation.
