Stitch's Great Escape!

Stitch's Great Escape! was a Tomorrowland attraction at the Magic Kingdom theme park within the Walt Disney World Resort. It was a "theater-in-the-round" experience starring the titular alien from Walt Disney Animation Studios' 2002 film Lilo & Stitch. It opened November 16, 2004, and is the fourth attraction to occupy the site in Tomorrowland. Many of the animators who worked on Lilo & Stitch partnered with Walt Disney Imagineering for Stitch's Great Escape! The attraction is a replacement of the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter, which formerly occupied the building the attraction is housed in. The attraction notably struggled with somewhat mixed reception throughout its existence.
On September 21, 2016, it was announced that the attraction would be switching from a daily operated attraction to a seasonally operated one, depending on attendance, starting October 2, 2016. From October 2, 2017 onwards, the ride's first pre-show room is turned into a Stitch meet-and-greet called "Stitch's Alien Encounter Character Greeting!".
The attraction last operated on January 6, 2018, which soon led to much speculation over the fate of the attraction. Eventually, Disney officials confirmed in a memo sent to cast members on July 16, 2020 that the attraction, along with Primeval Whirl and Rivers of Light in Disney's Animal Kingdom, was permanently closed, with the attraction's signage later taken down on August 10, 2020.
==Premise==
*Amid a row of blinking monitors, begin your intergalactic training session with an eye-opening welcome video and discover what it means to be a guard with the Galactic Federation Prisoner Teleport Center.
*Step forward and learn how the science of prisoner teleportation works from a helpful Audio-Animatronics robot named Sergeant C4703BK2704-90210.
*A mysterious high-security Level 3 prisoner has been captured and is due for arrival! Because Level 3 aliens can be quite dangerous, make your way to the High Security chamber to assist with the incoming teleportation.
*Inside, take a seat around a floor-to-ceiling tube. As the teleportation begins, the prisoner is revealed to be none other than the free-spirited Stitch, who naturally manages to break out of the transport chamber and wreak havoc throughout the room in the dark!
==Synopsis==
The experience, set before the first film, takes place in the Galactic Federation Prisoner Teleport Center. Guests have been recruited by the Grand Councilwoman to be guards for the Galactic Federation. After being taught the basic procedures of guard duty and the classification of prisoner hazard levels by a robot sergeant (and a brief, but comical, reprisal of Skippy from the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter), Captain Gantu gives an alert of a Level 3 prisoner being beamed to the Center. Guests are then instructed by Pleakley over an intercom communicator (off-camera) to proceed to the Level 3 prisoner teleportation chamber.
After being seated in the chamber, shoulder restraints (made to resemble scanning units for DNA) come down onto the guests' shoulders and the prisoner is then beamed into the chamber via a large plume of smoke and is revealed to be an enlarged Stitch. After a brief period of puzzled talking by Gantu and his two assistants, Stitch uses the flaws of the armed laser cannons (the cannons follow and destroy any genetic material, including saliva) and disables all power to escape, causing mass (happy) chaos in the crowd. During this period, hydraulic pumps and small hoses in the shoulder restraints make it seem as if Stitch is jumping on guests' shoulders and tickling their heads. When the power comes back on, the laser cannons continue their attempt to bring Stitch down. Again, using the cannons' fatal flaws, he manages to fire the laser cannons into the crowd. Shortly after using the diversion, he escapes to Florida's Walt Disney World Resort. Cameras capture him traversing Cinderella Castle before licking the camera lens. The audience is then released from their duty and exits into one of two gift shops—Merchant of Venus or Mickey's Star Traders.
==Technology==
The attraction includes much of the technology and sets from its predecessor, the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter, including the comical alien Skippy in the preshow area. The 39-inch Audio-Animatronic Stitch figure built by Imagineering reportedly is one of the most complex creations of its size. Other special effects include binaural sound, simulated laser cannons and a pungent smell (that of a chili dog, which lampoons the rule about bringing food and drink into the theater).
==Voice Cast==
*Chris Sanders - Stitch
*Kevin Michael Richardson - Captain Gantu
*Kevin McDonald - Pleakley
*Zoe Caldwell - Grand Councilwoman
*Richard Kind - Sergeant C4703BK2704-90210
*Jennifer Hale - Cinderella
*Danny Mann - Skippy
*Doug Stone - Ensign Getco
*Debra Jean Rogers - First Officer Ombit
*Dave Fouquette - Donut Guy, Lieutenant Sludge
*Susan Silo - Computer System
==Trivia==
*The "criminals of the galaxy" shown in the first half of the pre-show are all experiments, with their numbers and names written in Tantalog. The experiments seen are 625/Reuben (name rendered as "SixTwoFive", as the ride was made before Leroy & Stitch), 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, as a joke, "300M/Spookymorp" (a large form with an alligator-like snout that 300/Spooky took in the Lilo & Stitch: The Series episode, "The Asteroid").
*In the exit halls of the attraction, after the "Days Without an Escape" sign, there are three (previously four) "wanted posters" of other experiments written in either Tantalog or English (the former fourth poster was actually an ad promoting Lilo & Stitch: The Series on Disney Channel). The three wanted posters are those of 523/Slushy (in Tantalog), 222/Poxy (in English with name rendered as "Poxxy"), and 151/Babyfier (in Tantalog).
*Before the attraction's opening, Disney released a downloadable game called Stitch's Escape Game to promote the attraction. It can still be downloaded from the Walt Disney World website to this day. (See external links.)
==Gallery==
Stitchs-Great-Escape logo.jpg|Attraction logo
2005magickingdommap.jpg|Stitch's Great Escape! appearing on the Magic Kingdom map
Stitchs Great Escape concept art.jpg|Concept art
Stitch's Great Escape promo photo.jpg|Promotional photograph featuring a drawn Stitch hanging from the plasma cannons
Stitch's Great Escape promotional photograph.jpg|Promotional photo of Stitch in the show theater
Stitch's Great Escape show promo.jpg|Promotional photo of the show
Stitch @ SGE.jpg|A close up of Stitch in the attraction
Stitch's Great Escape - Stitch Audio-Animatronic.jpg|Stitch as he appears in the attraction
Galactic Federation Prisoner Teleport Center.jpg|Galactic Federation Prisoner Teleport Center logo
Stitch's Great Escape first pre-show room.jpg|The first pre-show room; the space is also converted into a meet-and-greet area when the attraction isn't operating
Stitch's Great Escape second pre-show room.jpg|The second pre-show room, featuring Sgt. 90210, Skippy, the "doughnut guy", and Captain Gantu
Stitch's Great Escape FastPass.jpg|Previous Disney's Fastpass kiosk and ticket; when Fastpass+ replaced the old system, Stitch's Great Escape! was removed from the system altogether
Stitch's Great Escape closed sign.jpg|Sign signifying that the attraction is closed due to its seasonal operation
SGE Days since last escape sign.jpg|The "Days Since Last Escape" sign as seen in the exit halls
Stitch's Great Escape! - Slushy wanted poster.jpg|Wanted poster of Slushy
Stitch's Great Escape! - Poxy wanted poster.jpg|Wanted poster of Poxy
Stitch's Great Escape! - Babyfier wanted poster.jpg|Wanted poster of Babyfier
Stitch's Great Escape animatronic scrapped parts.jpeg|The scrapped-for-parts Stitch Animatronic following the ride's closure
==See also==
*Stitch Encounter
==References==
==External links==
*Stitch's Escape Game download (Wayback Machine archive)
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Category:Former Magic Kingdom attractions
Category:Tomorrowland attractions
Category:Lilo & Stitch
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Category:Meet & Greet Attractions
Category:Disney Magic Kingdoms
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Category:ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter
Category:Former Walt Disney Parks and Resorts attractions