Alien Encounter

[Horizons16]

I was just at another board and noticed that a lot of the members there do not like the attraction at all and think its a waste of space. Personlly i never cared for it but i dont think its a waste of space. I thought it was an ok attraction that could use some changes. What do you think about this?

~Steve

 

[dgaston]

I kinda like the fantasy of the alien beaming into our galaxy, but do think way too many kids get dragged into the attraction before they're ready for it.

 

[PrincessAurora]

I think it's amazing, fantastic and any parent that takes a child under age 7 should have their head examined.

While the genuine shrieks of small kids abject terror kinda adds to the ride in a sick and disturbing sort of way, adults need to understand this ride is NOT FOR LITTLE KIDS. (even some older kids melt down in a "will need therapy" sort of way)

I think that Disney made a huge mistake putting this ride in Magic Kingdom. They should have put it in MGM with the other thrill rides and moved Star Tours to MK, like it is in Disneyland.

 

[cinmell]

I like it. We go on this once or twice each trip Disney.

 

[Horizons16]

Originally posted by PrincessAurora

While the genuine shrieks of small kids abject terror kinda adds to the ride in a sick and disturbing sort of way, adults need to understand this ride is NOT FOR LITTLE KIDS. (even some older kids melt down in a "will need therapy" sort of way)

I agree with you!

 

[goofyernmost]

I'm sorry! I've said it before and I will say it again, How anyone beyond the age of 4 can find AE scary is incomprehensible to me. I think it is a great show but Scary? Don't see it. Never will. That said, I think it is worthy of WDW and is interesting. Worth at least one visit. I see it about every third trip. And yes, it belongs there. It doesn't rank up there in quality like "The Terminator" in Universal (very few do) but it is OK for ages 8 and above or any child that can understand the concept of makebelieve. That last requirement is important.

 

[Joyciemc]

I love it! I went on it knowing nothing about what it was, and I had a blast. I'm thinking it may not be as much fun now that I know what to expect, but we'll see...

 

[eeyore0062]

It really creeps me out. My DH says it is because I have such a vivid imagination, that just the thought of being trapped and not being able to move while a creature breathes down my neck gives me the heebie jeebies.

I seriously hope that they will update it with Stitch... only then will I ever give it another try!

 

[pegasusEH]

Can't say I cared for it much and won't be fighting to experience it again. My 61/2 year old son certainly wasn't freaked out by it - Tower of Terror did that.

 

[markey]

We took both our grandkids on as soon as they made the height requirement. Know what they did? They laughed, they know the difference between make believe and the real thing. Know the mouse would not let anything take them away. Of course they are military (USMC) children, not sheltered, and are exposed to real life.

 

[carene]

I have been in A.E a few times.
I may sound like a baby here, but i do not like it.
Alien Encounter is definately one of WDW's attractions that i don't mind if we have to 'Skip it'. LOL

Carene

 

[PrincessAurora]

My personal feeling about the ride is that it does play on your imagination and base fears. You are confined to a seat so you can not run away, you are plunged into darkness, a "scary monster is loose" and even though you know its not real, Disney does a very good job of making it "real". The hot breath on the back of your neck, someone coming to "rescue you" then them being killed and eaten while hot "blood" drips on you can freak you out. Especially small kids who on the whole, don't have the capacity to totally and logicially divorce fact from fiction.

Children are tactile creatures. How many of us jaded adults remember when we were little and had "imaginary friends". Kids can play make-believe and it can be very real to them. That is part of what makes the fabulous Disney magic work.

If they were so jaded then they would know that cartoons are just drawings on paper that flip really fast and that there is a slight framed woman in that mouse suit and that Mickey is not real. Neither is Santa.

Who wants to tell their kids that? NO ONE! (At least not in my happy, magic filled world) Because Santa is real and so is Mickey because the Magic of belief and love makes them real.

This same Magic can be entertaining by exploring a "darker side" of our psyche in a safe environment. As I said before, I think this ride is great but PLEASE don't assume that little kids can handle what you can. If they can, fine - more power to them.

I am just reporting my experiences and saying that I saw little 4 year old girls shrieking and screaming so bad that I thought they would stop breathing and demanding to go home (not to the hotel but HOME) and the 10 year old boy that looked like Ralphie from A Christmas Story. He was sitting next to me with his Dad. Dad tried to comfort him and tell him it wasn't real but the kid was really freaked.

Its your imagination that makes this ride fun, its also your imagination that can cause massive melt-downs. Choose wisely.

 

[Synonymous]

The whole discussion is academic- this wonderful and unique attraction will be stripped out and turned into another ad for Lilo & Stitch soon.

Don't get me wrong- I love Lilo & Stitch. I have nothing against a Lilo & stitch attraction. But can't they ADD something without taking something else away?


If any kid doesn't find this scary, it has to be because they have no imagination at all. Even for adults, if you have any imagination, this show has to get to you. Even if you do "know the difference between real and make-believe." People who know alot about how the human mind works DESIGNED it so it would get to you. There are parts of your brain that react to certain stimuli by triggering your "fight or flight" instinct. When you can do neither, you can't help feeling scared, even though you know it's all fake.

Dinosaur affects me the same way. Sure, I know it's fake. But there's an ancient, animal part of your brain that "remembers" being chased by huge scary creatures, and its reaction is to get you the heck out of there.

Can't wait to go back on both soon! I only wish I didn't have to worry about it being my last time being scared by that alien.

 

[fklhou]

I like it but my kids do not.

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

I don't like it. I think it is funny. I used to think I didn't like it because I knew it wasn't real. That's not the case anymore because as Synonymous says:

Dinosaur affects me

Well Dinosaur does scare me and I know it's not real. So I have come to the conclusion that I find the Alien attraction just doesn't do anything for me but I'm not sure why.

Regarding children on the ride: All children are different. On my last trip to WDW I saw a little girl screaming not to go on Peter Pan. Parents need to know enough about a ride to determine whether their children are able to handle it or not. All eight year olds are not a like.

HBC

 

[#1MMFan]

To be honest with you, I haven't been on this since 1996 because we were so sickened with the preshow. We perhaps have a skewed view of it, but it seemed very un-like other disney attractions, and the preshow with Skippy getting fried just seemed so inappropriate and a bit sick really. Like it could have been responsible for putting thoughts in unstable folks heads for microwaving their pets etc... well, you do hear about these things after all!!! OK, LOL I'm going a bit over the top! But seriously, the effects I remember were good, but I was split up from my family by a couple who just randomly sat down without going 'all the way to the end' as they say at disney, so I felt compelled to remain unemotional throughout the whole show and didn't really notice the breathing or restraint effects. After our experience we decided it wasn't for us. I would consider doing it again, as I have done other attractions again that I initially dismissed, but I can't help feeling that I won't convince my family to do it again.

I would still like to buy my own (normal, non-fried Skippy) - he was cute. 'Was' being the appropriate verb tense here.


Also, how come we call this a 'ride'?

#1MMFan

 

[PrincessAurora]

I agree. It's not really a ride, its an attraction. The restraint comes from the huge collar that lowers over your shoulders and "locks" you into the seat. It is used for the "alien to push on" like he is putting pressure on your shoulders from behind and to prevent people from bolting in the pitch black, falling and breaking their neck. No other reason as the room does not move.

Poor Skippy. That was part of the "this is just sick and wrong" flavor that while entertaining for others (its sets up the corporation as nasty people who are not to be trusted with your transportation experience) but can also disturb some little kids who might be fond of non-crispy Skippy.

Poor Skippy, we hardly knew thee!

 

[Synonymous]

Didn't they soften the Skippy storyline some time back? I think he used to get a much worse treatment than he does now.

 

[drogerstn]

I like Alien Encounter and I'm impressed with the imagineering that took place to make it. WDW posts warnings but its impossible to determine beforehand whether it is too scary for someone. There are several rides and shows which scare little kids when they have trouble realizing that the effects aren't real, but they get over it. Some will return immediately, some say never again for a few years.

I agree with PrincessAurora post (02-27-2003 03:29 PM).

 

[toulousaine]

"I'm sorry! I've said it before and I will say it again, How anyone beyond the age of 4 can find AE scary is incomprehensible to me. I think it is a great show but Scary? Don't see it. Never will. "


goofyernmost, with all due respect, you obviously do not have small children.

I bought my 6 yo daughter Disney World Explorer, and for the last 2 months, since the day she "previewed" A.E., she has been scared to death! She won't sleep by herself, she's on our floor by our bed. She talks about it incessantly.

So, she will NOT be experiencing AE when we go in May. She would be traumatised for life.

Before we had kids, we did AE, and found it too be extremely fun/scary, because it plays tricks on your senses and makes you doubt for a second that it's make believe. That is the cool thing about it. HOwever, some lady had her small children with her in front of us, and you would have thought they were being tortured to death. It was horrible....they kids were screaming so hard, they were so incredibly scared (oh yeah, they were in the FRONT row!). CRUEL CRUEL CRUEL!

I remember being afraid of the stupidest things when I was little, let alone if I'd been with a loose alien that breathed on my neck!