Did Disney miss the boat on the Stitch attraction?

[ppony]

Forgive if this has been discussed lately. I just picked up the 2005 official WDW book last night and was disappointed to read that the attraction "sounds" like just a "cheap" cosmetic job on the Alien ride. Kids have to be 44 inches before they can get in to this Stitch ride. I just think that so many kids that love Stitch will be not able to get in. I'm not sure my 5 year old will next year. He's at 42 inches now. Can they grow 2 inches in a year? I can understand the why's they can't be admitted because of how it's set up, but it's just going to make lots of kids sad. Yes, there are lots of little kids rides but still, Stitch is loved by so many little ones.

Enough of my bumming!

 

[mikesluss]

Uhoh I guess I better measure my ds tonight if he can't ride what a disappointment

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I don't know anything about the Stitch Attraction, but I do know about little boys, as I have a 12 yo. myself (not so little anymore ) To answer your other question; yes they can definitely grow 2 or more inches in 1 yr. Your son is at that age where growing spurts come and go, but most kids grow quite a bit between kindergarten and 1st grade. Think positively, he may just make it.

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

yes, they can easily grow more than 2 inches in a year.

Lori

 

[Dagny]

Your son can definitely grow 2 inches in one year My son grew about 4 inches in just a little over a year. He happily walked onto Space Mountain and Mission Space this past May with a big grin on his face He will certainly enjoy the Stitch ride in December - woo hoo

 

[bibbidiboo]

ppony,

If I'm not mistaken, I think your point is that why did Disney create the new "kid-friendly" Stitch attraction, and then imagineer it so the younger fans couldn't experience it? And thats an excellent point.

I think they may "alienate" the hardcore AE fans, and miss the audience they were targeting. This is a puzzler

 

[ppony]

Bibidiboo,thanks for clearing it up!!! that's what I meant!
And other's THANKS for the hope that he'll get big enough by Dec. 2005. But then again...wait...I'm WANTING my little boy to grow up??? Careful what I wish for huh?!?!?!

I guess they might "hear" about it ocne it opens. Especially being right across from Buzz, kids will want to run from one to the other only for some to be turned away.

 

[B'rer Karen]

I think if they had designed this ride from scratch it would be a really stupid move. However they were trying to come up with a way to "soften" the current ride and remake it into something with a broader appeal. So in comes the idea of doing the same type of ride, but using Stitch instead. The bottom line is it's a lot cheaper to tweak an existing attraction than it is to gut it and start from scratch. So the basic ride system and it's height requirement stays put. I don't disagree that it seems odd that the guests who would potentially enjoy it most won't be able to, but I can understand how Disney got to that point.

 

[jimmytammy]

I agree that a complete gutting would be expensive but maybe a less expensive alternaive would be booster seats for those under 44". The ride system had a design where bars came over your shoulders. If this ride stayed the same in seating, those bars wouldnt come down far enough for the little ones. Just a thought on the boosters.

 

[eleanor]

The place doesn't move so technically it isn't a ride. Maybe they could do something with the shoulder bars to allow small kids in.

 

[cobbler]

Awww, now I am a bit sad My 3.5 year old loves stitch. It will be heartbreaking for him to watch big brother and myself or dad get on the ride when he can't.

I think we will all just have to wait and not go on it until he is big enough so he won't feel left out.

 

[Davids-Coco]

We talked to a CM who had spoken to one of the imagineers for us reagarding this. They are having issues because they are using "some" of the stuff that is already in there. The old technology is not playing well with the new technology was what she explained to us. They are having to go back and learn things to make the old and new work together correctly.

She did also say that they are putting Stitch into the glass thing that the alien use to be in. Having never seen Alien Encounter, I am not sure what that means but I figured I would pass it along.

Did they miss the boat? I don't think so... I think they are running into unexpected problems.

 

[ppony]

My thoght is being as WDW is one of the only Disney things actually operating in the black, that I just get annoyed when the all mighty dollar is what wins in the end. Forget the customer and your target audience. That's why I called it a "cheap" facelift. Because it just sounds like AE made less scarey. It doesn't sound like attempts were made to make those overhead harnesses work for tre little ones. I know it's not a ride, per se, it's an attraction but you know what I mean. I used ride in it's generic sense. It's faster to type.

I think there will be a lot of disappointed kids. it still sounds a little spooky for the real little ones, but try and explain that to a 3 and 4 year old! An idea that was good in the beginning but pushed to fast I think.
*sigh*

 

[jillybean651]

boo I made the mistake of telling my almost 4 year old about the new Stitch ride that we could go on in Dec - I couldn't imagine that there would be a 44" height restriction on a ride featuring a character who appeals so much to the littlest ones. Oh boy - I'm going to have to take him on Buzz a few extra times just to get him over this.

jillybean

 

[Uncleromulus]

Bre'r Karen and Ppony hit the nail on the head. It was a "compromise" $$ saving venture that will probably end up pleasing nobody.

 

[stemikger]

I thought that it's odd that there would be a height restriction for a ride geared to kids. I personally didn't think Alien Encounter was scary, in fact the effects didn't work on me at all. I'm hoping Stitch will work on some level (i.e. cool animatronic of Stitch and cool effects) because the alien encounter was a big snoozer in my book.

I personally think Disney is going through a identity crisis trying to please some of the Universal thrill ride fans. Hopefully they don't overdo it and stick to the business of imagination and fantasy, not speed and G forces.

Sorry for getting off the subject, just ranting.

LOL.