Disney Address & HUGE Stitch Complaint

[k_k_100]

Does anybody know where I can write to complain about the new Stitch ride at the MK?

I feel sick about this ride. I foolishly let my dd, who just turned 3, go on this ride. It was a HUGE mistake. Prior to going on this ride dd had been on Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan, Pirates of Caribbean & Snow White & loved them! I had been on Alien Encounter and did not like it. I NEVER EVER would have even thought of taking a 3 yr. old on it! When dd saw Stitch she asked to go on it. I hesitated - but decided this is Disney – they certainly made the show “kid friendly” Not only did they lower the height restriction so dramatically they promoted the heck out of this ride with NO mention that it is not appropriate for younger children.

I will never forget the look on dd’s face when the harness lowered and the lights went out. She was petrified and screaming “MOMMY HELP ME – MOMMY SAVE ME!” She really thought she was going to die – she was terrified. I did everything I could to comfort her – but we were both trapped. I saw another woman on the other side of the room w/ a little boy about the same age. She had managed to get her little boy into her arms. He was also terrified.

We had to go straight to Cinderella’s Castle for our breakfast. It was basically ruined. Dd spent the entire time telling the princes how frightened she was and crying. They were so sweet but there was nothing anybody could do. For the rest of our trip (this happed the first morning of 3 park days) dd was afraid to go on any ride or see any show she could not see in advance – eg. She was thrilled for Goofy’s Barnstormer & Aladdin’s Carpets she cried until Beauty & the Beast actually started and she realized it wouldn’t be frightening. The entire rest of the trip she was very clingy and cried when going on anything! It has now been 5 days and she is still frightened. Every other sentence is about “scary monsters”. She had a nightmare during her nap – she has never had nightmares before.

We did take her to see Lilo & Stitch at AK. She hugged Stitch & told him he had been bad but was better now. That he was now out of “Time Out”. We also took her on Spaceship Earth to show her that all “spaceship” things were not scary. She loved the ride (once she got on it). I don’t know what else to do other then just keep reassuring her that she will never have to go on that ride again.

Disney has to know this ride is not appropriate for young children. They need to put some strong warnings on it & it would be ideal if the increased the height-age requirement so this doesn’t happen again.

 

[princessknb]

I feel bad for your little one but i'm just curiuos as to what was so frightening about the ride. I have a three year old also and now I'm trying to decide if she should ride?

 

[allie5]

Thanks for posting that. Im really sorry your little girl had such a hard time. Its so difficult to know what is "suitable" for little ones. My DD (4) would LOVE a Stitch ride, but is terrified of the dark and after reading your description there is NO WAY I will let her ride this. Under 5s arent usually good with REALLY dark rides (but like your child, mine has ridden Snow White, Pirates etc with no ill effects) but at least with those, you are not in complete darkness. It sounds very much like the effect from the old Alien Encounter to me, and I would have thought most children of this age would find it at least unsettling, if not be utterly terrified. There doesnt have to be "anything" terrifying, just the atmosphere that is created by being locked into your seat in pitch dark is enough!

 

[mickeyfanmom]

Yes, K K 100 could you please post exactly what happens in the ride so that I can tell whether I should take my 5 year old on it?

I wasn't a big fan of the old "Alien Encounter" and would not have taken my DD on it, but now that it's Stitch I was sure it wouldn't be as scary.

I do know that it has a warning posted on the website which reads as follows:

Stitch's Great Escape!™ has long periods of darkness and loud explosions. Please read the posted caution signs before entering the attraction.

After reading this, can you tell me if it's much worse than that?

Thanks!

PS- Like I said I do remember the old "AE" ride, aliens breathing in your ears and on your neck, things touching you etc- is it the same kind of thing?

 

[wdw4us2]

You can email them at the following link:

https://secure.disney.go.com/wdw/contact/contactUs

 

[Tinkbell]

I'm disappointed with everything I've heard about this ride. Putting Stitch into AE obviously did nothing to make it more "kid friendly". Young children are afraid of the harnesses, the dark and loud noises. Seems like a good rule of thumb is if your child would have trouble with AE, don't take them on Stich. Sorry your DD had to experience this.

 

[goofy4tink]

We did Stitch last week also. I had done Alien Encounter by myself years ago and was left with a 'so what' feeling. Well, 'Stitch' left me cold also. It's basically the same attraction with the exception that Stitch is cute whereas the Alien was certainly not! Most of the same effects....loud bangs, explosions, long periods in total darkness(as stated), breathing on your neck, spit (or could be nose blowings) on your face, the effect of Stitch jumping around the seats backs making the harness move up and down slightly on your shoulders. My dd, 11, who has no problem with any attraction at WDW, was taken aback when that harness came down!! My dh even asked how much movement there was going to be. I really think they should do away with those harness things and bring a little more light into the show. Would make a world of difference. It wouldn't help the basic quality of the show from a story-line view, but the little kids wouldn't be terrified from the moment they sit down!!

 

[Peter_noPan]

I took my 5 yo DD and she was hated it as well.

When we would ride TTA after she would yell to the people waiting in line for it not to go on it.

The worst thing is that with the money they put into this ride and the way they have been hyping it, I'm sure we are stuck with it for years.

 

[Luigi's Girl]

We went on Stitch the first week of November and didn't like it at all. I could not believe how many screaming children had to be escorted out of the attraction or were stuck there for the duration crying the whole time. Definitely not kid friendly. Also I've been on Alien so I knew to keep my hands on my shoulders so the harness couldn't come down tight on me. I would have been screaming to get me out of there too if I felt totally restrained.

 

[Martha7]

Many years ago, we had the same experience when we took my then three year old son on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride in DL. We lost all credibility after that, and he screamed through the Storybook Land boats, because it got dark for a few seconds as we went through Monstro's mouth! I'm glad to report that he turned out to be a well adjusted teenager who has no excessive fear towards coasters and rides! I have always felt, however, that Disney could develop some kind of international (since not everyone reads or speaks English!) signage to clue people in as to the scariness factor of each ride. We do out best to be informed about the rides and shows, but how many terrified kids have to be carried out of It's Tough to Be a Bug and Stitch before they give us a little help? It's upsetting for everyone to see these kids so afraid. I'm sorry that happened to you, and I can certainly remember the trouble it caused for us!

 

[JudithM]

KK100, I am sorry your daughter had such an awful experience.

I did not like Alien Encounter & from what I have read & heard, I don't think Stitch is a whole lot different. My husband & I did not like the trapped feeling in AE, & friends have said it really has not changed in Stitch.

 

[TXMommy]

Not to play the Devil's advocate here, but there are so many publications and websites that review all these rides. I realize Stitch is a new ride, but I have seen many posts on here about it. My thought is that if you are not sure about bringing your child on a ride, you should preview it first before taking them on. Then you will know if the ride is too scary for them. I don't think complaining to Disney is the right thing to do - it's not their fault that your DD was scared! Every child is different - my own children were TERRIFIED the first time I took them in the Haunted Mansion - but I don't blame Disney for that. I'm so sorry your DD was scared - I know how it is to try to convince scared kiddos to try different rides!

 

[Ilovestitch]

We do out best to be informed about the rides and shows, but how many terrified kids have to be carried out of It's Tough to Be a Bug and Stitch before they give us a little help?

I know before you get on ITTBAB there are several signs and I think they even announce that this attraction has loud noises, darkness, and "creepy crawly" bugs. And it sounds like Stitch has the same warnings from what another person posted. I don't understand why people are shocked when they take a toddler or small child on an attraction and they get scared- after there are warnings about all the scary effects. The effects in these two attractions are SUPPOSED to make people scream and jump and feel like something is touching them, etc.

 

[Hippychickali]

I know before you get on ITTBAB there are several signs and I think they even announce that this attraction has loud noises, darkness, and "creepy crawly" bugs. And it sounds like Stitch has the same warnings from what another person posted. I don't understand why people are shocked when they take a toddler or small child on an attraction and they get scared- after there are warnings about all the scary effects. The effects in these two attractions are SUPPOSED to make people scream and jump and feel like something is touching them, etc.

I'm glad someone else said it so that I didn't have to. I think the ride is supposed to be scary. Are there really no warnings in front of the actual attraction because there sure are online?

Ali

 

[Gupsmom]

I don't want to dismiss any child that has a terrifying experience, but not all children react that way. My 4 year old loves Tough to be a Bug, Haunted Mansion, Tower of Terror, Thunder and Splash Mountain etc. She wasn't afraid in Stitch. The wilder the better for her...she definately wouldn't want to be excluded from these rides by a blanket policy for young children (aside from saftey measures like height...although she wasn't thrilled at having to miss RnR because of height...lol).

Disney can't please everyone. All they can do is post warnings and let everyone use thier own judgement based on the "you know your child best" philosophy. That said, you certainly have a right to voice your opinion to them. As far as Stitch goes, my 3 children enjoyed it. I thought AE was dumb and I wasn't impressed by Stitch either.

Jess

 

[SCOTTNJ]

If your child is afraid of the dark, then avoid this ride! Once Stitch escapes you will sit in the dark for a good 40 seconds until the back up power comes on. I couldn't even tell you what was supposed to be going on during those 40 seconds because the woman sitting next to me was screaming for her husband to turn his cell phone light on because her daughter was afraid.

The ride is basically the same idea as AE. I loved the old AE attraction. The new Stitch attraction is certainly cuter and not as scary, but child afraid of the dark is not going to like the attraction. Skip it until they get older OR try the ride out yourself and determine if your child can handle it.

 

[SCOTTNJ]

I forgot one thing......As the attraction plays out, stitch will bounce around the room (meaning) your shoulder harder will press further and further down. IT DOES NOT LOCK, my daughter wasn't sitting up straight and it went pretty low, but she was able to lift it up to make herself for comfortable

 

[EsmeraldaX]

I'm sorry your DD was scared.

However, I was there last week and there are warnings posted in several places around the ride and on the web site. Also, any CM would liklely say that this is a dark and loud ride if asked.

I agree this is not a ride for young kids which is why the signs are there.
When we went on none of the children who went into the room with us had to be escorted out. There was a family with several kids next to us and they were all giggling when Stich burps. I did see a few little ones telling their parents they did not want to go back though.

Maybe they should re-raise the height requirement?

For those who want to know what the ride is like, it is basically the same as AE was. You sit with a should restraint, mostly in darkness and stitch "runs" all over wreaking havoc....it is dark, startling and definately not suitable for kids who are afraid of loud noises or the dark.

 

[LoriMistress]

I'm sorry that your daughter was scared. Not to sound rude, but that's a part of life. One three year old might find the ride okay, while another child may find the ride scary. You can't please everyone. All you can really do is reassure her and she will get over it in time.

 

[SpaceMounatin]

I'm sorry about your daughter. I was 10 when I went on The ExtratERRORestrial Alien Encounter! Lucky for me, it broke down and they evacuated us. Even though I wish I saw the Alien! I actually would have loved to seen it. Stitch has the same warnings as AE. And I'm a little Angry at disney becuase this is suposed to take place while he is Experiment 626. So naming it Stitch is just wrong.