Stitch Height Restriction

[tjkraz]

Anyone heard anything firm regarding a height restriction on Stitch's Great Escape? Seems a bit unusual that the soft openings are starting, yet all of the info on the official WDW web site says to check signs outside of the ride for restrictions.

 

[turnlisa]

Unofficially on another board, I have heard 35". I am hoping this is the case since my DS would be heartbroken if he didn't get to ride it.

 

[tjkraz]

Yeah, I found the 35" report shortly after posting my question. Thanks for confirming. That helps me because my near-4yo is about 43" in shoes.

Now I just need to find out if the attraction is appropriate for that young. My understanding is that they've kept the shoulder restraints and the building may still be pitch black at times. Hopefully the show won't be so intense that the little ones would freak out.

 

[Gupsmom]

I just spent about 30 minutes on the phone with Disney asking the smae question.

After 30 minutes, do you know what I found out? They can't find ANY info on the height requirement...believe me, they tried.

Maybe that's good news...
Jess

 

[dreaminofdisney]

I wanted to know also but couldn't find anything on it. I was then really bummed when I got the 2005 copy of the Unofficial Guide to WDW last week and it says 44"!!! Wonder were they got that from?

 

[zakatak]

Jess!

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by dreaminofdisney
I wanted to know also but couldn't find anything on it. I was then really bummed when I got the 2005 copy of the Unofficial Guide to WDW last week and it says 44"!!! Wonder were they got that from?

That was the restriction for Alien Encounter.

My feeling is that if they keep the restriction at 44", two things are at play:

1. Through testing they determined that the AE restraint system (which has been kept intact) does not work well for children under a certain height. The restraints actually include the attraction's sound system and other mechanical effects. Those items all need to be permitted to function properly in order to provide a quality experience.

2. Even with the Stitch overlay, it could very well be that the attraction still isn't appropriate for my 3 1/2 year old. If you've never done AE, just be aware that each guest must sit in his/her own chair, a couple of bars are lowered onto the guest's shoulders (as described above), and its likely that the room will be pitch black at times. However you slice it, this won't be an attraction where you can sit the little one on your lap or wrap your arm around him/her.

Fortunately SGE should be open a month before our December trip. At this point I'm assuming that the restriction will be something under 44", meaning our son will be physically able to enter. I'll be more curious to hear what other parents have to say after taking their preschoolers.

If the restriction does happen to be 44", then it's a moot point. And it also tells me that there's a higher probability that our son would have been scared silly due to the intensity of the experience.

 

[Gupsmom]

Lol...hi Karen

Do we both have a bit too much free time today?

i really do wish I could get an official height requirement for Stitch. If my youngest can't ride it we will all survive. I'd just like to know ahead of time!

Jess

 

[lentesta]

Hey folks,

I think we were told 44" when the Guide went to press. We're supposed to be getting a preview of Stitch next week, and I'll post a review from WDW by next Saturday. (Staying at the Contemporary - tower view! )

Thanks for reading the Unofficial Guide!

Sincerely,

Len Testa

 

[staiebomb]

I was LUCKY enough to get to experience the new Stitch attraction on Monday night (Columbus Day) around 7:30 PM. ALL THE IMAGINEERS were there including the head imagineer (the guy who's always on the discovery channel and Travel channel shows). They told us that we were the FIRST PUBLIC AUDIENCE for the new ride!!!! They brought in about 50 people and STRICTLY made sure that there were no CAMERAS allowed inside! Here's a little run-down of how it the ride goes:

I rode the old Alien Encounter only once (back in 1999), so I don't remember much for comparison. First you enter a briefing room where captain Gantu and the Queen (?) brief you on your tour of the prisoner facility...this is a funny segment. You then enter through a couple of doors into the "prisoner teleportation" room where a robot security guard and a cute alien who "hitchhiked" from Jupiter to Saturn is held in a teleportation "tube". This is cute and what follows is a definate realization of this attraction's new target audience as a burping and farting alien is materialized into the other tube. : ) There is a red alert and we are ushered into the main theater which remarkably looks just like it used to with the exception of TWO LARGE ROBOTIC ARMS coming down from the ceiling. After you are seated and the "scanners" come down on your shoulders, the lights dim and all of a sudden Stitch appears in the center tube...STITCH IS AN AMZING ANIMITRONIC!!! The best one Disney has done yet...everything on him moves, his eyes, ears, wings all four arms and even his legs move! He looks so lifelike!!

I wont tell much more, cause I'd hate to give away the whole show but I will say one more thing (spoiler ahead) what used to be a FRIGHTENING experience (this from a 29 year-old man) when the Alien breathed down your neck and growled...is now replaced by a "chili dog incident"......very funny and GROSS!!

Overall I was impressed...for me, I liked Alien Encounter better..it was the only attraction outside of walk-thru haunted houses that ever scared me...but for the target audience (5-12) it will be a VERY popular attraction. Excellent job Imagineers! This is a better fit for Magic Kingdom...too bad Alien Encounter couldn't be rebuilt at the Studios, huh?

The height for the attraction IS unfortunately 44". A boy in line in front of me was not allowed to ride with his parents because he was 42" tall. I believe that it IS the restraints that are at issue here...the restraint system is EXACTLY the same as it was before with the old alien encounter ride.


Jason Staie

 

[Poohbeck]

I quess I'm confused at what a soft opening is???!!! We will be there the second week of November. Do you think it will be open then? I have 2 boys who can't wait to go on it!!!

 

[turnlisa]

It's not open yet. At the moment, they are doing spot-checks so some people have been fortunate to be picked to ride it. AP passholders get to ride from November 5th through November 7th. The official opening isn't until November 17th, I believe.

 

[LisaR]

What is the point of the restraints? Do the seats move during this attraction?

Lisa

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by LisaR
What is the point of the restraints? Do the seats move during this attraction?

Lisa

In the old Alien Encounter attraction, my guess is that they were primarily to keep guests in their seats. The room would get pitch black (or nearly so) during most of the show, and other elements would combine to make for a pretty frightening experience. It would be disastrous if guests were able to get up and try to find an exit while the show was in progress.

The restraints were also designed to include speakers and other mechanical effects. To remove the restraints would have probably necessitated a much more comprehensive redesign of the facility. Reusing much of the physical infrastructure means that they just had to focus their efforts on the show right in the middle of the room (in addition to the queue, pre-show, etc.)

I'm still a little bit skeptical about the height limit. At this point I wouldn't be surprised to find out that it is still 44", but in the meantime, I'm left questioning why its taken so long to make that information public. Reimagining the attraction to include Stitch seems to imply that it will be a much more family-friendly show. Then, seemingly out of the blue, you're excluding anyone under the age of 5 or 6 mainly to accommodate a mechanical show element.

I think I can count on one hand the number of attractions at the four parks that have a height restriction of 44" or higher, and I certainly didn't expect one that features Stitch to be joining those ranks. Seems kinda silly to think that one would be tall enough for Dinosaur, Tower of Terror and Big Thunder Mtn Railroad, but not Stitch's Great Escape.

To some degree, I saw this coming. But I think a lot of folks will be disappointed if their toddlers cannot experience the show.

 

[LisaR]

Originally posted by tjkraz

I think I can count on one hand the number of attractions at the three parks that have a height restriction of 44" or higher, and I certainly didn't expect one that features Stitch to be joining those ranks. Seems kinda silly to think that one would be tall enough for Dinosaur, Tower of Terror and Big Thunder Mtn Railroad, but not Stitch's Great Escape.

To some degree, I saw this coming. But I think a lot of folks will be disappointed if their toddlers cannot experience the show.

Thanks for the info. I was surprised to hear that there may be a 44" height restriction. I had read many times that this was going to be a family friendly ride. Like you said, kids can ride ToT and BTMR and not Stitch. It just doesn't seem right for this attraction. That is why I thought maybe the seats moved all over like Star Tours. But even so, ST only has a 40" height requirement. Just doesn't make sense to me.

Lisa

 

[heidica]

From my experience with the old ride Alien Encounter, the height restriction is more so your body will be at the right "points" in the seat to experience the ride. Someone too short would miss out on all the stuff. Like in the old Alien Encouter there is one point where the monsters tongue is suppose to be touching you. Well, that "tongue" comes from the seat and someone too short wouldn't feel it and would miss out on it. You don't move at all in the ride, only the floor shakes a little bit. A majority of the ride experience comes from the seat. In the old ride, being restrained and not able to move, added to the suspense. I'm sure Disney didn't want to spend all the money necessary to redo the seats so shorter kids could ride it. I bet that would have cost a fortune. Which is too bad, since that target audience is age 5-12.

staiebomb - thanks for your review. It sounds fun. Can't wait to experience it myself next June.

 

[fizz13]

I just wanted to say that I have read conflicting information from another site that said the height restriction was 40". They had also been in the test audience on the 11th. Lets just not get worked up yet because at this rate the restriction could be anything from 35" to 44". Would be nice to have it on the lower side so more kids who love Stitch could experience this though.
Much love and pixie dust,
Claire

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by fizz13
Lets just not get worked up yet ...

Who's getting "worked up"???

Looks to me like a rather rational, albeit speculative, discussion at this point.

 

[cruisin'Mike]

My family got a nice little vacation planning packet with a letter, maps, etc. They think it's our first visit for some reason (we've been there 25+ times). Since they know the ages of our kids, 5,5,& 7, they made suggestions for some rides:

"Just for you, we've put together this list of attractions that are perfect for younger kids:
Magic Kingdom - Stitch's Great Escape! Get ready for total chaos, alien-style. You're the new recruitassigned to watch the ultimate mischief-maker in this completely out-of-control attraction."

I would hope the height requirement is less than 44", because if not my twins and lots of other "younger kids" will not be able to go on it. If we can't, we'll survive, but I will need to let the kids know we won't be going on it ahead of time. I too tried calling WDW info, and they have nothing in their computer at all for this attraction yet.

Mike

 

[NotUrsula]

Seems to me that the thing to do is to remove the overhead component from a few of the front-row seats and replace it with a lap belt, to make those "stationary seats" that don't have a height requirement. This would allow little ones, or people who are claustrophobic to enjoy the attraction.

Those guests would miss out on some of the effects, of course, but that's the trade-off for being able to get into an attraction when you can't use the regular seating.