Stitch's Great Escape...???

[mbb]

I read raquels' review, and immediately thought ...

"Noooooo...WHY on Earth would the Imagineers leave the shoulder straps for an attraction that so many children would want to see????"

Any thoughts on how to "evade" the shoulder straps? Our boys will lose it...

We'll be traveling with my mom who will be in a wheelchair...could the boys sit with her?

DH and I are going to preview it ourselves first, and we've started with the social stories about the dark, the chilli breath, etc...but the straps...

 

[SueM in MN]

From what I have read about the Stitch attraction, it's mostly a re-theming of Alien Encounter.
The "shoulder straps" are a U shaped hard piece that comes down in front of you and over your shoulders after you sit down. They had to leave them in because the sound and special effects come thru them. There is no way I can think of to avoid them. They come down as the show starts; the best you can do is sit up really straight and put your hands on your shoulders to keep the bar from hitting the shoulders when it comes down.
The wheelchair seating is just a space without a seat, but it still has the shoulder bar.
I think your plan to try it out first is the best plan.

 

[JudithM]

From what two friends have told me (just this week), no matter what you do to prevent those bars from coming down, Stitch wil lbring them down during the show. I never liked Alien Encounters because those bars made me feel trapped.

 

[mbb]

We've never seen Alien...if DH and I sat in the seats, could the kids sit on our laps?

Is there any way to "lift" the harness? Or could the boys scoot out under it?

JudithM, the feeling trapped is exactly what my kids just cannot cope with..the dark, the smells..we can work on...but that "I have to get OUT!! of this thing" feeling is just unworkable at this point...

Thaks for the info that the sound and effects come through the harness, Sue...the boys can't stand a windy day on their faces...all that information coming straight at them, plus the trapped feelingg....*sheesh*
I have a feeling we'll be doing the preshow, early exit, and the gift shop

 

[SueM in MN]

Originally posted by mbb
We've never seen Alien...if DH and I sat in the seats, could the kids sit on our laps?

Is there any way to "lift" the harness? Or could the boys scoot out under it?

No, they couldn't sit on your laps. The shoulder harness would be in the way.
Once the harness is in the "down"position, it is there for the rest of the attraction.
I don't know if this picture will work, but it does show the general set up and a picture of the harnesses.

My description is for how it was for Alien Encounter, but nothing I have read makes me think they have changed the set up. The "room" for the main show is a circular room with seats on different levels. The wheelchair spots are on the top level.
This website has some pictures of the inside of the show (they are from Alien Encounter except for the one drawing that shows Stitch) , but it should be pretty much the same.
Even if you could avoid the harness, I think the attraction will be too intense. If you think it would be OK after going on it, you could ask the CM at the entrance if there is any way to make the harnesses not come down. I know (from personal experience) that once they are down, they won't move much.

 

[mommie2angels]

When we did this the other week there were two parents that had their children sitting on their laps. The parents had the shoulder restraints on themselves and just held the children in their laps. I am not sure that they will let you do this during normal times. This was for the special preview or whatever it was they had.

I was not crazy about the shoulder restraints myself. They got really tight. Someone sitting near me told me to push my shoulders up and that would help loosen them. That helped until Stitch jumped on my shoulders then they got really tight again.

 

[SueM in MN]

They didn't let anyone in to Alien Encounter without a seat (except wheelchairs), but they might be trying different things with Stitch since people with small children want to be in this and Alien Encounter was not at all kid friendly.
The way to keep the shoulder harness from getting too tight is to sit up as tall as possible. Then put your fists above your shoulders while the harness is getting set. That way, the harness thinks your shoulder is actually where your fist is. Wait to take the fist out until the attractionactually starts. My older DD and I have done that a number of times and it does work.

 

[JudithM]

Originally posted by mbb
JudithM, the feeling trapped is exactly what my kids just cannot cope with..the dark, the smells..we can work on...but that "I have to get OUT!! of this thing" feeling is just unworkable at this point...

Here is what my friend wrote in a pm to me this week after his early November trip:

"Stitch was OK, not much more than Alien Encounter. If you go on watch out for when the harness comes down. Whatever position you are sitting in is how you will be for the rest of the attraction, so if you lean back (like I did) it can get uncomfortable later on and it's important to stay in the "set" position. You'll understand when you go on. "

My other friend told me the same thing Mommie2angels said about Stitch jumping on her shoulders.

 

[LovePug]

Originally posted by SueM in MN

The way to keep the shoulder harness from getting too tight is to sit up as tall as possible. Then put your fists above your shoulders while the harness is getting set. That way, the harness thinks your shoulder is actually where your fist is. Wait to take the fist out until the attractionactually starts.

This works very well. We sat up as tall as possible so when the restraints came down, they "felt" our shoulders and stopped. After they stopped, we relaxed and had space between us and the restraint. I never thought about putting our fists there too. That's a great idea. Can you still feel Stitch bouncing around on them when you do that?

 

[mbb]

Originally posted by LovePug
..... Can you still feel Stitch bouncing around on them when you do that?

I think this seals the deal for us

The boys love Stitch - he's part of the 'Ohana - but jumping up and down on them...

*sigh*

Thanks all for your honest repiles...

Sue , was that a picture of children with "I'M AFRAID" etched on their faces at Stitch or AE?? If it's a possibility to get that kind of reaction at Stitch...then nope

Thanks again...

 

[SueM in MN]

Originally posted by mbb
Sue , was that a picture of children with "I'M AFRAID" etched on their faces at Stitch or AE?? If it's a possibility to get that kind of reaction at Stitch...then nope

Thanks again...

It was AE from what I can tell. The only picture on that website that showed Stitch was a drawing.
The picture is copyright Disney, so it's an official promotion picture from AE. Not exactly what I would think of promoting though if I wanted to encourage people to go on the ride.

To answer LovePug's question, we have not been there since it changed from AE to Stitch, so I can't say whether it will keep him from jumping on you. It did pretty much prevent you from feeling the alien stepping on you on AE though.

 

[Coll0610]

When we rode, there were children screaming through the whole show. Even DS (9), who rides just about everything now, was freaked out. I don't think their warnings are strong enough. They mention brief periods of darkness but it seemed like most of the ride to me. The lady behind us had a child on her lap but it was hard for her to hold on to the child because the shoulder restraint was in the way.

 

[FIRE ANT]

From what you have said, I would say " no way, no how" should your kids go on this ride until you try it out without them first.

Honesly, I think one might be better for your kids to skip, but you will know for sure once you try it. Good luck.

 

[GrimReapuh]

I think this seals the deal for us

The boys love Stitch - he's part of the 'Ohana - but jumping up and down on them...

*sigh*

Thanks all for your honest repiles...

Sue , was that a picture of children with "I'M AFRAID" etched on their faces at Stitch or AE?? If it's a possibility to get that kind of reaction at Stitch...then nope

Thanks again...

Tell your boys he isnt nice yet, he is still a big meanie head.

 

[dclfun]

Since my chair is too long, I couldn't have the harness- I asked if it would come down and be hitting my equipment- the ride operator told me she could disable the harness. I wonder if it's possible to ask beforehand if this can be done for any rider who is willing to sit in the back row????? I didn't get the special effects and truthfully didn't really enjoy the show but if it's something you really want to see, I'd ask if you can ride with the harness disabled. Kathy

 

[noahsark322]

Just returned on Dec. 10th from Disney. I did not like the Stitch ride at all. I did use a fellow posters advise and place my fists on my shoulders to prevent it from coming down too hard. My DD 9, literly had to squezz her shoulders through the opening because it go soooo tight she could not even slip under it. Iwas surprised that it continued to get a little tighter each time there was action...(stitch jumping).

There is a non harness area to sit for W/C and ect. However there were only a few of them.

I thought the smells where going to make me sick. I have to say I really have never had a awful ride on any disney ride before, but this one just was not fun at all for us.

 

[SueM in MN]

There is a non harness area to sit for W/C and ect. However there were only a few of them.

We haven't been in it since it was changed to Stitch, but when it was Alien Encounter, I'm pretty positive the wheelchair spots did have harnesses. I don't know if they came down if no one was in the spot though.

Added note: I mised Kathy's post where she reported they were able to disable the harness because her wheelchair was too long.

 

[mbb]

Here's what we're going to do...(and yep, we've got the picture stories already in play)

FireAnt, Daddy is going to ride on Stitch to see if it is too "intense"...we've had lots of discussion and drawing about what intense means (the darkness is something they've both said they *won't be afraid of*...uh huh)Meanwhile, the boys and I are going to hit the giftshop to pick out their Stitch t-shirts while we wait for Daddy. DH is going to quiz CM's about the no-harness option, thanks Kathy and quick escape routes as well.

We've used your description of Stitch as a big meaniehead as well, Grimreapuh That's really working

Time is still such a hard concept for them, and just realizing that this attraction happens BEFORE their beloved movie has been big for them...we've been calling it the "pre-quel"...thanks George Lucas!!

So, so far, we really don't feel that we'll be doing this attraction as a family...but then again...who knows??? I'll be sure to post what happened

Thanks so much for all your tips and suggestions!!!!!

 

[GrimReapuh]

No problem.

Do you have the Lilo and Stitch movie

If so, show them the begining scenes when Stitch is 626.(Befeore he crashes)

Tell them that you will be there before that happens.

 

[Schmeck]

noahsark322, the harnesses contiue to adjust during the entire show, so if your daughter kept scrunching down after each adjustment, the harness would keep going lower and lower. I know, it happened to me too, and I ended up almost falling/sliding out of my seat.