While we all love Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and pretty much all of the Disney Parks, in the fan community, there are things that it has become rather hip to hate. Yes, we celebrate the great things Disney is able to produce, but that doesn’t mean we can’t also point out its shortcomings. And, some of those shortcomings seem to be glaringly obvious and so, over time, it becomes accepted fact that somethings are just plain bad.
But, here’s the thing: We’ve been spoiled by the brilliance of the best Disney attractions. Just because an attraction at Disney doesn’t live up to the insanely high standards of things like the Haunted Mansion or Expedition Everest, that doesn’t mean we can simply dismiss it out of hand.
Stitch’s Great Escape at the Magic Kingdom is, by no means, a perfect attraction. But is it the categorical failure me and some of my fellow theme park writers (including on this very site) make it out to be? No, it is not. Over time, we’ve worked ourselves into a frenzy about this particular ride, and I think it’s time to take step back and look at it with fresh eyes. For all its faults, Stitch’s Great Escape is a better attraction than people like myself give it credit for being. Here are a few reasons why:
1. The way it opened was truly unique
Great art requires tremendous risk, and Disney is at its best when it takes risks. Many of those risks end in hilarious failure, of course, but not all of them. And when something risky truly connects with guests, it can inspire people for generations to come. Look no further than Illuminations, Kilimanjaro Safaris, or even Epcot.
One of the craziest risks Disney ever took was when they celebrated the opening of Stitch’s Great Escape at the Magic Kingdom … by TP-ing Cinderella Castle. And, if that wasn’t enough, they even graffiti’d “Stitch is King” onto the front of the royal facade. It was, needless to say, surprising.
Cinderella Castle is one of the most photographed structures on Earth, and defacing it in such a way that indicated that a character was responsible for it is a level of subversive that Disney really has never tried to be. It brought home the idea that these parks are places where these characters congregate and interact, and it did so while violating the seemingly cardinal Magic Kingdom rule of separation of themes. Stitch, presumably, was marking Cinderella Castle as his own.
It’s unlikely we’ll see Disney try something like this again – if you were going to see the Magic Kingdom only once, would you want your photos of the castle to be covered in toilet paper? However, the risk they showed in trying this is both commendable and somewhat awe-inspiring. More of that, please, Disney!
2. It gives guests a chance to see Stitch
Image: Disney
There’s no such thing as a Disney Character Hall of Fame. Sure, I’d love it if I could visit a spot on Disney property and meet some of my favorite rare characters like Darkwing Duck, Roger Rabbit, or Robin Hood. But, the fact is, I can’t.
However, if I want to see Stitch, even if he stopped having a meet-n-greet, I know I could see him by stopping by Stitch’s Great Escape.
Until there is a Disney Character Hall of Fame, Disney’s attractions serve much the same purpose. If a character really is beloved and special, they soon will find themselves as the star of their very own ride or show. And, for the most part, those tend to last for a while. It gives a legitimacy and a permanence to Stitch, as a character, and it acknowledges how much his fans really do love him. There’s something to be said for that. If you’re a fan of Stitch, you know you’ll be able to see an attraction based on him – that’s pretty cool.
3. Its faults are largely a product of their time
Image: Disney
Art’s a difficult thing in that it is always seen within the context it is being viewed within, rather than the context in which it was created. We can attempt to do the latter when analyzing a work, but ultimately, our most honest reaction to something is based on how we perceive it now.
Why do I bring that up? Well, Disney’s art (of which attractions are part) is among the most sincere and heartfelt works out there. And so, when society values snark, cynicism, and irony, Disney’s attractions tend not to play as well.
Disney has, in the past, recognized this and, misguidedly, attempted to stay with the trends. That’s what happened with Stitch’s Great Escape.
Rather than using Stitch to tell a compelling story about family and friendship, Disney opted instead to use him for some mischievous audience pranks and snarky jokes. There are chili dog-scented burps, there are references to Beverly Hills 90210, there are post-modern jokes about Walt Disney World and Cinderella. In all, there’s a sarcasm inherent in Stitch’s Great Escape that seems to come from Disney trying to capture how young people spoke and acted in the early 2000s. Seen within that context, the experience feels more at home.
4. It often gets unfairly compared to Alien Encounter
Feel free to disagree with me on this one, but part of the hostility toward Stitch’s Great Escape comes from the fact that it replaced the truly unique and ahead-of-its-time Alien Encounter. For all its faults, Alien Encounter was extraordinarily ambitious and unlike anything else on Disney property. It was legitimately frightening and it used effects in ways we hadn’t seen before. Stitch’s Great Escape replaced that ride, and I think for a lot of people, a family-friendly version was always going to be less good.
But here’s the thing: While Alien Encounter was ahead of its time, it was wildly out of place at the Magic Kingdom. And, now that it’s gone, it’s important not to look at Stitch’s Great Escape as a simplified version of a more complex attraction.
Every attraction deserves the right to be judged on its own merits, and given that Stitch’s Great Escape replaced something that has developed a cult following, I don’t think it ever really got that opportunity.
5. It’s some people’s favorite Disney attraction – and that’s a good thing
Image: Disney
FoxxFur, over at her blog Passport to Dreams Old and New, often talks about her fondness for Delta Dreamflight – a flight-themed attraction that was formerly housed in the Buzz Lightyear: Space Ranger Spin show building. She acknowledges that, while she loves the ride, there are other Disney fans who say it was lesser version of If You Had Wings, the attraction that held that space before it.
But, ultimately, that doesn’t matter. She was so inspired by Dreamflight that she’s written hundred of thousands of words about Walt Disney World – some of which form into some of the best essays you’ll find on the topic of Disney. What does it matter which attraction was better? What matters is that she felt inspired by it, and turned that inspiration into a lasting connection to this place we all know and love.
Half of what makes Disney great is the artistry, but the other half is nostalgia. The attractions we enjoyed as kids will always seem better than the ones that kids are enjoying now.
But, right now, there’s someone out there for whom Stitch’s Great Escape is their favorite ride. And who knows: maybe they’ll be inspired to design rides of their own. Maybe they’ll make great films, or write great novels. Maybe they’ll do something even greater.
The point is, it’s easy for people like me to say an attraction isn’t very good. But there are people out there who love it, and if we can try to see it through their eyes, maybe we’ll feel inspired too.
