Why Did Alien Encounter Close?

[tankart150]

Does anyone know the real reason why Alien Encounter actually closed? I've never been on it, but I've heard about the attraction for several years, first discovered it back sometime in '06 while browsing on the All Ears website.
Supposedly it closed for maintenance, but there were rumors of a Jeffrey Jones scandal, and the obvious of it being too scary. But the attraction itself seems to have a sort of cult following, and what confuses me is that it was said to be an attraction never done before in the industry; The popularity of it continues online despite it being closed for several years; only to be tamed down by Stich. So if the attraction was popular, why replace it? And the replacement is said to be one of the worst attractions in Disney history.
However, I'm speculating if it maybe had to do with the aftermath of the September 11th attacks; there is a post on wdwmagic forums dated back in 2005 asking why it closed, and, one of the replies says that maintenance could have been a reason; the poster claims that the effects were solid around 1998, but said if you were to ride it around 2001/2002, Something wasn't working. So could this have been a purpose?

Also, I stayed at Saratoga Springs for my Birthday;I was thinking about trying Stich for a second time (only went on once when it first opened) to see if it was like Alien encouter's descriptions. Though I did not go back on, I'm also asking if Stich is technically the same thing as AE, but with different uses of the effects.
If Stich is considered to be That Bad, then how come there was no replacement?

Also, I LOVE Tomorrowland, but it needs a new E-ticket; i think monsters' and stich need to go, but maybe the former be moved to DHS as part of phase 3. But if Tomorrowland gets something new, I hope the Architecture/facade style doesn't change; that Sci-fi Look is... just... Awesome...

 

[Parkscope Joe]

The attraction closed due to poor guest satisfaction, people kept thinking the ride was for the whole family despite all the warnings it was a psychological thrill ride.

 

[OLSinFLA]

Yeah, literally people would not read the warning signs and there were tons of crying children and flooded with complaints. It was a great show, but in the wrong park (DHS would have been better). And it was really scary.

 

[Brian G.]

Alien Encounter was always against the ropes. From the many changes before opening, to the constant complaints from unaware parents.

I miss it dearly.

Stitch is basically AE, just friendlier and family oriented; but Stitch suffered from the fate of "too much at once". Frozen went thru it too, but was a much stronger IP than Stitch was, so it hasn't aged well. Doesn't help they half-assed it, too.

 

[s8film40]

I am sure the scary nature of the ride played a small role, but the real reason it closed is the same as the reason Maelstrom closed or now ToT will be closing at DCA, a popular IP came along that Disney wanted to take advantage of. Disney didn't want to actually build a new attraction so they looked at what they could do an overlay on. The show is mostly in the dark, so switch out the alien, put different costumes on the pre-show AA's and done. Same goes for Timekeeper, If you had Wings, and countless other Disney attractions.

 

[Tobias]

As what others have said, the attraction did get a lot of complaints from parents who didn't read the warning signs. An' when Lilo & Stitch rolled around they probably thought they'd have a good fix/replacement with Stitch.

An' as what Brian also said, I miss AE dearly as well. It still holds place as one of my favorite attractions, this was a honest-to-god psychological attraction and I enjoyed the hell out of it.

Now I've seen a lot of people say that it should've been at DHS or it would've fit better there, but as a big fan of AE I have to say this...it wouldn't have mattered one bit where the attraction was, it would still suffer the same fate. If it was at DHS, parents would've still waltzed right in with their kids and come out complaining.

 

[UNIrd]

Ugh. They should've built this in Disneyland instead. It would probably still be around today.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I am sure the scary nature of the ride played a small role, but the real reason it closed is the same as the reason Maelstrom closed or now ToT will be closing at DCA, a popular IP came along that Disney wanted to take advantage of. Disney didn't want to actually build a new attraction so they looked at what they could do an overlay on. The show is mostly in the dark, so switch out the alien, put different costumes on the pre-show AA's and done. Same goes for Timekeeper, If you had Wings, and countless other Disney attractions.

No.

 

[OLSinFLA]

As what others have said, the attraction did get a lot of complaints from parents who didn't read the warning signs. An' when Lilo & Stitch rolled around they probably thought they'd have a good fix/replacement with Stitch.

An' as what Brian also said, I miss AE dearly as well. It still holds place as one of my favorite attractions, this was a honest-to-god psychological attraction and I enjoyed the hell out of it.

Now I've seen a lot of people say that it should've been at DHS or it would've fit better there, but as a big fan of AE I have to say this...it wouldn't have mattered one bit where the attraction was, it would still suffer the same fate. If it was at DHS, parents would've still waltzed right in with their kids and come out complaining.

No, DHS already had a reputation for more intense rides (ToT, Star Tours, effects)

 

[s8film40]

Alien Encounter could have very easily been toned down a little, which is essentially what Stitch is a toned down version of the same attraction. They weren't exactly in a hurry to tone down the scare aspect which means it must not have been the huge complaint generator it's being made out to be. They needed a new attraction for that year, LILO and Stitch was popular at the time, and Alien Encounter of course wasn't the most family friendly attraction everything just lined up. It's really that simple.

 

[Brian G.]

Alien Encounter could have very easily been toned down a little, which is essentially what Stitch is a toned down version of the same attraction. They weren't exactly in a hurry to tone down the scare aspect which means it must not have been the huge complaint generator it's being made out to be. They needed a new attraction for that year, LILO and Stitch was popular at the time, and Alien Encounter of course wasn't the most family friendly attraction everything just lined up. It's really that simple.

Yeah, there was no way to tone down the ride without going back to square one and starting over.

The Alien AA was frightening itself.

They saw and out, took it, and forced Stitch in there as quickly as possible.

 

[s8film40]

Yeah, there was no way to tone down the ride without going back to square one and starting over.

The Alien AA was frightening itself.

They saw and out, took it, and forced Stitch in there as quickly as possible.

I think it could have been toned down somewhat, the parts that terrified people where the dark parts where the alien escapes. I just don't think it was a big deal though or the attraction would have been changed or toned down sooner. I agree the right situation presented itself and they took the opportunity. This was also the time period when they were debuting a new attraction roughly every year and I think they didn't have something that year and wanted to keep the trend up. I guess what I'm saying is the scary factor played a roll but wasn't really the key reason it went away. In the 9 years it operated there were plenty of other opportunities to address it and it didn't seem to be a priority.

 

[Clive]

Ugh. They should've built this in Disneyland instead. It would probably still be around today.

If I'm not mistaken, Disneyland was supposed to get a "port" as part of a Tomorrowland expansion in what is now Redd Rocket's Pizzaport (previously Mission to Mars, just like its WDW counterpart). The public's muted/negative reaction to the WDW original nixed those plans.

 

[OLSinFLA]

Yeah, there was no way to tone down the ride without going back to square one and starting over.

The Alien AA was frightening itself.

They saw and out, took it, and forced Stitch in there as quickly as possible.

Also, it had already been redone once to actually make it scarier because as a toned down version basically it became a radio play in the dark.

 

[shiekra38]

I still get chills thinking about AE...The happy-go-lucky queue video, the ominous pre-show, and the horrifying encounter...It was all done so well...It was a bit too risky for MK though and went against everything the park stood for: hopeful, magical, and wonderful lands...AE was a wonderfully horrid and rebellious ride that was squeezed into the wrong park...I truly believe it could have survived if it was in HS or heck, even Universal..Not MK though

 

[Parkscope Joe]

If I'm not mistaken, Disneyland was supposed to get a "port" as part of a Tomorrowland expansion in what is now Redd Rocket's Pizzaport (previously Mission to Mars, just like its WDW counterpart). The public's muted/negative reaction to the WDW original nixed those plans.

Sort of. The attraction was originally designed for Disneyland but ended up at WDW first. The guest reaction and Disneys insistence on their TL redo being cheap both factored it into not happening. Man that facade was going to be so cool.

 

[tankart150]

Also just realized the chairman's name is Clench; probably just a hint of tyranny there

 

[s8film40]

Also just realized the chairman's name is Clench; probably just a hint of tyranny there

It's because he was seizing the future with XS!

Also it's interesting the Alien Encounter attraction is still there in Disney Quest, I believe chairman Clench is in the video that plays in the queue.

 

[tankart150]

It's because he was seizing the future with XS!

Also it's interesting the Alien Encounter attraction is still there in Disney Quest, I believe chairman Clench is in the video that plays in the queue.

Yep he is in the queue videos. When I first went on it he reminded me of an alien football player

 

[OLSinFLA]

Remember, if something can't be done with XS, then it shouldn't be done at all!