Having been on a seasonal operating schedule for quite a while now, Stitch’s Great Escape at the Magic Kingdom will be open again December 23, 2017 through January 6th, 2018. However, it will never open again following that.
Disney is expected to make the announcement shortly, but the final day of operation for the Tomorrowland attraction will be January 6th, 2018. The closure will make way for a new, yet-to-be-announced attraction.
Stitch’s Great Escape replaced the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter in 2004, becoming one of the most poorly received attractions in the park’s history.
When a sign mysteriously popped up at the former Stitch’s Great Escape at the Magic Kingdom, we speculated that the new Alien Encounter Character Greeting would temporarily replace the often-panned Tomorrowland attraction. Well, today, that new experience opened to guests.
Stitch’s Alien Encounter Character Greeting uses the queue from Great Escape, eventually leading to a character meet and greet with Stitch in the first preview room.
Guests exit back through the entry area, so the meet and greet utilizes no other space from the Attraction beyond the first pre-show room.
Stitch’s Alien Encounter Character Greeting opened today at 10:30am and closes at 7pm. Hours may fluctuate based on the day.
Disney is stating that Stitch’s Great Escape will still operate seasonally and is not closed for good as of yet.
Our latest photo report brings us to the Magic Kingdom for Fall weather and the lighter crowds of the season. I’m of course joking, it has been above 90 degrees everyday and the parks have been super crowded, but we went anyway…
Welcome to the Magic Kingdom
Annual Passholder entrances don’t seem to be leaving anytime soon as they now have more permanent signage.
Thor Raganrok merchandise is now available throughout the resort.
The Citrus Swirl Orange Float has been added to them menu boards at Sunshine Tree Terrace. You can check out our review here.
Columbus Day Week has been particularly busy. Here, the Jungle Cruise FastPass return line stretches back almost to the entrance of the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse.
The line goes on for niles…
And niles, and niles, and niles, and if you don’t believe me, you are in…
Well, probably you’re in the standby line then, because who would believe this?
The refurbishment of Splash Mountain rolls on. For a better look at the all of the work being done (mostly repainting), check out our video below:
Permanent signage for the lines and exits at the Lunching Pad has arrived. There had been big “foamcore” signs here for the last few weeks.
Mobile Order is available there as well, which I’ve already used a few times just to order a soda with no wait on these hot and busy days at the Magic Kingdom.
Apprently Stitch’s Great Escape at the Magic Kingdom is no more, replaced with the yet-to-open Stitch’s Alien Encounter Character Greeting in Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom.
No further details are available as of yet, but it seems likely that guests will be able to meet Stitch here starting soon (purely speculation on our part).
Stitch’s Great Escape went into seasonal operation last year, last open a few weeks ago for the busy summer season.
On Friday night, we made our way over to the first Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party of the season and we have some great footage from the event including Mickey’s Boo To You Halloween Parade, Hocus Pocus Villains Spelltacular, Moana Meet and Greet, and Stitch’s Great Escape Trick or Treat Trail.
Mickey’s Boo To You Halloween Parade
Hocus Pocus Villains Spelltacular
Moana Meet and Greet at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party
The seasonal attraction Stitch’s Great Escape will return to operation this Summer at the Magic Kingdom, meanwhile, the Stitch meet and greet will relocate to Tomorrowland from Main Street.
The Stitch’s Great Escape attraction will be open daily from May 27th until August 19th, 2017 from 10am-6pm before closing again for the Fall.
The Stitch meet and greet experience at the Magic Kingdom is also moving, relocating from Town Square to Tomorrowland on May 21st. Stitch will ow be located outside of Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress.
Our first photo report of 2017 brings us to the Magic Kingdom to see the latest adjustments and merchandise additions around the park. Let’s jump right in, shall we?
Welcome to the Magic Kingdom
Good morning Magic Kingdom!
They have slowly been repaving the area outside of Mickey’s Philharmagic over the last few weeks.
Some new Villains shirts available at Sir Mickey’s.
A new Belle shirt for sale as well.
Christmas stickers were being given out all around the park.
Liberty Square Market has started selling Muppets plush since the show is nearby. They can’t sell baked potatoes anymore, BUT LETS STOCK SOME PLUSH!
There has been a pretty vile garbage mound growing in the Rivers of America as of late…
Including some dead fish…
PADDLEFISH ANYONE?
If I haven’t mentioned it before, Pecos Bill’s has recently become my favorite counter service stop at the Magic Kingdom. The fajita dish is pretty good and offers more than enough food.
The bowl is pretty good as well, considering you can load it up at the toppings bar.
Christmas Party exclusive pins were being sold to the general public before the last party even happened. As I have complained before, they should at least wait until the final party is over…
We found some baby ducks hanging out by Tomorrowland. I’ve never seen them this late in the year.
“No, don’t eat the cigarette!!!”
Stitch’s Great Escape Returns
Stitch’s Great Escape reopened for a bit every day to combat the crowds in the park. It actually was getting quite the line.
The walls that have been up since the rock painting began have now finally come down.
The decal over the entrance has been falling off for months, but I suppose there’s no reason to invest in something you are closing.
We pretty much just went in to say hello to Skippy who stayed over from the Alien Encounter attraction.
When seats are broken, you will sometimes still see these XS Tech “Temporarily Seized” seat covers.
This and That
The new customizable Star Wars name tags are also available at the Merchant of Venus, not just at Hollywood Studios.
They are now regularly handing out Zootopia stickers in Tomorrowland for some reason.
There its some heavy construction taking place near the Kingdom Cabanas adjacent to Space Mountain, not sure what for as of yet.
“it’s a MagicBand 2.0”
One of the first MagicBand 2’s available to guests is this “it’s a small world” 45th anniversary band currently available.
Our first photo report of 2017 brings us to the Magic Kingdom to see the latest adjustments and merchandise additions around the park. Let’s jump right in, shall we?
Welcome to the Magic Kingdom
Good morning Magic Kingdom!
They have slowly been repaving the area outside of Mickey’s Philharmagic over the last few weeks.
Some new Villains shirts available at Sir Mickey’s.
A new Belle shirt for sale as well.
Christmas stickers were being given out all around the park.
Liberty Square Market has started selling Muppets plush since the show is nearby. They can’t sell baked potatoes anymore, BUT LETS STOCK SOME PLUSH!
There has been a pretty vile garbage mound growing in the Rivers of America as of late…
Including some dead fish…
PADDLEFISH ANYONE?
If I haven’t mentioned it before, Pecos Bill’s has recently become my favorite counter service stop at the Magic Kingdom. The fajita dish is pretty good and offers more than enough food.
The bowl is pretty good as well, considering you can load it up at the toppings bar.
Christmas Party exclusive pins were being sold to the general public before the last party even happened. As I have complained before, they should at least wait until the final party is over…
We found some baby ducks hanging out by Tomorrowland. I’ve never seen them this late in the year.
“No, don’t eat the cigarette!!!”
Stitch’s Great Escape Returns
Stitch’s Great Escape reopened for a bit every day to combat the crowds in the park. It actually was getting quite the line.
The walls that have been up since the rock painting began have now finally come down.
The decal over the entrance has been falling off for months, but I suppose there’s no reason to invest in something you are closing.
We pretty much just went in to say hello to Skippy who stayed over from the Alien Encounter attraction.
When seats are broken, you will sometimes still see these XS Tech “Temporarily Seized” seat covers.
This and That
The new customizable Star Wars name tags are also available at the Merchant of Venus, not just at Hollywood Studios.
They are now regularly handing out Zootopia stickers in Tomorrowland for some reason.
There its some heavy construction taking place near the Kingdom Cabanas adjacent to Space Mountain, not sure what for as of yet.
“it’s a MagicBand 2.0”
One of the first MagicBand 2’s available to guests is this “it’s a small world” 45th anniversary band currently available.
Welcome to another edition of Tom’s Top 7, a continuing countdown of my favorite (and occasionally, least favorite) things at the Disney Parks around the globe. Why seven? STOP ASKING!
Rumored New Attractions That May Be Announced Soon for Walt Disney World
Anyway, the first two times we counted down, we visited the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival. I decided this week it might be time to stop talking about food and get to the real bread and butter of Walt Disney World – attractions. We live in a time of great uncertainty about the future of Walt Disney World. We are 5 short years away from the golden anniversary of the Vacation Kingdom of the World and Disney is already teasing us that they have some major announcements to make before then (as alluded to during the 45th anniversary ceremony at the Magic Kingdom earlier this month. See for yourself:
There is plenty on the table that hasn’t been announced yet, but here are my Top 7 rumored additions to Walt Disney World that we could be hearing about soon.
1. Guardians of the Galaxy at Epcot
The Guardians of then Galaxy could be exploding through the rubble of Epcot’s Universe of Energy…
I think you’ve probably heard enough about this one at this point, but if all goes according to plan, it seems that a Guardians of the Galaxy roller coaster will replace the Universe of Energy in Future World. I’m not going to waste much time on this one as I feel enough has already been said. You are going to notice a recurring theme and this list and that is that everything is tied to an intellectual property of the Disney Company. SURPRISE!
2. Wreck-It Ralph Racing Ride
Will Tomorrowland host a Sugar Rush racing ride straight out of Wreck-It Ralph?
Another one that seems almost definite at this point with Stitch’s Great Escape now operating seasonally, guests may be designing their own Sugar Rush race car and competing against each other in the first VR attraction in the parks since the Aladdin magic carpet ride experience jumped from Innoventions at Epcot to DisneyQuest in the 1990’s. Virtual reality has come a long way since then and is now becoming a theme park stable on rollercoasters, but has not been applied in an attraction quite like this yet.
3. Ratatouille in France at Epcot
Is “the little chef” coming to Epcot?
Since the Ratatouille ride opened at Walt Disney Studios Paris, guests have speculated that it could make its way to the France pavilion at Epcot. The latest rumblings say it will not, but that doesn’t mean something else themed to Ratatouille couldn’t replace Impressions De France, right? 😉
4. Star Tours Scene for Rogue One – A Star Wars Story
The Death Star under construction appears in Star Tours, so it would be a perfect fir for a Rogue One addition
This seemed like a forgone conclusion, but the rumblings on Rogue One being added to Star Tours have gone silent as of late. Walt Disney World running a holiday fireworks show rather than including Rogue One in Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular seems a bit odd, so maybe we won’t be seeing much Rogue One stuff in Florida. While Disneyland has replaced their Kylo Ren meet and greet with Darth Vader, we have still not announced any plans to even make that change.
5. TRON Lightcycle Power Run
TRON Lightcycle Power Run at Shanghai Disneyland
One of Shanghai Disneyland’s top attractions, TRON Lightcycle Power Run still seems likely to land in Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom or in Future World at Epcot. Who doesn’t want this one to happen? It may not fit perfectly in Epcot, but it’s a pretty nifty concept that should interest most guests.
6. The New Magic Kingdom Fireworks Show
The Magic Kingdom is due for a new fireworks extravaganza
“Tale as old as time.” Wishes has been the main fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom since October 2003. In 13 years, fireworks shows and nighttime spectaculars have come a long way. Despite constant updates of the projection mapping system for Celebrate the Magic, we still haven’t seen much evidence that a new nighttime show for the park is currently in production. Fun fact: The Magic Kingdom is the only classic style Castle park that still doesn’t have a projection-heavy new age fireworks display. We can only hope that 2017 is the year Disney World finally pulls the plug on Wishes for something modern and grandiose.
7. (Yeah, Seven) Inside Out at Epcot
Since Inside Out was released in theaters, guests have been Armchair Imagineering ideas for the human emotions in Epcot, feeling they are a perfect fit as the park once boasted a pavilion about human health and even a show about the inside of a young boy’s mind in Cranium Command.
But where would such an attraction go? Well, we originally though it might inhabit the old Wonders of Life pavilion, but current rumors say otherwise. Some believe that Figment will lose his Epcot attraction so that the Inside Out gang could take over the Imagination pavilion. It’s not too far fetched considering there is an Imagination in everyone’s mind… oh, and Figment makes a cameo in Riley’s imagination the film…
Can you spot Figment in Inside Out?
Improbable, Yes. Impossible, No. – The Timekeeper
Everything you see above may never come to fruition, much like anything not yet formally announced by the Walt Disney Company, but at this point, these are 7 additions or changes that are highly likely for Walt Disney World in the not-so-distant future.
What do you think? Which of these new attractions would you be excited for? Which ones would make you sad? Let me know in the comments below.
