LPWire: Stitch's Great Escape! Promises Pandemonium For Walt Disney World

(c)Disney

Stitch's Great Escape! Promises Pandemonium For Walt Disney World
Mischievous Alien Busts Loose at Magic Kingdom in Fall 2004

Fans of Walt Disney Pictures' hit film "Lilo & Stitch" know him as a cuddly but destructive alien prone to hilarious fits of havoc. But what was Stitch like before the movie?This fall, Walt Disney World guests will find out when they come face to face with the mischievous character in a new Magic Kingdom attraction -- Stitch's Great Escape!

Under construction on the former site of The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter, the kid-friendly Tomorrowland adventure will put guests in the middle of the mayhem caused by the naughty "Experiment 626" -- a.k.a. Stitch -- when he's captured by the Galactic Federation and teleported to a processing center for alien prisoners.

Park guests are recruited to provide additional security as the six-limbed alien arrives with a reputation for playful disobedience -- and an appetite for chaos that exceeds all limits. Sights, sounds and -- ewwww! -- smells add to the pandemonium.

(c)Disney

Walt Disney Imagineers are tackling the challenge of bringing a character from an animated film to life as an Audio-Animatronics figure. The result is a 39-inch-tall version of the unstoppable blue menace animated with a breathtaking degree of realism, one of the most complex creations of its size, custom-made by Imagineers with more than 350 detailed, hand-machined parts and more than 40 separate functions.

John Cutry of Walt Disney Imagineering helps bring Experiment 626 (a.k.a. Stitch) to life for his Fall 2004 debut in Stitch's Great Escape! (c)Disney

In addition to Stitch, the fun-filled attraction will feature several characters familiar to fans of the film, including the Galactic Federation's Grand Councilwoman, Captain Gantu and Agent Pleakley, with voices supplied by the movie's original actors. Skippy, the hapless alien "volunteered" for a teleportation demonstration in The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter, will return in a new role.

Also featured will be two "plasma cannons" that follow Stitch's DNA whenever -- and wherever -- it move.

(c)Disney

Stitch's Great Escape! will offer Disney's FASTPASS, the innovative free service available to all guests that eliminates the need to wait in long lines for popular attractions.

--Posted June 22, 2004
Source: Walt Disney World Resort