Menu
What's new
By:
Filters

Alien Encounter

Benenen

Benenen

Hyper Poster
I've been reading up on this ride and it sounds bizarre. The idea of Disney putting a horror attraction in Magic Kingdom with practical blood spray effects is fascinating and likely something we'll never see again. Did any CF goons ride while it was operational? Was it as scary as the hype suggested?

I've been on Stitch and while not terrifying there's something intense and claustrophobic about being trapped in an OTSR for what is essentially just a show, I'd love to have been on the original.
 
Yeah I'm old enough, I went on it. ?
I didn't know at the time, but it was only a week or two before it closed permanently and I do feel lucky to have got in there just in time.
It was cheesy as hell in places, strangely disturbing in others and downright terrifying at the end.
I remember being weirdly upset by the fate of... what was his name? I wanna say Skippy? The cute alien that got frazzled by the teleporter? Poor little thing. But I do remember being amazed by the animatronic robot.
But the finale - yeah, scary as hell. Cheap scares - total darkness, loud noises, drool, buzzy chairs, blood sprays (water, obvs) - but very effective scares nonetheless.

Did you ever get to ride Nemesis: Sub Terra? That reminded me of Alien Encounter a lot, it was clearly influenced by it I reckon.

I miss them both. ?
 
Last edited:
I rode Sub Terra once and found it scary. It's tense about being strapped in by a restraint in the dark with effects like back pokers going off which is a concept Alien Encounter took a lot further. I found with Sub Terra having actors shout at you and march you round the building gave it a campy tone, almost parodying the Sci Fi military elements which while fun I don't think was what the ride was going for. With Disney I imagine the tone was more consistent and serious.
 
I've always been intrigued by Alien Encounter too.

Out of all defunct attractions, it is probably the one I would most like to bring back.

From peoples' descriptions, it sounds like it was a great attraction but just too scary for Disney.
 
Rode this as well, but it was so long ago all I can really remember is the feeling of something crawling around my neck/back and the great effect of the alien appearing in the glass tube, which then broke and started the "lights out" portion of the experience.

It was a lot of fun, but as far as "too intense for kids and some adults"- not sure I agree with that. Maybe my ten year old self had watched too much Star Trek: Voyager to be scared of sci-fi stuff. Or maybe it was because I knew it was the Magic Kingdom and I wasn't in the frame of mind to be scared by anything.

Then again, I'm a bit hungover and it's entirely possible that all of these memories are a bit fuzzy.
 
I did it in either 98 or 00 when I was at WDW, I wasn't overly impressed? It was a show and a lot of waiting for something to happen. But I did have a Skippy plush doll for a while!
(Also, I thought SubTerra was better, at least it had a *ride*)
I've done Stitch as well and while essentially the same thing just toned down with the Stitch character instead of the scary alien... I think the most part parents knew to keep their small children out of Alien Encounter whereas with Stitch they didn't, and it was -as scary- for a smaller child because it was still loud and in the dark... the one time I did Stitch i watched CM's remove at least 3 different groups of kids for being terrified, mid-show... ruining the experience for everyone else in our showing.
 
First time I did Alien Encounter I was young enough that I thought it was pretty terrifying, but still kind of a letdown because the way it was advertised it seemed like it was going to have a ride component. It was good for what it was, but I remember seeing tv commercials that made it look like some kind of indoor thrill ride. It even had restraints, which I suppose were just there to keep guests from trying to get up during the parts of the show that were in total darkness.

Having done it in later seasons after getting a little older, it wasn't really that scary but definitely too scary for younger kids, so just not a good fit for Magic Kingdom. It's a real shame because Alien Encounter was a pretty good attraction that was just developed for the wrong park. It was MUCH better than the Stitch version that replaced it. They tried to retheme a horror attraction into a comedy show, it felt forced, and it ended up falling flat.
 
I have vivid memories of doing Alien Encounter in 1996 when I was 8 and leaving in tears! It definitely wasn’t your typical Magic Kingdom attraction ?
 
I remember riding (or rather ‘experiencing’) this a couple of times. The first, it was a little intense and atmospheric although I wouldn’t say I was that frightened. I was quite young - 7/8 maybe. I think I found the robot in the preshow more unsettling than the alien.

The second time around, maybe because it’s just because I was a little older but I found the actors on the screens etc a little more obviously corny / humorous.

I can’t seem to find any evidence that it was substantially revised to be more jovial, so It must just be selective memory.

It was not ‘scary’ unless you were a young child / only watch Disney films.
 
Last edited:
It was a show as opposed to a ride. I think I was 10 when it opened and did it... it was hyped as the scariest thing ever at Disney world and I recall it not being as scary as I thought it would be
 
Ha, you crazy kids!
I was 29 when I rode it and it still scared me! ?
Largely because I had no idea what to expect, but still, it worked.

Having just watched a full length POV of it though, I've realised now how bad the on-screen actors were, how dated the costumes were and I'd forgotten how long winded the whole thing was. I don't think it would work at all second time round.
But I do still think the robot looks impressive.

Poor Skippy though ?
 
I never had the chance to ride this, but I heard about it from friends. Sounds like my kind of ride as I love scary stuff. ?
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top