Robert Niles
Editor
Robert Niles

Tokyo Disneyland to replace Captain EO with Stitch

December 19, 2013, 11:42 AM · When Disney returned Captain EO to its theme parks following the death of star Michael Jackson, the revival was supposed to be a limited run. However, up until now, we've heard no official word of a Captain EO run closing.

As you might have guessed, now we have. The Oriental Land Company, owner of Tokyo Disney Resort, has announced that Captain EO will close on June 30, 2014 at Tokyo Disneyland, to make way for a Stitch Encounter attraction.

Stitch Encounter
Concept image courtesy Disney

Using the concept as Turtle Talk with Crush, Stitch Encounter at Hong Kong Disneyland allows audience members to talk with the former "Experiment 626," who will appear on a theater screen as he's in "outer space." This show is substantially different than Walt Disney World's much-maligned "Stitch's Great Escape" show. Tokyo Disneyland will bring the Stitch Encounter show to the Tomorrowland theater where Captain EO now plays, for a summer 2015 opening.

This won't be Stitch's first appearance in Tokyo Disneyland. The star of Lilo & Stitch already appears in Tokyo Disneyland's version of the Tiki Room: Stitch Presents 'Aloha E Komo Mai!'

We wrote more about that show during our tour of Tokyo Disneyland two years ago.

Replies (5)

anonymous
108.67.209.54
December 19, 2013 at 12:37 PM · Just a little armchair imagineering here, but wouldn't a cool replacement for EO at Epcot be this same technology with FIGMENT?
robert
Editor
Robert Niles
December 19, 2013 at 3:47 PM · From your keyboard to Imagineering's next budget....
anonymous
74.202.118.163
December 19, 2013 at 5:15 PM · I guess my family and I are the only ones who really enjoyed Stitch's Great Escape. I remember the guide book I used in preparation for our trip gave it pretty much the lowest rating of any attraction in all of WDW, but my daughter just couldn't get enough of it. She made us go through it three times that day when we were at MK in 2012. It's like I wrote in my trip log when our vacation was over. "Never trust a critic. They know nothing about your kids." Oh well. Judging from your use of the phrase "much maligned" it sounds like we're in the minority on that one. This new iteration across the pond sounds like it will be lots of fun though.
anonymous
206.29.182.174
December 19, 2013 at 5:58 PM · Cool, hopefully now they'll kick stitch out of the tiki room. Don't get me wrong I loved Lilo and stitch and the stitch overlay was a cute change for me, but ultimately its cheesy when compared to disneylands classy original version. I think stitch would make a great dark ride actually, but seems like those are coming only once every 20 years nowadays.
anonymous
86.163.166.53
December 20, 2013 at 3:34 AM · From the description it looks like the same show running at the Disney's Studios at Disneyland Paris.
That's a nice show, very similar in concept to Turtle Crush.

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