For almost as long as designers have been adding things to Disney Parks, they’ve been taking things away. In the name of progress, expansion, modernization, changing trends, or funding, sometimes beloved attractions are simply lost to time. As readers of our Lost Legends or our THEN & NOW layout series know, even Walt Disney World’s “blessing of size” doesn’t guarantee that classics are spared from the wrecking ball.
Given that fan-favorites are talked about like the timeless, definitive highlights of Disney Parks, sometimes it can be shocking to discover that… well… time moves on! Here, we’ve collected 9 rides Imagineering fans still tend to think of as mere “replacements” that actually lasted longer than the “classics” they took the place of! Prepare to have your mind blown.
Do you love armchair Imagineering, in-depth storytelling, and seeing the theme parks we love differently? Park Lore is an ad-free, quality-over-quantity, one-person project centered on building a world-class collection of the interconnected stories of theme park attractions, design projects, and industry explorations.
This feature is one that’s usually locked in our Member Vault, where Park Lore patrons can find hand-drawn art, armchair Imagineering walkthroughs, and other in-depth Special Features, as well as quick-read, just-for-fun Extra Features. Thanks to supporting Members, this feature is temporarily unlocked as a preview!
But if you value my mission to provide clickbait-free, ad-free deep dives and new ways to see the parks, consider becoming a supporting Member of Park Lore for as little as $2 / month. That support is what keeps this unique themed entertainment storytelling project open, ad-free, and available to all. Thank you!
1. Alien Encounter (8 yrs) vs. Stitch’s Great Escape (13 yrs)
Alien Encounter: 1995 – 2003 (8 years)
Stitch’s Great Escape: 2004 – 2017 (13 years)
When the Lost Legend: The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter debuted as part of Magic Kingdom’s ambitious and highly stylized New Tomorrowland in 1995, it represented perhaps the final groundbreaking project in then-CEO Michael Eisner’s “Ride the Movies” era… It was an epic, cinematic, and bold attraction subjecting humans to a frightening “demonstration” of a Martian tech company’s intergalactic teleportation technology gone wrong. A multi-sensory horror show, the attraction released a carnivorous alien into the pitch black crowd where binaural sound and special effects took over.
A generation of Magic Kingdom fans lived through (and in many cases, were traumatized by) Disney’s “scariest attraction ever.” Like so many cult classics, Alien Encounter was only really appreciated after its death. Today, it’s remembered as a creative, boundary-pushing, and wholly-original concept that stands out as one of Imagineering’s most ambitious. But in 2003, years of diminishing guest satisfaction and a file of parental complaints meant Alien Encounter needed to go. Luckily, a popular Disney film provided just the springboard for a low-cost, highly-merchandizable redesign.
2002’s Lilo & Stitch had introduced Stitch, a mischievous blue alien with a heart of gold who’d taken pop culture by storm… and represented one of Disney’s few post-Renaissance, early-2000s hits. Capitalizing on the character’s surge in popularity while eliminating the troubled Alien Encounter read like a win-win on paper. In practice, the Declassified Disaster: Stitch’s Great Escape is remembered not as the “scariest Disney attraction,” but the “worst.” Too frightening for kids and too juvenile for anyone else, Stitch’s Great Escape made Alien Encounter look like a masterpiece, contributing to the cult status of its predecessor… and kicking off the “cartoonification” of Tomorrowland.
In October 2017, Stitch’s Great Escape switched to “seasonal” status – typically, a death knell for Disney Parks attractions. After holiday crowds left that year, the building was shuttered. It wasn’t until the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 that Disney officially acknowledged that Stitch’s Great Escape would never re-open. More to today’s point, though, that means that with a 13 year run, Stitch’s Great Escape actually lasted five years longer than its sci-fi horror predecessor, which seems absolutely impossible given that Alien Encounter is treated as a hallowed, timeless classic.
2. Kongfrontation (12 yrs) vs. Revenge of the Mummy (16 yrs)
Kongfrontation: 1990 – 2002 (12 years)
Revenge of the Mummy: 2004 – Today (20 years)
There is probably no ride that better represents classic Universal Studios Florida than the Lost Legend: Kongfrontation – the larger-than-life creature feature attraction that opened alongside the Orlando park in 1990. Boarding elevated Roosevelt Island trams, guests touring the path of destruction left in Kong’s wake before ultimately coming face-to-face with the raging, banana-breathed ape himself. Massive animatronics, sensational effects, and spectacular set design made Kongfrontation a formative experience for a generation.
Though Kongfrontation might be one of the most-remembered Universal attractions ever, it didn’t last. In what’s become a recurring plot twist in Universal Studios Florida’s history, the box office won out. In the early 2000s, Universal began a decade-long push to modernize its “studio” park, swapping classic rides themed to films of the ’70s and ’80s for trendier, more modern blockbusters. Eventually, the push would topple nearly every Opening Day Original at the park… but Kongfrontation was the first giant to fall.
Kongfrontation gave its last rides in 2002. Incredibly, just nine months later, the space re-opened with Revenge of the Mummy, based on Universal’s beloved ‘90s action-adventure Mummy film franchise starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. An incredible and beloved attraction in its own right, the Modern Marvel: Revenge of the Mummy is a dark ride / roller coaster hybrid packed with surprises… and Easter eggs calling back to the building’s former primate inhabitant.
Even today, Millennials and above probably think of Revenge of the Mummy as “taking King Kong’s place” in the park. But since the newer ride has now lasted a full eighteen years – far longer than Kong was around to begin with – couldn’t it be that Kong was only temporarily occupying the Mummy’s place?
3. Journey into Imagination (15 yrs) vs. Journey into Imagination with Figment (22 yrs)
Journey into Imagination: 1983 – 1998 (15 years)
Journey into YOUR Imagination: 1999 – 2001 (2 years)
Journey into Imagination with Figment: 2002 – Today (22 years)
For Walt Disney World fans, there’s probably no ride more missed and adored than the Lost Legend: Journey into Imagination. One in the pantheon of Imagineering masterpieces, this spectacular dark ride introduced a generation of guests to Dreamfinder and Figment – a wacky inventor and his imaginative dragon sidekick – as they toured realms of art, science, and literature seeking out “sparks of inspiration.”
Set to the tune of the Sherman Brothers’ “One Little Spark,” Journey into Imagination stood among EPCOT Center’s grand, intellectual, and historic dark rides… but it also stood apart, eschewing hard sciences and industry in favor of the root of it all: creativity, cooperation, awe, and joy. Given the absolutely gargantuan role it plays in the story of EPCOT Center and the real estate it occupies in the hearts and minds of Disney World fans, it’s hard to believe that Journey into Imagination lasted only fifteen years…
That’s because in 1998 – as Epcot readied to host the resort’s Millennium Celebration – the ride’s sponsor, Kodak, was brought in to finance a reimagining.
Unfortunately, it took the form of one of the worst rides Disney has ever created – the Declassified Disaster: Journey into YOUR Imagination. Axing Dreamfinder, Figment, and “One Little Spark” entirely and cut by 40%, the ride was entirely redesigned as a tour through the laboratory-like Imagination Institute (referenced in the “Honey, I Shrunk the Audience” 4-D film next door). Journey into YOUR Imagination was an “Open House” tour through the facility’s “Sensory Labs” hosted by Monty Python’s Eric Idle.
Backlash was so fierce, that after less than two years, the ride closed for a second re-working. The result is the ride you’ll find today – Journey Into Imagination With Figment – which retains the “Imagination Institute” setting, halved ride length, and Eric Idle’s wacky scientist, but inserts a meddling version of Figment and “One Little Spark” throughout. While it’s remarkably better than the short-lived middle version, it’s a painfully bad attraction compared to the original… which makes it all the more unbelievable that the current, quick-fix version has already outlasted Dreamfinder’s entire run.