5 Times Stitch Has Completely Taken Over Disney World

Stitch has a WILD history in Walt Disney World. 

Pretty much since the day Lilo & Stitch premiered in June of 2002, Experiment 626 himself has been an in-demand character at Walt Disney World, with merchandise like Stitch pins being near impossible to find for much of that summer. In the two decades+ since, Stitch has — for better or worse — taken over Disney World in several ways… to varying degrees of success.

Stitch Overtakes Cinderella Castle

The first major moment that Stitch “took over Walt Disney World” took place in 2004 in conjunction with the opening of Stitch’s Great Escape (don’t worry, we’ll get there). As part of the attraction’s promotion, Disney had a promotion where Stitch TP’ed Cinderella Castle, and painted “STITCH IS KING” on the building. 

Yes, you read that right: Disney presented Stitch as having strewn toilet paper all over the castle, then marked it with graffiti. Yeah, suffice to say, this one day promotion did not go over well with many Disney fans, who found the whole thing a bit disrespectful. That reaction would be a portent of things to come.

Stitch’s Great Escape

As mentioned above, the “Stitch defaces the castle” event was part of the promotion for Stitch’s Great Escape. This attraction was a quick re-theme of the controversial ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter, and it did not over well. 

Stitch’s Great Escape was met with almost immediate derision, with many Magic Kingdom visitors decrying the attraction for a convoluted story, replacement of what some felt was a far-superior attraction, and — of course — the “chill dog” breath. The attraction opened in November of 2004, moved to seasonal operation in October of 2016, and “temporarily closed” in January of 2018. That closure was confirmed to be permanent in 2020. 

Stitch Meet & Greet 

However, even with the closure of Stitch’s Great Escape, the character wasn’t gone from Tomorrowland. Even before its closure, part of Stitch’s Great Escape’s queue became a Stitch meet & greet location in 2014. The character continues to appear in different areas of the land today, and appears in his Elvis costume from the film during Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. 

Stitch 50th Statue in Tomorrowland

In addition to Stitch appearing as a character in Tomorrowland, a statue of the character was installed in the land as part of the celebration for Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary celebration. Stitch is one of the more unique of the golden anniversary statues, as he’s affixed to a wall in the land as opposed to freestanding. 

Stitch Crashes Disney Merchandise 

While there’s been a ton of Stitch merchandise available over the years, there’s one line that stands out as a takeover. The Stitch Crashes Disney line features pins, MagicBands, and plushes inspired by mixing Stitch with the aesthetics of different Disney movies like Peter Pan, Pocahontas, and Mulan.

Despite a somewhat tumultuous history in Walt Disney World, Stitch has remained a massively popular character, and will undoubtedly continue appearing in the parks. 

Disney Just Released a New Stitch Loungefly Collection On Amazon!

What’s your favorite example of Stitch taking over Disney World? Let us know in the comments below. 

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