Enchanted Tiki Room in Florida closed — Stitch show from Japan on the way!

I wouldn't have believed it unless I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, but the controversial Enchanted Tiki Room: Under New Management show in Florida's Magic Kingdom has closed, to be replaced by a new show featuring Stitch.

I received a frantic cell phone call from a friend this afternoon tipping me off — a quick check of WDW's website confirmed that two attractions, Minnie's Country House and The Enchanted Tiki Room: Under New Management both closed today for refurbishment. Needless to say, I high tailed it to Orlando post haste to see what was up. By time I got to Adventureland the sun was setting, but I was able to get this photo of the construction wall, confirming the rumors that began circulating this week in chat rooms that the Stitch show already under construction in Japan was coming to Florida.

According to sources familiar with the project, the Stitch animatronic figure from Stitch Encounter will be repurposed for the new Tiki attraction (see conceptual art) in the space where the Uh-Oa figure currently stands today. What this means for Stitch Encounter, which replaced the moderately popular Alien Encounter attraction, remains to be seen. However, speculation runs high that Stitch Encounter will close later this year to make way for a reworking of the Concourse Six location to a revamped throwback of the original Flight to the Moon/Mission to Mars attraction, themed around Pixar's sure-to-be-a-hit summer release, "Wall-E." This would free up the Stitch AA for use in the Tiki Room. One could easily see how the movie's cylindrical rocket, as seen in the poster, could serve as a vehicle to carry WDW's visitors into space.

FYI: This story was an April's Fools joke. The show is still open -- but we can dream.

Add to the Discussion

comments