A Disney theme park ride that attracted regular complaints after being labelled “too frightening” for children was so scary that bosses closed it down.
ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter opened in Magic Kingdom in Florida, back in 1995, and was Disney’s first venture into a fully immersive scary attraction.
The ride was a theatre-like experience, which took place across three areas.
According to the Sun, the story began with an alien corporation called XS-Tech, which showcased its brand new teleportation technology to the audience.
Following this, a robot demonstrated the teleportation device by moving a small alien across the room.
Next up, while guests were trapped, strapped to their seats, the teleportation technology supposedly went wrong.
A huge carnivorous alien with wings emerged from the tube and the lights in the room went out.
Audience members would then feel the “breath” of the alien on the back of their necks.
In another twist, they could feel the alien’s “drool” dripping from its mouth.
The ride was plagued with controversy from the get go, with guests regularly complaining it was too scary and not in keeping with the rest of the theme park’s rides.
Guests would reportedly scream so much during the experience that they would miss important dialogue and plot points, making it impossible to understand what was going on.
Others weren't happy with the violence and the confusing plotline, while there were also negative reviews about the comedic tone of the pre-show, in comparison to the sinister tone of the actual attraction.
Furthermore, children under the age of 12 were encouraged not to visit, prompting complaints from their parents.
In response to these complaints, Disney halted the original version of the ride and spent several months and an extra $10million (£7.5million) on improvements.
But upon reopening, the park continued tor receive complaints from parents and other guests about how scary the attraction was.
Paired with budget issues, these complaints led to the eventual cancellation of the ride.
In 2003, the attraction was shut down and replaced with a new, lighter attraction, based on Lilo & Stitch.
The closure also put a halt to the ride being potentially added to the Paris and Tokyo Disneylands.
Previous guests have since taken to Reddit to share how they were left scarred by the ride.
One person wrote: "I was so little when I went on this and I swear it was the scariest ride I've ever been on.
"I was TERRIFIED to go on Stitch because of still being scared of the alien version."
Another person said their dad had to carry them off the ride “sobbing” when they were a child.
"All I remember is having my eyes closed with my head in my mom's lap sobbing the entire time,” another former guest added.
“I still have nightmares about that ride."
