Time and again, the internet has taught us that if there’s a fandom, there’s usually at least one specific day to celebrate it. In the case of Disney’s animated cult classic, soon to be an upcoming live-action Disney movie Lilo and Stitch, today is that day thanks to Stitch’s designation of “Experiment 626.” Without missing a beat, Universal Orlando used the occasion to take another classic shot at Walt Disney World, invoking a rather hysterically infamous moment in the park’s own history of celebration.
Celebrating Stitch Day in style, Universal Orlando tweeted a message that was meant to remind people of the opening day festivities. As if the reputation of Stitch’s Great Escape as arguably “Disney World’s worst ride” wasn’t enough, the 2004 grand opening of the former attraction saw the little blue alien toilet defacing Cinderella’s Castle with toilet paper and graffiti. Which is why the following punchline is a pretty deep cut:
It looked better with toilet paper on it.
For some who read that tweet, the memory being references is still a fresh wound in the wonderful world of Disney Parks. To be honest, it wasn’t exactly the best of looks given to the Magic Kingdom’s iconic centerpiece. And that’s even counting the time that an overlay was used to turn it into a giant pink birthday cake for its 25th anniversary. While it’s not a total view of the “damage,” you can see some of what this transformation looked like in the photo below:
You can now see why this is potentially one of the harshest burns between the two parks, even in light of the time Universal trolled Disney about park reservations with a nice Back to the Future gag. It’s basically the equivalent of Walt Disney World tweeting something about how Universal has to build a roller coaster for people to forget how bad Fast and Furious Supercharged actually is; though your mileage may vary, as there's always someone who's willing to give those lesser loved attractions the benefit of the doubt.
The theme park world can be rough and tumble on social media, but it’s pretty much all in good fun. While Universal Orlando might be snarking Disney for one of its more questionable moments, it’s still a fun way to celebrate the chaos that is Stitch. Though if Disney wants to hit back, there’s always the subject of how the Jurassic World VelociCoaster was somehow rumored to be a churro stand. That gag always plays, and even Universal knows it.
While what we know about the Lilo and Stitch remake and doesn’t peg an exact release date for the upcoming reimagining, we do know that there’s an impressive live-action cast forming for this upcoming Disney movie. In the meantime, you can revisit the entirety of Stitch’s adventures through a Disney+ subscription.
