Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Stitch

Since Stitch’s Great Escape! will soon be leaving Tomorrowland to make way for a new Wreck-It Ralph attraction, we though we’d took a look back at our favorite (?) furry blue alien and share ten things you may not have known (or may NOT want to know!) about this mischievous (but lovable) creature.

1. Stitch first appeared in the 2002 animated feature Lilo and Stitch. Stitch wasn’t his original name, of course. Before he met Lilo, he was simply known as Experiment 626. Stitch was merely the latest in a long of line of genetically engineered creatures developed by Dr. Jumba Jookiba in his lab at the Galaxy Defense Industries. The first number, “6”, indicated the experiment series that Stitch belonged to. And what series was that? Why, the Battlefield/Doomsday Experiments with Galactic Implications series, of course!
2. Stitch was created and voiced by Chris Sanders, who would later go on to direct the hit film How to Train Your Dragon.  The idea for Stitch went back much earlier though. Sanders created the character back in 1985 for a children’s book idea.
3. The choice of Hawaii as the film’s setting was a curious one because no other animated feature had ever taken place there before. That trend nearly continued intact, since the first choice was not Kauai, but Kansas!
4. Stitch wasn’t always going to be the cuddly, lovable creature we all know today. (Wait, did I say cuddly?) Stitch was originally going to be an intergalactic gangster, with Jumba as a disgruntled member of his gang who was left behind during a heist and wanted revenge. Eventually, it was determined that the audience would be more sympathetic toward a younger Stitch, so he was transformed into the genetic-experiment-gone-wrong mischief maker that we love today.
5. Of course, once Stitch arrived on Earth, Lilo had to hide his identity. Posing as a dog seemed like a good choice, but what kind of dog? A collie of course. Though come to think of it, I don’t recall ever seeing a blue collie before. Then again, I’ve also never seen a collie with six legs, which is the number of appendages that Stitch has.
6. It was inevitable that Stitch would find his way to Walt Disney World. Early in the film, he was asked by the Grand Council woman to provide some sign that he knows what’s going on. Stitch responded by licking the inside of his glass cell, and what shape did he, um, create? Why, the famous “D” in the Walt Disney logo, of course. Welcome to the Magic Kingdom!
7. Speaking of Stitch’s welcome to the Magic Kingdom, it wouldn’t be a Stitch-welcome if he didn’t pull some hijinks. Sure enough, Guests arriving on the morning of November 16, 2004, (the day the new attraction, Stitch’s Great Escape, opened), were surprised to see Cinderella Castle strewn with toilet paper and the phrase “Stitch is King” scrawled on one of the turrets. Thankfully Stitch’s “decorations” were removed that evening.
8. Stitch’s introduction into Tomorrowland represented a milestone in Audio-Animatronics development. The 39-inch blue alien was, and still is, one of the most complex figures ever created for its size.
9. How complex? Stitch was the first Audio-Animatronic figure to spit water. (At least I hope that was water.) We won’t even talk about his ability to burp chili dogs—ew!!
10. Elsewhere in the sci-fi theatrical show, Stitch is dwarfed by the nearby plasma cannons, which are programmed to track Stitch’s DNA. (Now you know why he spits so much!) Those cannons might have bad aim, but they aren’t mere toys. Each one weights more than 1,600 pounds!