After watching the Lilo & Stitch film at the El Capitan Theatre, guests are escorted next door to experience Lilo & Stitch's Hawaiian Beach Party. Hosted in a three-tiered building is a plethora of Hawaiian- and Elvis-themed shows, games and exhibits. Brochures for Lilo & Stitch's Hawaiian Beach Party advertise "Exotic Island Activities," "See A Hula Show," "Surf the Hang Ten Machine" and "Direct from Graceland, an Exclusive Collection of Elvis Memorabilia."

Below is a sampling of what you can expect when you visit the Entertainment Complex.

A giant mural of a Hawaiian background with the Lilo & Stitch logo adorns a wall at the El Capitan Entertainment Center, drawing people from the entrance into the full exhibit. Tiki gods, like the one in the foreground, could be found throughout the building.

Among the tiki gods are those of characters from the movie, such as Stitch in the foreground and Pleakley towards the rear.

I believe the one on the left is supposed to represent Jumba and the one on the right has a strong resemblance to a certain "king."

Hawaiian-style drawings of Stitch and Lilo were featured on column supports and trash cans throughout the exhibit.

Upstairs in the "Big Kahuna" section was a huge gallery of Elvis memorabilia. Said to be the largest collection outside of Graceland, items such as movie posters, gold records and Elvis' motorcycle were on display.

This is a close up of one of Elvis' concert jumpsuits that became synonymous with Mr. Presley.

Also on the "Big Kahuna" level was a fun game called, "Stitch's Rocket Rescue Challenge." Here, a "Lilo" team competes head-to-head with a "Stitch" team. Each team member loads a rubber ball, which is supposed to represent Lilo in a capsule, onto a rocket ship and tries to deliver the capsule to safety across a chasm. But watch out for Galatic Federation ships that will knock the capsule to the floor if you aren't careful.

On display in the "Viva Hawaii" room of the Surf's Up level was Elvis' red MG from the movie Blue Hawaii

Games such as "Stitch's Tiki Toss" challenged guests throughout the exhibit. This game was similar to Skee-Ball though the object was to toss balls into the top of each of these three tikis with openings of various widths.

Live Polynesian shows took place on a stage on the "Surf's Up" level in the "Viva Hawaii" room. Dancers showed guests how to hula while a live band played.

Lilo and Stitch were available for photographs with visitors to the Hawaiian Beach Party. The two rotated after a short amount of time and during these transitions, you might have a chance to get a photo with both characters at once. Lilo was popular but Stitch dresses as Elvis seemed to be even more popular.

This is a picture of Kathy and me giving big shaka signs to our parents. Photo kiosks were all over the entertainment center where you could email a picture postcard to whomever you wished.

Other adventures included:

Upon entering the Entertainment Center, guests could ride the waves in the "Paradise Cove" section. Mounting a surfboard, kids of all ages could catch a wave by moving around and trying to successfully navigate the curls by playing an interactive video game.

There was also a special "Graceland" section where a full-size replica of Elvis' residence's gate served as a photo location. Other Elvis memorabilia was on display and guests could hop on computer kiosks to take a virtual tour of Graceland.

On a lower level, the "Beach Level," various arts and craft projects, video game demonstrations and other interactive displays were available to guests of all ages. Among the highlights were stations to make a paper flower lei and an Elvis-style shirt collar.

The funhouse is included with the admission to Lilo & Stitch showing at the El Capitan.

- Story and Photos by Matthew Walker
Posted

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