EPCOT LOVERS!!!! WEIRD Rumor

[Planogirl]

I can't see animatronics ever being outdated. As a matter of fact, they've become rather rare at WDW which is a shame.

I hope that they update the end of the ride and refurbish the ride system but otherwise leave Spaceship Earth alone. Personally, I'm tired of Epcot stomach churners and don't feel like one is needed in SE.

 

[mitros]

You mean the replacement for Ice Station Cool? When did that open, and have you been inside? We were there a week and a half ago, and it was not open.

stemikger: besides the supposed interference with the integrety of the overall ride building, it was also stated that they would have had to have added a larger section to the base of the building which would have effectively closed off the left hand side of the SSE walkway into the rest of the park. This was if they were going to attempt to change SSE to a thrill ride, I believe, "Time Racers" was what it is/was called. They apparentley, according to what I have read and heard, would have needed that extra building as a "launch" area for the ride.

 

[dbm20th]

Like some of the others said, the lines are not that long because of the loading. It is always moving, there for it is always loading. And as far as it not being popular, Spaceship Earth has the highest attendance rate out of all the rides at Disney World

This may be true, but do you honestly think that people are coming to EPCOT to ride SE? Do you think after they leave that people are going home remebering SE as their EPCOT experience?

While all of this may be disputed, and like I said I love SE and don't want it to change, the facts are simple. SE is prime real estate for WDW, and I don't think anyone can argue that it is making them the kind of money and attracting the kind of attention that a structure like that has the potential to do.

 

[2Xited4Disney]

If any construction is planned ANYWHERE in EPCOT then I believe they will break ground very soon that way EPCOT may have a new attraction in time for their 25th anniversary (OCT 2007)

 

[cree]

This may be true, but do you honestly think that people are coming to EPCOT to ride SE? Do you think after they leave that people are going home remebering SE as their EPCOT experience?

Actually, yes and yes. This sort of going off on a tangent, here, but I was honestly disappointed with EPCOT when my wife and I were there a few weeks back. My family was there the first week EPCOT was open, and for years after we all loved going there. Sure, Universe of Energy was changed, but the general message was still there (though, while I do enjoy Ellen, I wish she was not a part of the ride). The point of the rides, as someone previously mentioned, was to educate in some fashion, even Journey Into Imagination, though not really "educational," at least showed the value of imagination.
And so, I was excited about getting to visit EPCOT. The travesty that is the Imagination Institute was, well, it feels very thrown together, down to the lobby area; the ride itself feels fairly uninteresting, which is disappointing because it's supposed to promote imagination. Soarin is fun, but we didn't feel like waiting in a line to go through it again. Test Track is a convenient excuse for a thrill ride. With people vomiting and dying at Mission Space, we decided to pass. And Living Seas was closed.
So, we rode Spaceship Earth numerous times. It feels (I don't know if this is right word exactly, but) wholesome. It doesn't feel like it's a ride been made over to cover up a mistake (Imagination) and it doesn't feel like a ride that has been added to grab the thrill-seeking crowd (Mission Space, Test Track) that, I assume, is torn between WDW and the wasteland of coasters just down the road.
Spaceship Earth's track could be smoothed out a little, but I feel like a ride overhaul would push EPCOT even closer in value to the mismanaged Disney MGM (which, let's all be honest, was far better about a decade ago).
Sorry for the rant, but when I get to the highest point in the ride and see the Earth projected high above my head, I turn into a five year old.

 

[ChrisFL]

I don't want to see SE changed, I have to defend Test Track here, it IS an educational ride about how cars are created and also how they handle in emergency situations (and I wish people on I-4 knew that too!).

Ok so Im half joking on that point, but when you think of the sponsorships that Epcot was losing due to various reasons, Test Track is much more a GM ride than World of Motion was.

Also, what is this "wasteland of coasters" you refer to?

 

[erikthewise]

Epcot is my favorite park, and Spaceship Earth is still my favorite ride in it.

I love Test Track and Mission Space, not because they're thrill rides, but because they're well-themed and exciting. And I'm sure I'll enjoy Soarin' too. But Epcot does not need another "thrill ride". It needs to maintain the balance between slow rides and fast rides, and SSE is essential to maintaining that balance.

SSE is not just about communications, it's about the history and future of human civilization. If that's not good enough for you, you're in the wrong park. Get your rear end over to Universal.

 

[padams]

We went to Epcot on the Tues. before Thanksgiving (last week) and SE had a 20 minute wait.

The post-ride exhibit area was closed off, so I bet that the rumored "renovation" is that area.

 

[mitros]

Actually, that area has been walled off for some time now.

 

[manning]

I think it hasn't been too long ago that the ride was renovated.

 

[jimmiej]

Epcot is my favorite park, and Spaceship Earth is still my favorite ride in it.

 

[DREAMFINDER21]

I say leave it alone, or at least put it back to the original version with Walter Kronkite as narrator and "Tomorrow's Child" as the theme song.

COuld not agree with you more!!!!! i was so disappointed when they changed that.

 

[CJK]

#1, I don't believe they'd EVER take the sphere down, it's like taking down Cinderella's Castle, it's THE icon of the park

#2, the thrill ride idea apparently was legitimate, until it was in the news (IIRC) that the Spaceship Earth ride is part of the support of the building, so it would be very difficult or nearly impossible to "rip out" the current ride.

As for my own thoughts, I think Spaceship Earth is probably the only remaining truly educational Epcot attraction and I don't want to see it gone. We no longer have Horizons, World of Motion, or Journey into Imagination (the original)

I DO want to see if they could rehab it to make it smoother, the bumps and creaks really give away the age of the ride.

I agree with everything you said!

 

[willis37862]

How about not the sphere, not the ride, just the wand and hand? That would be nice.

I'll vote for that!!

 

[searchdisney]

I've heard about Siemens and all that info is public now.

 

[Joe&Peg]

Like Cree, I rode SE for the first time on Preview night before the official Grand Opening of EPCOT. Unlike Cree, I have been on SE regularly ever since.

I'm 6'5" and the speaker in the headrest hits me mid back so I have to scoot down in the seat so that my back doesn't muffle the speaker. When I rode it last month, it seemed as if they had decreased the volume in the car, so that it was hard to hear. If they do any renovations, I would love to see some sort of alternative sound system.

Things I would change:

1) the weird little Roman chariot projection.
2) the initial ascent segment.
3) the internal sound system (see above)
4) the end segment where there are 9 examples of televisual conferencing.

Things I would never change:
1) the earth-in-space dome segment.
2) the animatronics
3) the air conditioning

BTW: I also am all in favor of losing the wand and the hand. I'll never forget the first time I saw the sphere at night. It was one of the most magical moments I've ever had at Disney.

 

[deerh]

I think the ride is great! It is a NICE PLACE to take a NAP!! I did this over Thanksgiving 2005!!! So leave the ride, just put pillows in each car!!

DeerH

 

[SnackyStacky]

Things I would change:

1) the weird little Roman chariot projection.
2) the initial ascent segment.
3) the internal sound system (see above)
4) the end segment where there are 9 examples of televisual conferencing.

For some reason I LOVE number 1!!!!! That's the only thing I disagree with you about!

 

[OhMari]

I rode the ride at peak Season during Easter Break. The ride was a walk-on all day. When we rode it, it broke down 3 times. Maybe it needs a new track.

 

[Harmony272]

When I visited Disney in January 2004 our tour guide for Keys to the Kingdom mentioned they were thinking about changing spaceship earth to a thrill ride which possible would somehow go inside and outside around the ball.