FYI ...AT&T has decided

[JDH]

to no longer sponsor Spaceship Earth at EPCOT and Inoventions at Disneyland. Citing that these sponsorships no longer meet the needs of their business employess will no longer have access to special hospitality areas or discounted tickets associated with these two attractions.

 

[Rajah]

That has been rumored for SE for a few months now, and part of the argument for them changing it.

I hadn't heard about them pulling out of DL's Innoventions as well, though.

 

[Mskanga]

And I have decided that their services stink and I no longer need them so I'm cancelling my cell phones with them and getting verizon instead.

 

[Blondie]

So does that mean the ride shuts down?

 

[Boots]

Wonder why?

 

[WDWHound]

The ride will stay up for now, but there are other rumors that Microsoft will be picking up the sponsorship and that in a couple of years the ride will be replaced with (you guessed it) a coaster based thrill ride or a simulator based ride inside the sphere.

 

[zurgswife]

I dumped AT & T a few years ago cause the didn't meet my needs and I never had access to there hospitality area and discount tickets....I guess all is right in the world....

 

[Lanshark]

Please say it isn't so. I love the smell of Rome Burning. If Microsoft takes over the smell with be replaced with the smell of systems crashing.

 

[Buschfan]

AT&T used to be a great company. This is just another sign of their decline. I can only hope some of my former co-workers will have their jobs saved from AT&T's constant restructures because of this savings.

 

[olena]

LOL, Lanshark!!!!!

Maybe they should take over Tower of Terror instead.

 

[mickeyfan1]

There go my 12 percent discount tickets. There are many many many AT&T employees like me who hate to see this happen. And we have been told 3500 of us will loose our jobs by the middle of the year. Unfortunately, AT&T tried to be all things to all people, insead of just being the best at what we were the best at - long distance and private line. In the last year we have spun of Wireless (I don't even use them, I always have had Verizon), and AT&T Comcast (our foray into Cable TV), but it's still gonna be a long time before things really turn around. AT&T still sponsors the Pebble Beach Open golf tournament, and we have a Lotus race car that is on the European circuit, but I can't get a ticket to Pebble Beach and I certainly can't see or ride in the race car. SSE was alwas a jewel in our sponsorship crown, but I suppose since it was seen by millions of people, it wasn't worth the $ to renew.....(she said, dripping with SARCASM). I only hope that who ever takes it over makes it something everyone can enjoy, I love coasters myself, but how many rides with height resritictions can WDW bear? Soon the "kiddie" rides will be all that's left for families, I think it's sad.

 

[Liz]

Turning Spaceship Earth into a roller coaster or simulator ride would be nothing short of tragic.

 

[ead79]

That's sad. Spaceship Earth is actually my favorite attraction at WDW, and I don't ride any sort of thrill rides (motion sickness), so I would hate to see it turned into a thrill ride. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that if they do change it (which I sincerely hope they don't), they keep it as a slow moving attraction.

 

[Jeff in BigD]

Double post

 

[Jeff in BigD]

Although Spaceship Earth is far from my favorite ride, I don't mlike this move because of what it represents - another nail in the coffin of non-thrill dark rides that last longer than 3 minutes.

Does anyone really believe that a ride like Haunted Mansion or Pirates would be built these days?