* * *Major News* * * about Epcot's Spaceship Earth

[MickeyMoper]

Hello DisBoarders , I was just at Disneyworld in January and when I was in line for Spaceship Earth, I overheard a conversation between Disney Officals and they said that Spaceship Earth was going to be completly "gutted" out and a RollerCoaster was going to be put inside of the Epcot Ball. I don't know when this is happening, but don't you think we should try to do something about it.

Stop Taking Away All Our Classic Rides!!!

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Hello DisBoarders, I was just at Disneyworld in January and when I was in line for Spaceship earth I overheard a conversation between disney officals and they said that Spaceship earth was going to be completly gutted out and a rollercoaster was going to be put inside of the Epcot Ball.

This is not ***Major News***. And it's not even true.

A rumor, which I believe to be true, is that some years ago Disney Imagineering drew up plans for "Time Racers," a thrill ride, in the Spaceship Earth structure. But that project was never funded.

I doubt those people were "Disney officials." More likely, they were uninformed Disney cast members repeating an old story.

The real story is that Siemens AG will sponsor Spaceship Earth for twelve years. Here's the November 8, 2005, press release from Sylvania, a part of Siemens AG. Siemens AG will update Spaceship Earth.

 

[WdWFan72]

Spaceship Mountain being gutted is as dumb as saying they are going to demolish the castle in MK. You can believe everything you overhear. You should also not post everything you over hear. Hey, Thanks for the ***MAJOR NEWS*** anyway.

Thanks
WDWFAN72

 

[RescueRanger]

Spaceship Mountain being gutted is as dumb as saying they are going to demolish the castle in MK. You can believe everything you overhear. You should also not post everything you over hear. Hey, Thanks for the ***MAJOR NEWS*** anyway.

Thanks
WDWFAN72

Not as dumb as calling Spaceship Earth, Spaceship Mountain.

 

[sanfran22]

i think this was a topic when i was around 10....i thought i heard that spaceship earths structure could never hold any type of thrill ride...that being said, i highly doubt they would tear it down and rebui ld....

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

You should also not post everything you over hear.

I disagree. I think it's fun to hear what rumors cast member are spreading.

It's a good idea not to believe everything one overhears, and it's a good idea not to call it "news." But there's nothing wrong with repeating a story and identifying the circumstances under which it was told.

Spaceship Mountain being gutted is as dumb as saying they are going to demolish the castle in MK.

Let's start a new rumor based on this thread... "To save operating costs, Space Mountain and Spaceship Earth are being combined into a single attraction called Spaceship Mountain."

 

[jeanylaser]

i think that spaceship earth will stay it is. but i think the end needs to change.

 

[WdWFan72]

You really are a RescueRanger. All you did was point out my typo. All did was stress my dislike for the *** NON NEWS***. All this guy did was post something he overheard. If I posted every thing a bus driver told me you would think I was crazy and post padding. Similar to Waht MickeyMoper is doing. I love Disney like the rest of us but, i just feel this is trying to pad his post count.

 

[mytwotinks]

You really are a RescueRanger. All you did was point out my typo. All did was stress my dislike for the *** NON NEWS***. All this guy did was post something he overheard. If I posted every thing a bus driver told me you would think I was crazy and post padding. Similar to Waht MickeyMoper is doing. I love Disney like the rest of us but, i just feel this is trying to pad his post count.

Wow! You are taking this one pretty personally. Maybe we need to remember that not every poster has a phd in Disney. Lighten up.

 

[RescueRanger]

You really are a RescueRanger. All you did was point out my typo. All did was stress my dislike for the *** NON NEWS***. All this guy did was post something he overheard. If I posted every thing a bus driver told me you would think I was crazy and post padding. Similar to Waht MickeyMoper is doing. I love Disney like the rest of us but, i just feel this is trying to pad his post count.

Yep, I pointed it out because your post was rude and uncalled for. Just thought I would give you a little taste of your own medicine.

 

[Another Voice]

This "rumor" has more basis in fact than most of the other stuff posted on this board. In fact it almost happened.

Replacing the 'Spaceship Earth' showride with a thrill ride is/was a very serious plan for a long time in hopes of luring a sponsor for the pavilion. Because of its location Disney just shut down SE (like 'Wonders of Life') or let it rot in place (like they did with 'The Living Seas' for a decade). The desire for a thrill ride also came from Disney's desire to make Epcot more "cooler, hipper and edgier" - in other words, dumbed down.

If one listens to the whispers, a lot of engineering work was done to see if a pre-fab rollercoaster could be fitted inside the sphere (with some high speed loops outside). It was possible - but very expensive. No takers were found for the concept and so Disney offered up a cheaper rehab of 'Spaceship Earth'. The rest is history.

Sad as it is, theme park cast members are the very last people to ever here what's going on. And by the time any news has filtered down to that level it's gone through so many lips that the rumor is entirely different than the fact that started it. Still, that doesn't mean what a cast member hears is necessarily wrong or outdated.

That's why places like this exist.

 

[yensiD naF]

Hey MickeyMoper;

Welcome to the Dissboards. I hope you have a thick skin because you are going to need it. You started an innocent thread, and look what you got in return;

This is not ***Major News***. And it's not even true.

from Horace Horsecallar

You should also not post everything you over hear. Hey, Thanks for the ***MAJOR NEWS*** anyway.

from WdWfan72

I love Disney like the rest of us but, i just feel this is trying to pad his post count.

also from WdWfan72

What's really fun is when they turn away from you and attack eachother;

Wow! You are taking this one pretty personally. Maybe we need to remember that not every poster has a phd in Disney. Lighten up.

from mytwotinks

Yep, I pointed it out because your post was rude and uncalled for. Just thought I would give you a little taste of your own medicine.

from ResuceRanger

This is the home for Disney bloviating at it's best. You have entered a sort of Twilight Zone where the guests prey on eachother. It's like cannibalism, only dressed up in the love of all things DIS. If you post something that is unpopular to the DISNIOTS (heaven forbid, such as an opposing viewpoint) you will be eaten alive.

Basically, you have signed up for a view of the ugly side of Disney Fandom. If you're smart, you will just view these posts tongue in cheek and only post or reply rarely. You might look like an even bigger loser if your post count gets into the thousands.

Again, welcome to the Diss.
(ok everyone, please attack me now)

 

[WdWFan72]

As I stated earlier I Love Disney just like every one else on the mesageboard. I'm sorry rescueranger, i should of showed you more respect and i respect your opinion. I just was upset that MickeyMoper was posting what he overheard someone say. We don't even know if the person he overheard worked for Disney.

 

[Linzybrooke]

This is the home for Disney bloviating at it's best. You have entered a sort of Twilight Zone where the guests prey on eachother. It's like cannibalism, only dressed up in the love of all things DIS. If you post something that is unpopular to the DISNIOTS (heaven forbid, such as an opposing viewpoint) you will be eaten alive.

Basically, you have signed up for a view of the ugly side of Disney Fandom. If you're smart, you will just view these posts tongue in cheek and only post or reply rarely. You might look like an even bigger loser if your post count gets into the thousands.

Again, welcome to the Diss.
(ok everyone, please attack me now)

Right On!!!!!! Couldn't have said it better myself; especially on this particular board.

Plus, isn't the definition of a rumor repeating something you overheard and don't know to be true? Isn't that what this board is about?

You just have to take the "holier than thou" attitudes and laugh, which can sometimes be hard to do when they are personally and vindictively directed at you for stating your own opinion, no matter how polite you state it.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Plus, isn't the definition of a rumor repeating something you overheard and don't know to be true? Isn't that what this board is about?

Yes. That is the definition of a rumor. However, the OP claimed to be posting news.

Any rumor that is posted here is fair game is for discussion. (After all, this is a discussion board.) That discussion can involve opinions about the likelihood that a rumor has substance, or factual information and personal insight that may or may not support a rumor. And if someone claims that something is not just a rumor, but actual news, then it's fair to apply a higher standard.

What's interesting to me is that those who engaged in discussion were called DISNIOTS with "'holier than thou' attitudes." Yes, we can all choose our words more carefully, and post with a bit more diplomacy. And that also applies to those who choose not to engage in actual discussion of the topic, but to attack those who do.

 

[dbm20th]

There is something here that I don't get, and maybe you guys can explain it to me. I have been on these rides a million times, and I am sure most posters on this board have as well. Why do we not get excited about the possibility of incredible, new things, but instead whine that they are taking away "classics"?

I love SE, just like everyone else, but to me Imagineering is what makes this place amazing and stand out from the crowd. They want to put a roller coaster in that thing! How cool would that be? Why am I the only one that thinks that? I don't care if it is a roller coaster or an AA ride. It's new and that is exciting.

 

[WdWFan72]

The idea of a Rollercoaster in spaceship earth would be cool. But, it would never happen. Spaceship earth serves a prupose, it is a ride with very little wait, it shows the progression of man, and is a classic. This is an non topic. It never going to be torn down or gutted.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

The idea of a Rollercoaster in spaceship earth would be cool. But, it would never happen. Spaceship earth serves a prupose, it is a ride with very little wait, it shows the progression of man, and is a classic. This is an non topic. It never going to be torn down or gutted.

I'm not so sure it could never happen.

Please take another look at what Another Voice wrote earlier in this thread. If Siemens or another corporation with deep pockets had been willing to write a check for several dozen million dollars, Spaceship Earth could have become Time Racers.

Now there's a 12-year sponsorship contract with Siemens AG. That might mean that Spaceship Earth will remain a family AA ride — ideally a much improved family AA ride with a new ending. But there's always the possibility that Siemens or a future sponsor (or Disney themselves) will come up with the funding to gut Spaceship Earth for a thrill ride.

Unfortunately, saying that an attraction is "a ride with very little wait" is another way of saying the ride is not particularly popular anymore, and operates below its capacity for much of the day. Horizons and World of Motion were also rides "with very little wait."

There's a place for thrill rides in the Disney parks. Thrill rides are popular and they produce good ridership numbers. They're more "repeatable" than rides that tell stories and much more "repeatable" than movies.

However, thrill rides only serve a certain percentage of guests. I have no idea if the percentage is higher or lower than 50%. Keep in mind that younger children, guests confined to wheelchairs, many older guests, any guests with medical conditions listed on the warning, and anybody who just doesn't like thrill rides cannot or will not ride on thrill rides.

There's a danger in replacing too many family rides with thrill rides. Disney parks need to appeal to multi-generational families. If Dad no longer finds Epcot appealing because Future World has turned into a glorified Six Flags park, why would Dad want to spend lots of money on Disney hotels, theme park tickets, restaurants, and souvenirs?

 

[ChrisFL]

Unfortunately, saying that an attraction is "a ride with very little wait" is another way of saying the ride is not particularly popular anymore, and operates below its capacity for much of the day. Horizons and World of Motion were also rides "with very little wait."

Actually, a low wait time was the way those attractions were DESIGNED, it has nothing to do with the popularity of the ride. The vehicles in all rides you mentioned are continuously moving...the same with Imagination and the old sea cabs in the Living Seas...they do not stop to load and unload guests, therefore the wait times go significantly down.

So basically you can't use that to determine the popularity of those types of rides

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Actually, a low wait time was the way those attractions were DESIGNED, it has nothing to do with the popularity of the ride. The vehicles in all rides you mentioned are continuously moving...the same with Imagination and the old sea cabs in the Living Seas...they do not stop to load and unload guests, therefore the wait times go significantly down.

So basically you can't use that to determine the popularity of those types of rides

I agree that hourly ride capacity is a major factor in wait time. A high capacity attraction, when filling that capacity, is serving a vast number of guests each day, even though the wait time is minimal.

However, during the final years of Horizons, when it was a favorite of my children (and we rode it many times), I doubt the ride was filling 5% of the available seats. During our last few rides on World of Motion, we felt we had the ride to ourselves.