Rain at Epcot - Spaceship earth

[ranman1]

Has anyone noticed when it is raining at Epcot, that Spaceship Earth does not "pour" water off its sides? It seems like a sphere like that would gush water over the edge right onto the pathways around the structure. Is it magic?

 

[JDUCKY]

It was designed to collect the rain so people walking under it don't get drenched. The water drains to the lagoon.

 

[DISHoppy]

It was designed to collect the rain so people walking under it don't get drenched. The water drains to the lagoon.

Correct. There are channels that funnel the water to the lagoon. It was also designed with help from MIT so that it wouldn't become a wind tunnel in storms. One of the more interesting topics in the Modern Marvels episode for Walt Disney World. A must see 'documentary'.

-Kevin

 

[Golf4food]

They collect it to fill the tub in the scene with the Phoenecians so the boat can keep floating.

 

[derekw]

Was there last week and waiting in line for it to open @9am...so was checking out the dome and the panels are not completely connected as there is small space (inch or two) in between where water can flow down into the interior superstructure and be funneled away. As to wind tunnel it sure felt like it the day we were there. A fairly strong breeze that morning and it definitely picks up under the dome!

 

[LockShockBarrel]

Ignore everyone. It's magic.

 

[peabody58]

DW and I took the UnDiscovered Future World tour last Sept and the guide gave us a lot of great info on the Spaceship earth design, including the rain collection features. As an engineering geek, I found it very interesting. I'd share the real design secrets with you, but then under the terms of the tour, I'd have to kill you (and worse yet, give back our tour pin)!

So all I can say is: Disney Magic.

 

[viking042900]

Actually, it's just so freakin' hot that the water evaporates off before it has time to fall off the sphere.

 

[Eeyore's Pal]

Actually, it's just so freakin' hot that the water evaporates off before it has time to fall off the sphere.

Now this explanation is believable!

 

[yfchen22]

I go with "magic". It's funny I never thought about that issue after being at Epcot more than 20 times.

 

[Andrea464]

Actually, it all pools up over by the guest relations building- 3 inches of water during a downpour! Ponchos did nothing for soaked tennis shoes!
And it leaks. We were on the ride when the downpour started. We were at the top, where you turn around, I was looking up and was hit with several drops of water. I know that's not enough to get into a fuss about, but it just concerned me that there was water getting in somewhere! I did let someone know, he looked at me like I was crazy, and then I swam to the bus.

 

[Bullseye]

Correct. There are channels that funnel the water to the lagoon. It was also designed with help from MIT so that it wouldn't become a wind tunnel in storms. One of the more interesting topics in the Modern Marvels episode for Walt Disney World. A must see 'documentary'.

-Kevin

Kevin, you're absolutely right about the Modern Marvels documentary. Some fascinating things in it about WDW.

 

[snowy76]

and then I swam to the bus.

 

[MommytoaSweetie]

Correct. There are channels that funnel the water to the lagoon. It was also designed with help from MIT so that it wouldn't become a wind tunnel in storms. One of the more interesting topics in the Modern Marvels episode for Walt Disney World. A must see 'documentary'.

-Kevin

What is a Modern Marvels documentary? Is it on TV so I could Tivo it?

 

[cbg1027]

What is a Modern Marvels documentary? Is it on TV so I could Tivo it?

Modern Marvels is a show on the History Channel. So you can Tivo it if you get the History Channel. But you have to find when they will run the Disney World episode again, it's just one of the many topics they've covered.

 

[DISHoppy]

What is a Modern Marvels documentary? Is it on TV so I could Tivo it?

As the PP noted, it's a History Channel show that goes over the history of WED and WDW. It was recently updated, but it hasn't been on for quite awhile. It's highly recommended, as it gets into much of the imageneering involved with building the parks and many attractions. The original version is available on DVD. You can rent it on Netflix...I ended up purchasing it for ~$16 on Amazon. I think I wore out the HD on my old ReplayTV watching it over and over. Oh, and for finding WDW related shows on TV weekly, try http://www.bartlett-sloan.net/tv. I signed up for the newsletter, so I get a weekly update on what's on the toob w/o searching for it on our Tivo.

-Kevin

 

[DISHoppy]

As to wind tunnel it sure felt like it the day we were there. A fairly strong breeze that morning and it definitely picks up under the dome!

Yeah, I think they mitigated the effects as best they could, but me thinks it would be nearly impossible to make wind tunnel proof. Keep in mind this was late-70s/early 80s engineering.

-Kevin

 

[disneymomtofour]

I found this on Google Videos. Is this the Modern Marvels documentary? http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5849162633884850206#

 

[DISHoppy]

I found this on Google Videos. Is this the Modern Marvels documentary? http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5849162633884850206#

Yup. But it looks better on a bigger screen.

-Kevin

 

[itchyb]

I could be wrong, but I believe I read/saw somewhere, that the water collects between the panels and is actually funneled through the legs of it.