Spaceship Earth Changing?

[4forthemouse]

I'm new to this forum, so sorry if this is old information. We were at WDW last week and were told by a castmember that Spaceship Earth was going to be changed after this year. Is this true?? If so what are they changing it into? I don't know the general consensus on Spaceship Earth but my family LOVES it, so I was unhappy to hear this. Would someone catch me up to speed? I am hoping this is just rumor, but fear it's not.

 

[stemikger]

I heard a coaster of some kind. But then I heard the structure would not work with a coaster. I love this ride to, but I went on it so many times last year, because there was never a line, after a while, I had no desire to see it again. Maybe a change would be good.

 

[Luckymommyx2]

My DS loves this ride and made my DH ride it two or three times on our last trip. We have to ride it once every trip~~sorta' some weird tradition. I'm not sure if I'd really like to see it changed.

 

[rocketriter]

There's still a lot to like about the ride--one of the last informational rides left of the "old" Epcot. However, handicap access laws have pretty much destroyed it, anyway. It wasn't designed with a decent way to get someone out of a wheelchair and into one of its cars without stopping the ride, so it "freezes" over and over, breaking the spell.

 

[marypops!]

i don't want it changing
i've heard that it's the most popular ride in disney (also one of the most popular in the world)
why change it if it's the most popular ride? why why?

 

[rwodonnell]

i don't want it changing
i've heard that it's the most popular ride in disney (also one of the most popular in the world)
why change it if it's the most popular ride? why why?

Where did you hear that? Not saying it CAN'T be true, but it would shock me if it really is the most popular ride at Disney. Judging by anecdotal factors such as lines, it's not even the most popular ride at Epcot. Perhaps it has a high capacity, and thus puts more people through? I dunno...

 

[4forthemouse]

We were told by a CM who had worked at Spaceship Earth for years that Buzz Lightyear Ride was #1 and Spaceship Earth was #2 in numbers of people who ride each year due to the rides being continuously in motion - not just at WDW but anywhere.

 

[DC7800]

Where did you hear that? Not saying it CAN'T be true, but it would shock me if it really is the most popular ride at Disney. Judging by anecdotal factors such as lines, it's not even the most popular ride at Epcot. Perhaps it has a high capacity, and thus puts more people through? I dunno...

Depends on how you define most popular. If you're referring to the attraction that individuals appreciate the most, then it's true for me and a lot of other people, but then every ride in WDW would be somebody's favorite. If you instead mean the attraction which daily averages the most riders, then Spaceship Earth would indeed be at or near the top of a very short list of most "popular" attractions - those with the highest hourly capacities.

Queue line length has little or nothing to do with how popular a given attraction is, nor is it even good evidence as to how many people actually visit the attraction. All it tells you is how long you have to wait to ride. One high capacity (typically omnimover) attraction, such as Spaceship Earth, sees more visitors (hence, more popular) even when its a walk-on than Space Mountain does with a two-hour wait (so long as every ride vehicle is loaded). Its a matter of capacity, not how long the wait is.

 

[grinningghost]

This rumor has been going around since I started coming to the DIS boards. So far nothing has ever happened with it.

For me, I wish they would leave it alone. I like it. Every ride doesn't have to be a thrill ride. If they were to change every continuous motion ride, then we would have to lose some real gems like Peter Pan's Flight, Haunted Mansion and Buzz Lightyear. I don't see that as a good reason.

 

[MitchK]

I love spaceship earth. I make my girlfriend ride it at least 4 times a visit. The ride is a classic, and I have never waited more than 5 min to board. I heard a rumor a while back that they were thinking about turning it in to two new rides in one, but the ride system helps support the structure. So I don't think they realy have any opitions, but to keep it the way it is. It repsents what Epcot once was. It truely is the last of its kind.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Knowing Disney they'd love to change Spaceship Earth into a thrill ride--if only they could. I'm hoping they can't, and am counting on Spaceship Earth being there (in it's current form) for quite awhile.

Actually, it has changed a bit since it was opened. They had Walter Cronkite doing the narration ("Behold-the Sistine Chapel"), who was world's better than the monotone, uninspired guy they have now. And "Tomorrows Child" used to be the music they played as you came down from the top. Now it's some "noise".

 

[ChrisFL]

I've been going on Spaceship Earth since I was a about 4 years old and it has changed slightly several times and had a major overhaul at least once. I still love it, though I agree that Walter Cronkite's voice was better than the current one (which everyone says is Jeremy Irons)

The only downside of it, and has always been is the roughness of the vehicles, how they "bump" every few seconds.

Tomorrow's Child was not originally played on the ride either IIRC, it was added later, then taken out again.

I was there so early after it was built, I remember how after you finish the ride and your vehicle turns around, they had an employee MANUALLY turning each car...seriously

 

[Mickmse2002]

I like it just the way it is, a great place to nap on a hot August afternoon.

 

[rwodonnell]

Depends on how you define most popular. If you're referring to the attraction that individuals appreciate the most, then it's true for me and a lot of other people, but then every ride in WDW would be somebody's favorite. If you instead mean the attraction which daily averages the most riders, then Spaceship Earth would indeed be at or near the top of a very short list of most "popular" attractions - those with the highest hourly capacities.

Queue line length has little or nothing to do with how popular a given attraction is, nor is it even good evidence as to how many people actually visit the attraction. All it tells you is how long you have to wait to ride. One high capacity (typically omnimover) attraction, such as Spaceship Earth, sees more visitors (hence, more popular) even when its a walk-on than Space Mountain does with a two-hour wait (so long as every ride vehicle is loaded). Its a matter of capacity, not how long the wait is.

I agree that it is difficult to define "most popular". I think that it should certainly NOT be equated with actual visitors, though, as some high capacity attractions are visited simply because there is no line by at least some percentage of the visitors. For example, I personally have little interest in SSE. Do I ride it each time I go? Usually, yes, because I can walk right on, there is little investment. If I had to wait even 15 minutes, forget it! (Unless someone else in my party really wanted to ride it, I suppose...) Same goes for a lot of the shows - "hey look, it's starting, there's room, let's go".

That said, it would be very interesting to see the capacity for each ride and show and the actual number of riders/attenders. Anyone know if that data is published? I know Disney is pretty secretive about attendance data, do they publish this kind of data?

 

[raidermatt]

I don't think I've ever seen that kind of thing published. Capacities are available on some web sites, but not the actual ridership. You might get some anecdotal data from CMs, or those who have spoken with CMs, but that's about it.

Do I ride it each time I go? Usually, yes, because I can walk right on, there is little investment. If I had to wait even 15 minutes, forget it!

That's probably a valid point, and should be a consideration if they ever do decide to change SE to a different ride mech.

I still love it, though I agree that Walter Cronkite's voice was better than the current one (which everyone says is Jeremy Irons)

I think Irons does a great job. Imho of course.

The only think that bothers me is the new safety warnings they added a year or two ago. They're distracting and overkill.

 

[scottrob]

I too wish they would bring Mr. Cronkite back.

 

[rayelias]

What I REALLY miss, is at the very top, right before the decent, remember how they had the miniature modern city all lit up? It was like you were flying in space looking down on a city of the future. It was a great climax to the ride. Now it's just blank - nothing.

 

[roymccoy]

Maybe the CM's are confusing the departure of AT&T as a sponser as a "change" to SSE or maybe there is a new sponser coming in and that's the change. I know that the building that you exit into used to have a lot of telecommunication exhibits and now it is empty. Maybe something will be going in there.


Roy

 

[WDWHound]

What I REALLY miss, is at the very top, right before the decent, remember how they had the miniature modern city all lit up? It was like you were flying in space looking down on a city of the future. It was a great climax to the ride. Now it's just blank - nothing.

I thought that was the World of Motion, but I could be wrong. I do know that your attention is supposed to be drawn to the projection of the earth at that point.

 

[mitros]

Rumors about changes to SE have been going on for some time. They spoke of doing a ride called Time Racers, but that was supposedly tabled because it would have required adding on a huge new building to the ride, along the left hand side of the "golf ball" as you enter the park {at least that would have made them remove that hideous magic wand} to facilitate a launcing area for the new ride which was a thrill ride. It was also said that the structure itself would not support a thrill ride, with all of the vibrations and such. So that was supposed to be one of the reasons for the change of heart on that one. They have also been refurbishing the scences one at a time, so you wouldn't think that they would be doing that if they planned to rip the guts out of the thing for a new ride. The last rumor I heard was that they were going to do a scaled down version of Time Racers, which actually would be some sort of simulated ride, sort of like the stuff in Disney Quest, that would be installed at the end of the ride, in the space that is empty now. Of course, with the exception of the scene refurbishing, which has been going on already, everything else is just rumor, of course. And as usual with Disney, it is hard to beleive anything until you see it with your own eyes.