Spaceship Earth: Is the current version a bust?

[mydisneyobsession]

I liked the old version, but I also like the new one just fine. I really enjoy the whole experience!

 

[larryz]

I think it needs something -- maybe a big, blue hat draped over the ball...

 

[larryz]

I don't need to get used to the touch screens. I don't like them. I usually ride alone, that means it isn't as fun to use them. I rode Spaceship Earth to take a break and look at the dioramas, not to play a computer game. They could provide something to look at for those who don't want to play the computer game. It is fun the first couple times but doesn't really lend itself to repeated use.

You can always shift from one side of the seat to the other, and change your expression so the camera captures two faces to use in the animation...

Or pick a language you don't understand, and try to figure out what they're saying as the ride goes on...

 

[jimmiej]

After the refurb, SE slipped from the top spot in my favorite WDW attractions. I miss Jeremy Irons!

 

[blestmom]

Disney didn't like it when adults talked down to kids and that was a part of his magic - most adults talked down to kids back then, but he didn't.

That's a very good point.

 

[Safari Queen]

Am I the only one who expected the refurb to smooth out the ride? I also loved Walter Cronkite but I've been okay with the updates. I just wish it didn't still feel like a cog railway with a bad cog!

 

[seashoreCM]

Take the "your future" video game out of the second half of the ride, put the exhibits back into the second half of the ride, and put kiosks for the video game down in the rotunda just past the ride exit.

 

[FirstMagic]

I miss beholding the majesty of the Sistine Chapel with Walter Cronkite.

 

[TDC Nala]

You can always shift from one side of the seat to the other, and change your expression so the camera captures two faces to use in the animation...

Or pick a language you don't understand, and try to figure out what they're saying as the ride goes on...

I duck under the seat so it doesn't take my photo at all and just let the Esurance people do the video. And I play it back in Japanese. I still don't want to interact with it on every single ride. I feel like I need to bring in a book to read on the descent now. I rode that thing to sit back, relax and look at stuff. And someone else was right, it used to be much cooler in there.

 

[nooneshome]

I like the new and the old version. Not a bust to me.

C'mon Panthers. Send Fox out in style with a win!!!​

 

[NMAmy]

I much prefer the new ending. We used to only ride once per trip because the ending was boring and the backwards descent made me really uncomfortable. Now we ride a few times each trip and find it much more fun than it used to be.

 

[talullahbelle]

the jeremy irons version eas the best.....i miss it

 

[shafke]

We did the ride a few times on our last trip... one of DD favorites. we now have a couple of running jokes... did the kill the mammoth yet? and Thanks Phoenecians.

There are some things I miss from the previous version such as the all roads lead to Rome line with the chariot.

 

[wcpamotm]

I miss beholding the majesty of the Sistine Chapel with Walter Cronkite.

I do also.

But I don't miss Rome falling to the flames of Ex-cess!

 

[TexasErin]

My feelings are mixed. I like Jeremy Irons voice better for this ride (Though generally I find Judy Dench very talented). I sort of like the new ending better, as well as the post ride. I think the idea of guests using interactive technology fits the theme of the ride better than watching kids use a dated image of interactive technology. (that part really HAD to go)

There are some parts I find VERY annoying in the script however. A particular peeve is the quip, "Call it the world's first backup system," referring to Arabs keeping copies of the great texts. It's a terrible dumbing down of the original script by Ray Bradbury. It feels like I'm in grade school again. Disney didn't like it when adults talked down to kids and that was a part of his magic - most adults talked down to kids back then, but he didn't.

I suppose there is also an interesting/ironic point to be made if you think about how they replaced the end of the ride with television screens, remember that Ray Bradbury was a big part of the original ride, and you've ever read Farenheit 451.

This is so funny that you say that because we upgraded to a HD-DVR a couple of days ago. Before I got home from work, DH was going on and on about how great the picture was and about the crystal-clarify of the picture. I really was thinking about Fahrenheit 451 and the "family" on the talking walls. Ray Bradbury's book was SO right about the future!!!!

 

[Planogirl]

When DS was just a little kid, he discovered Spaceship Earth and was completely smitten with it. We rode it countless times and he loved every second and didn't seem to have a difficult time understanding any of it. We quietly discussed who the various people represented and the time periods and what happened.

I'm fine with Judi Dench even though I think that the sound quality is poor. I did like Jeremy Irons' version a bit better but this one is fine.

We dislike the downward portion though. To us it's lame filler and we just ignore it.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

That's a very good point.

Thanks. I just watched an old special the other night on Walt Disney's films. It was interesting. I don't like to try to speak for Walt, but I thought the film had a great quote from one of the folks who knew him personally. (Maybe one of the Sherman brothers?)The quote was along the lines of, 'Walt designed concepts not just FOR children, but for the child in all of us.' The film was mostly on Disney's movies, but the quote was also specifically talking about the design of Disneyland attractions; in an effort to explain the continued appeal of the Disneyland attractions and Disney films.

I think what seems like a simple observation is a rather profound concept. Walt was a perfectionist. For Mary Poppins, the Sherman brothers wrote 35 songs. The film used 14 of them. While Eisner had many good influences on Disney, one aspect that has been dropped by Disney is the idea of seeking perfection. The original SE, like the original Imagination ride held true to the idea of seeking something exceptional. The newer versions show glimpses of greatness, but they don't feel like polished final versions.

There's merit in the idea of updating the script; there's merit in wanting to relate historical events to modern experiences, but the execution of those ideas in the ride don't work.

Likewise, I love that ride designers wanted to create multiple options for the end of SE. It's an idea borrowed from Horizons that many guests wanted brought back. But again, the execution has not been implemented very well. A few simple tweaks could make all the difference. Updating the graphics, software, guest choices, speed - all would make the ending much more fun. If the end of the ride could somehow do what it claims to do and really put you IN the virtual world you created, instead of the tiny screen with lame graphics and very limited options - a kind of holo-deck, if you will (think Star Trek: Next Generation), then the ride would be truly breathtaking.

 

[auntfrannie]

But I was a kid on Spaceship Earth and I understood it perfectly. I hate this dumbing down of everything, I really and truly do. Kids are bright, it's the adults who don't allow them to be.

We should just be grateful that they didn't replace the animatronics with Jojo & Goliath or whatever the latest disney kids characters are!

I don't mind the changes, mainly because I have such a bad memory that I don't remember what it was like with Walter Cronkite or Jeremy Irons. I do hate the ending though. The computer graphics are horrible!

 

[shelemm]

I like the newer version MUCH better. The interactive part solidifies the forward thinking, the scenes are so much better, and I even like the narration. A total success in my book.

 

[harpinjean]

When DS was just a little kid, he discovered Spaceship Earth and was completely smitten with it. We rode it countless times and he loved every second and didn't seem to have a difficult time understanding any of it. We quietly discussed who the various people represented and the time periods and what happened.

I'm fine with Judi Dench even though I think that the sound quality is poor. I did like Jeremy Irons' version a bit better but this one is fine.

We dislike the downward portion though. To us it's lame filler and we just ignore it.

I agree the downward portion is so lacking. Even if they wanted to keep the interactive screen, they should have put something on the sides of the ride at least half way down. It takes to long to load the interactive screen and I feel like I'm just sitting there in the dark, looking at strings of lights.