The End of Spaceship Earth

[Distriv]

On Screamscape.com they have a link to the US Trademark website. Apperently the Disney company has trademarked "SSE: Timer Racers". If they take out SSE I think they might as well be desicrating Walts grave. EPCOT was his dream and SSE is the icon of that dream. I think it should stay the same, anyone else with me on this?

 

[Eeyore2U]

Sorry, but it's a time for a change. AT&T is no longer the sponsor so they may be able to find a more current theme with a new sponsor. I think people need to realize that the geosphere is staying and the ride may be changing.

 

[Micca]

I love SSE, but it's ok to make a change. Thinking positively it could come out better than it is now

 

[wdw4us2]

I hope it's not true for a different reason. If the Time Racers become the replacement, than it will prove the direction that Epcot is going to be taking - thrills over education.

Think about it: World of Motion educated people about the history of transportation. Horizons offerred different views of the future - current and past. SSE teaches the history of communication.

You may not believe that these attractions educate, but I do have an example for you. In my daughter's 6th grade Social Studies class, the teacher asked what was the famous saying associated with Rome. Everyone in the class guessed "Rome wasn't built in a day." except for my daughter who said, "All roads lead to Rome." She had the correct answer, and guess where she learned it?

I enjoy thrill rides as much as the next person, I just think it's a shame to change the direction of Epcot toward thrills over substance. Just MHO.

 

[AdventurerKat]

EPCOT is nothing like Walt envisioned it as so I don't find it as desicrating at all. Also, Disney was all about change and everevolving parks. That being said, if they tried to get rid of something classic at DL that Walt was around for himself like Pirates, I would be having a fit!

Anyway, I think its time SSE got a lift myself. If they took the "big golf ball" away then yes, it would be a bit of a bummer but if they update the inside, personally I think it would probably only make it better. It doesn't sound like the EPCOT icon itself is going anywhere, just getting a facelift on the inside.

 

[DC7800]

We can only hope that most (or all) of the Time Racers/Discoveryland/Project Gemini plans are as dead as those for Beastly Kingdom. Just keeping the Spaceship Earth structure - the "ball" - means very little if the attraction inside is demolished.

Besides, Spaceship Earth simply isn't the attraction in Future World most in need of updating (in fact, it can probably run for at lleast a while largely as-is). The pavilions most in need of immediate attention are The Living Seas and, depending upon your viewpoint, perhaps Wonders of Life and/or Innoventions. But not Spaceship Earth. If it's not broke don't fix it. Didn't anyone learn that lesson with Journey into Imagination?

When the time finally comes, Spaceship Earth should be updated, not replaced. Too many attractions in Epcot have been lost already - often to thrill rides. Something of a "balance" of attractions is necessary for most any park. Whatever you may think of the original Future World "dark" attractions, Spaceship Earth is the last such Omnomover-ride still recongnizable from 1982, and as the park's icon, it's a classic. Surely Disney would not draft plans to replace Cinderella Castle with a thrill ride; nor should Spaceship Earth be similarly gutted.

Thinking positively it could come out better than it is now

Given Disney's recent track record on attraction updates (Journey into Imagination, again) I wouldn't be very optimistic. Just the opposite really - the ride we have now is far preferable. Not that something really spectacular could not be done in Future World, but rather that Disney seems to have no inclination to do so. The "Discoveryland" plans (from JimHill media") weren't really very impressive anyway, at least not for a Disney park.

 

[wdwguide]

Epcot as it was built desecreated Walt's dream of Progress City, the reason why he purchased the property in the first place. Nothing resembling Spaceship Earth was ever a part of the EPCOT he envisioned.

Now, I really enjoy Spaceship Earth. I love dark rides filled with animatronics and 3D scenery. Losing these rides is always painful to me because chances are small that anything comparable will be built anytime in the forseeable future. I also agree that the pavilions most in need of a makeover are the Living Seas, Wonders of Life and the Universe of Energy. But if they truly have a workable plan for a Spaceship Earth remake as Time Racers and have a sponsor to back them up on it I can understand why they would give this a higher priority.


Checking the trademark list, they also have one for a TV show called "Wife Swap". Interesting...

 

[KNWVIKING]

That was the whole point of CoP. Walt was fascinated with science and technology. Just read some of the quotes posters where have chosen to place on all their posts. I enjoy SSE, but I'm not against changing it to something new.

 

[Planogirl]

I see nothing wrong with change but change just to copy other theme parks or change to attract only one type of crowd is wrong IMO. Epcot is in desperate need of updating but why change one of the few attractions that still seemed to appeal to people? Why keep a dull, outdated attraction like the Living Seas the same or keep altering Journey Into Imagination into a steadily worse attraction and yet turn Spaceship Earth into another potential thrill ride? Walt also wanted attractions that everyone could ride and of course, thrill rides don't fit that so turning Future World into a collection of thrill rides won't exactly appeal to all ages.

Incidently, I do enjoy thrill rides so it's not me that could be repelled by these transformations.

 

[Distriv]

I agree with you Planogirl, Walt wanted a place where the entire family could do things together, personally I can't see grandma or little 5 year old Jimmy going on a major thrill ride. I love thrill rides but for now I'm excited enough over Misson:SPACE.

 

[wdwfreak]

I get the feeling that Disney is held to a "darned if they do, darned if they don't" standard by most people. If Disney goes a few years without producing an E-ticket attraction, most people cry foul and swear that they're going to Universal instead. When they do replace an older, lesser-attended attraction with a new one, they're called to the mat by the purists who refuse to let go of even the smallest bit of nostalgia.

SE rarely has a line and, even with several updates over the years, has gotten a tad stale IMHO. Why not replace it with something that people will actually line up to see and/or ride?

I love most things Disney and have seen a few of my favorites over the years go to seasonal operation or go away altogether (Timekeeper, 20K LUTS, Horizons, etc) but I understand why they're gone.

For several years now, we've all been complaining that Disney isn't what it once was. Now, after several announcements (and rumors, hence this board) such as Expedition:Everest and Time Racers, people are still upset -- "Disney scrapped the pre-show", "Eisner slashed the budget" and so on -- before the attraction even opens or, for Pete's sake, before ground is broken. I'm not sure how we can judge the atttraction or possibly know (for sure) how something will turn out until we actually experience it.

 

[KNWVIKING]

...What rides do you see yourself riding when you're your grandmom's age ? I'm 44 now but still think I'm a kid. I can't see myself ever saying "Oh no,you grandkids go ahead on SM, I'll just sit here in the sun and sip my $48.00 bottle of water".

 

[meowthew2]

Hmm...Epcot as a youthful, energetic, exciting land of discovery, or Epcot as an aging, dull, irrelevant icon of the past. I wonder which Walt would have preferred?

 

[Planogirl]

Has anyone ever considered that Disney could ADD something rather than continually REPLACE things? Why not update and refurbish something that's good and actually add a new pavilion, ride or whatever? Just a thought.

As far as age goes, I think that some Grandma's do ride the wild rides but I'd be willing to bet that a thrill ride isn't necessarily a big hit with all of the senior set. And of course, small children in general would be left out. And there's NOTHING wrong with that! Unless it seems to happen on every new attraction in Future World.

But I am looking forward to the new thrill rides personally.

 

[KNWVIKING]

"Why not update and refurbish something that's good and actually add a new pavilion, ride or whatever? Just a thought."


Without looking at an aerial map, I'm just curious if FW has space for another major pavilion ? I would love to see it, but I think we would lose something in the process.

 

[mudhen]

I'm in the boat for "adding" instead of "replacing".

SSE as it stands is a great attraction, I'm sure Time
Racers will be also, why can't we have both??

 

[NomadFamily]

Even if SSE maintains the same theme (the evolution of communication) it will need updating since communication has evolved sooooo much since the creating of SSE. I personally can't recall where, in the cycle of evolution, the ride ends. I think it was with computers......but now there is digital voice communication, digital imaging, WiFi. etc......all of this new exciting stuff that should be added to the attraction. It's a shame that AT&T bailed.

 

[Panthius]

I recall reading that Time Racers is going to be a moving theater type of ride. That to me does not sound like a thrill ride by any stretch. The name Time Racers may sound fast and very thrill like, but everything I have read regarding this attraction indicates it will not necessarily be a thrill ride.

Pan

 

[walt's assistant]

I rather doubt that they would install a true "thrill" ride inside the geosphere. For one, the engineering challenge would be a nightmare. As for desecrating Walt's vision, EPCOT as we COLLECTIVELY know it today wasn't Walt's idea of what it would be.

In fact, I think he would be (is) very surprised at the direction the company took the park after the Magic Kingdom opened. Just my opinion.....

For me, change at WDW has been mostly positive. There are some things that they have done that I believe were very shortsighted...shutdowns of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and the Skyway immediately come to mind...but I think an upgrade of Spaceship Earth would be a good thing if for no other reason than that communication has progressed quite a bit since 1982...

WA

 

[Banzai]

Originally posted by Distriv
I agree with you Planogirl, Walt wanted a place where the entire family could do things together, personally I can't see grandma or little 5 year old Jimmy going on a major thrill ride. I love thrill rides but for now I'm excited enough over Misson:SPACE.

Teens seeking thrills are also part of the family...