After Disney Parks Chairman Bob Chapek at the D23 Expo last month revealed more detail about the company's plans for Epcot, I decided to ride Spaceship Earth during my visit to the park last week - possibly for the final time before its upcoming changes. I wanted a fresh memory of this beloved attraction before it Disney "transforms" it, along with much of the rest of Epcot.
But after riding, I decided that I didn't need those memories after all. In fact, I can't wait for Disney to go in and completely rework Spaceship Earth.
Epcot's icon, Spaceship Earth is one of the few remaining "day one" attractions at the park, which opened October 1, 1982. Though the ride has seen a few changes to its narration over the years, Disney's current plans for Spaceship Earth represent a far more substantial alteration of the attraction, with the replacement of many scenes and a change in focus from the history of communication to that of storytelling, specifically.
Spaceship Earth was, and remains, an engineering marvel — fitting a 15-minute dark ride entirely within the structure of a 165-foot geosphere that is mounted 15 feet above the park's surface. If for nothing else, Spaceship Earth wins and retains fans simply by providing an all-ages attraction where visitors can sit in a cool, dark place for a quarter hour inside a park that's become notorious for making visitors walk long distances on sun-baked pathways. Heck, the biggest cheers Chapek got for the Epcot renovation plans came when he promised they would deliver "more shade" for the park.
Given that, Disney could scrap all the animatronics then project nothing more than a bunch of soothing, dimly-lit DisneyNature scenes along the Spaceship Earth ride path, ditching any attempt at narrative, and most park guests probably would love the experience. Hey, it's still a long sit-down ride in the dark, right?
But I am thankful that Disney seems willing to do better than that. Because this engineering marvel, this beloved symbol, and yes, this icon of hope for a better future world deserves Disney's very best storytelling effort.
Unfortunately, what is playing now inside Spaceship Earth is not that.
Spaceship Earth purports to depict the history of communication. Like most pavilions in Epcot's soon-to-be-renamed Future World, Spaceship Earth's development was supported by a corporate sponsor — in this case, Bell System, which became AT&T in 1984. That corporate involvement no doubt colored the focus of the attraction, which always has provided an almost exclusively Western view of communication, leading up to the development of corporate-driven communications technology. But given the enormity of the subject, that's a fair editorial choice for Disney's Imagineers to have made, especially given how all that corporate money allowed a far-less-wealthy-back-then Walt Disney Company to build this thing in the first place. No complaints there.
But a lot has happened in the history of communication between Spaceship Earth's 1982 opening and today. The current, Judi Dench narration, which debuted in 2008, attempts to address the subsequent development of personal computing and the Internet by padding the script. This version gives her 835 words — a 145-word, 21-percent increase over the 690-word average of the previous three narrators' scripts. More is not more, either, give how the current script forces references to Roman roads as "the first 'World Wide Web' and the Islamic Golden Age as "the first backup system."
Cringe.
That last example actually has been one of the more problematic script issues for Spaceship Earth since the second, Walter Cronkite version, which debuted in 1986. The original, Vic Perrin script said, "Islamic wise men preserve ancient wisdom and weave a rich network of new knowledge linking East and West." No problems there. While Europe went through its Middle Ages, Islamic scholars advanced human knowledge through the development of algebra, geometry, astronomy, biology and the sciences. Giving credit to Islamic scholars in this scene provides a rare (for Spaceship Earth) example of crediting non-Western sources. Bravo.
But the Cronkite script changed that to "Islamic and Jewish scholars continue to preserve ancient wisdom in noble libraries." While Jewish writers certainly preserved and advanced religious and philosophical scholarship during the Middle Ages, giving them equal billing with Islamic scholars in that period has a lot more to do with contemporary geopolitics than portraying history with any reasonable level of accuracy.
The third, Jeremy Irons script reduced Islamic scholars to second billing: "For far across the land, from Cairo to Cordoba, Jewish teachers and Islamic scholars continued the quest for knowledge." And the current Dench script erases Islam and its contributions entirely: "It turns out there are copies of some of these books in the libraries of the Middle East, being watched over by Arab and Jewish scholars. Call it the first backup system."
The Dench script aims for a lighter, more informal tone than the previous scripts, but those attempts sometimes trip over themselves. Take the attempt to crack a joke for the Tea Party crowd in the Egypt scene: "Papyrus, in turn, creates better record keeping of plans, designs, and... unfortunately, taxes." That's a bit rich, given that it was taxes that subsidized, if not paid for, for the development of pretty much all our modern communication systems, including the Internet.
Heck, every time Disney has rewritten Spaceship Earth, it's made the ride a bit worse. The first script worked best because, well, that's the script the whole ride experience was designed to support. So with this next revision, I hope that Disney won't hesitate to give its Imagineers that "blank sheet of paper" to reimagine a new and coherent narrative for Spaceship Earth.
Disney faces a huge creative challenge in designing new show scenes, given the tight spaces within the geosphere. Spaceship Earth long has been the darkest of Disney's dark rides, because the more light Disney shines inside the ride, the easier it is to see just how little space each scene occupies, potentially creating a sense of claustrophobia that I am sure Disney wants no guest to feel.
But if Disney wants to tell a new story inside Spaceship Earth, it can't rely on yet another script change to do it. New show scenes will need to drive those changes, and Chapek has promised to deliver them. Moving the focus from the development of communications technology toward the more enduring act of human storytelling also should help Disney to create an attraction that won't feel out of date in less than a decade.
A new focus on storytelling also provides Disney a fresh opportunity to increase cultural representation inside its Spaceship Earth. This is literally a global icon, so its story — at long last — ought to embrace a global focus that it has lacked. No more minimizing and ignoring non-Western voices.
So, yeah, count me as 100 percent in favor of an aggressive remake of Epcot's Spaceship Earth. While I love that long ride in the nice, cool darkness, Spaceship Earth ought to be better this. It needs to be. And I can't wait to see what Disney's Imagineers do to try to get it there.
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If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a dozen times. Robert just gets it, he does. And it is always with a frank, fair and well thought out and researched piece. I always appreciate his enthusiasm and optimism for the future of Disney. It’s becoming more and more rare with those other sites we shall not mention. I couldn’t agree with this article more.
I still love the current Spaceship Earth, thanks in large part to Dench's uncanny ability to make those horrible lines work to some degree. The climactic sequence at the top of the sphere is one of the most iconic moments on any Disney attraction, and though the interactive portion during the descent is, like the script, dated as hell, it's got a lot of character and it's hilarious if you take a funny enough picture at the beginning!
I hadn't really given much thought to the historical perspective given by the ride, though, and Robert raises some really interesting points, particularly about the long-term erasure of Islam from that one scene. I agree that the script should be re-worked substantially, and I'm happy to see that Disney are prepared to take the time to do so.
However, I don't see much of a reason to mess with the animatronics too much until you hit the 20th Century scenes. Most of the current grouping, which are virtually all great Disney-style animatronic-based show scenes, can easily be re-worked to a theme of telling stories throughout history and through different cultures. I'm actually a bit hard-pressed to think of one that wouldn't...maybe the Roman army into the burning of Alexandria scene? Once you hit the invention of the printing press, obviously, it gets a little bit more difficult, but the addition of the "storylight," which I take to be an added projection effect, can smooth over the gaps with the existing animatronics.
I also think (hope?) Disney know well enough not to wedge any IP into the attraction, and I'm excited to see what they come up with. I would imagine the descent will be completely knew as well. We'll find out in 2022!
This articles makes a decent case that Spaceship Earth could be improved. I think even the ride's most hardcore fans recognize its weak areas.
This article does not, however, make the case that we should feel assured that Disney will handle the revamp the correct way. Even after D23, where so much lip-service was paid to Epcot, I am still quite unconvinced they (and by they, I mean the decision-makers, not the rank and file Imagineers) have any idea what made/makes the park special and unique relative to the other Disney parks. I simply don’t trust them not to botch one of my favorite rides of all time, and given the choice, I’d take a flawed status quo over a potential IP-injection that may cartoonify and dumb-down what was -- and still is, to some -- a pretty awe-inspiring dark ride about heady concepts (relative to normal theme park fare).
I am eager to be wrong, because I kind of dread this project.
I agree with Jack. As hard as it has become how about we stop politicizing everything. And as for more inclusion at Epcot what about finally adding some more countries to the World Showcase? Or at least using up more of the wasted space between countries.
Rumoured Brazil pavilion to be built for 2022, between Germany and Italy.
There's something very odd going on at WDW. Last night for the Food and Wine festival, Epcot was deserted. I didn't see any booth with more than a handful of people waiting in line. Test Track was 15 min stand-by and a walk on for single rider. MFSR at DHS was a 35 min wait at 6pm, when I left Epcot. I didn't go, but I was tempted .... :) Pictures on Disney pass holder blogs show MK almost empty, with 7DMT at 30min stand-by. It's unprecedented, and I don't think it can all be attributed to Dorian.
The tax joke is already political. Just because you agree with it doesn't change that.
JMB I’m not saying the joke wasn’t political. I was referring to what Robert said, not the joke itself. Its his site and he can do what he wants. Its just getting a little tiring how people bring up politics in topics that aren't political, especially to criticize.
I think the biggest issue with the current incarnation of Spaceship Earth is the pacing. When it first debuted, the narrative focused around communication worked as each significant advancement in communication was given its proper due. Riders progressed through history at an appropriate pace with each major achievement. However, as the advancements in communication have exploded in the past 2 decades, the attraction is significantly unbalanced with a seemingly inordinate amount of time devoted to ancient civilizations with just a passing glance given to modern technology,
The shift of the narrative to storytelling should help to fix the imbalance and poor pacing while reducing the need to continuously update the attraction to keep it current. There are few advancements in the world of storytelling and the heart of the art form is the same today as it was generations ago. I am curious to see how Imagineers rework this attraction and whether they completely strip the existing scenes in favor of new ones that better fit the new narrative or simply jury-rig the old animatronics to peripherally touch the new arc.
The current attraction is decidedly "meh", but the promise of a new Spaceship Earth focused on storytelling instead of communication holds promise if Imagineers are allowed to go in and gut the ride down to its bones. However, what I fear will happen is that they won't be given the latitude because of budget or are forced to use Disney IP to relay the concept of storytelling instead of using examples from around the world. I can see it now, the old Roman animatronics telling the story of Hercules with scenes from the Disney movie playing on a screen in the background and the Gutenberg Bible scene printing a copy of Beauty and the Beast or Hunchback of Notre Dame with bits of those movies shown on the back walls or screens built into the book covers.
If Disney does anything with IP to the ride it will ruin what might be my favorite ride at WDW. The ride is just so relaxing, and uses some nice animatronics, making the whole experience fun and entertaining. I personally love how it doesn't cater to an IP or have a character shoved down our throats at every opportunity like many of the other rides currently do. I am hoping that Disney sees that and leaves it out of the new edition of this ride. Its what separates it from the other rides. Education and entertainment done well.
On another note, does anyone know when this will start and how long it will take?
I hope they will also work on the ride system. I've always been annoyed how the cars "bump" each time you go over one of the wheels that propel them around the track. After 30+ years, ride system technology has greatly advanced. There has to be a solution to SSE's propulsion system problems.
My first visit on Spaceship Earth was in '06, so I got to see the Jeremy Irons version prior to the current Judi Dench version. I enjoyed the Irons one better because I'm not a fan of the current ending with the video. I remember the pre-Dench version ending had some more practical physical sets and that was better than what is playing now. I am torn on the scenes at the beginning of the ride. They have that "classic" feel to them that is slowly disappearing from Disney World (i.e. The Great Movie Ride). I enjoy them and give a concise version of history but I'm also for progress and I think Disney could upgrade them. But I still like the classics y'know. Anyway as long as they change that ending I can roll the dice on a new beginning for the ride as well.
@Reid - The rumor is that Disney has gone through multiple times to see what can be done inside the geoshpere. However, the problem is that the ride system is actually critical to the structural integrity of the sphere itself. In other words, if Disney were to perform any major alterations to the ride system, the sphere could become structurally unstable.
There was a long-ago rumor that Disney wanted to install a Tron roller coaster inside the sphere (almost identical to what eventually became Tron Lightcycle Power Run in Shanghai and coming to MK), but the plans had to be abandoned, because removing the omnimover and replacing it with coaster track would have required a full rebuild of the iconic structure. That means any changes to Spaceship Earth are constrained to the story and scenes, with alterations to the actual ride system virtually impossible.
JMB- Eh. The joke seemed pretty harmless and neutral. Must every little attempt at humor be immediately taken as political pandering? I'm just so weary and tired of every little thing being used to pit people against each other.
I do like the shift to storytelling over communication for many of the reasons that Russell mentioned. Stories are perhaps the key way all cultures and civilizations relate to each other and share many of the same key human themes. It would be a nice "heart" for a park that is moving toward celebrating the wonders of the world.
I'm not as optimistic about this as Robert is. I can easily see Disney making this into a big advertisement for the Disney Brand. Since Disney is in the business of telling stories, it ain't a leap to think that they'll expand the "movies" and "television" section to encompass a wide range of Disney-asset properties. Maybe they'll go extra meta- and reference the Disney theme parks themselves in this theme park attraction and talk about the importance of themeing in storytelling? Possibly they'll be able to reuse bits of the Great Movie Ride. I can easily see that final descent showing you a video of current films and shows playing on Disney Plus.
I'm old, but I always die a little inside when formerly serious Disney attractions get revamped and become more silly.
@Makorider I think Dorian has a lot to do with it, but I agree that it is startling. If it continues through the weekend, I think we have to consider the possibility that not only has Galaxy’s Edge failed to draw, but in the short term it has actually acted as a sort of anti-draw, keeping people away from the resorts because they anticipate massive crowds that then don’t exist. The backlash to the hype exceeding the hype itself, so to speak.
I got Slinky for 7:35 tonight, so I’m gonna head to DHS and check it out. I do think DHS’ attendance (and WDW’s) will go up in the long term due to SWGE, especially after Rise of Skywalker opens, but the attendance hype (combined with a poor economy for all but the wealthiest of Americans and wealthy white male Boomers’ inordinate distaste for the Sequel Trilogy) could be hurting resort-wide for the next several months.
Sorry this is OT, but it’s fascinating to me.
Indeed every change was a step backwards. That is actually true for every Epcot ride. The living seas with Nemo with it's terrible projection in the aquarium and cheap dark ride is a waist. Figment is abused beyond recognition. Test Track wasn't an improvement from World of Motion but the not Tron update killed it. The Ellen makeover also wasn't an improvement and I don't care for Super hero movies so I'm not holding my breath for the World of Energy makeover. The Life pavilion had some highlights but was never great and the replacement for Horizon is worth a bucket of vomit. Frozen in Norway is awful and a sing along in France just doesn't fit.
I hated the gravestones at the entrance so I'm happy it gets back the more original entrance. Lets hope Space Ship Earth changes will be an improvement after many downgrades and brakes this unfortunate trend.
Just to confirm how very weird all of this is .... I've just been on MDE and a Slinky was available for 6:20 !?!? and MFSR is only 40 mins at the moment.
This is great to be honest .... :) long may it continue.
Although it will be interesting to see if things pick-up next week and beyond, once the Dorian factor is out of the reckoning. Other parks are also quiet, so for sure the hurricane scared a few away, but is it a Disneyland type reaction at DHS, and are people waiting for RoftR to open ?
Or is it the same as every other September after Labor Day- quietest month of the calendar at WDW with lowest projected attendance and mostly event and convention traffic, plus Dorian aftermath? Why expect otherwise?? September and January both traditionally slowest months here after their respective holidays, we scheduled for this to be slow before there was a hurricane threat.
Dave, it hasn’t been this quiet at WDW in years. Something very strange is going on. I’ll give it to next week to let hurricane-related trip cancellations work through, but I’m starting to guess that GE is driving people away.
Dave .... EvanW is right .... this is very different to the usual quiet periods.
Maybe the proverbial perfect storm (yes I know) of Dorian, SWGE, quiet period, RoftR opening in Dec, people getting fed up with rising prices ??
"Something very strange is going on" ..... indeed it is
But right now, I'll take it .... :)
>>If for nothing else, Spaceship Earth wins and retains fans simply by providing an all-ages attraction where visitors can sit in a cool, dark place for a quarter hour inside a park that's become notorious for making visitors walk long distances on sun-baked pathways. Heck, the biggest cheers Chapek got for the Epcot renovation plans came when he promised they would deliver "more shade" for the park.
Oh Robert, how will the fans forgive you throwing shade on a beloved attraction?
I think I liked the Irons version the best although I did have a fondness for the Cronkite one with the great bits of so many classic radio/TV shows put together in the 20th century section. Excellent article summarizing what has to be made but brings up the issue of how Epcot has trouble keeping a balance.
I LOVED the original EPCOT. It was my favorite of the parks. I went on Horizons more times than I can count and also adored Motion, Imagination, Body Wars/Cranium Command and all the rest. I do like Test Track and Soaring but really, the classic EPCOT was my jam.
The thing is, this was a time before the Internet, a much different generation than we know today. My niece and nephews see videos of the classic rides but think them slow and such, not grasping that for the time, this was amazing and exciting.
That's what Disney has to do with Epcot, something they keep missing in the remixes. It's not about a "flashy" ride. It's not about something pure "Edutainment." It's something about a wonder, really looking to the future and making folks hope for a better tomorrow and get there. It's not about capturing the past either as I just don't see modern teens or kids into the slower tram rides but the feeling back then of opening their eyes to new horizons (no pun intended).
It is tricky as looking back, some of their views of the future could be outdated and naive (in the '80s, no one saw the Internet and such coming) but at least trying to recapture that feeling is a step in the right direction.
I will say that I find it interesting that Disney is still offering discounts for trips booked from now through early December. In previous years, all of the discounted rooms and promotions were taken by mid-summer, but this year, there are still many available. I thought for sure Disney would discontinue the discounts and promotions once they announced Galaxy's Edge would be open on Labor Day Weekend, but you can still go online and get discounted rooms and free DDP including through the opening of RotR.
I agree that it does seem like something very strange is going on. I don't think it's necessarily Galaxy's Edge driving guests away or even the new land opening in phases with guests waiting for RotR before visiting again. I think it's a larger economic concern, and a sign that perhaps the double digit growth seen throughout the industry over the past 5+ years is finally starting to slow. A Disney vacation is becoming further and further beyond the means of the average American, and with the concerns of a recession on the horizon, I think the average Joe is rethinking their spending and reducing what they're willing to pay for entertainment. This is not isolated to Disney, and I think we'll see at the end of the year that pretty much every theme park around the world will have either flat, reduced, or lagging attendance that doesn't meet management's expectations from the start of the year.
Completely agreed, Russell. The economy is theoretically booming, but there are real signs of a slowdown, and all but the top earners (who have seen their incomes soar) have struggled to recover from 2008 and are now seeing wage stagnation creep in. As the income equality gap continues to widen and late stage capitalism continues to wreak havoc, I think you'll see Disney and other entertainment properties keep pushing towards exclusive experiences for the wealthy and away from more populist offerings.
By the way, this is a very good example of why it's fruitless to try and keep politics out of anything. Bringing the thread full circle!
@Makorider considering this week was the official start of school in most States, could that justify it? I typically make the jump this time every year for that reason and seems kind of normal for me. Let's not forgot about those who've been banging the drum and awaiting anxiously for any slight sign of attendance decline for one to revert to playing their favorite hits of "Disney is to expensive" and "SWGE is a flop". Not saying I agree or disagree, just putting it out there.
@sxcymike .... the crowds up to the opening of SWGE had been the usual late summer norm, and the kids were back at school 2 weeks prior, so that factor was pre August 29th, and was as to be expected. Slight dip in crowds, but overall still relatively busy.
A work colleague, who is Dutch, just returned from a vacation to his homeland and said the inbound flight was only a 1/3 full, so I think Dorian has had an effect on travel from outside the US, more so than people visiting from inside.
Dorian is a factor ... there is no doubt, as all the other Orlando parks are quiet for this time of year.
We know SWGE wasn't the crowd puller we all expected it to be, at both parks, but for those who say it's a flop, are way out of line. It's a success, and talking to people in line for MFSR they are all overawed by the experience and thoroughly enjoy the whole land.
Were we all wrong in assuming that the crowds would be Harry Potter and/or Avatar levels, and that they certainly aren't. FofP standby is still 3x+ longer that MFSR.
Here's another angle ... could it be that MFSR isn't an atypical Disney visitors "cup of tea". Do they want a video game ride, or an all encompassing flight on the back of a Banshee? From what I hear, the later is still far more popular than MFSR.
Time will tell .... I think some pass holders are keeping away until the FP's are available, but even then if they still can't guarantee a pilot's seat, will continually being an engineer or gunner cut it for very long? I've just had about my fill of those 2 positions so I for one will sparingly ride it again until either the queue is less than 10 mins or FP+ allocation starts.
Last night the line was 30 mins so I joined to see if they would give me a pilot's seat on request. And yes they did, so that's a point worth noting. although when I got to the flight deck in my group was little guy who really wanted to be a pilot, so I swapped and ended up a gunner anyway ... :) It was a rocky ride for sure.
Also .... while I'm rambling on about SWGE ....
They won't swap the alcohol in the milk .... boo to that.
9340 credits is the best score so far on MFSR .... how's everybody else doing ?
You have to have 1/2 decent pilots to make a good run as a gunner.
The left gunner seat is awkward if you are right handed.
I spoke to some management people inside the ride and put my case forward for shuffling the 6 cards when giving them out. They were sorta-kinda receptive to my suggestion, but will it happen ... unlikely. I tried.
You're right sxcymike. People see what they want to see, and with lots of people out there looking to bash Disney for one reason or another, the perceived reduction in attendance following the public admission from Disney that the company's park attendance had declined through the first half of 2019 is easy ammunition for those arguments.
I don't think widening economic stratification is a political topic, though the approach to either allow it to continue or to artificially control it through government action/policy certainly veers into the realm of political fodder. Whether you think that this is good or bad for society doesn't change the natural economic forces that draw companies (like Disney) to cater more towards guests at the top of the economic ladder, which is exactly what they're doing. Based on the most recent financial report, Disney has seen significant success with declining attendance coupled with increasing revenues from the parks division.
Sooo....if we're going to increase the presence of Islamic influences, should we also increase the presence of the Christian Monastic tradition which almost exclusively preserved ancient knowledge--including Judaic and Pagan contributions--throughout the middle ages from the iconoclastic ways of the Jihadi's? Or are we only going to talk about MUH ISLAMIC NUMBERS. Apart from Avicenna and Averroes, Islamic influence in the West pales in comparison to the Scholastic influence of the actual Scholastics. Though they did save Aristotle for us (even though most of his works were translated and saved by Christians under the patronage of Caliphs during the Golden Period). Still, it was the Scholastics who synthesized Aristotelianism with the (then) current Medieval Age and dominant religion at the time.
@Blake Meredith- I continue to not like the designation "Dark Ages" or "Middle Ages" for some of the reasons you point out. The contributions of the Scholastics (especially Thomas Aquinas) so easily get dismissed and overlooked because of that designation. I would say that Islamic impact by preserving Aristotle (not to mention the influence of Avicenna and Averroes, major Aristotle interpreters who Aquinas was in dialogue with) is worth noting in a ride that otherwise has the Western tradition as its default lens. Besides, I do believe there is a scene in the ride that mentions Monastic scribes, if I'm not mistaken.
@evanweston- I believe there is a difference between discussing relevant politcal and economic consequences on the theme park industry, and going out of one's way to unnecessarily politicize things.
While I don't want a ride catering to the "Tea Party crowd", I also don't want to see the ride catering to the Antifa crowd either. You can be sure whatever new history story they weave tell will conform to the current corporate political groupthink of the Walt Disney Company and it's media properties such as ABC News. I'm more worried that DIsney will put another Test Track and effectively ruin Spaceship Earth; the bean counters will be thinking, "let's get rid of that expensive to maintain mechanical stuff and put in laser lights and movie screens."
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The overall point on inclusivity and the need to acknowledge non-Western voices is a valid critique of a ride celebrating the world. The dig at the "Tea Party Crowd" over a harmless tax joke seems unnecessary and divisive.