Spaceship Earth to close for 2+ years?

[Planogirl]

I can't wait to see Olaf in the Rome is Burning scene.

I would be in favor of this.

 

[Josh Hendy]

Two years plus is a shockingly long time for a signature attraction, but it's been a long time since the company has shown any concern for Epcot's overall theme and image ... other than as a kind of drinking and dining zone with synergistic promotional rides.

Stand by for a 6-minute long advertisement for action figure toys ... with a shooter bar in the exit queue.

Now do you understand why they left the newspaper boy so embarrassingly broken for the last X years? So the ride will drop so far down in guest surveys that somebody can now stand up and say, "Clearly we need to completely re-think this ride!" (as they reach behind them for Marvel/Pixar/Lucasfilm concept art).

 

[SG131]

Well now that the news has sunk in a little, Ive gone from shocked to concerned. I guess I understand the reason for the refurb and can deal with it for 2.5 years if that means it’s good for the next 20 or so. I’m worried cause 2.5 years is a long time so that gives them a lot of time to change things dramatically and not necessarily for the better. I’m really not a fan of what they did with test track and soarin is only an improvement if you’re sitting in the center section. For the other 2/3 of the seats the rehab was a fail. The lastest version of figment is a downgrade from its former glory. I’m still 50/50 on FEA. I hope they move this ride in the right direction and keep the iconic portions of it. Plans can change dramatically in the course of 2.5 years (and so can budget which also tends to cause problems)....

 

[Betty Rohrer]

In the last decade has anyone ridden SSE from beginning to end without the ride stopping at least once? Usually 2-3 times for us. The entire ride system needs a major refurb, and it sounds like they are looking at changing it out to something better. 2 years may sound like a lot, but it seems they are also changing the exit building and the load/unload queue. All that requires the layout to be adjusted as well, and this is Disney we are talking about....2.5 years might not be long enough.

i am one of those riders that can cause this needing extra time getting off

 

[The Pho]

Well now that the news has sunk in a little, Ive gone from shocked to concerned. I guess I understand the reason for the refurb and can deal with it for 2.5 years if that means it’s good for the next 20 or so. I’m worried cause 2.5 years is a long time so that gives them a lot of time to change things dramatically and not necessarily for the better. I’m really not a fan of what they did with test track and soarin is only an improvement if you’re sitting in the center section. For the other 2/3 of the seats the rehab was a fail. The lastest version of figment is a downgrade from its former glory. I’m still 50/50 on FEA. I hope they move this ride in the right direction and keep the iconic portions of it. Plans can change dramatically in the course of 2.5 years (and so can budget which also tends to cause problems)....

They have a pretty poor track record when it comes to reskins and reimaginings. So my concern comes from the same place as you. From what I have heard though, it sounds like this is more of a rehab than a rework. Supposedly they are planning on keeping everything prior to the industrial revolution roughly the same and reworking mostly the later portion of the ride, plus the ride system itself. So I'm cautiously optimistic about this one.

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

A big fat nope nope nope with Spaceship Earth..seriously. These types of decisions, IF it comes to fruition, will for me greatly weigh on my decision to go for the 50th or not.

Nope Nope Nope?

If there is ever a ride that needs a big fat refurb, its this one. The ride system is terrible. Its bumpy, not comfortable. It breaks down all the time while riding it. The line area is terrible. Its completely outdated.

I am extremely excited for this. The refurb is going to look amazing with updating all the scenes, and making the end scene look more incredible.

Well worth the 2 years closed if it comes back grand

 

[Moliphino]

As long as they aren't completely changing it, I'm ok. I'll miss it while it's down, of course, but as long as there are no major changes to the first half of the ride I'm good. If they gutted it I'd be very upset.

 

[umichigan10]

They have a pretty poor track record when it comes to reskins and reimaginings. So my concern comes from the same place as you. From what I have heard though, it sounds like this is more of a rehab than a rework. Supposedly they are planning on keeping everything prior to the industrial revolution roughly the same and reworking mostly the later portion of the ride, plus the ride system itself. So I'm cautiously optimistic about this one.

Given that the down ramp has been nothing of substance for the last decade I’m very open to this.

I wonder if the rumor to “rework the ride” has to do with the limited space in the down portion. From what I’ve heard/read, the down ramp portion goes in between the up portion of the ride (the ascent kinda spirals up to the top if you notice). So there’s not a lot of room for physical scenes on the descent to unload.

 

[The Pho]

Given that the down ramp has been nothing of substance for the last decade I’m very open to this.

I wonder if the rumor to “rework the ride” has to do with the limited space in the down portion. From what I’ve heard/read, the down ramp portion goes in between the up portion of the ride (the ascent kinda spirals up to the top if you notice). So there’s not a lot of room for physical scenes on the descent to unload.

The descent could definitely benefit from having scenes added back in. And that's why I'm more optimistic about this one. It's fairly obvious where the improvement is needed. So reworking the ending and refurbing the beginning could result in a huge improvement for the ride.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Given that the down ramp has been nothing of substance for the last decade I’m very open to this.

I wonder if the rumor to “rework the ride” has to do with the limited space in the down portion. From what I’ve heard/read, the down ramp portion goes in between the up portion of the ride (the ascent kinda spirals up to the top if you notice). So there’s not a lot of room for physical scenes on the descent to unload.

that's roughly it - though in the past they have had more going on in the downward part than they currently do - but would be hard to have full on sets

 

[tlmadden73]

My guess, if they don't gut the whole thing, would probably be a change to that "post ride" area with all the games and such. While those were fun back in the day, all those old pavilion activities/games, etc. are getting dated with today's technology.

 

[mcjaco]

C'mon guys - can we please remember this is WDWNT. Don't get worked up about anything that they post. Their reliability is maybe 25%. I'll point out the Great Movie Ride - M&MRR changeover is around 2 years. You really think a refurb on SSE is going to take 2.5 years?

Thank you!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Nope Nope Nope?

If there is ever a ride that needs a big fat refurb, its this one. The ride system is terrible. Its bumpy, not comfortable. It breaks down all the time while riding it. The line area is terrible. Its completely outdated.

I am extremely excited for this. The refurb is going to look amazing with updating all the scenes, and making the end scene look more incredible.

Well worth the 2 years closed if it comes back grand

It's not the refurb itself that's the issue...my later comment was it does need some lovin'...it's the timing and the length of the refurb.

I could go onto a long comment about it but suffice to say you're misinterpreting my comments is all

 

[umichigan10]

that's roughly it - though in the past they have had more going on in the downward part than they currently do - but would be hard to have full on sets

I vaguely remember the irons version from when I was a kid. I miss the down ramp scenes and the chariot guy in the Rome scene

 

[BrianL]

I do like the blue lights part of the descent. That is my place of zen! What I don't like though is the screens with the little cartoon. They create too much light!

 

[sachilles]

Regardless if it's confirmed or not. At some point it will need to be refurbed. It will be a logistical nightmare when the time comes. Walling off that attraction will be tough. It will be an island akin to 7dmt. No matter how difficult the work might be to rework the inside of the attraction; it's difficulty rating goes up exponentially due to it's location in the park. Wonder if they'll consider a temporary bypass of the area all together.

 

[umichigan10]

Regardless if it's confirmed or not. At some point it will need to be refurbed. It will be a logistical nightmare when the time comes. Walling off that attraction will be tough. It will be an island akin to 7dmt. No matter how difficult the work might be to rework the inside of the attraction; it's difficulty rating goes up exponentially due to it's location in the park. Wonder if they'll consider a temporary bypass of the area all together.

If they’re going to replace the track as rumored, I could maybe see it. But still don’t know logistically how much they’d be able to wall off and not cause a logistical nightmare for guests coming and going

 

[psiprez]

It definitely needs some TLC, but I am sad to say the vast majority of 'reworkings' of attractions always end up a shadow of the Imagineers original intent.

 

[GPC0321]

A Disney-loving colleague of mine who goes every year told me about this at work yesterday. My initial response was "Oh nooo!" But honestly, the ride needs an update at least. Future World is basically Soarin' and Test Track with some "nice little rides" to fill the time. Spaceship Earth is the icon of the park, and the ride within is outdated. I still love it because of the nostalgia factor, but it just seems like that big ball could have a lot better experience than it does right now. Right now it's honestly about on par with Carousel of Progress except it's an actual ride through situation instead of a revolving theater.

I'm ready for this ride and all of Future World to get some much-needed TLC. We're going in 2019, so we'll get to ride "classic Spaceship Earth" one last time. I'll say my farewells to it and look forward to experiencing it in all its updated glory in the future.

 

[Planogirl]

For me, it depends on what they end up doing with it. If it becomes just another ride with some IP then I'm disappointed. If they keep the basic ride intact and just update what's already there plus redo portions then I'm interested.