Time Racers

Does anyone have any news on the potential "Time Racers" project at EPCOT (i.e., have they figured out how to take out the current Spaceship Earth ride and put in the roller coaster?)

try to do a search on that........ General Grizz has written a lot over the last year about that subject. i dont want to write that last i heard of his roars since it was a couple of months ago and things change, but im sure you can find plenty around the forums.

good luck and long live SSE!!!!

oh yeh, welcome to the boards.

The Time Racers idea was killed. (PS. Time Racers was going to be the name of the post-show for a revamped ride). From what I understand, a "moving theater" type attraction was going to replace Spaceship Earth, with a heavy use of screen technology and a stripping of most AA figures.

Since that story was broken by WESH a couple years ago, we've heard all kinds of SE updates. The following summer, the project was put on hold, later cancelled.

Then it was revived. Talks of a coaster have been spreading. One concept was killed by Al Weiss, who didn't like the ride or didn't think the budget should go to it.

Right now, SE is at the judgement day. 2007 - the 25th anniversary of Epcot - is just a couple years away, so if any major rehab is going to occur, SE will have to go down soon.

So what's it going to be? An update to the ending only, as we've heard? Or a new "thrill" ride that will shoot into the sphere from a load in Innoventions West and loop around the pavilion? (The original idea of the ride's rehab was going to include an "exterior portion of the track.)

But the facts remain...

· Spaceship Earth is Epcot’s most visited pavilion. According to statistics from employees, about 80% of Epcot guests experience this attraction on the average day.

· Over 225 Audio-Animatronics have been removed from Epcot without replacement. Should the figures from Spaceship Earth be removed, that number would increase to 285 lost Audio-Animatronics, leaving less than a hundred in Future World.

· Spaceship Earth is the last set and animatronic-based omnimover attraction in Epcot. Reminiscent of the lost Horizons, World of Motion, and original Journey into Imagination, it is truly one of a kind.

So sit tight... I'll see what I can find and post...

I heard they can't do anything to SE, because the track and sets help support the structure.

General Grizz said:

So what's it going to be? An update to the ending only, as we've heard? Or a new "thrill" ride that will shoot into the sphere from a load in Innoventions West and loop around the pavilion? (The original idea of the ride's rehab was going to include an "exterior portion of the track.)

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When you say "ending," do you mean the post show (the old AT&T exhibit), or just the last scene? If you're refering to the last scene, I can't see much needing to be changed (except maybe sandblasting a couple of AT&T logos off the occasional computer-tv screen). I can't think of anything in there that's really out of date. At least with CoP, there's a slight update needed for technology's sake (good luck finding a kid who knows what a laser disc or car phone is -- but change it to "DVD" or "cell phone" and you're golden for another ten years).

As for the thrill ride concept ---
Yuk.
Granted, I love a thrill ride like Test Track. But it has no place inside SSE. Especially since the description you gave reeks of...
A) Space Mountain in Paris -- Launch yourself into the weenie.
B) Test Track -- zoom around outside.
C) Journey to the Center of the Earth -- Blast and zoom, again.
D) Rock-N-Roller Coaster -- Roller Coaster in a building.
E) All of the Space Mountains -- Roller Coaster in a building, again.

Granted, all of those are great rides. But it's all been done before -- in some cases, in the very same park. Not to mention the continual concern we have for the classics being ravaged.

I hope that it will just be an update of the ending. As Grizz stated, SSE is truely one of a kind. It would be a shame if Disney changed it into another thrill. I'm all for new thrill rides, I love thrill rides, but I also really enjoy the classics, like Horizons, and SSE. Removing the most ridden attraction in Disney World history (at least from what I have heard), would be a striking blow to Epcot, and all fans of SSE. Just my 2 cents.

thanks for you replies guys

How bout a big meet and greet in it...now that would be a truly innovative way fro Eisner to goout.

bigcarolina77 said:

How bout a big meet and greet in it...now that would be a truly innovative way fro Eisner to goout.

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No - it will be a pin station with additional Pooh and Stich merchandise.

mostly stich pins, you know how uncle mikey loves stitch!

Yeah, I think the whole idea of getting rid of a icon of Epcot would be bad. The coaster through parts of Future World part wouldn't be too bad, but with the Monorail already through, that could put some problems. Wasn't there a rainforest type theme to this attraction also that didn't include SSE?

mitchk said:

I heard they can't do anything to SE, because the track and sets help support the structure.

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Funnily enough, its the opposite. The building structure is self supporting (the very concept of a geosphere) but inside of this is an independent supported spiral of show floors, equipment rooms, stairs, elevators, support rooms, plus the interweaved return track. I doubt there is any way to remove all this without basically dismantalling the entire building.

Plus, if they start to punch holes in the walls to exit a track through the geodisic strengths start to get weakened.

Unless they do have a plan to run an entire track around the outside. God forbid.

marni1971 said:

Funnily enough, its the opposite. The building structure is self supporting (the very concept of a geosphere) but inside of this is an independent supported spiral of show floors, equipment rooms, stairs, elevators, support rooms, plus the interweaved return track. I doubt there is any way to remove all this without basically dismantalling the entire building.

Plus, if they start to punch holes in the walls to exit a track through the geodisic strengths start to get weakened.

Unless they do have a plan to run an entire track around the outside. God forbid.

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What if the ride exited the sphere where the current load area is? With an entrance from Innoventions West to the Global Neighborhood area, load where the current unload is?

This is why I have not bought into the vaction club yet....if they put another thrill ride in I am going to be mad. There is less and less rides for people that dont like thrill rides and its isolating a segment of their population.

General Grizz said:

What if the ride exited the sphere where the current load area is? With an entrance from Innoventions West to the Global Neighborhood area, load where the current unload is?

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That would work... indeed, one scrapped idea was to have no Global Neighborhood/Earthstation, and connect the ride to Communicore West ... Martin digs out some concept art...