EPCOT Spaceship Earth Refurb - 2 Year Closure

[davis_unoxx]

@marni1971 said that Tom has a lot of the details correct. IIRC, that article said everything up to and including the industrial revolution was safe. Big changes for the scenes after that.

I love this ride! It is the last of the long-form dark rides and the icon of the park. Please do not mess this up Disney!!!! KEEP THE IP AWAY from this attraction.

I am excited SSE is getting love, love that GMR never got. I think Disney can make this attraction better, especially if we can lose the screens and get a proper decent. The attraction has to keep it soul, like it has through most of the previous updates.

I got my eyes on you TDO and I am sharpening my pitchfork, just in case.

Can I have a link to what Tom said? Thanks!

 

[jt04]

I'm getting that impression as well. I hope that is not the case, because it certainly would be nice to have all four parks plus the rest of the property included in the festivities.

Then you would also be hoping for half baked refurbs. Rushing projects is bad in the theme park business.

 

[bcoachable]

Just remove the spaces

https://wdw nt.com/2018/08/rumor-spaceship-earth-at-epcot-will-be-overhauled-once-again-changes-in-post-show-already-visible/

https://wdw nt.com/2018/10/sse2yearclosure/

oh, that uncle tom...
ok now it makes more sense to me...

 

[KBLovedDisney]

Well.. I do have a cold.

But there is a certain fixation (not just you) on the glory of 80s Epcot which I think is misplaced and presents the wrong impression to all the kids on here.... I went in 1984 (as a little kid - hardly the target audience) and I LOVED LOVED LOVED it (Future World, at least... Showcase not so much) but I also recognize that super fond memories from decades ago (especially without context - meaning nothing to compare it to at that point, many of us were new to wonders of Disney and with limited expectations, etc.) tend to overplay the positive and completely forget the negative. As they say, you never forget your first time.... and early Epcot was a "first time" for everyone.

BUT even reviews from that era noted the problems with Epcot. It simply wasn't the success Disney intended, and right from the start. My understanding (did work for WDCo) was that Epcot had extremely high operating costs (much higher than the MK) for things like the countries/restaurants/recruiting the international cast etc., and while NOT unprofitable, it was definitely a major disappointment on the financial side (and was even a small part of what almost dragged Disney under before Eisner and team arrived). Absent more financial success, the economics of keeping everything up-to-date and "just ahead of the curve" as (Future World did brilliantly in 84) was completely impractical for a publicly traded company like Disney which is legally required to do what's best for the shareholders (and dumping more and more money into Epcot to keep it's original mission alive despite relatively poor financial performance could not be argued as best for the shareholders).

Please don't turn this into another one of "those" threads. We've had plenty thank you.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

...except the “original vision of the park” is dead and has been for a very long time.

Don’t you think it’s time to stop crying and move on? There’s four stages of grief and the last one is acceptance.

In my opinion, it's not only dead by also obsolete. The ubiquitous smartphone has killed Future World.

 

[marni1971]

It feels a bit like they're going to treat the 50th as more of a Magic Kingdom specific anniversary rather than WDW overall.

I'm getting that impression as well. I hope that is not the case, because it certainly would be nice to have all four parks plus the rest of the property included in the festivities.

I said it a while back - MK will be 50th centric. Other parks will get the prerequisite bunting.

 

[bcoachable]

With Siemens out of the picture, is there a NEW sponsor coming in to partner on this Grand and Miraculous Refurb?

 

[MisterPenguin]

With the focus on thrill rides, there aren't a lot of "rest" rides left in the parks...When I needed a 40 minute air conditioned nap, I would just go on UoE or go to Symbiosis. Now the only AC sleepy area is the secret Innoventions hallway by World of Coke with the original 1980s restrooms...

American Adventure and Impressions de France.

 

[marni1971]

American Adventure and Impressions de France.

The latter of which will be around for a good time yet I’m glad to say as of something I heard today.

The former we’d hope will be too.

 

[MisterPenguin]

The latter of which will be around for a good time yet I’m glad to say as of something I heard today.

The former we’d hope will be too.

You don't have to say, but I'm guessing you heard they're going ahead with filming new scenes.

Have you heard about any changes to the theater to accommodate the alternating Impressions with the BatB Singalong?

 

[marni1971]

Have you heard about any changes to the theater to accommodate the alternating Impressions with the BatB Singalong?

I’ve heard minimal to virtually no changes. Aside from the projection side of things.

Could be a cast member stood on a box.

 

[MisterPenguin]

I’ve heard minimal to virtually no changes. Aside from the projection side of things.

Could be a cast member stood on a box.

Oh. They must've gotten this guy...

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Serious question- as much as some of us dislike Chapek, could he be the one to thank for the major investments in the parks? It's not just WDW. WDSP, HKDL, SHDL, TDL, TDS, and DCA are all facing expansions in the near future, with Runaway Railway rumored for Disneyland and Disneyland Paris. Someone somewhere is obviously willing to invest quite a bit.

WDW was always due. NextGen was a major capital suck, combined with the DCA overhaul, plus the Dream and the Fantasy. What we're seeing is catch-up from the early 2010s.

 

[Raineman]

Like 1 and 0... to late we are already there.

With the Phoenicians gone, if we go with a decimal system as our language, this is what I think of that: 18 5867 760 389467, 674 9274 8937476? 8463 7983!

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

Any word about them planning on using the Geosphere for some projection based show rather than just for special press events? Heck! I'm all for a new outside lighting package for it! I would love to see a color transition on it...

 

[Bender123]

American Adventure and Impressions de France.

Sleeping during American Adventure is DISTINCTLY UNPATRIOTIC...

 

[Epcot_Imagineer]

Is AA at risk of removal / major changes?

I believe what was being said is that Impressions is getting some new scenes filmed and won't be completely replaced by the BatB Sing-Along -- the theater would alternate between sing-along and Impressions. In regards to American Adventure, it is staying as is.

 

[jt04]

Serious question- as much as some of us dislike Chapek, could he be the one to thank for the major investments in the parks? It's not just WDW. WDSP, HKDL, SHDL, TDL, TDS, and DCA are all facing expansions in the near future, with Runaway Railway rumored for Disneyland and Disneyland Paris. Someone somewhere is obviously willing to invest quite a bit.

Pretty sure Iger should get the credit. But that doesn't fit the talking points script here and elsewhere so nobody will give credit where it is due. With few exceptions.

 

[flyerjab]

I said it a while back - MK will be 50th centric. Other parks will get the prerequisite bunting.

Martin, the one thing that confuses me is that if MK is only getting one new ride by 2021, how is it considered MK centric. To the uninitiated, it appears as though more has been done and will be done, especially to DHS and Epcot, leading up to the 50th. Whereas MK is getting Tron, as far as major attractions are concerned. Is everything else being refurbed/changed/added to help pull guests away from MK during its 50th anniversary?

 

[Epcot_Imagineer]

Tangent here -- I am curious why more World Showcase theaters don't go the route of swapping between Country Films and IP. The way France seems to be going (swapping between BatB and Impressions) is an ingenious way to make the park more kid-friendly and boost theater attendance, all while keeping Epcot purists relatively happy for what I assume is a fairly modest price. @marni1971 can I ask if you know of any plans to implement this in other pavilions, or just France for now?