Excellent article about Spaceship Earth

Goofyernmost

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
wdisney9000 said:
http://imagineerebirth.blogspot.com/2008/03/spaceship-dearth.html

Did a search to see if this had been posted already but could not find anything. Its a short article from 2008 with an excellent perspective on the original intention of the attraction and what it has become today. Thought I would share it. (for those who have not read it)
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Some of the stuff he mentions I agree with, some I didn't even noticed had changed, particularly the covered up sculpture. I guess I never had that type of obsession that I would notice that. Anyway, we were cruising along pretty well on good old Spaceship Earth and then he hit a wall. Disco Girl? Not appropriate dress? His picture makes him look old enough to have been around in the 70's and if he was he must have been living under a rock of some sort. That was how women dressed for work in the 70's, it was the fashion of the times. Granted it looks a little silly now, but that's how it was. Men had Flared pants, if not Bell-bottoms, wore ties that were knotted in a strange way where the tie hung from the neckline more like an ascot then a tie, sideburns went down to our elbows, colors were outrageous, boots for women went up to their knees, and everyone had a wide white belt, but, that's what we wore then.

I don't look at it as dumbing down, just changed to fit today's vernacular more. Although, I was a huge fan of SSE, always have been, I never felt that the trip down was very inspirational. I kind of enjoy being electronically part of the show now, it feels fun to me. That said, no one will ever, ever replace Walter Cronkite as the voice of SSE.
 
RozFromMonstropolis

RozFromMonstropolis

Member
Very interesting article - it definitely gave me a lot of new things to think about, especially about Judi's narration.

I love new technology (and probably spend way too much time online everyday!), but I also love the "simpler" things WDW offers. I don't mind just looking at AAs, or murals, or props! I don't always need a screen. That makes it feel too updated; I want the new to be mixed with the old, the classic. Technology is in my (and our) lives in so many different ways everyday, and it is amazing! There are no words for what humans have achieved with modern technology. But I just don't want to lose the other amazing things out there. Like, I don't want to be strolling through DAK (my favorite park!) and have video screens everywhere; the greenery and animals are the stars there. Etc.

Speaking of losing things, I need that chariot scene in SSE to come back!
 
Obi Walt Kenobi

Obi Walt Kenobi

Well-Known Member
I always though of the latest decent of soaceship earth as kinda a nod too the interactive end of Horizons where you picked your journey home, land, dessert, or sea....but it's probably just wishful thinking on my part.. But future world for the most has been dumbed down for lack of a better expression. I have wondered why the cultural side of Epcot (world showcase) has gone mostly untouched and not dumb down at least not to the extent of the science side of Epcot (future world). I assume it's to difficult and expencive to keep up with the rapid rate in which technology grows, that and the science side of things just isn't as interesting to the public.
 
George Lucas on a Bench

George Lucas on a Bench

Well-Known Member
My issue with that hot black robot lady in the miniskirt is the boring lab she's in. Disney did the same thing in the Imagination ride where they turned these previously fantastic scenes into a boring laboratory. What is with that? I remember seeing the videochat with the Asian chick and thinking that was pretty cool. Disney must have felt the novelty had worn off since you can videochat with basically everyone on Earth these days. So, naturally, they chose a boring laboratory with blinking lights.
 
copcarguyp71

copcarguyp71

Well-Known Member
I think it was spot on in it's read on the current version although I have to agree with others that he has an unreasonable fixation on go-go lady!

If you go to one of the many videos available online (I prefer Martins stuff) and then compare it to the current version I do think it is very sad. The ride has lost its' heart and does not evoke any emotion whatsoever (at least in me). The old version was stirring and gave you a true sense of wonderment and awe but the new version just seems like empty calories for the brain..."here, sit down and kill twelve minutes of your life while looking at some animatronics"

One thing I miss is the projected horse and carriage that would appear and ride off into the distance in the roman scene. Not really sure why I miss that but for some stupid reason I always enjoyed watching that:confused:.
 
Goofyernmost

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
Endor Sightseer said:
My issue with that hot black robot lady in the miniskirt is the boring lab she's in. Disney did the same thing in the Imagination ride where they turned these previously fantastic scenes into a boring laboratory. What is with that? I remember seeing the videochat with the Asian chick and thinking that was pretty cool. Disney must have felt the novelty had worn off since you can videochat with basically everyone on Earth these days. So, naturally, they chose a boring laboratory with blinking lights.
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I'm in agreement that this is a currently boring scene, but in the 70's when all this was new it was anything but boring. All those bright lights blinking away happily. We didn't know what they were doing but it sure looked like they were doing something mighty important. It's all about the era's you lived through. The cave drawings looked pretty boring to me because I didn't show up on the planet until a couple of years after that.:D
 
Goofyernmost

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
copcarguyp71 said:
I think it was spot on in it's read on the current version although I have to agree with others that he has an unreasonable fixation on go-go lady!

If you go to one of the many videos available online (I prefer Martins stuff) and then compare it to the current version I do think it is very sad. The ride has lost its' heart and does not evoke any emotion whatsoever (at least in me). The old version was stirring and gave you a true sense of wonderment and awe but the new version just seems like empty calories for the brain..."here, sit down and kill twelve minutes of your life while looking at some animatronics"

One thing I miss is the projected horse and carriage that would appear and ride off into the distance in the roman scene. Not really sure why I miss that but for some stupid reason I always enjoyed watching that:confused:.
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Didn't you ever wonder how you could see that in the dark? While I will admit it was something that many of us remember seeing. I just like to believe that it is still there but they have decided to make it more realistic by not having the body lights on the chariot or the horse. :D
 
Weather_Lady

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
I guess I have the advantage of not having seen Spaceship Earth between 1993 and 2012, such that by the time we last visited I really couldn't recall what it had been like before. As a result, I wholeheartedly enjoyed it, and my 4 and 6-year-old kids begged to experience it multiple times (which we did). If it was better before -- and I trust the opinions of those who say it was -- then I'm just going to avoid pulling up those videos on Youtube -- I don't want to know! :D
 
wdisney9000

wdisney9000

Truindenashendubapreser
Premium Member
Original Poster
I think the idea of this article could even be applied to other attractions. For example, Test Track 2.0 compared to the original version. I love both of them, yet I feel the original version offered more in terms of education. The queue was chalk full of information regarding testing and safety. I remember the first time I strolled in, I was overwhelmed (in a good way) with the sounds, the sights, the detail... and the sheer feeling of being in actual testing facility! My head was spinning and I loved it! I left the ride knowing more on the subject than when i had walked in. The new version is visually stunning, but lacks that depth of education. Creating your vehicle is fun and offers something in terms of a lesson on vehicles, but falls short of the amount one could learn from the original version. There is no longer a human element involved. The artificial intelligence is now in control and we idly stand by. While this does mirror how society is today, that does not mean it is the correct way we should be moving forward.(IMO)- Dont get me wrong, I enjoy the new version and will always ride it with a smile, but as I ride, a small part of me is crying out to once more hear John Michael Higgins voice chime through on the speakers to guide us through the experience. "Are you seeing an increase in lateral forces?" ..."Sure am" - I loved that part
 
George Lucas on a Bench

George Lucas on a Bench

Well-Known Member
copcarguyp71 said:
One thing I miss is the projected horse and carriage that would appear and ride off into the distance in the roman scene. Not really sure why I miss that but for some stupid reason I always enjoyed watching that:confused:.
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Nothing stupid about it. More often than not, it's little details we remember the most and Disney loves eliminating those. The talking skull in Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion spiders, Spaceship Earth chariot etc.
 
wdisney9000

wdisney9000

Truindenashendubapreser
Premium Member
Original Poster
Endor Sightseer said:
Nothing stupid about it. More often than not, it's little details we remember the most and Disney loves eliminating those. The talking skull in Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion spiders, Spaceship Earth chariot etc.
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Waking Tinkerbell, Tom Sawyers paintbrush, ...
 
Horizons78

Horizons78

Grade "A" Funny...
Endor Sightseer said:
My issue with that hot black robot lady in the miniskirt is the boring lab she's in.
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Everybody talks about the disco lady, and yes, she is deserving of attention...but there's also this poor blighter in the same scene:

counting.jpg


If you'd like some fun next time you ride, just imagine the following audio for this clipboard carrying fellow:

"1, 2, 4...sonuva...1, 2, 7....ugh....1,2,yellow....dangit that's a color....1, 2, ham...I hate this job."
 
George Lucas on a Bench

George Lucas on a Bench

Well-Known Member
It just makes science and technology look lame. I get what they were going for, but a big white room with blinking lights and a lab coat guy looking at things is like one of the boring scenes from an old Godzilla movie. It almost feels like Disney mocking the image of EPCOT Center being the boring science park. At the risk of ripping off the opening titles from Amazing Stories, they should make the thing come full circle at the end and show people watching the cave men from the beginning of the ride telling the stories on TVs, tablets and phones.
 
blm07

blm07

Active Member
Endor Sightseer said:
Nothing stupid about it. More often than not, it's little details we remember the most and Disney loves eliminating those. The talking skull in Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion spiders, Spaceship Earth chariot etc.
Click to expand...
I miss all of those things, but at least they replaced the spiders with a cool new scene. The other two were replaced with nothing.
 

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