Mission:Space update (confirmed)

[HMF]

Hopefully Spaceship Earth gets it's love.

The fact that Spaceship Earth has been in it's current state for almost 10 years now is ridiculous and sad.

 

[Goob]

What is everyone wanting to be done to Spaceship Earth?

 

[lazyboy97o]

I know. It seems like the focus has shifted to World Showcase now with the Rat attraction going into France. One would hope they are re thinking the Future World updates and makings sure they get it done right and bring it back to its former glory.

The Mission: SPACE update is already well underway and wouldn't have anything to do with the Ratatouille attraction. The closure is not required for the update and is not anywhere near the same scale of work.

 

[HMF]

What is everyone wanting to be done to Spaceship Earth?

An intelligent script and an actual ending among many other things.

 

[HMF]

The Mission: SPACE update is already well underway and wouldn't have anything to do with the Ratatouille attraction. The closure is not required for the update and is not anywhere near the same scale of work.

So what is the closure for? How much should we expect to change cosmetically?

 

[lazyboy97o]

So what is the closure for? How much should we expect to change cosmetically?

Most people probably won't notice much change.

 

[HMF]

Most people probably won't notice much change.

That's a pity.. The entire Postshow is such a wasted opportunity.

 

[*Q*]

The fact that Spaceship Earth has been in it's current state for almost 10 years now is ridiculous and sad.

Be careful what you wish for, everyone was saying the same thing in the years leading up to 2007.

 

[HMF]

Be careful what you wish for, everyone was saying the same thing in the years leading up to 2007.

I wasn't. The only things that dated the 94 version were the videophone scenes, The cycling News Reports and the line about greeting the 21st Century. Everything else would have aged fine. Not that they shouldn't update it at all and there were slight modifications made to the 94 Version in the late 90s and early 2000s.

 

[*Q*]

I wasn't. The only things that dated the 94 version were the videophone scenes, The cycling News Reports and the line about greeting the 21st Century. Everything else would have aged fine. Not that they shouldn't update it at all and there were slight modifications made to the 94 Version in the late 90s and early 2000s.

I had kinda liked the tradition of updating the attraction. I always kinda felt that was how all of the original pavilions were meant to be updated (instead of replaced), but Spaceship Earth was the only one that did it. I would miss Jeremy Irons, like I missed Walter Cronkite, but was excited to see what flavor another new narrator would bring, what modern vision of the future they would present, what new effects they would install, etc.

 

[HMF]

I had kinda liked the tradition of updating the attraction. I always kinda felt that was how all of the original pavilions were meant to be updated (instead of replaced), but Spaceship Earth was the only one that did it. I would miss Jeremy Irons, like I missed Walter Cronkite, but was excited to see what flavor another new narrator would bring, what modern vision of the future they would present, what new effects they would install, etc.

I was optimistic at the time, too. The 25th Anniversary had put me on cloud nine and I was excited for it. Then I saw how it turned out and was crestfallen. Without a doubt Irons' was the best version.

 

[Kman101]

I wish they'd do a complete change out of the attraction. It's one and done for me. It doesn't even register to me when I'm at Epcot.

 

[Haymarket2008]

I wish they'd do a complete change out of the attraction. It's one and done for me. It doesn't even register to me when I'm at Epcot.

I have ridden the thing twice. That was enough. And I try to hit everything on my trips.

 

[Cesar R M]

There's a chance MS could be done and dusted before Splash.

The ride bit anyway.

Yo marny, so the things confirmed are this..
mission space refurb, this refurb, the rat on france and brazil pavilion? or brazil is still in the air?

 

[Ralphlaw]

One can only hope. Personally I would just do the spine adjustments now and wait for the Bob's to be gone before we get into the real work since just about everything Iger and Chapek touch usually turns to crap.

You know, the critiques of Iger in some ways might seem warranted at a micro level, such as bellyaching about the Imagination Pavilion or the TTA narration, but stepping back and looking at the greater accomplishments under Iger provides a big picture perspective. Specifically, the movie units are enjoying unprecedented success. We saw Guardians last night, and the previews for Disney company films are shocking: Pirates at the end of the month. Ragnarock later this year. Spiderman, with lots of screen time with Robert Downey's Ironman. And the next Start Wars movie at Christmas. That's a billion and a half dollars of movies that will eventuality add popularity to the parks with more guests and future additions. At Oscars a while back, it was Zootopia versus Moana for animated film. No one else came close. Pixar vs. Disney, and both owned by Disney.

Iger took office in 2005, and we now have two new huge Disney cruise ships with two more on the way. You can take a Disney ship to Alaska, Panama, Russia, and Italy. ESPN and ABC are surviving the tech invasion well. Adventures By Disney has become a premier tour agency. Shanghai Disney went from nothing to reality. At WDW, we have a new Fantasyland area, a Pandora on the horizon, DVC additions seemingly everywhere, Art of Animation, a redone Disney Springs, and a bunch of new stuff is coming like Rat, Star Wars and Pixar lands, and plenty of other pipeline projects. Yeah, yeti is still discoing, but I am confident that eventually he will be refurbed.

I'm not a fan of the IP invasion, especially at World Showcase, but that is not a reason to condemn the entire body of work of a corporate CEO. Consider that other huge companies like Woolworths, Eastman Kodak, Sears Roebuck, Montgomery Ward and others went bankrupt in the last couple decades, and one cannot help but imagine what the nostalgia buffs would have done to Disney.

Honestly, some of the banter on these boards comes off as whiny children complaining to mom about not having burgers or Mac & Cheese for dinner every night, or teens whining about not having the latest phone, fashion or car. Consider who pays for all of that, and perhaps a more mature viewpoint will be achieved.

When history is written, Iger will likely be seen as an amazingly able CEO who avoided corporate takeovers, built new parks, added ships, made dozens of huge movies, and brought the Disney customer lists to unprecedented heights. His work, or lack thereof, at WDW will ultimately be seen as net plusses even though he didn't open a fifth gate (yet) or solve every single customer complaint or keep all the nostalgia buffs at bay. Yeah, Future World's original ideal is watered down. Princesses don't belong there. Studios is temporarily not a full day park. Pandora took forever to build. My yeti is disgusting. Crowds are ridiculous. CM morale is not great (was it ever?). And yada yada yada. Yet the company is not just profitable, it is amazing, and people from all over the world continue to dump thousands of dollars (yes, thousands per family) to see movies and make great trips. Let's look at the donut for a minute, and not just the hole.

 

[wdwfan22]

The fact that Spaceship Earth has been in it's current state for almost 10 years now is ridiculous and sad.

Well if Siemens signed a 10 year contract for Spaceship Earth it should be up next year. So changes for the attraction could come then.

 

[Kman101]

The long stretch of nothing and the narration are really the only things that need work for Spaceship Earth. Of course a general refurbing of the attraction as well.

 

[Ralphlaw]

The fact that Spaceship Earth has been in it's current state for almost 10 years now is ridiculous and sad.

A new refurb is likely on the way, which explains why basic maintenance is currently lacking. But let's also remember how sorry it was ten years ago before the Siemens refurb. No after show area--just long blue hallways.. No interactive face photo video thingy at the end. Webcam was the "future", and the long backwards descent had essentially nothing to look at.

Yes, we had the far superior Jeremy Irons narration, but overall the "new" version was very much a net plus that most people liked very much. In ten years, that's over 40,000 hours of use, and mechanical components cannot survive that long without replacements. A major shutdown is coming, and hopefully it will be even better. To be honest, the "sorry" state is quite recent.

 

[Fox&Hound]

You know, the critiques of Iger in some ways might seem warranted at a micro level, such as bellyaching about the Imagination Pavilion or the TTA narration, but stepping back and looking at the greater accomplishments under Iger provides a big picture perspective. Specifically, the movie units are enjoying unprecedented success. We saw Guardians last night, and the previews for Disney company films are shocking: Pirates at the end of the month. Ragnarock later this year. Spiderman, with lots of screen time with Robert Downey's Ironman. And the next Start Wars movie at Christmas. That's a billion and a half dollars of movies that will eventuality add popularity to the parks with more guests and future additions. At Oscars a while back, it was Zootopia versus Moana for animated film. No one else came close. Pixar vs. Disney, and both owned by Disney.

Iger took office in 2005, and we now have two new huge Disney cruise ships with two more on the way. You can take a Disney ship to Alaska, Panama, Russia, and Italy. ESPN and ABC are surviving the tech invasion well. Adventures By Disney has become a premier tour agency. Shanghai Disney went from nothing to reality. At WDW, we have a new Fantasyland area, a Pandora on the horizon, DVC additions seemingly everywhere, Art of Animation, a redone Disney Springs, and a bunch of new stuff is coming like Rat, Star Wars and Pixar lands, and plenty of other pipeline projects. Yeah, yeti is still discoing, but I am confident that eventually he will be refurbed.

I'm not a fan of the IP invasion, especially at World Showcase, but that is not a reason to condemn the entire body of work of a corporate CEO. Consider that other huge companies like Woolworths, Eastman Kodak, Sears Roebuck, Montgomery Ward and others went bankrupt in the last couple decades, and one cannot help but imagine what the nostalgia buffs would have done to Disney.

Honestly, some of the banter on these boards comes off as whiny children complaining to mom about not having burgers or Mac & Cheese for dinner every night, or teens whining about not having the latest phone, fashion or car. Consider who pays for all of that, and perhaps a more mature viewpoint will be achieved.

When history is written, Iger will likely be seen as an amazingly able CEO who avoided corporate takeovers, built new parks, added ships, made dozens of huge movies, and brought the Disney customer lists to unprecedented heights. His work, or lack thereof, at WDW will ultimately be seen as net plusses even though he didn't open a fifth gate (yet) or solve every single customer complaint or keep all the nostalgia buffs at bay. Yeah, Future World's original ideal is watered down. Princesses don't belong there. Studios is temporarily not a full day park. Pandora took forever to build. My yeti is disgusting. Crowds are ridiculous. CM morale is not great (was it ever?). And yada yada yada. Yet the company is not just profitable, it is amazing, and people from all over the world continue to dump thousands of dollars (yes, thousands per family) to see movies and make great trips. Let's look at the donut for minute, and not just the hole.

Awesome post, and I completely agree. One nitpick- weren't Moana and Zootopia both Disney animation? Pixar produced Finding Dory this year- another huge hit (at least financially, maybe not with critics). But, to add to your point, Disney is hitting it out of the park recently, and Iger definitely plays a significant role in that.

 

[Kamikaze]

Awesome post, and I completely agree. One nitpick- weren't Moana and Zootopia both Disney animation? Pixar produced Finding Dory this year- another huge hit (at least financially, maybe not with critics). But, to add to your point, Disney is hitting it out of the park recently, and Iger definitely plays a significant role in that.

At the very least he stays out of the way. His purchases have obviously driven the company.