Spaceship Earth is re-imagined by one of its original Imagineers

[joel_maxwell]

Ouch. You're going to need to go into therapy.

its due to a baby on the way...... so, i might need double

 

[joel_maxwell]

i think there is a glitch.... page 5 takes you to page 4??

EDIT: seems as though this post fixed it....

 

[brkgnews]

i think there is a glitch.... page 5 takes you to page 4??

EDIT: seems as though this post fixed it....

I've had this happen before, too. Sometimes posts jump from one page to anotehr as well.

 

[jasondiff]

I can't remember many details of the original Vic Perrin narration, but I do remember it pushed the communications angle very little, at least compared to Cronkite. It was really more about the scope of human history. I remember the ending had Perrin saying something like "we must dare to fulfill our destiny!" It was much grander and broad.

Up until the telephone operator scene, there's not much in the beginning of the ride that would necessarily require any narration to focus on communication specifically. So you've got the operator, telegraph, and videophone scenes which specifically relate to communication, with the videophones likely in the scrap heap already. Going to a grander, broader Horizons-esque narration should turn out great.

I remember hearing that the interactivity would somehow relate to the postshow. Guest images would apparently be projected onto the big sphere in the postshow as they were coming down the ramp. But that doesn't seem to have much in connection with the touchscreens.

BTW brkgnews, nice new avatar!

 

[jmuboy]

I like the idea of playing an updated "Tomorrow's Child" in the queue. I too hope we have a planetarium feel with a new space station and view of earth back in the top of the building.

 

[jorgetheviking]

This is sounding better everytime I hear about it! If everything goes as planned I should be a WDW passholder in February.

 

[JEANYLASER]

I can't wait to ride the new SpaceShip Earth! It is my favorite slow ride!

 

[Expo_Seeker40]

The only thing I feel uneasy about is the ending....I just have a feeling that it will be bland wall to wall projection screens showing us in a future environment.

Then again the endings to SSE have never been very amazing. The Vic Perrin ending was television monitors and projection screens with some blinking lights here and there showing computer information, and some people talking on phones, images from space, etc

The Walter Cronkite ending was project screen prisms, and blinking lights.

The Jeremy Irons ending was black curtained walls and fiber optic lights for the most part.

So yet no matter how much I hope for an elaborate ending, I still can't help but feel it will be a very simple and generic themed ending. :lookaroun

 

[VacationPlanner]

And now I can truly breath a sigh of relief...because i now know in my heart that WDI will do exactly what needs to be done to improve SSE and at the same time keep all the little things that you and I all love about this attraction.

And heres my little trip down memory lane...with the new touch screens do you think that they are trying to revive memories of Horizons in the minds of guests who both experienced and miss that beloved attraction?

 

[Skyway]

Everyone is suggesting that the delay with Spaceship Earth automatically means it will be BETTER than Disney had originally planned.

No one has brought up another possibility about why the rehab has been extended until February: saving $$$$.

For Disney to put out a press release announcing the opening in November, its clear they had every intent to meet that goal.

Perhaps (and I don't know this for sure) there was a very minor construction delay that convinced Disney the ride would not be ready to open by Thanksgiving, but maybe 2 or 3 weeks later.

If Disney knew Spaceship Earth would miss most of the Holiday crowds, its possible they said "Well, then, what's the rush?". Rather than spend a ton of money on overtime labor to meet the holiday deadline, Disney could have decided to extend the rehab schedule another 2 months, saving them those additional overtime costs (from those early press releases, its clear they were planning to do additional SSE work into "early 2008" anyways)

The perfect example of this is the recent Haunted Mansion rehab. Disney had a hard deadline to meet: the opening night of MNSSHP. It sounds like that Mansion was buzzing with overtime activity in that short rehab period to get it done on time. But guess what? When the doors opened, the ride still wasn't done! In recent weeks even more had been added to the Mansion (more portraits, the attic finally works, additional audio, etc).

Imagine if Disney did not have that MNSSHP deadline. Perhaps they would have extended the Mansion rehab another month and probably saved a bunch of money in the process (not only from less overtime, but also the cost-savings that come from having an attraction shut down)

Just a thought no one has brought up yet.

 

[marni1971]

Skyway; welcome! :wave:

One thing with the HM and it`s rehab was the building was in far worse shape - shall we say - than first realised. Had all gone to plan (this version anyway) there would have been ample time to test and adjust all the enhancements well before the first MNSSHP. It was only when WDI had full lock down and the time they needed to look at everything with a fine toothcomb did they realise much more preliminary work was needed before any of the original plans could even begin.

Is this the same case with SSE? Who knows. Popular concensus seems to be WDI never said November, or indeed 2007. Misinformation in marketing? Crossed wires? We may never know.

 

[WDWGuy]

Just thought I would pass this along:

I spoke with a Spaceship Earth CM while at Epcot yesterday and I asked him about the extended rehab...he said quote:


"they ran into some technical gliches they weren't expecting."


There ya go....take if for what its worth...

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

I always understood that the main reason why SSE didn't get it's original "Horizons-esque" theme was because Bell System/AT&T really wanted to push the communications theme to promote their telephone company. It makes sense if you think about it. And that's why Horizons appeared with the original SSE theme over in FWEast. So basically, we have been deprived of the original SSE for over 25 years and we are now finally getting it back. Thanks to Seimens not being just a telephone company, we can now enjoy a wide range of future technologies. Take a look at the post-show: it has aspects of Test Track, WoL, and UoE. And you can create your own imagined future? I'd say that's a reflection of (Ji)Imagination. See, now SSE truly is the park representative!



PS- You know what we desperately need? New Concept Art!!

Very interesting insight...I guess this means that the whole comunication theme is really gone from EPCOT now.

Unless you count InoventionsLOL

 

[Magicot]

Very interesting insight...I guess this means that the whole comunication theme is really gone from EPCOT now.

Unless you count InoventionsLOL

I wouldn't get too bummed about losing the main communications theme here. When SSE reopens next year, we will still have communication represented in the cavemen scene, Egyptian papyrus/hieroglyphics, Roman road network, Gutenberg Press, newspaper, telegraph, telephone, radio, TV, etc. etc. So we certainly aren't losing the representation of communication in Epcot, just gaining a reworking of a pre-existing story. We're finally getting the time travel adventure into the future that truly represents Epcot as a whole. It's a broader story but definitely one that's representational of the park. And isn't that the type of welcome we want from the first ride we see?

 

[Tinkwings]

February 18th is the scheduled open date?.......hoping for a soft opening earlier in the month....and YES IT DOES HAPPEN!!!! Although now that I think of it I have been there for soft opening prior to a new attraction opening date and not a refurb....guess we will just have to rely on you locals to keep us updated....