Spaceship Earth - my opinions of the refurb - very very dissapointing

[RonAnnArbor]

My point with the end portion of Spaceship Earth is that there was never much of anything to begin with. If for 25 years the descent has been underwhelming, I certainly wouldn't expect it to improve much.

Has anyone possibly entertained the notion that based on the layout of the descent area and the building plan that they created, they are limited in space and what they can do here? With such limitations, they believed that creating this interactive screen at least brought something new?

The ending has been lights and static figures. So, if we get some more lights and little effects to equal or be greater than the last version along with the interactive video screens, how could that not be an upgrade?

THis is exactly what I was referring too...the decline with the touchscreen allows them to keep your eyes on the screen in front of you instead of staring at the ceiling on the trip down - an upgrade in my opinion...sure, maybe they don't have the right type of entertainment on the screens - maybe it should be a passive video clip -- but remember, Siemens' is also advertising their TOUCHSCREEN -- something that is used in their products from controls on the front of refrigerators and microwaves to actual communications equipment...and I am sure those touchscreens and the improved sound system didn't cost WDW a penny - those were Siemens additions with their own equipment.

 

[Thelazer]

I would not buy a Siemens touchscreen if that's what is going on.
The Iphone touch screen is WAY cooler!

They have Steve Jobs in the garage working on the mac.
They need to call up steve and have him work on those touchscreens!

Jay

 

[Shaman]

I hope John Lasseter and Siemens Corp. take a look at these complaints and visit the attraction adn than fire the entire WDI staff. This is really the last straw...we keep getting let down time and time again by these half wit morons who think we want to look at projections and videos at a theme park. Lame, Mediocre, childish, stuff. Let's get a new WDI team that really loves Disney and wants to blow audiances away not disappoint people with lame "interactive" stuff that isnt revolutionary.

Sure Haunted Mansion refurb was good and the plans for Disney's California Adventure look promosing but everything else from these people have been met with disdain and disappointment. Keep Tony Baxter and Joe Rhode...but please please PLEASE fire Tom "Video projections rule" Fitzgerald and his cronnies like eric "I helped design the wand" jacobson.

Just because a handful of Disney zealots find a refurb to be disastrous hardly means what they've done is terrible. Simply put its your opinion. I for one am not continually let down by what we've gotten from Disney. Maybe my expectations are more realistic (maybe not).

I'd bet everyone would take this new version of SSE as opposed to a completely gutted new attraction (which I'm sure would've never lived up to their idealized and romanticized SSE)....

I've been amazed reading the threads about the SSE revamp! I watched the video and the attraction looks superb. The score sounds great and Judy Dench sounds very good as well.

The animatronics look simply incredible, we have great new show scenes, and all I'm reading about is how the ending is terrible with the video screens. Hm, if I recall, the ending never had much. There is a lot seeing things through rose colored glasses around here including how great Tomorrow's Child was. Sorry, as a child and it bored me to tears and I always gladly skipped it on the Disney soundtracks. I know I'm not the only one around here that thought so.

For all of the complaining about the video screens, I haven't seen any mention of the fact that they review things with trivia bits about things that you saw and are EDUCATIONAL. How many times do people post about the lack of educational ideas being in Epcot around here? A lot.

It's easy to understand how Disney and WDI can dismiss us hardcore fans when it seems that no matter what they do, it's never good enough and there is always an amazing amount of complaining. I personally hope that they add more elements to the end than just the video screens, but the ending has never had much to begin with. The Journey Into Imagination redo was complete garbage and it still is pathetic in relation to the original ride, that's something to moan about.

We have an attraction where they have actually ADDED audio-animatronics and that's quite a good piece of news.

I think your post sums up my way of looking at the whole refurb. In my opinion, EVERYTHING that was added and removed make the ride better. The ending has always been terrible when compared with the rest of the attraction, and a refurb budget alone could not fix that....

There is always a group of fans that complain (usually the nostalgic group)...only time will tell how successful this refurb was...

The video screens will facilitate better updates to this attraction in the future...not just as it relates to the ending, but also because it could come into use throughout the attraction in different ways.

Sure the ride is still bumpy...but at least SSE is still there!

 

[Thelazer]

Just because a handful of Disney zealots find a refurb to be disastrous hardly means what they've done is terrible. Simply put its your opinion. I for one am not continually let down by what we've gotten from Disney. Maybe my expectations are more realistic (maybe not).

I'd bet everyone would take this new version of SSE as opposed to a completely gutted new attraction (which I'm sure would've never lived up to their idealized and romanticized SSE)....



I think your post sums up my way of looking at the whole refurb. In my opinion, EVERYTHING that was added and removed make the ride better. The ending has always been terrible when compared with the rest of the attraction, and a refurb budget alone could not fix that....

There is always a group of fans that complain (usually the nostalgic group)...only time will tell how successful this refurb was...

The video screens will facilitate better updates to this attraction in the future...not just as it relates to the ending, but also because it could come into use throughout the attraction in different ways.

Sure the ride is still bumpy...but at least SSE is still there!

Please notice that, just about all of us who are complaining are saying quite postive things about other aspects of this rehab.
This has NOTHING to do with nostalgic, or old-time disney, or I wish it were 1980's and I was a kid again... nothing.

It has to do with a great rehab being ruined by an ending that is WORSE than the ones from past versions.
Not a step forward, not an improvment over a dull ending. It is WORSE than the past endings and does not need to be this way.

 

[Shaman]

Please notice that, just about all of us who are complaining are saying quite postive things about other aspects of this rehab. This has NOTHING to do with nostalgic, or old-time disney, or I wish it were 1980's and I was a kid again... nothing)

It has to do with a great rehab being ruined by an ending that is WORSE than the ones from past versions. Not a step forward, not an improvment over a dull ending. It is WORSE!

And a refurb budget was going to fix the boring ending it has basically ALWAYS had? Sure, maybe they could've spent a bulk of the budget on that...but then the rest would've been left untouched.

I guess, I'm grateful for what we got as opposed to the alternatives...which probably included: leaving it alone...and completely gutting it.

Of course, that's just my opinion. :shrug:

 

[mousermerf]

And a refurb budget was going to fix the boring ending it has basically ALWAYS had? Sure, maybe they could've spent a bulk of the budget on that...but then the rest would've been left untouched.

I guess, I'm grateful for what we got as opposed to the alternatives...which probably included: leaving it alone...and completely gutting it.

Of course, that's just my opinion. :shrug:

Shaman, have you been on the new version? Even the folks who normally defend everything Disney does are saying its bad. It is bad.

 

[Thelazer]

And a refurb budget was going to fix the boring ending it has basically ALWAYS had? Sure, maybe they could've spent a bulk of the budget on that...but then the rest would've been left untouched.

I guess, I'm grateful for what we got as opposed to the alternatives...which probably included: leaving it alone...and completely gutting it.

Of course, that's just my opinion. :shrug:

Well, they could have left the ending as is and not done anything with it.

BTW- If the would have gutted it and done something new in it (what was that, TimeRacers concept again...) hey.. I'm all for that as well.

oh well, we will see what the next two months brings.
It will be intresting to see if it opens today for previews again.
I'm betting not.

Jay

 

[joel_maxwell]

Maybe its possible that there are a ton of light effects in the finale that just flat out weren't working. Or let's hope so.

one can only hope... what a waste of space. this is why imnot a fan of soft openings if potentially all the effects arent working. what is the point. i understand that sometimes you have to get rider reaction, but like i stated, hypotetically, if a majority of the effects (descent) arent working, it just cases a fire storm

You are dead right on this. I see it all the time in my job. People in high positions in companies, who really have no idea what they are doing insist on things like this as they perceive it to be the latest and greatest thing to happen to us. Very much like 100% flash sites VS good ole, usable HTML. A lot of the time you dont WANT to be interactive - you want to sit back, and enjoy the experience being presented.

amen brother.... the suits always think they know best. i see it everyday in marketing

The descent itself - come February if nothing has appeared I think a storming of Guest Relations is in order. Until then the jury is out. Who's to say the attraction won`t close tomorrow until Christmas, then remain shut for a month? I really hope so. My thought of the importance of the descent are posted above, as are those of others. Spaceship Earth is the flagship of the park. The icon. It should have the finale to end all finales. Not a darkened opinion poll.

dont forget your pitch fork that will add to the level of concern. i hope it does close back down martin, AND it is dissapointing that the space may not be used in 180top. why not a replica of the current space station?... oh wait, i bet seimens doesnt have any money tied into that. i hate to think this is what it is about

I hope John Lasseter and Siemens Corp. take a look at these complaints and visit the attraction adn than fire the entire WDI staff.

hello knee jerk reaction.

 

[comics101]

I haven't gotten to ride the attraction yet, but my mom and I watched Jose's ride video, and the video screen things are extremely dissapointing. I was hoping Jose just showed the video screens on the camera, and there was something else around you as you decended, but reading these reviews, it doesn't sound too good. I couldn't really hear the narration on the video, so... I did like the new score though, just as much if not more than the old one, and I couldn't believe how lifelike the AAs looked...

Watching the video, I think I miss AT&T

 

[Mikieboy84]

Can't judge till i ride, but it seems like everyone here is disappointed. The video screens are kinda lame and the descent seems like a cheap alternative to doing something amazing. Although I think comparing it to the travesty that is Imagination is taking it a step too far.The improvements on the first half of the ride are pretty impressive and I really like Dame Judi!

 

[MythBuster]

I hate to say this: But I told you so, after the 180 drop there would nothing to look at except the video screens except some lighting. And that was planned to be that way.

As usual, it all comes down to money. But a good thing is, they didn't remove anything from the finale, they just turned it off and covered it up. So there is a possibility that original finale could return in parts or totally.

 

[dxwwf3]

As usual, it all comes down to money. But a good thing is, they didn't remove anything from the finale, they just turned it off and covered it up. So there is a possibility that original finale could return in parts or totally.

Uncover the stuff, get some new lines of dialog from Dench, bring back the old ending score or just bring in more of the new one, and problem fixed.

 

[LorangeJuice]

Wow, after reading virtually the entire thread, I was fearing for the worst. Then I remembered the Time Racers concept. Thank you to whoever brought that up!

Again, wow! I'll be heading to Epcot in a few days. I've purposefully avoided the videos of the SSE refurb in the past 48 hours or so, but I have seen some still pictures of the new computer room (looking good!) and the touch screen choices and animation. I do have to say, the 2-D animation is disappointing at first, but if they do incorporate passengers faces into the animation, I will be very pleased. This could be possible. If 3-D animation were used, then a 2-D projection of your face would look really bad.

I also just want to go on record as saying that the previous endings were fine. Not spectacular, but what would be after the 180 climax? I do, however, distinctly remember leaving with a feeling of hope that was solidified during the descent with Tomorrow's Child playing. Anything that doesn't solidify that feeling will be sub-par to me. Heart and soul is what always sold me on Disney. Simple interactions can be found anywhere these days.

I also want to go on record as a child of the 80's where all of our parents and teachers thought that we were completely brainwashed on TV and Nintendo. I personally brought the GameBoy with me everywhere I went, yet absolutley LOVED virtually all EPCOT had to offer back then. The first time I ever used a touch screen or a computer was at EPCOT, and it is something I will never forget.

Who knows? After reading all of these reviews, I may be inclined to actually like the refurb more now that I am fearing the worst. **Crosses fingers that I can get on next week.**

 

[Shaman]

Shaman, have you been on the new version? Even the folks who normally defend everything Disney does are saying its bad. It is bad.

Nope. I've seen the videos, the photos and read all the reviews. And everything leads me to think that a good job was done on the refurb. Of course the physical experience is different. Not to mention that a lot of folks are saying that some things have not yet been completed.

How 'bout you merf? Did you get a chance to ride it yet?

 

[imagineer boy]

Well, atleast the rest of the ride turned out great. The only thing I think could be improved upon is the decent. At least its not as horriffic as the Imaginiation rehab, and not as nightmarishely underwhelming El Rio rehab.

For the record though, this is probably the first time I've seen Steve doing any hard core complaining around here. Wow, the ending must be bad. :lol:

 

[TP2000]

So funny that people are happy that the animatronics are moving "fluidly" and "impressively" again. Uh, gang, THAT'S HOW THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO WORK IN THE FIRST PLACE AT A DISNEY PARK. :brick:

Now, how long before the Spaceship Earth figures grind down into the quivering, creaky condition they were in the last time I was there? WDW is letting all of the rest of its animatronics look creaky and pathetic, so in three months time how will these Spaceship Earth figures look?

Splash Mountain, Country Bears, Pirates, Energy, etc., etc. all have horribly maintained animatronic figures. Unless WDW radically reorganizes its maintenance structure and processes, WDI has just handed over a fleet of tuned up animatronics to a maintenance organization that can't or won't take care of them.

 

[Enigma]

Everything I was going to say has already been mentioned, so I'll just add my two cents along with everyone else's.

The descent is HORRIBLE. Why would I be interested in a Flash video that looks like a web design student project? Why would any Guest prefer to look at a little touch screen after experiencing a grand AA attraction? My Nintendo DS Lite and Wii are much more interactive and cutting-edge than the new finale to SSE.

WDI needs to fix the descent ASAP.

Please tell Disney this.

 

[Enigma]

Please notice that, just about all of us who are complaining are saying quite postive things about other aspects of this rehab.
This has NOTHING to do with nostalgic, or old-time disney, or I wish it were 1980's and I was a kid again... nothing.

It has to do with a great rehab being ruined by an ending that is WORSE than the ones from past versions.
Not a step forward, not an improvment over a dull ending. It is WORSE than the past endings and does not need to be this way.

Yea there are positive things about this rehab...the new AA's are amazing and im thrilled they replaced the last show scene before the descent (the dumb scene with the boy and girl on the internet). But the score, narration, and descent portion of the ride are an absolute joke. The descent especially is the problem...nobody asked for nor wants interactivity of this calibur it isnt even as cool as the old button pressing in Horizons. This is just poorly done and im sure the masses who play video games, watch movies, and use the internet on a daily basis will agree with me that this new ending is lame.

 

[Austin1]

^^^Who should we talk to?

I know many of us who have ridden (or watched the video of) the newly refurbished ride are very disappointed, but if we aren't at the theme park how can we let Disney know we are dissatisfied, anyone have an email address or phone number?

 

[Tim G]

Considering that I talked at length with one of them today.

I think I would know that they are in fact quite intrested in the feedback given. It's already well known that WDI does read this.

:lookaroun :lookaroun

They do listen, they take notes and then sit around and read thur the notes, looking for major trends and overall feedback etc.

It's also already well known that WDI does read this. They are not going to just show up with a screename "IAMWDI" and put up a post saying "hello everyone, tell me what you think..." but, they do read this

:shrug:

(and are as always welcome to hire me as a consultant on this or any project)

Hereby you receive the very special flag for this remarkable piece of... errr... fiction...