EPCOT Spaceship Earth Refurb - 2 Year Closure

[Dragonman]

Does anyone know what happened to the World of Motion chickens with the loss of Goofy's Wiseacre Farms?

Do we have confirmation on the dinosaurs being trashed? I can see the copyrighted characters of the Great Movie Ride and Ellen being completely scrapped (it's not like there's a new animatronic ride to take them like Splash Mountain did), but the dinos? I was hoping they'd feature prominently in the new ride.

All the WOM chickens are now being used in both parks’ new POTC auction scenes.

It is known that at least one mask and set of clothing of Ellen have survived as they were used on her show when she received her “animatronic” (really just a mannequin with the actual clothing/mask on it) although I believe those were actually spare/discarded pieces that a collector owns and let the show borrow.

I’m sure they at least kept one or two smaller Dinos for the Archives. And possibly the smallest animatronics (butterflies, millipedes, snails)

 

[Magic Feather]

All the WOM chickens are now being used in both parks’ new POTC auction scenes.

It is known that at least one mask and set of clothing of Ellen have survived as they were used on her show when she received her “animatronic” (really just a mannequin with the actual clothing/mask on it) although I believe those were actually spare/discarded pieces that a collector owns and let the show borrow.

I’m sure they at least kept one or two smaller Dinos for the Archives. And possibly the smallest animatronics (butterflies, millipedes, snails)

The archives got a lot of stuff from GMR, and a decent amount from UoE too.

 

[peter11435]

The archives got a lot of stuff from GMR, and a decent amount from UoE too.

And several things ended up in backstage offices and facilities.

 

[Dragonman]

And several things ended up in backstage offices and facilities.

Oh believe me we know, thanks to a Spikey individual.

 

[ShoalFox]

I think I remember seeing some Munchkin costumes from GMR in Epcot costuming during my Undiscovered Future World Tour last July.

 

[Mat Cauthon]

More IP. More beer.

EPCOT: What for? Nothing helps. I'm disgraced.
Marni: Who, you? Never! EPCOT you've got to pull yourself together. Gosh it disturbs me to see you EPCOT, looking so down in the dumps...

 

[WEDway Inc & Company LLC]

In today's Parks Blog article, it says "Time Travelers, take note that the iconic Spaceship Earth attraction at EPCOT will also continue to be available in its current state while its planned refurbishment..."

 

[Surferboy567]

“Time travelers, take note that the iconic Spaceship Earth attraction at EPCOT will also continue to be available in its current state while we pause on its planned refurbishment...”

Not sure how I feel...that doesn’t sound promising that it will happen anytime soon.

 

[Dragonman]

The only evidence of work I’ve seen so far was from the evacuation back in October, where you could see the moon surface tarp was removed in the space station area, and a ladder by the 94’ pepper’s ghost figures indicating their likely removal:

 

[jt04]

“Time travelers, take note that the iconic Spaceship Earth attraction at EPCOT will also continue to be available in its current state while we pause on its planned refurbishment...”

Not sure how I feel...that doesn’t sound promising that it will happen anytime soon.

Kicking the can down the road. This just increases the odds of a 20K type closure in the future imo.

 

[Tom P.]

Kicking the can down the road. This just increases the odds of a 20K type closure in the future imo.

Disney has proven me wrong before, but I cannot see them completely closing Spaceship Earth. That ride is synonymous with EPCOT in many people's minds. I could see them letting this "pause" last for the next 10 years, but I can't imagine they will shut it down completely.

 

[Surferboy567]

Disney has proven me wrong before, but I cannot see them completely closing Spaceship Earth. That ride is synonymous with EPCOT in many people's minds. I could see them letting this "pause" last for the next 10 years, but I can't imagine they will shut it down completely.

No way, this current version of the ride probably won’t last 2 years. It is super old, prone to multiple breakdowns and even has rumors that the structural intergrity isn’t the best. This needs to be updated also the ride itself really needs it, not to mention the track.

It won’t be shut down becuase as you said spaceship earth is so important to EPCOT but, it’s definitely going to have to be refurbished extensively.

 

[marni1971]

Kicking the can down the road. This just increases the odds of a 20K type closure in the future imo.

Why do you say that?

 

[jt04]

Why do you say that?

Sometimes neglect can lead to issues that make repair difficult to the point it can be argued it isn't cost effective. Not saying that is inevitable it just increases the odds.

 

[marni1971]

Sometimes neglect can lead to issues that make repair difficult to the point it can be argued it isn't cost effective. Not saying that is inevitable it just increases the odds.

20K was a smokescreen though.

SSE will happen. To some degree. The facility is sound. The ride system as we know needs work.

 

[Walt d]

The site which shall not be named is reporting SSE will close in 2020 for 2 years for a complete refurb as part of the larger re-imagining of Epcot. It would re-open on the parks 40th anniversary in 2022.

EDIT: Work could include track replacement, scene updates (especially from the Industrial age onward), boarding/unboarding relocation, and a completely new post show building.

Seems logical that there would be a significant change to the landscaping and grounds around the attraction as well.

I would of thought it would be ready by the 50th.. it sounds very interesting and Worth the wait I’m sure”

 

[marni1971]

I would of thought it would be ready by the 50th..

No. That wasn’t the plan.

 

[Tom P.]

No. That wasn’t the plan.

How long do you think SSE can reasonably be maintained in its current form before Disney is pretty much forced into shutting it down for repair or refurbishment?

 

[Mac Tonight]

Slightly random but there's a documentary on Hulu called Spaceship Earth about the group of scientists who lived in the Biosphere 2 in 1991.

They talk a bit about geodesic spheres, but only included one photo of a small group of them standing in front of the namesake attraction. Still, a truly fascinating story!

 

[JustInTime]

Do we actually believe the SSE redo will move forward beyond this? I personally don’t see it happening t which saddens me. It looked great and was one of the few things I was excited about for EPCOT.