Rumor Spaceship Earth Refurb - 2 Year Closure

[LukeS7]

Great question.

180 Top will be used to preview trailers from upcoming Disney theatrical releases.

Spaceship Earth being refurbed as Great Movie Ride 2.0 confirmed

 

[mgf]

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Spaceship Earth being refurbed as Great Movie Ride 2.0 confirmed

No, all of the GMR animatronics are going into the Grand Canyon railroad scene that is totally being built in a giant show building visible from the main approach to the MK.

 

[LukeS7]

No, all of the GMR animatronics are going into the Grand Canyon railroad scene that is totally being built in a giant show building visible from the main approach to the MK.

No clue why, but that post made me go "hmmm, what fun ways could they use those AA's in MK?" and the answer my brain visualized was the Alien AA popping down at people in the main entrance tunnels under the train station

 

[Missing20K]

To be honest, to scrap the ride system type would be a vastly difficult thing to do. One of the (many) reasons Time Racers didn’t happen. Not only are some of the climbs very steep, having anything that’s not a linked chain of vehicles throws up all kinds of issues about a suitable and failsafe way of preventing rollback.

You mentioned in an earlier post that the "how" and "where" of guest boarding will change. If the omnimover system remains, I'm incredibly curious as to the change in "how" and "where" guests board.

Is this to suggest that the path the vehicles take may be altered?

Understood if you can't say.

 

[rle4lunch]

No, all of the GMR animatronics are going into the Grand Canyon railroad scene that is totally being built in a giant show building visible from the main approach to the MK.

No thanks. Bad AA is rampant enough on some attractions, let the past die. Kill it if you have to.

 

[SteamboatJoe]

You mentioned in an earlier post that the "how" and "where" of guest boarding will change. If the omnimover system remains, I'm incredibly curious as to the change in "how" and "where" guests board.

Is this to suggest that the path the vehicles take may be altered?

Understood if you can't say.

The Project Tomorrow space would make sense. It isn't what it once was, it is no longer sponsored, and there is plenty of room in Innoventions to relocate anything worth keeping/install fresh attractions of similar scale.

 

[Epcot_Imagineer]

You mentioned in an earlier post that the "how" and "where" of guest boarding will change. If the omnimover system remains, I'm incredibly curious as to the change in "how" and "where" guests board.

Is this to suggest that the path the vehicles take may be altered?

Understood if you can't say.

I totally missed the how, but I did catch the where. I think it was hinted earlier that paths could change, but nothing too crazy. Ascent/Descent paths are set in stone - due to my understanding of the building's structure - but anything else could potentially be moved.

Here's a helpful diagram/cutaway of SSE. In the corkscrew from 52' all the way up to 180 top the track could potentially be moved. The track is too narrow from ascent/descent for anything change.



Additionally from the talk of 'how' and 'where' loading will occur, it could be assumed all track in-between the down/up ramp will be moved.

 

[iHeartDisneylandCats]

No clue why, but that post made me go "hmmm, what fun ways could they use those AA's in MK?" and the answer my brain visualized was the Alien AA popping down at people in the main entrance tunnels under the train station

I believe Jane from the Tarzan scene in GMR is now the Redhead...

 

[Bender123]

I totally missed the how, but I did catch the where. I think it was hinted earlier that paths could change, but nothing too crazy. Ascent/Descent paths are set in stone - due to my understanding of the building's structure - but anything else could potentially be moved.

Here's a helpful diagram/cutaway of SSE. In the corkscrew from 52' all the way up to 180 top the track could potentially be moved. The track is too narrow from ascent/descent for anything change.

View attachment 349457

Additionally from the talk of 'how' and 'where' loading will occur, it could be assumed all track in-between the down/up ramp will be moved.

If I recall, the idea was to remove Earth Station and turn it/its land area into an extended ride area/load/unload at ground level. I don't think there is much, if anything, you can do to the ride pathing at any other point in the building itself.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Even though, technically, the line doesn't move any faster by filling in a gap of 20 feet in front of you, it does wonders for psychological feeling of movement and progress. People behind the game players/phone people get reallllllly angry if the line isn't moving, even though the actual effect of closing the gap is absolutely no time savings.

I had thought that it was pretty much universally assumed that if people just stood there playing you could pass by them. I certainly have many times. Line cutting happens when everyone is in a forward moving mode. If someone stops then they have broken out of the line. Common courtesy would say that once they stop playing they can join again when playtime is done. Physically they were ahead of everyone to begin with. It's too bad that Disney doesn't take an active roll in that by posting signs that spell that out to make sure that lines don't just stop dead with no forward movement.

That only applies to those that spend lengthy times in the interactive areas. If they just stop and glance or make a minor movement to see what it was all about without really stopping for any measurable time really haven't held anyone up and those behind have lost nothing by just being patient. I know that Disney felt that putting that stuff in was to give people stuck in those long barely moving lines could amuse themselves. But, like so many of their bad decision it has just caused more frustration in a line that already was pretty much at maximum tolerance.

 

[Bender123]

Its a

I had thought that it was pretty much universally assumed that if people just stood there playing you could pass by them. I certainly have many times. Line cutting happens when everyone is in a forward moving mode. If someone stops then they have broken out of the line. Common courtesy would say that once they stop playing they can join again when playtime is done. Physically they were ahead of everyone to begin with. It's too bad that Disney doesn't take an active roll in that by posting signs that spell that out to make sure that lines don't just stop dead with no forward movement.

That only applies to those that spend lengthy times in the interactive areas. If they just stop and glance or make a minor movement to see what it was all about without really stopping for any measurable time really haven't held anyone up and those behind have lost nothing by just being patient. I know that Disney felt that putting that stuff in was to give people stuck in those long barely moving lines could amuse themselves. But, like so many of their bad decision it has just caused more frustration in a line that already was pretty much at maximum tolerance.

When it comes to lines, its about perception over what is actually really occurring...

Let me put it this way: There is a two minute line ahead of you to get on SE and, for some reason, they have you go through all the switchbacks. It takes two minutes to walk the entire switchback.

Would you get on the ride any faster if you jumped all the railings and went right to the line or if you walked the entire switchback? The answer is it doesn't matter...you will still either spend that time waiting in the back of the line or walking the queue. The perception will be that person walking the queue didn't wait as long, because they never had to stop.

In the same way, the only place at WDW that can hold a line up, realistically preventing you from loading onto the ride, is at the fast pass/standby join and a delay at the load platform. Otherwise, being slow to move in the line really only damages perception of progress. The games do almost nothing except entertain some while wrecking perception of others. Its basically a good idea that was wrecked by people being people.

 

[prberk]

It’s a plan. Not to make queues switchbacks only, but to pick and choose when to create an immersive entertaining environment.

Which is sad. The difference between Disney attractions and everyone else's should always be dependable: an immersive environment. Over time the reputation of exceptionalism is earned (or broken) with this decision.

 

[Bender123]

Which is sad. The difference between Disney attractions and everyone else's should always be dependable: an immersive environment. Over time the reputation of exceptionalism is earned (or broken) with this decision.

I hate to break the news to you, but switchbacks aren't anything new to WDW or DL...

Just in original EPCOT, JII, SE, Listen to Land, El Rio and WoM had switchbacks. Some do and some don't...its pretty much always been the way of Disney.

The Studios and MK are filled with switchbacks...Its always been decision based on available space, resources and theme possibilities.

 

[iHeartDisneylandCats]

I hate to break the news to you, but switchbacks aren't anything new to WDW or DL...

Just in original EPCOT, JII, SE, Listen to Land, El Rio and WoM had switchbacks. Some do and some don't...its pretty much always been the way of Disney.

The Studios and MK are filled with switchbacks...Its always been decision based on available space, resources and theme possibilities.

If you want to go wayyy back, Walt himself even included switchbacks in Disneyland. They certainly have their place in the parks.

 

[Bender123]

If you want to go wayyy back, Walt himself even included switchbacks in Disneyland. They certainly have their place in the parks.

I don't mean to pick on some people, but the idea that everything at WDW is and always has been a wonderland of perfection and theming is just wrong...The parks have always been a mix of really incredibly themed attractions and ones that just sort of "exist".

Just thinking back to the early days of WDW, Jungle Cruise is a switchback and PotC is fully themed. In FL, you have Splash, which is half themed and half switchback next to BTM, which is mostly switchbacks, with a light mix of fully immersive areas...both these have really great décor and surrounding theme, even if the line mechanism isn't themed.

Original Fantasy Land was all switchbacks, including some nice open sun Dumbo and Carousel hot zones...

 

[prberk]

I hate to break the news to you, but switchbacks aren't anything new to WDW or DL...

Just in original EPCOT, JII, SE, Listen to Land, El Rio and WoM had switchbacks. Some do and some don't...its pretty much always been the way of Disney.

The Studios and MK are filled with switchbacks...Its always been decision based on available space, resources and theme possibilities.

If you want to go wayyy back, Walt himself even included switchbacks in Disneyland. They certainly have their place in the parks.

I don't mean to pick on some people, but the idea that everything at WDW is and always has been a wonderland of perfection and theming is just wrong...The parks have always been a mix of really incredibly themed attractions and ones that just sort of "exist".

Just thinking back to the early days of WDW, Jungle Cruise is a switchback and PotC is fully themed. In FL, you have Splash, which is half themed and half switchback next to BTM, which is mostly switchbacks, with a light mix of fully immersive areas...both these have really great décor and surrounding theme, even if the line mechanism isn't themed.

Original Fantasy Land was all switchbacks, including some nice open sun Dumbo and Carousel hot zones...

You are correct about switchbacks. They have always been around, even in the earliest days. Switchbacks themselves are not the problem, in themselves, as far as I am concerned. Perhaps my comment was not well placed, because as is noted in the last quote, even switchbacks can be surrounded by great décor and theming.

My primary concern, most recently evidenced by the new high-rise Hilton-type hotels (Riviera, Coronado addition, and now the "nature-inspired" concrete jungle proposed next to Fort Wilderness), is that the management seems to be considerably less interested in the immersive nature of theming for which Walt Disney World became known. Remember they had the "blessing of size" and were also a place intended to improve upon Disneyland. They were an immersive resort that could literally take you away to wonderful, exotic, interesting places. And now they seem to be less interested in that. That is my concern, not so much switchbacks themselves.

So, forgive me if my comment was not so well-placed. It was meant to respond to what I interpreted as @marni1971 's implication (perhaps incorrect) that the company was cutting back on when themes matter (and in my view much more so than they should). He had said that the plan was now "to pick and choose when to create an immersive entertaining environment." That was the part I was lamenting. With or without switchbacks.

 

[Bender123]

You are correct about switchbacks. They have always been around, even in the earliest days. Switchbacks themselves are not the problem, in themselves, as far as I am concerned. Perhaps my comment was not well placed, because as is noted in the last quote, even switchbacks can be surrounded by great décor and theming.

My primary concern, most recently evidenced by the new high-rise Hilton-type hotels (Riviera, Coronado addition, and now the "nature-inspired" concrete jungle proposed next to Fort Wilderness), is that the management seems to be considerably less interested in the immersive nature of theming for which Walt Disney World became known. Remember they had the "blessing of size" and were also a place intended to improve upon Disneyland. They were an immersive resort that could literally take you away to wonderful, exotic, interesting places. And now they seem to be less interested in that. That is my concern, not so much switchbacks themselves.

So, forgive me if my comment was not so well-placed. It was meant to respond to what I interpreted as @marni1971 's implication (perhaps incorrect) that the company was cutting back on when themes matter (and in my view much more so than they should). He had said that the plan was now "to pick and choose when to create an immersive entertaining environment." That was the part I was lamenting. With or without switchbacks.

I would also counter that spread out gigantic resorts, like CBR, are not really efficient for guests or the company...Im a fan of CBR and stay there almost every trip. The problem is that the difference between staying in a village close to OPR and one that is distant is huge. towers actually better for keeping guests "close to the resort amenities". I can honestly say that a stay at Trinidad South might as well be a different resort, as its a nightmare to get to your resort stores, restaurants and theme pool. Ive been in that village for a week and never once went to OPR during that time.

On the flip side, a lot of people hate the Graves designed towers, even though I find them fascinating...I guess what matters more than the look of the tower, is the feel of the surroundings and resort. The Dolphin looks weird and unique, but that doesn't make it a well themed resort...I just makes it a unique looking standard hotel.

 

[MansionButler84]

Now I can talk a little.

If you like the Phoenicians get a ride in this year.

There’s a lot of work going to be done.

I’ll be sure to thank them.

 

[Figments Friend]

My top five 'Two Year Spaceship Earth Refurb' wish list -

1. - Finally 'fix' the decent. Sets, scenery, AAs, lighting effects...something. NO screens.
2. - Remove the tv monitors in the ride vehicles.
3. - Refresh the ride audio narration and score. Make it 'grand' again.
4. - Thorough track refurbishment or replacement for smooth transitions.
5. - Turn that newspaper boy around, facing Guests again.

-

 

[P_Radden]

My top five 'Two Year Spaceship Earth Refurb' wish list -

1. - Finally 'fix' the decent. Sets, scenery, AAs, lighting effects...something. NO screens.
2. - Remove the tv monitors in the ride vehicles.
3. - Refresh the ride audio narration and score. Make it 'grand' again.
4. - Thorough track refurbishment or replacement for smooth transitions.
5. - Turn that newspaper boy around, facing Guests again.

-

6. Repair the huge printing press back into operation