SpaceShip Earth Update. 2/4/06

[Expo_Seeker40]

LOL I will never type a response before rushing out the door to start my day. :lol:

Yes I know EPCOT Center opened in 1982, I was responding to wannab@dis remark to circa 1985. (Who doesn't want to be at Disney)

Ugh how I can I say this.

I don't want the entrance to look like it did from 1982-1998, but if the entrance were to be changed ever again, perhaps they could use inspiration from the original entrance to better integrate leave a legacy along with more flowers and plants for a more colorful and eye catching entrance... :hammer:

 

[dxwwf3]

I don't want the entrance to look like it did from 1982-1998, but if the entrance were to be changed ever again, perhaps they could use inspiration from the original entrance to better integrate leave a legacy along with more flowers and plants for a more colorful and eye catching entrance... :hammer:

Excellent point. And yes I would hope for the same.

 

[figmentmom]

Excellent point. And yes I would hope for the same.

I have to agree. I don't have a problem with the monoliths in general - I just don't like them where stand NOW. Re-arranging them so they form more of an entranceway to EPCOT (as opposed to the barrier look they present now) would be far more attractive. Disney has always had the most amazing landscaping, and I would love to see more of it as you enter the park.

 

[Thelazer]

Next time your at epcot, stand around by the wand and LISTEN to what people around you say. I think you'll find that there are quite a few people who dislike it.

 

[tirian]

According to a co-worker who recently left Future World Attractions, Guests complain more about the wand than about any other aspect of the ride (followed, of course, by the closed post-show).

It's also no secret that Siemens doesn't like the wand, either, although the exact reason is unconfirmed.

As for LaL, Disney should simply plant flower beds around the bases of each row (not each monolith); this would make the area look like stylized rocks projecting out of the earth similar to Tomorrowland's entrance, and remain both futuristic and well-landscaped.

 

[CommunicoreBabe]

Leagacy Graveyard

Leave a Legacy looks like a graveyard for giants until you get up close to it. I am not sure if flowerbeds would make it look better, or just like a cemetery on Memorial Day. I wish they would put those tombstones somewheres else (in the Haunted Mansion graveyard?) and bring in a cool fountain with prettty lights, like the old one but re-worked.

 

[tirian]

I am not sure if flowerbeds would make it look better, or just like a cemetery on Memorial Day.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Never thought about it that way. Maybe the LaL monuments should move to a little area in World Showcase, where a roller coaster, a rapids ride, and a Harry Potter attraction wind around the stone walls.

 

[Enderikari]

It's also no secret that Siemens doesn't like the wand, either, although the exact reason is unconfirmed.

You and I must be hearing from different sources...

 

[peter11435]

It's also no secret that Siemens doesn't like the wand, either, although the exact reason is unconfirmed.

I have heard both ways on that issue. I hear that Siemens hates the wand and wants in removed but I have also heard that Siemens likes the wand. So who knows. But my money says Siemens hates the wand.

 

[wannab@dis]

But my money says Siemens hates the wand.

Why?

I can give you an easy reason why I don't agree. Having their name on a plain-jane geosphere doesn't really give them much bang for their buck. But having their name on the same sphere with Epcot and a Mouse hand suddenly pushes them leaps ahead of others. It immediately shows their connection to a world-famous park and a top of the line media conglomerate.

 

[peter11435]

Why?

I can give you an easy reason why I don't agree. Having their name on a plain-jane geosphere doesn't really give them much bang for their buck. But having their name on the same sphere with Epcot and a Mouse hand suddenly pushes them leaps ahead of others. It immediately shows their connection to a world-famous park and a top of the line media conglomerate.

Very good point. I think I'll hold on to my money.

 

[marni1971]

Why?

I can give you an easy reason why I don't agree. Having their name on a plain-jane geosphere doesn't really give them much bang for their buck. But having their name on the same sphere with Epcot and a Mouse hand suddenly pushes them leaps ahead of others. It immediately shows their connection to a world-famous park and a top of the line media conglomerate.

Fair point, but it`s hardly a plain-jane Geosphere; it`s the worlds first, largest, and an engineering marvel.

 

[PintoColvig]

Why?

I can give you an easy reason why I don't agree. Having their name on a plain-jane geosphere doesn't really give them much bang for their buck.

This didn't stop AT&T from sponsoring SSE (sans wand) back in the 80s and 90s. The geosphere by itself is a widely recognized icon, as this quote says so eloquently:

"For EPCOT's signature structure, the Imagineers needed an image as unique as the Magic Kingdom's castle. Something that would say, 'Here's a place that's global in scope and futuristic in design.' They made an inspired choice, Spaceship Earth" (Walt Disney World: Past, Present and Future, a WDW 20th anniversary tv special which aired on the Disney Channel in the early 90s).​

Magic Kingdom's castle doesn't need a tacky wand to set it apart and neither does something as unique as Epcot's geosphere.:kiss:

 

[Pongo]

This didn't stop AT&T from sponsoring SSE (sans wand) back in the 80s and 90s. The geosphere by itself is a widely recognized icon, as this quote says so eloquently:

"For EPCOT's signature structure, the Imagineers needed an image as unique as the Magic Kingdom's castle. Something that would say, 'Here's a place that's global in scope and futuristic in design.' They made an inspired choice, Spaceship Earth" (Walt Disney World: Past, Present and Future, a WDW 20th anniversary tv special which aired on the Disney Channel in the early 90s).​

Magic Kingdom's castle doesn't need a tacky wand to set it apart and neither does something as unique as Epcot's geosphere.:kiss:

Well put. I concur.

:sohappy:

 

[Ghostbuster626]

Well put. I concur.

:sohappy:

I second that.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

I'm going to go slightly off topic and suggest to Steve that we get a Spaceship Earth Smiley (one with and one without the wand, maybe?). Just a thought.

Yensid "Seemed like a good Idea at the time" tlaw1969

 

[dxwwf3]

I'll third icorsix's excellent comment about Spaceship Earth. The castle got kinda tacky with the cake, but at least that was for a special occasion and was just there for one year. I actually liked it, especially knowing that it was just for a short time. IMO, the wand has run it's course. We wouldn't want to be resisting change now would we? :lol: j/k

 

[Mr.EPCOT]

Correct me if I'm wrong... doesn't the paperwork you sign/agree/whatever "guarantee" that the tiles will be around for something like 30 years?

That's a good point, and I've never really looked at the paperwork for it, but I do know that the description for Leave a Legacy in the Birnbaum's WDW travel guide has a disclaimer that says something along the lines that it is a temporary exhibit.

As far as Leave a Legacy goes, I seem to remember that one of the original designers of SSE designed the architecture of Leave a Legacy to complement the architect of SSE. If my memory is correct, then removing LaL would be a detriment to the overall SSE look.

The team that designed Leave a Legacy was led by Imagineer John Hench, it says so right on the display on the center column of Spaceship Earth right in front of entrance. I am honestly not sure if he was involved in the design of Spaceship Earth. In a long line of Disney hits for John, I believe Leave a Legacy sure was his only miss. I have no problem with the general concept, giving people their own little space of EPCOT, much the same as the Walk Around the World at the Seven Seas Lagoon, I just find the execution to be rather poor. As for the wand, I think that a reasonable argument could be made that it simply does not match anything, architecturally or otherwise, around it. Other than it is roughly tangent to Spaceship Earth, of course. Same goes for Leave a Legacy. One of the unique things about EPCOT is that it is a very symmetrical park, intentionally. You have Universe of Energy directly across from The Living Seas, Horizons/Mission: SPACE across from The Land, Mexico across from Canada, etc. The whole wand thing just throws off that balance to me. As for Siemens liking it, disliking it, or just being entirely impassive about the whole thing, I suppose time will tell.

Sure the color scheme, and pink concrete is pretty outdated, but having nature and man made objects work together couldn't be a problem.

A fun little fact for you, something you may or may not know, is that there was a lot of research put in by Disney and Kodak into the exact color of concrete to use. They discovered that the near-infamous pink concrete seen throughout EPCOT today was optimal for making blues bluer, greens greener, etc. in your photographs. And, voila, pink ground everywhere!

 

[tirian]

You and I must be hearing from different sources...

I have heard both ways on that issue. I hear that Siemens hates the wand and wants in removed but I have also heard that Siemens likes the wand. So who knows.

My information came from someone at one of the Disney/Siemens meetings (that's how I knew Siemens was going to sponsor SSE when everyone else said it was IBM). Somebody at Siemens was extremely fond of classic SSE (no wand, "Tomorrow's Child), but that does not mean that Disney is going to take the wand down for that person or bring the song back.

What happens with the wand is ultimately up to Disney. Yet they gave Siemens a new color scheme at the attraction's entrance; we'll just have to wait to see what happens with the cardboard cutout. Perhaps the European company agrees that Americans are so stupid they won't remember which theme park they're in.

The funny thing about the entire situation is that Disney was considering removing the wand for the 25th anniversary, a consideration that quickly snowballed into many internet rumors. If the wand disappears, it could be because of Siemens...or just because Disney decided to take it down.

 

[tirian]

I can give you an easy reason why I don't agree. Having their name on a plain-jane geosphere doesn't really give them much bang for their buck. But having their name on the same sphere with Epcot and a Mouse hand suddenly pushes them leaps ahead of others. It immediately shows their connection to a world-famous park and a top of the line media conglomerate.

Not to blast you, but SSE is hardly a plain-jane geosphere; it's the only large one that exists. Furthermore, most of the public knows that SSE is at Walt Disney World; the idea that "Disney left the wand up there to remind people that Epcot is at WDW" is an internet myth. Until WDW's 25th anniversary, Disney prominently featured SSE in most of their advertising (remember the 80s commercial with Mickey waving to us on top the sphere?); and Disney often used a photo montage of the castle, geosphere, water tower, and tree (you can still purchase merchandise with this arrangement). The castle-and-nothing-else approach is actually a result of Yellow Shoes' recent marketing campaigns, which have essentially been the same thing for years (pixie dust, a castle, and a pretty typeface).

Slight tangent: Yellow Shoes' stale marketing campaign is the reason the public currently perceives WDW only as a children's vacation. Until the last couple of years, Disney heavily advertised the resort aspect of WDW by including the other parks plus golf and water sports in their advertising. Now potential vacationers have to order the promotional DVD to see everything WDW offers.