History Spaceship Earth (Epcot)

1 history

1.1 design , construction
1.2 opening
1.3 wand , update

history
design , construction

the alucobond construction, took on 2 years complete.

the structure designed of science fiction writer ray bradbury, helped write original storyline attraction. term spaceship earth popularised buckminster fuller, popularized geodesic dome.

construction took 26 months. extending upwards table quadropod structures, support smaller beams form shell of steel skeleton. pipes stand aluminum skin panels away skeleton , provide space utilities. small service car parked in interstitial space between structural , cladding surfaces, , can carry prone technician down sides access repair locations. shop fabrication of steel (done in nearby tampa, florida) instance of computer-aided drafting , materials processing. spaceship earth sponsored bell system 1982 until 1984, when broken smaller companies in 1984, , parent company, at&t, became independent company. at&t sponsored spaceship earth 1984 until 2004. 2005 onwards, german company siemens has been sponsor of spaceship earth.

opening

in october 1982, attraction experience began ride vehicles moved structure through lighted tunnel enhanced fog machine, , ascended on spiraling track through dark spaces featuring series of lighted historic vignettes. attraction featured actor lawrence dobkin narrator along simple , quiet orchestral composition throughout attraction. theme of communication through ages presented in chronological order in settings peopled audio-animatronics figures. actors seen (and heard quietly) declaiming in greek theater. charioteers carry messages roman court, , jewish , islamic scholars discuss texts. typical disney whimsy, monk seen having fallen asleep on manuscript inscribing. michelangelo, overhead, paints ceiling of sistine chapel, , gutenberg mans printing press. suggesting rush of 20th-century technology, subsequent scenes meld together, overlapping each other circumference of ride track narrows. newsboy hawks papers, movie marquee , film clips represent motion pictures, , radio , television represented. vehicles reach large space @ apex of ride system, guests see, on planetarium ceiling of sphere, projections of stars, planets, milky way, and, closest , largest, spaceship earth. omnimover vehicles revolve 180 degrees, passengers lie backward facing sky begin descent on relatively straight track. ride stops intermittently wheelchairs loaded or unloaded.

spaceship earth @ night.

in may 1986, attraction given slight remodel. second version of attraction started off lighted tunnel enhanced twinkling lights, meant depict stars, fog machine removed. news journalist walter cronkite new narrator, reading updated script. theme song called tomorrow s child composed ending of attraction, redesigned projected images of children on screens fit theme of tomorrow s child .

on august 15, 1994, attraction closed receive major remodel. third version of attraction kept lighted tunnel in 1986, , maintained majority of scenes depicted in beginning , middle of attraction. 3 scenes toward end of attraction showed computer in boy s bedroom of 1980s, woman s office of 1980s, , network operations center of 1990s, removed , replaced 1 scene depicting boy , girl using internet communicate between america , asia. actor jeremy irons new narrator, reading updated script. new orchestral composition composed beginning, middle, , end of attraction. score based upon bach s sinfonia no. 2 in c minor. ending redone, removal of space station scene located in attraction s planetarium (the astronauts scene subsequently turned in space mountain s post-show, used until 2009), replacement of old projected image of earth in planetarium new image, , replacement of 1982 , 1986 ending scenes of ride miniature architectural settings connected color-changing fiber optic cables , arrays of blinking lights representing electronic communication pathways. attraction re-opened on november 23, 1994.

wand , update

spaceship earth mickey mouse wand, added in 2000 , removed in 2007.

in celebration of year 2000, large 25-story magic wand held representation of mickey mouse s hand built next sphere. inspiration came sorcerer s apprentice sequence of fantasia (although mickey did not use magic wand in sequence). @ top of structure large cut-out of number 2000. while structure wasn t intended permanent, constructed have lifetime of 10 years. after millennium celebration ended, structure left standing. in 2001, number 2000 replaced word epcot in script font differs park s logotype.

on july 5, 2007, epcot vice president jim macphee announced spaceship earth restored original appearance, , magic wand structure removed in time park s 25th anniversary on october 1, 2007. siemens ag, new sponsor of spaceship earth, rumored have requested wand removed did not fit corporate image. attraction closed on july 9, 2007, , october 1 wand structure, stars , star supports gone, replaced palm trees , other plants. components of structure later auctioned on ebay.

spaceship earth seen within park in 2016.

the closure saw ride s fourth update, included new scenes , modifications existing scenes, new costumes, lighting, , props, new musical score bruce broughton, new narration judi dench, , new interactive ending. new scenes showed greek classroom, mainframe computers , creation of personal computer. attraction opened soft launch previews starting in december 2007. after last-minute adjustments in january, ride had official re-opening on february 15, 2008.

the time machine vehicles have interactive screen riders can choose vision of future. resembles similar idea now-defunct horizons attraction. @ beginning of ride, camera takes riders pictures (using facial recognition technology) used @ end of ride conduct interactive experience future of technology, featuring riders faces on animated characters narration cam clarke. visitors asked in our spaceship earth live; used in post-show area map of world displayed riders faces shown live.

in october 2017, siemens, long time sponsor, ended sponsorship of attraction, illuminations firework show.