Spaceship Earth (Epcot) - History

History

The structure was designed with the help of science fiction writer Ray Bradbury, who also helped write the original storyline for the attraction. The term 'Spaceship Earth' was coined by Buckminster Fuller, who also developed the structural mathematics of the geodesic dome.

Construction took 26 months and 40,800 labor hours to build. Extending upwards from the table are "quadropod" structures, which support smaller beams which form the shell of the steel skeleton. Pipes stand the aluminum skin panels away from the skeleton and provide space for utilities. A small service car is parked in the interstitial space between the structural and cladding surfaces, and can carry a prone technician down the sides to access repair locations. The shop fabrication of the steel (done in nearby Tampa, Florida) was an early instance of computer-aided drafting and materials processing. Spaceship Earth was originally sponsored by the Bell System from 1982 until 1984, when it was broken into smaller companies in 1984, and its parent company, AT&T, became an independent company. AT&T sponsored Spaceship Earth from 1984 until 2004. From 2005 onwards, the German company Siemens has been the sponsor of Spaceship Earth.

In October 1982, the attraction experience began as the ride vehicles moved up into the structure through a lighted tunnel enhanced by a fog machine, and then ascended on a spiraling track up through dark spaces featuring a series of lighted historic vignettes. The attraction featured actor Lawrence Dobkin as the narrator along with a very simple and quiet orchestral composition throughout the attraction. The theme of communication through the ages is presented in chronological order in settings peopled with Audio-Animatronics figures. Actors are seen (and heard quietly) declaiming in a Greek theater. Charioteers carry messages from a Roman court, and Jewish and Islamic scholars discuss texts. With typical Disney whimsy, a monk is seen having fallen asleep on a manuscript he was inscribing. Michelangelo, overhead, paints the ceiling of the Sistine chapel, and Gutenberg mans his printing press. Suggesting the rush of 20th-century technology, subsequent scenes meld together, overlapping each other as the circumference of the ride track narrows. A newsboy hawks papers, a movie marquee and film clips represent motion pictures, and radio and television are represented. As the vehicles reach the large space at the apex of the ride system, guests see, on the planetarium ceiling of the sphere, projections of stars, planets, the Milky Way, and, closest and largest, "spaceship earth." The Omnimover vehicles then revolve 180 degrees, so that the passengers lie backward facing the "sky" as they begin their descent on a relatively straight track. The ride stops intermittently as wheelchairs are loaded or unloaded.

In May 1986, the attraction was given a slight remodel. This second version of the attraction started off with the lighted tunnel enhanced by twinkling lights, meant to depict stars, with the fog machine removed. News journalist Walter Cronkite was the new narrator, reading from an updated script. A theme song called Tomorrow's Child was composed for the ending of the attraction, which was redesigned with projected images of children on screens to help fit with the theme of "Tomorrow's Child". On August 15, 1994, the attraction was closed to receive a major remodel. This third version of the attraction kept the lighted tunnel as it was in 1986, and maintained the majority of the scenes depicted in the beginning and middle of the attraction. Three scenes toward the end of the attraction that showed a computer in a boy's bedroom of the 1980s, a woman's office of the 1980s, and a network operations center of the 1990s, were all removed and replaced with one scene depicting a boy and girl using the Internet to communicate between America and Asia. Actor Jeremy Irons was the new narrator, reading from an updated script. A new orchestral composition was composed for the beginning, middle, and end of the attraction. The ending itself was completely redone, with the removal of the Space Station scene located in the attraction's planetarium (the astronauts from the scene subsequently turned up in Space Mountain's post-show, where they were used until 2009), replacement of an old projected image of Earth in the planetarium with a new image, and replacement of the 1982 and 1986 ending scenes of the ride with miniature architectural settings connected by color-changing fiber optic cables and arrays of blinking lights representing electronic communication pathways. The attraction re-opened on November 23, 1994.

In celebration of the year 2000, a large 25-story "magic wand" held by a representation of Mickey Mouse's hand was built next to the sphere. Inspiration for it came from the Sorcerer's Apprentice sequence of Fantasia (although Mickey did not actually use a magic wand in that sequence). At the top of the structure was a large cut-out of the number 2000. While the structure wasn't intended to be permanent, it was constructed to have a lifetime of about 10 years. After the Millennium Celebration ended, the structure was left standing. In 2001, the number 2000 was replaced with the word "Epcot" in a script font that differs from the park's logotype. On the morning of July 5, 2007, Epcot Vice President Jim MacPhee announced that Spaceship Earth would be restored to its original appearance and that the "magic wand" structure would be removed in time for the park's 25th anniversary on October 1, 2007. Siemens, the sponsor of Spaceship Earth, is rumored to have requested the wand removed as it did not fit their corporate image. By October 1, the wand structure, the stars, and the star supports had been removed, and added palm trees and other plants that originally stood where the structure was prior to 2000. Components of the structure were later auctioned on eBay.

On July 9, 2007, the attraction was again closed for another remodel that included a number of updates to the attraction. The attraction opened again with its fourth version on February 15, 2008, with a new score composed by Bruce Broughton and new narration provided by actress Judi Dench. The attraction's exterior was also modified for the 2007 renovations, which included removing the giant Mickey wand and EPCOT signage with twinkling stars that had originally been added to the geosphere for the millennium celebration.

With the new Siemens AG sponsorship, changes have been made to the ride and post show area. The ride's updates include new scenes, modifications to existing scenes; some new costumes, lighting, and props; a new musical score by Bruce Broughton, new narration by Judi Dench; and a new interactive ending featuring a touch screen. New scenes show a Greek classroom, mainframe computers and the creation of the personal computer.

The "time machine" vehicles now have an interactive screen where riders can choose their vision of the future. This resembles a similar idea on the now-defunct attraction Horizons. At the beginning of the ride, a camera takes riders' pictures (using facial recognition technology) which are used at the end of the ride to conduct an interactive experience about the future of technology, featuring the riders' faces on animated characters and narration by Cam Clarke. Visitors are now also asked where in our Spaceship Earth they live; this is used in the post-show area where a map of the world is displayed with the riders' faces shown where they live.

The renovations were scheduled to be completed for a February 2008 reopening but the attraction opened for "soft launch" previews starting in December 2007. On February 15, 2008, the ride reopened officially after closing periodically in January for last-minute adjustments.