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DrWorm2008
12-29-2007, 08:30 PM
Okay, Disneyphiles - and especially those of you obsessed with Epcot, uh, excuse me, Epcot CENTER....here is my impressions of my preview of the new and maybe not so improved Spaceship Earth. :D
The entrance - Everything is pretty much the same, except for the signage. It's sleeker, and yes, there's a new, modern symbol. No, they didn't bring the old one back. The nerve! But aren't we used to them doing that to the things we hold dear? Moving on....the mural is still there. Thank God. I was worried. The circular boarding area and the cars are pretty much the same, save two things: The costumes for the cast members have changed to fit the colors and logo, and the "time machines" are now fitted with touch-sensitive LCD screens. I had high hopes....
The ride - Going up the hill, I was greeted by a seemingly over-caffinated Dame Judi Dench hysterically telling me that I am uncivilized and the Egyptians are responsible for taxes. I miss Jeremy Irons. Scratch that. I miss Walter Kronkite. WHY do we keep changing narrators? Siigghhhhhh. Okay. The caveman/mammoth scene is cool, and the animatronics are definitely more fluid and lifelike. The boat scene is very cool, with convincing rocking of the waves.
Much of the interior scenes were jazzed up, and for the most part, are well done.:thumbsup:
The Greek theatre scene is now a mathematics lesson in progress. Pretty cool. In the Renaissance scene, they covered up the sculpture's bare breast, because that was SO offensive. Thanks, Janet Jackson. They added a new scene where mainframe computers get invented in the 1970's, and then introduced as desktop versions in
the late 70's/early 80's in someone's garage- both scenes are pretty cool. :cool:
The "paper boy" by the large turning steam-powered wheels is now facing away from you and is down the alley a ways. Why? All the papers are still piled up near the front! At least they gave him a kid's voice instead of that weird deep voice coming out of a 12-year-old. Further down, the movie scenes now show vintage Olympics footage on a single screen, NOT the 20,000 Leagues clips that used to grace the multiple screens. Are they purposefully trying to purge it from EVERY fond memory I have? On the other side, a 1969 family is watching the moon landing. Where's Walt? That's just wrong. At least they left the starry sky.
The music changed, but I expected that. I sill miss the old soundtrack terribly, though. It seemed to fit so much better.
The "return to earth" - this is where it all went - literally - downhill. The Dame asks you to answer a bunch of random questions about yourself in order for the ride to "design your future". I was excited at first. What I didn't realize was that I was cleverly being drawn to my tiny screen so I couldn't see what was going on around me which was ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! They tore everything out! No fiber optics, no flashing lights, no futuristic newscasts, no lasers, no cool virtual field trips or anything! Just blackness....the absence of creativity. :confused:All that space, and you're staring at a screen, going backwards for no good reason. Well, I thought, maybe the "future" I helped design will make up for it. Wrong. What I saw next was a Jetson-esque cartoon that pretty much advertises would-be gadgets of the future. Are you kidding me? Then Judy Dench respectfully told me to get out and enjoy playing in the Project Tomorrow room.
Overall Impression - Most of the ride was nicely done. The animatronics are very fluid, and the new or improved scenes are cool- except for covering the breast (seriously?), taking out the 20,000 leagues clips (BOOOOO!!!), and removing Walt (WHY???). The biggest issue for me is the "return to earth". There's gotta be more. Please tell me there's more.

JerseyDad
12-29-2007, 10:01 PM
.....having seen many of the videos that have been posted on Youtube and other various Disney related web-sites....I have to agree with your review whole-heartedly. I did not...however...know that the notorious "offending breast" :blush: was now removed from view!! How dare they!! What's next!!?? Will Donald Duck NOW..after many years of bottomless cavorting on both the small and Silver-Screen....be forced to wear PANTS!!!

...and...bare with me <pun intended> ...but...has anyone ever noticed that Donald does NOT wear PANTS!!....but yet...whenever he's seen getting out of a shower....he's got a towel around him!!??...as my daughter would say, "What's up with that"!!

DrWorm2008
12-29-2007, 10:09 PM
Hahaha. TOTALLY agree!:D

Daisy'sMom
12-30-2007, 11:58 AM
I happened to love the new look. The ride down was never my favorite, so I enjoyed the cute distraction.
The breast covered up? To tell you the truth, I never really noticed it in the first place.
I will always miss Walter Cronkite, but then again, I still miss World of Motion and Horizons.:mickey:

DrWorm2008
12-30-2007, 04:25 PM
I just hope that all that empty space eventually gets used.