spaceship earth question

[dyin tago]

hi, is there much difference since the spaceship earth refurbishment?

[JerseyDad]

.....that's like asking if there's much difference between night & day!!! ;)

....seriously though....I think that someone in Disney feels that they did a great job.....and I feel that they missed the mark by miles.

(of course...that's my opinion...I'm a purist...and I'm not too good with the whole "change" thing)

[Shugoondola]

I liked the old version better. The most notable change occurs during the second half of the ride. There is a touch screen in front where riders map out their future and see the results. It's cute a time or two, but I miss the old scenery on the way down and the music. I think it could get tiresome. Not all change is good.

:mickey:

[devoted93]

It should be mentioned that it's got a completely new narration (by Judi Dench), new script, and new music, as well. I haven't been on it yet, but I've heard they did well with some new animatronics and a couple of new scenes but that the second half is a complete let-down. Whoever thought it was a good idea to completely remove ALL scenery for the last half of the ride and have you play with a computer monitor on the last half of the ride needs to look into a new line of work. YMMV.

[kadesha]

OMG! I am horrified after reading this!! The second part, the way back down, was my favorite part!! The scenery and lights were so beautiful!! It's really not there anymore?! :mad:

[Shugoondola]

It's really not there anymore?! :mad:


It's all gone. :sad:

:mickey:

[TheRustyScupper]

1) In this case, I think the Imagineers had no imagination.
2) They seemed to do this on-the-cheap.
3) They had great money from Siemens, and spend it poorly.
4) More like squandered it.
5) They should be ashamed of the title "Imagineer".
6) Of course, these are the same guys who brought you
. . . "Journey Into your Imagination" II and III
. . . "Half-a-Park" startups like AK, MGM, HK, DLP, Paris-Studios

NOTE: I would say that Walt would be turning over in his grave with how Imagineering does rides and parks since he died, but Walk is already affectionately known as "Pinwheel Walt".

[azdisneymom]

I like the new first half and enjoy the touch screen. However the second half is a big disappointment. It is almost as if they never finished it. Made me sad.

[chrisb26]

I agree the first half of the ride is great with the new AA although I did prefer the old narration much better then the new one.

However the second half is very boring. The future they make you into looks almost exactly like the future world of the Jetsons so if you've ever seen the cartoon then you know what the future will look like. I was very disappointed that they took out all the scenery its basically now a million little blue lights that I don't really care for.

[JPL]

II was very disappointed that they took out all the scenery its basically now a million little blue lights that I don't really care for.


Sad part is it's not even a Million little blues lights it's a few thousand light and a lot of mirrors :huh:

Definately a very disappointing rehab. The first part if really good minus the narration unless you enjoy being talked to like you are an idiot or 5 years old. Then the descent back to Earth is absolutely lame :down: You are stuck starring at a computer screen answering questions to determine your future and then with a very bad cut and paste job your face appears on a poorly done cartoon in the style of the Jetsons. :ack:

The attraction went from one of my must dos to a if I have time and nothing better to do attraction.

[CaptSmee]

I like the new first half and enjoy the touch screen. However the second half is a big disappointment. It is almost as if they never finished it. Made me sad.

That's what I thought as well. The 1st half's improvements are spectacular and after you hit the earth at the top it's like they gave up on the 2nd half of the attraction. The touch screen's are entertaining, but I also noticed a mess of them were broken already as well just a few months later.

[johnO]

These guys really don't get it do they? Not every attractions needs a major overhaul. Some may need it but the classic rides just need a little sprucing up from time to time. What a shame.......

[TheRustyScupper]

These guys really don't get it do they? Not every attractions needs a major overhaul. Some may need it but the classic rides just need a little sprucing up from time to time. What a shame.......

Exactly.

[mickeys_princess_mom]

These guys really don't get it do they? Not every attractions needs a major overhaul. Some may need it but the classic rides just need a little sprucing up from time to time. What a shame.......
Right there with you. I was crushed. DD didn't even try to talk to me for a few minutes after we got off the ride, cause she knew I was so-o disappointed. I kept waiting for "the good part" and hoping it was still there, and it was gone.
:sad:

[Tygger7]

I'm afraid I'll echo the other comments. First half was great...didn't care for narration. Personally, I still miss the Walter Cronkite version. :D The decent was totally lame. It didn't even capture our pictures, so we had to look at cartoon characters. Even if I had captured our faces, I still wouldn't have liked it. We used to hit Spaceship Earth multiple times, but for our last trip, once was enough. Very disappointing.

[goon29]

This is sad to hear. I'm going to see it for the first time in September. I had high hopes for this refurb after seeing the pre-opening of the old Global Neighborhood area. Seemed like style wise at least they were doing some justice to the original Earth Station. The logo retained the original icon too, which they unfortunately have gone away from for the most part. Plus they finally removed the stupid wand!

Oh well, at least they didn't gut it and make it into a roller coaster or something.

[alilprincessmom99]

The beginning of the ride hasn't changed all that much, but the end is quite different. I personally think the biggest change of all is the narration, and personally, I liked the old narration much better.

[Ladyvader]

.....that's like asking if there's much difference between night & day!!! ;)

....seriously though....I think that someone in Disney feels that they did a great job.....and I feel that they missed the mark by miles.

(of course...that's my opinion...I'm a purist...and I'm not too good with the whole "change" thing)

Can't help myself but give you a little playful jab, Jersey Dad. A Epcot purist with a avatar of the Epcot word on Spaceship Earth??? Isn't that countering what you say you are? and know I am saying that all in fun, please!

[Kate In Wonderland]

I went on the "refurbed" version the other day. I was so disappointed. I like Judi Dench and all, but her narration left much to be desired. Also, the whole touchscreen thing was cute but would have been better in the activities area once you get off the ride.

Also the ride itself seemed so much shorter, and like some of you have said, it feels like you are just going along in the ride and boom, it just stops. I wonder if the reason they designed it this way is so that they could gradually add things as technology changes without having to shut down the entire ride. Does that make sense? Maybe they are eventually planning to phase out the touchscreen. I don't know, just a guess. I still don't like it though.

[Stu29573]

Perhaps they misjudged the coolness factor of the touch screens. I mean, ten years ago it would have been pretty cool, but today everyone uses computers, touch screens, etc pretty much every day. Heck, I go to Disney to get AWAY from them. They are too mundane and work related now...

[castlelady36]

I was not excited to hear about the changes and now that I will be riding it for the first time since the update in August and hearing what everyone has to say I am pretty sure I will be disappointed. Why, why must they mess with the classics!!!!

[mrsgaribaldi]

I didn't care for Judi Dench. To bad you can't pick which narrator you hear.

[Taam Hamms]

I think im the first member of the other side of the argument! Exciting haha. Anyways I do agree that the ImaginEars could have done it way better, especially to my tastes. I enjoyed the relaxing, air conditioned ride through history and slow plummit back to earth.. But the fact that now when I take my 10 yr old sister on the ride, and I'm assuming I might know what side to put her on for the picture, I think it will have enough interest for her to grasp the original spirt of the ride, plus get the pizzazz she needs for the new generation of TV watching children.. Anyways to wrap it up I think its neat that I could maybe get her to grasp what i loved about the ride so much, but still let her have her own twist on what she thinks is neat from a modern day childs perspective.. did i ramble too much? let me know haha thanks!

[Cookie123]

Well ..... If we can look at the bright side ....
now the narration can be much more easily understood by the 3 year old set.

That beautiful city with the bridge and all the greenish tiny lights is all gone. :(
I suppose I can still see it in my memory.

Does anyone have a picture of that beautiful city ???

[azcavalier]

I still like the ride very much, but I was surprised when there was no more animatronics after the "building a computer in a garage" part. I mean, that was 20 years ago, and we've progressed just *a little* since then. I also have wondered if they left it open to add more stuff for the return trip down.

I thought the touch screen was actually a good way to bring the ride into the 21st century, but I thought that what it came up with as my "future" was stupid. My kids will probably think it's neat. I know that they'll like the Siemens interactive exhibits at the end of the ride. Even I thought that was pretty cool stuff.

[ransam]

I haven't been on it since it was redone. But my best friend, who is also a disney geek like, me, just got back and he said it was awesome!! I'll have to wait to see if he's right, or if you all are....

[Nurse Kim]

We just went in March. We didn't have the pleasure of seeing the old version but we weren't impressed with the ride at all.

[devoted93]

That beautiful city with the bridge and all the greenish tiny lights is all gone. :(
I suppose I can still see it in my memory.

Does anyone have a picture of that beautiful city ??? You can kinda see it from about 7:12 -7:16 in this video on youtube (http://youtube.com/watch?v=IZF7i8m7nXc).

[dan40]

Oh, I don't want to hear this! I haven't seen the new version yet, but will be looking forward to it this coming October! Now I'm not so sure I'm even looking forward to it!

At least if I get to see it once, then I'll sort of understand what all the fuss is about.

As I was reading some of these comments, I was thinking, "You can't please everyone" and "Some people cannot accept change" but now I'm thinking that the Imagineers just did a stinky job of refurbishing SSE. But I'll be able to judge better when I see it first-hand in October.

Dan

[SpecJoe Magic]

It's not all bad. I think the ascent is a lot better due to the updates in audio-animatronic technology. I do prefer the Jeremy Irons narration, but I didn't find the Judy Dench narration to be awful. The decision to remove everything from the descent is puzzling though. I can't imagine why they didn't just leave at least some of it in place. To sum it up, it's still a high quality attraction with improvements on the ascent, decent narration, and a lacking descent. All in all, it's still one of the best attractions at WDW in my opinion.

[Ladyvader]

Honestly, I don't particularly care for the Dame Judy Dench narration either. Bring back Walter Cronkite!
Some of the updates are wonderful, some, I have to just stop and say "what were they thinking on that one??", the things that we loved are still there, the scenes of Rome, the Phoenicians, The telegraph. So don't worry the majority of the things that you loved is all there.
The ending is a bit sparse, but the computer animation is really quite enjoyable. Go with an open mind and see for yourself. You may be a bit disappointed but no doubt about it, it is Still Spaceship Earth and still well done and beautiful.

[r4kids]

I went on the "refurbed" version the other day. I was so disappointed. I like Judi Dench and all, but her narration left much to be desired. Also, the whole touchscreen thing was cute but would have been better in the activities area once you get off the ride.

Also the ride itself seemed so much shorter, and like some of you have said, it feels like you are just going along in the ride and boom, it just stops. I wonder if the reason they designed it this way is so that they could gradually add things as technology changes without having to shut down the entire ride. Does that make sense? Maybe they are eventually planning to phase out the touchscreen. I don't know, just a guess. I still don't like it though.

That is a great thought. I would hope they don't plan to leave it that way. It was one of my favorite rides. I am afraid I will be very disappointed in Jan. We haven't been on since they did the referb. :(

[mickeys_princess_mom]

You can kinda see it from about 7:12 -7:16 in this video on youtube (http://youtube.com/watch?v=IZF7i8m7nXc).
I had looked it up on Youtube, too....Needed to see it the old way. Was thinking about the possibility as we left the ride! Thank goodness we can still "see" it!