Travisma 1,317 Posted October 11, 2018 Report Share Posted October 11, 2018 From WDW News Today site https://wdwnt.com/2018/10/sse2yearclosure/ UPDATE: Spaceship Earth Will Close for Over Two Years, Part of Massive Overhaul of Epcot’s Future World A few weeks ago, we told you there were rumors that Spaceship Earth at Epcot would once again be reimagined, this time as part of the ongoing overhaul of the park to make it “more timeless, more relevant, more family friendly, and more Disney”. Some new details have emerged on the project that reveal the massive scope of the park overhaul, and that we won’t be able to take a ride through the grand and miraculous attraction for quite some time once things get underway. While the concept art is now out-of-date and not accurate to what the project will actually entail, Disney is still moving forward with a complete overhaul of the park entrance and central area of Future World as part of “Project Gamma” (as Walt Disney Imagineering is calling it). Included in this project will be the overhaul of Spaceship Earth, as well as a lot of new and interesting changes for the main thoroughfare of the park that are still very much in development. As far as Spaceship Earth is concerned, the overhaul will be so thorough that it will require the ride to close from early 2020 until the parks 40th anniversary in the second half of 2022. That’s basically two and half years without Spaceship Earth in our lives. Why would a project like this take so long? Well, needless to say, there’s a lot to it. Spaceship Earth is aging and it is about time for the entire ride track to be overhauled. As well, Disney will use this opportunity to extend the length of the attraction with new load and unload areas that may not be in the same places that they are now. It also sounds like the current post-show building that houses Project Tomorrow will be removed and an entirely new structure built. It is quite the project in scale and scope, as you can see. As we previously reported, the ride inside of Spaceship Earth will see a refreshing of all scenes leading up to the Industrial Revolution portion (where newspapers are being printed as a young boy sells them steps away), with changes on a grand scale coming to every scene following that, all the way to the end of the ride. Sources also indicate that the scene in the dome at the top of the attraction where guests look back at Earth from space will be drastically reimagined utilizing the latest in projection mapping technologies. As far as the exterior of Spaceship Earth, they will indeed be working on setting-up projection mapping there as well, covering the entire geodesic sphere with projections during the ride’s lengthy downtime and the redevelopment of the area around it. It should make for quite the nighttime display. So, what do you think? Can you survive 2.5 years without Spaceship Earth in your life? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
djsamuel 322 Posted October 11, 2018 Report Share Posted October 11, 2018 Sounds feasible to me. The only thing I wonder about is if they would close it during the 50th anniversary. If Guardians of the Galaxy is running as well as the Ratatouille ride, that may not matter. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PghBob 31 Posted October 12, 2018 Report Share Posted October 12, 2018 That is a long time for a refurb. But, IMO, the ride needs to be updated. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Duane 152 Posted October 13, 2018 Report Share Posted October 13, 2018 With all of the "construction activity" that was mentioned, how do you think Disney would handle getting people into and out of the park with all of the equipment that would be required? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mouseketab.....Carol 1,261 Posted October 13, 2018 Report Share Posted October 13, 2018 Although I've never heard of them having to use it, I'm sure there is some type of overflow exit somewhere. Also, looking at the satellite, they might be able to create some walkways running under the monorail line behind the Camera Center, and the shop on the other side. Leading folks directly to Nemo on one side, and Guardians on the other side, and bypassing the area around Spaceship Earth. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mouseketab.....Carol 1,261 Posted October 13, 2018 Report Share Posted October 13, 2018 Also, with the Sky Transportation bringing more guests to the International Gateway rather than the main entrance, that will relieve some of the main entrance traffic. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
h2odivers...Ray 952 Posted October 13, 2018 Report Share Posted October 13, 2018 Ageee. Also, i imagine they’ll close one side of SE at a time. I would imagine most of the work will happen inside the sphere. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted October 13, 2018 Report Share Posted October 13, 2018 My sources tell me they built Spaceship Earth in a way that allows them to roll it out of the park to the far side of the parking lot. They can do the refurb there, then roll it back into place. BradyBzLyn...Mo 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travisma 1,317 Posted October 13, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2018 22 minutes ago, DaveInTN said: My sources tell me they built Spaceship Earth in a way that allows them to roll it out of the park to the far side of the parking lot. They can do the refurb there, then roll it back into place. I thought they were going to use a crane with a big 9 Iron and do a chip shot out of the park to the parking lot! BradyBzLyn...Mo, keith_h, momof3kids-Yvonne and 1 other 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fladogfan aka Gretchen 259 Posted October 22, 2018 Report Share Posted October 22, 2018 On 10/13/2018 at 4:06 PM, DaveInTN said: My sources tell me they built Spaceship Earth in a way that allows them to roll it out of the park to the far side of the parking lot. They can do the refurb there, then roll it back into place. On 10/13/2018 at 4:29 PM, Travisma said: I thought they were going to use a crane with a big 9 Iron and do a chip shot out of the park to the parking lot! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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