As a part of EPCOT’s reimagining, Walt Disney World deliberate a multi-year Spaceship Earth refurbishment and overhaul. That reimagining was delayed indefinitely, however a mission remains to be probably on the horizon. We’ll focus on particulars & potential closure timelines, idea artwork for the overhaul, and why upkeep is lengthy overdue. (Up to date January 25, 2025.)
Let’s begin with the reimagining delay. Spaceship Earth’s reimagining was introduced on the 2019 D23 Expo after over a yr of rumors. Particulars had been restricted to a tease of the “story mild” on the time. Then on February 25, 2020, Imagineering revealed that Spaceship Earth would shut a few months later, on Might 26. Then all of Walt Disney World closed lower than a month after the announcement and remained closed till mid-July. When EPCOT reopened, Spaceship Earth returned with it.
When EPCOT reopened after its 4 month closure, Walt Disney World had quietly eliminated idea artwork and scenes from the Epcot Expertise overview video and launched this assertion: “As with most companies throughout this era, we’re additional evaluating long-term mission plans. The choice was made to postpone improvement of the Mary Poppins-inspired attraction and Spaceship Earth presently.” That was the final official replace on the Spaceship Earth reimagining. Clearly, quite a bit has modified within the final ~5 years.
January 25, 2025 Replace: It was a tough week for Spaceship Earth, an attraction that routinely has tough weeks. Though the attraction is lastly operational on the time of this replace, it was closed for nearly two full days and vital parts of others.
Whereas this has been a very dangerous week for Spaceship Earth, unscheduled downtime and upkeep will not be unusual for this attraction. As mentioned beneath, it was overdue to an precise refurbishment (not a reimagining) again when the mission was slated to start some 5 years in the past. Now I’m no scientist, however experience infrastructure doesn’t strike me as a type of issues that improves with age or fixes itself.
As for when Spaceship Earth might go down at this level, the plain timing is after the Take a look at Observe 3.0 reimagining. That attraction is slated to reopen in late Summer season 2025, which might imply something from late July by way of October 1, 2025. It might find yourself being even later if the mission has delays. Regardless, it’s not as if Take a look at Observe will open sooner or later and Spaceship Earth would shut the following–there’s more likely to be a multi-month hole between the initiatives.
Walt Disney World is reluctant to take a number of main EPCOT sights offline on the identical time, so it’s unlikely that Spaceship Earth would shut for a prolonged mission previous to then. Even after the Take a look at Observe mission, there’s nothing to say Spaceship Earth might be subsequent on deck–there are a handful of sights in EPCOT needing assist.
One other complicating issue is that, previous to Take a look at Observe 3.0 debuting, a new bar will open inside Spaceship Earth, changing the previous sponsor lounge that was vacated when the Siemens partnership ending. (The dearth of a sponsor for Spaceship Earth additionally complicates issues–the one cause Take a look at Observe is being redone is as a result of Basic Motors is footing a lot of the invoice.)
It will be a curious determination to open the lounge within the spring…solely to shut it once more a couple of months later. It’s fully doable to have the lounge accessible whereas the experience itself is down for refurbishment or reimagining, however that might essentially entail altering the scope and scale of the mission versus what was beforehand introduced again in 2019/2020.
Frankly, that’s a secure wager, regardless. It’s been over 5 years because the Spaceship Earth reimagining idea was developed, and quite a bit has modified since then–from management to budgets to expertise. Whereas there might be components of the Spaceship Earth: Our Shared Story mission that come to fruition, it’s additionally probably that there are main modifications to what’s deliberate.
As for when an announcement might be made about Spaceship Earth being reimagined, the odds-on favourite is through the 2025 Vacation spot D23 occasion at Walt Disney World over Labor Day weekend. That is the caliber of mission to be introduced at that occasion, versus D23 Expo in Anaheim.
As for closure timing, that basically is dependent upon how urgently vital downtime is required. If Walt Disney World can get away with it, I’d hazard a guess that they’d push the beginning of the Spaceship Earth refurbishment into January 2026. If not, it might occur earlier. Or, if they will actually get away with it, they may not schedule something–or only a temporary closure. Walt Disney World has made fairly clear that they view the EPCOT overhaul as accomplished, so some main reimagining of Spaceship Earth might not occur till the early 2030s.
Keep in mind, all of that is speculative primarily based on a mix of the downtime plaguing Spaceship Earth and what we’ve heard about it being overdue for upkeep. There’s no assure that Walt Disney World will do something, as deferred upkeep has turn into the norm over the previous couple of years. That’s beginning to change, which is why we’re optimistic that this mission will lastly be put onto the calendar. Once more, it must occur–Spaceship Earth is in sorry form.
There’s appreciable work needing to be executed on the experience system that may’t wait an excessive amount of longer. Once we first reported on the rumored reimagining, we shared that Spaceship Earth was overdue for monitor substitute. That was again in 2018.
Virtually seven years later, and that has not occurred. Spaceship Earth is principally held along with duct tape at this level, experiencing extra downtime and having ever-increasing points. A bigger mission and longer downtime is desperately wanted. Spaceship Earth’s infrastructure badly wants work, and it might use an replace to indicate scenes, too.
What any Spaceship Earth refurbishment will entail stays to be seen at this level. It’ll be prolonged regardless–a number of months, if not a yr or longer. Whether or not it’ll be a full-scale reimagining or “simply” mandatory TLC will probably dictate whether or not the closure is on the longer or shorter finish of the spectrum.
If Spaceship Earth does get reimagined–and that’s actually wanted at this level, right here’s what might occur. That is all what was beforehand deliberate and will have modified considerably within the years because the Spaceship Earth: Our Shared Story mission was shelved…
Beforehand, Walt Disney World introduced that the reimagining could be “Spaceship Earth: Our Shared Story.”
It’s conceivable that this might nonetheless occur someday in 2025 or 2026. Once more, this work is overdue by a number of years, so in some unspecified time in the future, they gained’t be capable of postpone the required portion of the monitor upkeep and substitute any longer.
This reimagined Spaceship Earth was to have a brand new narration, a wholly new musical rating, and new present scenes. Most notably, company will observe a magical “Story Mild” that brings your entire expertise to life in dynamic methods, giving every scene vitality and sweetness that ties your entire journey collectively.
In Spaceship Earth: Our Shared Story, company would go to Egypt, which is a component of the present model of the attraction–however it might be “an Egypt such as you’ve by no means seen earlier than, reworked by way of the facility of sunshine.”
Per Walt Disney Imagineering, this would be the Spaceship Earth’s fourth “and most formidable” replace since EPCOT Heart’s grand opening on October 1, 1982. In fact, that might very nicely be advertising puffery. It’s not as if Disney goes to tout this as “eh, possibly the third-most formidable replace ever, give or take.”
Walt Disney World beforehand confirmed that the following iteration of Spaceship Earth will nonetheless concentrate on the story of humanity, following our lengthy journey from prehistoric people to at this time delivered to life.
Lots of the present scenes in Spaceship Earth will stay within the attraction, however up to date with new expertise and blended along with brand-new scenes to inform a narrative about our shared human expertise. All through the reimagined Spaceship Earth, you’ll hear new narration and see how mild performs a central function within the human journey. The attraction will come to life in dynamic methods in a celebration of what’s doable once we all come collectively.
Moreover, the again of Spaceship Earth was to be reworked with a brand new post-show.
Fortunately, modifications outdoors Spaceship Earth really did occur. Not utterly as introduced, however to a big extent. Upon exiting Spaceship Earth, there’s be a Dreamers Level, which incorporates a statue of Walt Disney seated on a curb.
This space behind Spaceship Earth may even characteristic pure environments, a wishing tree in an enchanted forest, and a narrative fountain taking part in Disney music. (These final two issues, sadly, didn’t occur. The realm behind Spaceship Earth is fairly boring and uninspired.)
One factor that desperately wants to vary in Spaceship Earth is the descent. That is the primarily the conclusion of the attraction, which is at present pushed by interactive screens within the experience car. Outdoors of that, there are some random triangles and curtains as present “scenes.”
The present descent has been lambasted by followers because it debuted over a decade in the past. Just about as quickly as the present model of the attraction debuted, there have been rumors that the descent was unfinished, and could be added to over time whereas the attraction was operational. Regardless of imprecise indicators of labor being executed, that by no means occurred.
No matter what occurs with the present scenes within the first half of the experience, it’s extremely probably that one thing might be added to the descent throughout Spaceship Earth’s subsequent refurbishment or reimagining. It’s fairly apparent that Imagineering was not happy with it earlier than, and the interactive expertise has not aged nicely within the experience autos. The large unknown is whether or not the brand new Spaceship Earth descent might be what you’re on this idea artwork, or one thing totally different fully.
Personally, I’m cautiously optimistic concerning the eventual Spaceship Earth refurbishment or reimagining.
The experience system badly wants it. Not solely that, the almost definitely modifications will happen later within the attraction to scenes that I don’t suppose are significantly robust at current. From my perspective, there’s little probability that the longer term 180top and scenes thereafter is usually a downgrade from the present incarnation of Spaceship Earth. Ditto the brand new narration.
Furthermore, Imagineering has made some super strides with expertise because the final Spaceship Earth overhaul, and several other of these might be applied to good impact. I’d imagined loads of projection mapping might be used, but when we get a few of that Mystic Manor-esque ‘magic mild mud’ that’d be icing on the cake.
With that stated, what follows right here is rumor (from pre-2020)–however the entire previous rumors concerning the scope and specifics of Spaceship Earth’s overhaul had been formally confirmed by the corporate (earlier than being shelved), so this probably speaks to Imagineering’s intent with Spaceship Earth on the time the mission was introduced.
Once more, plans might have modified because the Spaceship Earth reimagining was first introduced. Nonetheless, to the extent there are modifications, it’s probably the mission has been scaled again versus expanded. Spaceship Earth is sponsorless, and the funds for the EPCOT overhaul has been spent. Every time it does occur, this mission won’t get the identical stage of funding it might have again in 2020.
The primary component of the rumor is that every one scenes might be refreshed previous to the Industrial Revolution, with extra vital modifications for the scenes following that. It’s anticipated that the 180top might be drastically reimagined using the newest in projection mapping tech. In the course of the closure there’s additionally more likely to be monitor substitute, new load and unload stations, and a brand new publish present.
Second, this refurbishment is anticipated to final between 1 and a couple of years. We’ve tried to nail this down extra particularly, and all we’ve heard is that it might final round 18 months.
Nonetheless, that was additionally again when Spaceship Earth was going to be one element of the larger image EPCOT overhaul. It was thus doable that a part of the rationale the mission would final so lengthy is as a result of Spaceship Earth would shut for the length (or a minimum of a serious section of) the central backbone redesign.
With the remainder of the EPCOT overhaul now completed, we’d count on a shorter closure. Principally, the minimal period of time for carrying out the required work on the monitor and experience system. Whether or not that’s 6 months or over a yr is past me. However no matter reimagining goes to occur should happen throughout that window, versus extending it.
On a optimistic notice, some enhancements did nonetheless come to Spaceship Earth, they simply occurred outdoors the long-lasting geodesic sphere. First, EPCOT’s principal entrance plaza reimagining has been accomplished, revealing the long-lasting prismatic pylon fountain in entrance of Spaceship Earth!
Three acrylic pylons standing over 16 ft tall and that includes the park’s brand encompass the fountain and hearken again to the creation of EPCOT Heart. This completes the primary section of EPCOT’s large overhaul, as the development partitions which have lined the entrance of the park for over a yr are actually down. The brand new entrance plaza appears to be like good.
At evening, Spaceship Earth appears to be like even higher. Epcot’s icon comes alive with new Beacons of Magic, an addition through the World’s Most Magical Celebration for Walt Disney World’s fiftieth Anniversary.
New lights have really been put in in between the reflective panels of Spaceship Earth, connecting to 1 one other and resembling stars in a nighttime sky. Not like the opposite Beacons of Magic, these are the one everlasting new lighting which have continued past “The World’s Most Magical Celebration” as a defining characteristic of the reimagined Epcot. (Learn & see extra in Beacons of Magic at Epcot: Walt Disney World’s fiftieth Anniversary Spotlight!)
In the end, we’re nonetheless trying ahead to extra modifications to Spaceship Earth, and left questioning whether or not the reimagining mission would possibly start across the time different new additions. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Remy’s Ratatouille Journey, Moana’s Journey of Water, and CommuniCore Corridor have all debuted, and the entrance of the park is as soon as once more be construction-free.
Consequently, it’s fully doable that Imagineering will let EPCOT have its “second” for a few years earlier than enterprise extra main initiatives. The reimagining of Spaceship Earth might then be a part of a second section of the EPCOT overhaul, becoming a member of Journey into Creativeness and [insert whatever else is on your personal wish list here]. It’s unlikely that Walt Disney World will launch an official timeline for this reimagining mission till Vacation spot D23 Expo in September 2025–and possibly not even then–however we’ll preserve you posted as extra turns into identified!
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Your Ideas
What do you concentrate on this Spaceship Earth closure and reimagining? Ideas on when the mission will happen–if in any respect–now that it’s been delayed indefinitely? Excited for the outside enhancements? May you deal with Spaceship Earth being closed for two years? Do you agree or disagree with our ideas right here? Any questions we will help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even while you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!
