In the "Disney Theme Park Destinations" forum Sue started a topic titled Mini Epcot Update on July 18. In this well written post, she makes numerous eloquent remarks about her day trip to our favorite destination. One of her comments was about how well Spaceship Earth (SE) worked on her visit. A number of Disney Corner members posted comments that SE needs a make-over, especially towards the end of the ride. So here is your chance all Future Imagineers!!! How would you refurbish the ride?

Have a great day!

First of all, for my makeover, there's to be NO ROLLERCOASTER. Spaceship Earth is big but not enough to contain a coaster worth its weight in steel, IMHO. It would be a horrible, two second thrill ride, very cheap and unbecoming to the symbol of global communication.

I do like the narration of Jeremy Irons, but a fuller, richer narration would be better. Jeremy Irons can get breathy, and I think a lot of times it hinders the narration. James Earl Jones would be great! I could even hear him saying, "Like a grand miraculous spaceship, our planet..."

The speakers in each omnimover would be replaced with high-quality, Bose® Wave® ambient sound speakers, allowing the soundtrack and JEJ's voice to be rich and clearly audible.

Underneath the omnimovers, something needs to be done about those darn clicks. Sometimes it sounds as noisy as a lift-hill on a wooden rollercoaster. A strong LIM track would help and might speed the ride up a bit.

Most of the begining I'd keep, except removing the redundant monitors that show you the vehicles. If they can't take a hint and sit down, for crying out loud, then they deserve what they get. :twisted:

Like Tina said, Keiko and Terry on needs the physical update. I think the inclusion of a satellite transmitter above the "city-to-city" fiber optic model would advance the idea of wireless communication. Cellular phones and the internet would have a big part to play in my rehab. I'll have more in a few days.

Are the "clicks" those annoying little bumps the vehicles make that make you hit your head on the back of the seat really unconfortably through the ride?

Eli...way to be vicious.

I agree, just the end needs to be brought up to date. I love the into. I love the music. I love Jeromy Irons too. It just needs updated technology at the end of the ride...
...but most importantly a physical (as much as possible) rebuild. Just track replacement, new cars (again as much as possible) and like Eli said...new soundsystems.

Have A Good One!
tloolgb

Eli? I hope you're pronouncing that like "Ellie" rather than something short for Elias.
Technichally, I think you say her name like "Isle" - like Island-weeeee? But without the D part of island. Or somethin like that. I think. Maybe... 8-[

Anyway, I agree as well. Just the end could use an update. I really like that it tries to get into the internet and the global connection thing. I just wish it was bigger and better than just the two kids on their comps. It's outdated looking and kinda silly. But the theme of global connecion is great.

And I think James Earl Jones would be awesome!

8O 8O Ooooh! 8O 8O The thing is, I agree!
That's why I've learned to keep my head up to avoid the constant banging of it on the back of the vehicle.

The beginning of the ride is great. Just get rid of Terry and Keiko and the virtual class field trip. And why have the TV showing news of the world when the footage is over a year old. :?

Yes, same here, but to tell you the truth I don't know which one was more uncomfortable.

^ Aye. Either get a stiff neck or get your head banged.

I prefer the head banging myself.

I guess we're head bangers! LOL

I'm gonna see if I get sometime this weekend to work on a new ending of SE. A description and a script, maybe.

That would be sweet! I look forward to it.

Have a great day!

Here's an updated spiel:

(All changes are in boldface.)

"Journey with us now to the dawn of recorded time as we explore the amazing story of human communication.

Like a grand and miraculous spaceship, our planet has sailed through the universe of time. And for a brief moment, we have been among its many passengers. From the very beginning, we have always sought to reach out to one another...to bridge the gaps between us...to communicate.

Across a lonely, hostile planet, our early ancestors spread out in search of food and shelter.

With the development of language came a vital key to our survival. For the first time, we could share and learn from one another. We bonded together in small tribes and prospered, no longer isolated, no longer alone.

Ages later, the Egyptians invented the first written communication - a complex language of hieroglyphic pictures and symbols. With the creation of papyrus scrolls, came the world's first piece of paper. Now, without ever leaving their palaces, pharaohs could deliver proclamations and decrees to subjects across the land.

Phoenician merchants established the earliest commercial highways trading goods and information at distant ports of call. To aid in record keeping, they created the first common alphabet and shared this new tool across the Mediterranean.

In ancient Greece, the spoken word was elevated to a fine art. Philosophers debated with one another in plazas and storytellers found a new forum for personal expression. The theater was born.

The mighty Roman empire bridged three continents with a vast system of roads - the fastest information highways the world had ever known. East, west, north, and south - all roads led to Rome. But these same roads were turned against Rome by invaders whose destruction left ages of knowledge and wisdom in the ashes that would become the Dark Ages.

But all was not lost. For far across the land, from Cairo to Cordoba, Jewish teachers and Islamic scholars continued the quest for knowledge. In libraries of wisdom, they debated ideas and shared new discoveries with all who would listen.

In Western abbeys, monks toil endlessly in lonely isolation copying ancient books of wisdom and revelations for future generations.

Finally, from the depths of the Dark Ages came the Age of Enlightenment - the Renaissance. And with this era, came a powerful new invention - the moveable type printing press.

Scientists, explorers, and scholars spread their discoveries in books and essays. Poets, musicians, and artists fueled by the passion of the age created timeless works of beauty and majesty.

On this wave of inspiration, we sailed into a bold, new era of communication bringing an explosion of tools and technologies which would bridge people around the world as never before. And as our appetite for information and knowledge grew, the world began to shrink.

Today, we possess the ability to connect with one another instantly anywhere on the planet.

The Internet, our communications supernetwork is growing before our eyes. Spaceship Earth glows with billions of interactions carrying news and information at the very speed of light.

But will these seemingly infinite communications become a flood of electronic babble? Or will we use this power to usher in a new age of understanding and co-operation on this, our Spaceship Earth.

Physical distance is no longer a barrier to communication. Today, the entire world is our next door neighbor. Our news is their news, their news ours. We share our hopes and concerns with the whole planet. We truly live in a Global Neighborhood.

Wondrous new tools will help us learn more about ourselves, each other, and the planet we share. Spaceship Earth will become our virtual classroom.

No longer just words, but images and video are sent in a flash to the far reaches of our world. Cellular communications make it possible for us to be on-the-go and connect with others freely. Wireless computers and smart phones give us new information anywhere, any time we need.

As we greet the 21st century, yet another revolution in communication is upon us - as profound as all the progress that has come before. By using our new communication tools to build better bridges between us, we will discover we all share the common bonds of hope and sorrow, dreams and joys.

Since the dawn of recorded time, communication has revolutionized our lives and changed our world. We now have the ability and the responsibility to build new bridges of acceptance and co-operation between us; to create a better world for ourselves and our children as we continue our amazing journey aboard Spaceship Earth."

Please tell me that you did not recall all that from memory, because I'd hate to see the size of your head would have to be to hold all that info. Nice play on words, subtle but effective changes. I like it alot!!!!

hehehe! I know "Like a grand and miraculous spaceship, our planet has sailed through the universe of time. And for a brief moment, we have been among its many passengers. From the very beginning, we have always sought to reach out to one another..."

That's about it. The rest of it, I have to google.

I can recite it while on it.

Just maybe not right off the top of my head right now. But I have an audio memory. Music, sounds words stick with me.

Have A Good One!
tloolgb

Same here, but I might get tripped up doing it without a prompt.

I have always loved SE, and I go on it everytime we go to Epcot, which is everytime we go to WDW.

In reviewing the Martin Smith tribute available through his group and through various Disney park video sharing places, I feel like there is a great deal of stuff from the original SE that could be implemented in my rehab, including the original song, Tomorrow's Child.

The video screens that used to be used in the end could be returned or reinvented to show people communicating while fiber optic sculptures to look like radio waves will travel from one screen to another.