Good morning from EPCOT, where Spaceship Earth is now closed for refurbishment. The iconic attraction will be closed for a number of months, reopening later this year. Walt Disney World hasn’t announced a reopening date or even month. Disney has only announced that Spaceship Earth will reopen “later this year”. Here’s a look around from our visit to EPCOT this morning.
Spaceship Earth Closed for Refurbishment
Of course, anytime we talk about a Spaceship Earth refurbishment, we have to wonder if there will be any changes to the show scenes at all. Back in Spring 2020 were mere weeks away from EPCOT’s centerpiece attraction closing for years as the ride received a planned overhaul. The attraction was set to receive some “new magic”, including updated show scenes and a new narrative element called the “story light”.
The story light would’ve come to life in dynamic ways, giving each scene energy and stunning beauty while creating a narrative that ties your journey together.
The purpose of the attraction was going to change as well. The new Spaceship Earth would’ve still featured great moments of human history, but instead of inventions and technology, Disney was going to focus on something that binds all of humanity together: storytelling. Many of the scenes you know and love would’ve remained, but Disney said that they were going to bring them to life in amazing new ways. Disney also planned on adding new scenes to reflect the universal nature of the human experience.
All of that was scrapped when COVID-19 shut down the theme parks just two months before the planned closure.
Turning our attention back to the present, Walt Disney World says that this refurbishment is “routine” and if the attraction is only closed for a few months, that certainly wouldn’t be nearly enough time to make any substantial show scene changes.
Disney hasn’t offered any other details.
A sign at the base of the mirrored column under Spaceship Earth says:
Spaceship Earth is Currently Not Operating
GEO-82 is still Welcoming Guests
Hedges are installed around the Spaceship Earth entrance, but no construction walls are visible on the exterior of the building.
The Project Tomorrow post-show area is also closed this morning.
We saw some crews before park open, perhaps an indication that early work inside is already underway. Some of the crew even had advanced equipment that would suggest that they had been inside show scenes or other areas that required extra safety gear beyond a hard hat.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!