One of my son’s favorite attractions at Epcot is the long audio-animatronic heavy ride inside the giant geodesic dome of Spaceship Earth. Epcot Central Blog has found a 1982 video that looks at the genesis of Epcot and the construction of Spaceship Earth.
There’s a great speech in there from Ray Bradbury on Walt’s idea for Epcot — a permanent World’s Fair; some great construction video; and a few quick scenes from the ride.
Alas, Epcot has been significantly diverted from the world’s fair path over the years. They’ve also let the audio-animatronics reach such a state of disrepair I had no idea some of those figures even moved at one time. But in this video, their movement is fluid and quite natural.
As Epcot Central states, this video should be required viewing for any Disney employee or executive in the chain of command for all decisions that affect guest experience and the future of EPCOT. Given the proper invite, I’m sure that Ray Bradbury would be happy to come down and consult again. Just promise us that you’ll listen to him.
Spaceship Earth is my earliest memory from Epcot (I was a wee lad of 29 when I first went). Seriously though, I remember that as the first thing we did, though I’m sure it wasn’t, due to how strong the message, despite the apparent disrepair, still is. Everyone should have to ride this.
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