Construction walls near Epcot’s icon “Spaceship Earth” are schedule to come down in the next week following 5 weeks of refurbishment at the Walt Disney World Resort theme park. Changes include revisions in content, new interactive components and enhancements of items that have marked the attraction since its inception.The theme of the attraction has shifted from communication through the ages to one of inspiration and innovation. The most recent script, read by Jeremy Irons, has been replaced by a new script narrated by Oscar winner Judi Dench, whose words guide riders through the generations.The plot winds through several scenes familiar to Spaceship Earth fans: the Egyptians, the burning of Rome, the Renaissance, the switchboard and more. All scenes up through the 1960s living room remain, but elements have been repositioned and upgraded. Each scene includes new lights and costumes. In addition, some of the Audio-Animatronics are increasingly lifelike thanks to technological upgrades that allow the figures to move around more than before.Fresh content is most apparent as riders near the top of the sphere. New sets representing the invention of the computer mainframe and the garage where the personal computer was developed lead to the darkened, downward second half of the experience.

As the cars coast down the rail, passengers answer seven questions about their future on a touch screen. (Do you prefer the journey or the destination? While away, do you worry more about your home or your pet?)

Answers are melded into a customized piece of retro-yet-futuristic cartoon for each row.

Other changes blend old and new. The revised living room steers attention to the 1969 moon landing on television, featuring reports from Walter Cronkite.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 7th, 2007 at 12:28 pm and is filed under Orlando, Walt Disney World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.