Today In Disney History ~ July 9th
In celebration of the year 2000, a large 25-story “magic wand” held by a representation of Mickey Mouse’s hand was built next to the sphere. Inspiration for it came from the Sorcerer’s Apprentice sequence of Fantasia (although Mickey did not actually use a magic wand in that sequence). At the top of the structure was a large cut-out of the number 2000. While the structure wasn’t intended to be permanent, it was constructed to have a lifetime of about 10 years. After the Millennium Celebration ended, the structure was left standing. In 2001, the number 2000 was replaced with the word “Epcot” in a script font that differs from the park’s logotype.
On July 5, 2007, Epcot Vice President Jim MacPhee announced that Spaceship Earth would be restored to its original appearance, and that the “magic wand” structure would be removed in time for the park’s 25th anniversary on October 1, 2007. Siemens AG, the new sponsor of Spaceship Earth, was rumored to have requested the wand removed as it did not fit their corporate image. The attraction was closed on July 9, 2007, and by October 1 the wand structure, the stars and the star supports were gone, replaced by palm trees and other plants.
The closure also saw the ride’s fourth update, which included new scenes and modifications to existing scenes, some new costumes, lighting, and props, a new musical score by Bruce Broughton, new narration by Judi Dench,and a new interactive ending. New scenes showed a Greek classroom, mainframe computers and the creation of the personal computer. The attraction opened for “soft launch” previews starting in December 2007. After some last-minute adjustments in January, the ride had its official re-opening on February 15, 2008.
The “time machine” vehicles now have an interactive screen where riders can choose their vision of the future. This resembles a similar idea to the now-defunct Horizons attraction. At the beginning of the ride, a camera takes riders’ pictures (using facial recognition technology) which are used at the end of the ride to conduct an interactive experience about the future of technology, featuring the riders’ faces on animated characters with narration by Cam Clarke. Visitors are now also asked where in our Spaceship Earth they live; this is used in the post-show area where a map of the world is displayed with the riders’ faces shown where they live.
TMSM Today in Graphic by Sherry Rinaldi DeHart; Wiki
Michele also contributes theme park news for Fox 35 Orlando 11pm news and on the radio on WDBO.
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