Spaceship Earth (Epcot)
Spaceship Earth is a dark ride attraction at the Epcot theme park at the Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida. The geodesic sphere in which the attraction is housed has served as the symbolic structure of Epcot since the park opened in 1982 and as such, is often referred to as the "Epcot Ball".
| Spaceship Earth | |
|---|---|
The pavilion logo, a throwback to the original logo, introduced in 2019 for Epcot signage | |
Spaceship Earth in 2007 | |
| Epcot | |
| Area | Future World (1982–2021) World Celebration (2021–present) |
| Coordinates | 28°22′31″N 81°32′58″W |
| Status | Operating |
| Cost | $800 Million |
| Opening date | October 1, 1982 |
| Ride statistics | |
| Attraction type | Dark ride |
| Manufacturer | Walt Disney Imagineering |
| Designer | Walt Disney Imagineering |
| Music | Edo Guidotti (1994–2007) Bruce Broughton (2007–present) |
| Site area | 109,375 sq ft (10,161.3 m2) |
| Vehicle type | Omnimover |
| Riders per vehicle | 4 |
| Rows | 2 |
| Riders per row | 2 |
| Duration | 15:00 |
| Host | Vic Perrin (1982–1986) Walter Cronkite (1986–1994) Jeremy Irons (1994–2007) Judi Dench (2007–present) |
| Diameter | 165 ft (50 m) |
| Height | 180 ft (55 m) |
| Circumference | 518.1 ft (157.9 m) |
| Volume | 2,350,000 cu ft (67,000 m3) |
| Weight | 15,520,000 lb (7,040,000 kg) |
| Number of tiles | 11,324 |
| Sponsors | Bell System (1982–1984) AT&T (1984–2004) Siemens (2005–2017) |
Disney Genie+ Lightning Lane Available | |
Must transfer from wheelchair | |
Assistive listening available | |
The 15-minute ride takes guests on a time machine-themed experience, demonstrating how advancements in human communication have helped to create the future one step at a time. Riding in Omnimover-type vehicles along a track that spirals up and down the geodesic sphere, passengers are taken through scenes depicting important breakthroughs in communication throughout history—from the development of early language through cave paintings, to the use of hieroglyphs, to the invention of the alphabet, to the creation of the printing press, to today's modern communication advancements, including telecommunication and mass communication.
An opening day attraction, the ride has been updated three times—in 1986, 1994, and 2007. A fourth update of the attraction was planned for the early 2020s but was indefinitely delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.