The first thing you see when approaching EPCOT Center is Spaceship Earth, rising high into the Florida sky. As Cinderella’s Castle is to 
the Magic Kingdom, so is Spaceship Earth to EPCOT. It’s a perfect spot for photo opportunities!
Spaceship Earth is often called “The big golf ball”! However, if you wanted to use it as a golf ball, you’d have to be 1.2 miles tall! This iconic structure is 180 feet high and 18 feet off the ground. The structure was designed by Disney Imagineers and consultants including science fiction writer Ray Bradbury, who helped write the original storyline.
Some interesting facts:
- It’s a complete sphere supported by three pairs of legs
- It features 11, 324 silver facets made of Alucobond, forming 3840 points
- When it rains, people underneath won’t get soaked. Water is collected in a gutter system and routed into Showcase Lagoon
- Spaceship Earth weighs 15,520 pounds!
- It took 26 months and 40,800 labor hours to build, opening in October, 1982
- It’s actually 2 spheres, one inside the other
- There is a VIP lounge above the post show area of the attraction
- In September, 1999, a Mickey Mouse arm holding a wand and the year 2000 was installed to celebrate the turn of the century. It weighed almost 50 tons and was removed in 2000
Portions of the ride are dark but all ages will enjoy it. There are no height restrictions. It’s usually crowded during the morning but not later in the day. You will travel on an omnimover, meaning the ride is continuously moving. It may stop for wheelchair guests because they must transfer from the chair.
The storyline takes you back in time and features scenes depicting communication from early times through the present. It features lifelike Audio-Animatronics with Judi Dench as the narrator and lasts about 15 minutes. At the end, you have the opportunity to design the kind of future you want using a touch screen that is on your ride vehicle. You can even email a cute video to a friend before leaving!
Written by Sheri Morris, “Main Street Morris” — Sheri is proud grandmother with a keen eye for detail. She specializes in Disney Travel for adults and RV travel. Book your next vacation with Sheri at 804 405 5005 or at sheri@destinationsinflorida.com.