Spaceship Earth Revamp - Wonderful AND Woeful
I can confirm that there *was* a soft opening today for Spaceship Earth! :-D
Jamie just got off the phone with a friend of ours -- he had just gotten off and wanted to brag.
I don't have a lot of details for you, but he noticed a line forming when he got in the park this morning, and just happened to get in at the right time -- they stopped allowing folks on just after he got in line.
He says the audio-animatronics look great, the touch screens are "cool" (although they didn't work throughout his ride). The final scenes don't appear to be finished yet, but he did say there's a new 70's scene that looked awesome.
If I get more info, I'll let ya know!
I rode Spaceship Earth twice yesterday!
And flew home today. For those who don't want to know too much - WARNING - Spoilers Ahead!
I am not overly impressed with the new show. Actually, the beginning is fantastic, but the second half is terrible, in my opinion. So if you average and A and a D, you get a B- or C+?
The first part is basically the same, with enhanced audioanimatronics and a pretty good new script. Most of the scenes are the same or similar until the last part just before you see Earth - what used to be the Japanese House is now the garage that the first PC was invented in (was that Steve Jobs??)
After a fantastic beginning, however, it just fizzles. Maybe it's not completed yet, but there was no song (what happened to "Tomorrow's Child" being brought back?) and no sets at all. You just stare at your individual computer screen, answer some questions about your preferences, and then see a Jetsons-type cartoon, based on how you answered your questions. I was extremely disappointed - they used to have great music on the way down (so what if the sets were a bit hokey?) Now all you see is black cloth and your computer screen. It's almost like they ran out of money and didn't quite finish the show.
I asked the Cast Members who were in the post show if the ride was finished - basically I got non-answers. I asked them what would take another 3 months if it was finished? Again, I was just told to go to Guest Relations if I had any comments. Unfortunately, the lines were always too long. Maybe I'll send them an e-mail.
In short - fantastic start - lousy finish. Most of the other people I spoke to upon exiting thought the same thing. (And one CM admitted he was hearing that too.) So, maybe they'll fix it? I hope someone from Disney is reading this. And I can't wait to hear some other impressions.
By the way, I went to MouseFest yesterday afternoon and spoke to John Y for a few minutes. It was great to see him again.