Disney: Imagineer shares more about change at Epcot’s Spaceship Earth

[Disney4me]

More details emerged about changes for Epcot’s Spaceship Earth in an Instagram post by an Imagineer. They're tied to Disney World's 50th anniversary this year.

View the full article

 

 

By DEWAYNE BEVIL

ORLANDO SENTINEL |

FEB 22, 2021 AT 10:10 AM

 

 

As part of the celebration for Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary, Epcot's Spaceship Earth and other theme-park icons will come to life with new nighttime glows. User Upload Caption: As part of “The World’s Most Magical Celebration,” icons at each Walt Disney World theme park will transform into magnificent Beacons of Magic at night, coming to life with their own during the resort's 50th anniversary celebration. At Epcot, new lights will shine across the reflective panels of Spaceship Earth, connecting to one another in a symbol of optimism resembling stars in a nighttime sky. The iconic structure’s permanent new lighting will continue beyond “The World’s Most Magical Celebration” as a defining feature of the park. - Original Credit: Walt Disney Co. - Original Source: DISNEY/HANDOUT (Walt Disney Co. / Courtesy photo)

 

More details have emerged about changes to Epcot’s Spaceship Earth, thanks to an Instagram post by Imagineer Zach Riddley. They enhance Friday’s announcement regarding the celebrations tied to Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary this year.

“Spaceship Earth is a unique structure recognized around the world,” Riddley writes. “To honor this idea, our Imagineers have created custom lighting features that literally emerge from her unique architecture. These features will shine across Spaceship Earth’s silver panels and ‘connect’ with one another, resembling shimmering stars in a nighttime sky.”

The round building’s multicolor lighting design will be “maintained and accentuated through new colors and intensity in programmed expressions that extended into the new main entrance fountain and the entire World Celebration area that continues to take shape before our eyes,” Riddley says.

“World Celebration” is the designation for the central part of Epcot’s current Future World. The ongoing transformation of the theme park includes a rebranding of areas, where Future World West (the Soarin’ side) will be dubbed World Nature and Future World East (the Test Track side) will become World Discovery. World Showcase’s naming will remain unchanged.

Epcot: The colorful return of Leave a Legacy »

All four Disney World theme parks’ icons will be given touch-ups for the 50th celebration, including Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom, the Tree of Life at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Tower Hotel/Tower of Terror at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. “The World’s Most Magical Celebration” is scheduled to begin Oct. 1 and continue for 18 months, the company said last week. Also announced: New costuming for Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse for the occasion.

Riddley’s post repeated that Spaceship Earth’s lighting system will continue to be used beyond the 50th anniversary festivities. More “technical innovation and artistry” are to be revealed, he said. His Instagram account is @thezachriddley.