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 Space Ship Earth has been closed for several months for a rehab to upgrade many of its systems. The offical opening is scheduled for early next year, but our friends at Disney World have decided to allow the attraction to be soft opened.
What is a soft opening? 99% of the attraction rehab is done. The Imagineers allow the attraction to reopen for a few hours a day to see how the public responds to the changes and to test the ride systems. Some days it may not be open at all, but if your one of the lucky ones you'll get a great preview of Space Ship Earth.
What do people have to say about the upgrades? Its a mixed back. The first part of the attraction is stunning. New improved animatronics have replaced the old models so their movement is very life like. A new score and new narration has been added along with video touch screens to each car. Several scenes have been changed and a couple new ones added. Most notably the computer room at the top and the garage where Apple Computer started. From there the critics have been out in full force. The decent from the top of Space Ship Earth has been changed. It is completely dark on the return trip. The touch screens come to life and ask you a set of questions then play a pretty non-disney looking cartoon. The question seems more like a survey than anything else. SSE fans are pretty much down on the last half of the attraction. People that could have never rode it before or just once or twice probably wouldn't notice the change or care that it changed.
Will the ending change? Hard to tell. We are in the soft opening stage of the attraction. Somethings may not be working yet. Attractions have been known to be changed as a result of the soft openings. Alien Encounters preshow was redone as a result of testing. Also, the Laugh Floor also went through joke and graphic improvements during the soft opening phase.
The best thing to do is ride it yourself and be the judge. Look for the attraction to be open on and off for the next couple months until the offical open date listed on the Disney World web site.
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