Credit: Zach RiddleyIt seems as though Walt Disney World transformed overnight as the 50th-anniversary decorations came down, returning the Park to its usual splendor after almost two years of celebrations.
Now the Resort will prepare to kick off its Disney100 celebrations as the event makes its way from Disneyland. While the big “50” sign on the castle has been removed, the pink and blue overlay will remain, as well as the Disney Fab 50 statue collection around the Parks and the new LED lights on Spaceship Earth.
Many Disney fans have disagreed over the pink paint job the castle received for the 50th anniversary but did agree that the new lights were a good move. Rather than projection mapping the exterior of Spaceship Earth, the new technology utilizes the lights themselves to create stunning displays.
Recently, Disney announced that EPCOT would be the primary Park to host the Disney100 celebrations, rather than Magic Kingdom. A new nightly firework show was also announced, as well as new character meet and greets and other exclusive events. Fans have been speculating that Spaceship Earth is keeping the LED system because of the time and cost it took to refit the icon. While that may be part of the decision, Disney has been known to make similar expensive decisions for less amount of time. Just see the 25th anniversary cake castle or the Stitch overlay.
However, with Disney100 coming to the Park and the new firework and light show as part of it, it makes sense to keep it fitted with the LED technology in order to create the new shows. It’s also likely that the lights will indeed stick around even after the 100 celebrations due to the opportunities the new technology offers.
The responses to the news on Twitter have been overall positive, with many comments stating that the lights are the best thing that Disney has done to upgrade the Parks in a long time. Many even hoped that it’s a permanent change to Spaceship Earth and that it brought some sparkle back to the Park.
What do you think about the lights on Spaceship Earth? Share your thoughts in the comments below!