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Disney World Modifies Another Historic Ride Without Warning After Recent Cultural Sensitivity Changes

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Posted on by Jess Colopy 2 Comments
spaceship earth

Credit: Inside the Magic

Shortly after changing a few figurines on Peter Pan’s Flight at Magic Kingdom Park, Walt Disney World Resort quietly updated another historic attraction: Spaceship Earth at EPCOT.

Related: Revealed: Disney World Cutting Massive EPCOT World Showcase Pavilion

Last month, Walt Disney World Resort reopened Peter Pan’s Flight with an all-new “Neverland Tribe scene.” Walt Disney Imagineering replaced the offensive, stereotypical depictions of Tiger Lily, Kaw Chief, and other Indigenous Peter Pan (1953) characters with more human-like, respectful, and dynamic figures. Disneyland Resort will make the same changes to its version of the Fantasyland dark ride.

A scene from a Peter Pan-themed attraction featuring Captain Hook and Peter Pan dueling on a ship's bow. Captain Hook, donning his iconic red coat and hook for a hand, clashes swords with Peter Pan in his signature green attire. Nearby, Wendy watches with concern as the adventure unfolds.
Credit: Disney

Recently, EPCOT guests noticed that Walt Disney Imagineers silently modified Spaceship Earth, the Disney Park’s icon. The change came as a surprise to fans after Imagineering quietly canceled a Spaceship Earth overhaul planned for Walt Disney World Resort’s 50th anniversary in 2021.

Imagineers restored a lightning effect during the descent of Spaceship Earth when guests slowly leave a dark room full of stars. Reddit user u/kekeguy7 shared this photo of the lightning bolts in action:

Lighting bolt effect restored from 1994-2007 version of Spaceship Earth!!

Lighting bolt effect restored from 1994-2007 version of Spaceship Earth!!
byu/Kekeguy7 inWaltDisneyWorld

“This shows that we are getting some love put into the ride,” the Disney Parks fan wrote.

Disney Park guests were overjoyed to see the Spaceship Earth special effect working again. After all, it’s the little things that make for the best Disney experience.

“The EPCOT maintenance team has done some great work the past year, getting long broken effects back online,” u/Neuriion commented.

A large geodesic sphere, known as Spaceship Earth, is prominently featured with fountains spraying water in the foreground. The sky is clear and blue, and palm trees frame the scene on either side.
Credit: Disney

“We rode this on Saturday and talked about how we didn’t remember seeing that lightning before,” u/User313 replied. “Neat.”

Still, some Disney Parks fans longed for the canceled update that would’ve catapulted the EPCOT ride into the future.

“Ohhh so THIS is the big high-tech Spaceship Earth refurb they announced! [sarcastic],” u/maxfridsvault quipped.

A scene depicting prehistoric humans in a cave, with one standing wearing animal skins and antlers while others sit by a fire, surrounded by cave paintings.
Credit: Disney

Walt Disney World Resort didn’t publicly announce the update to Spaceship Earth, but the special effect was still operating at the time of this article’s publication.

Do any other Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, or Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park attractions need updates? Share your thoughts with Inside the Magic in the comments. 

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