Mouse Extra

When I first heard Lou and Nathan on the Mousetunes Podcast offer up the idea for the Seven Wonders of Walt Disney World the first thing to pop into my head was Spaceship Earth.   As I sat down to define what “wonder” should mean for these purposes I thought of Spaceship Earth.  On every list I made while formulating my ideas, Spaceship Earth was always the first.   It is without doubt the most “grand and miraculous” of wonders.

There’s little I can tell you about the construction of this structure.  I can tell you about how author Ray Bradbury helped inspire this mammoth geodesic sphere, or how MIT was brought in to tell whether the wind would blow the visitors walking under it back into the Imagination parking lot.   I can give you research bullet points about how the rain is collected from its surface and funneled into the World Showcase Lagoon,  or how many feet into the Florida earth the support beams are driven, but you’d need an architect or engineer to learn anything of real substance.

These things are pivotal to why Spaceship Earth is on this list, to be sure.   But whether I knew them or not, it’s visual grandeur is enough to merit a place on any such list, and not just a list of the benchmarks in Disney imagination.   To me, nothing symbolizes Walt Disney World like Spaceship Earth.  Before the addition of the infamous wand, something that drives purists up a wall, it was a simple, near-colorless icon.   But it didn’t need shiny fringe or flashy bling to capture the imagination.  Spaceship Earth seems to reflect the environment colors in a way no paint job could ever dream.

But let’s be clear, I am not just talking about the exterior.  What waits inside this incredible centerpiece of Epcot is equally as stunning.

Rather than filling you with smiley characters and cute little songs, this dark ride vaults you to the caves of early man, the court of an Egyptian pharaoh, and front row at an ancient Greek theater.   It stars Michelangelo and Gutenberg, and the narration has always been compelling.  It is a fascinating and entertaining tribute to the achievements of mankind.   Where else can you find such a detailed and complex story told in so short a timeframe with such pleasing results? 

If memory serves, Spaceship Earth is the highest attended attraction in Walt Disney World.  Now, part of that popularity surely is due to its location, but make no mistake.  You simply can not ride this wonder just once.  For one thing, you’ll never be able to see everything.