Mouse Extra

Kevin Yee’s lasting column on MiceAge.com is a seriously in depth review of the new Spaceship Earth.  As I am sure you know by now, the big golf ball opened for previews a few days ago after a long period of refurbishment.  Needless to say, the new version has been getting mixed reviews.  Now before you start complaining the Mr. Yee is always negative keep in mind that he has been positive about many of the newer attractions and remakes.

The column is a terrific way to really get a feel for the scope of this project.  He compares pictures of the old version with new version all along the ride and you really get a feel for what to expect.  Throughout the first portion of the ride, the review is very positive, praising the new robotics and fresh appearance achieved.  But the descent is the place that has come under the most fire.

It’s almost as if two different designers worked on the ride. The first half is a textbook example of how to freshen up an old ride, add new effects, and make it relevant again. The second half is a complete miscalculation of what would be interesting, from start to finish, and the worst part is that I don’t see how they can fix this and still keep the viewscreen concept around.

I hope they do something. They still have some time until the official grand re-opening, and of course they can continue to tweak as time goes on, too. But something drastic is needed for that descent tunnel. It’s not working at all right now.

Many people are making a big deal out of this sequence, and I assume this feedback will get back to WDI.  But like Mr. Yee says, I don’t see how they can fix it in the timeframe they have.  Will this part ruin the ride for people like it did for Mr. Yee?  To be completely honest, the descent portion of this ride was never what excited me about going on anyway.  In fact, I normally nodded off at this point, so if it is still boring …so be it.