Spaceship Earth is the first attraction you encounter when you enter the park.
This mild ride takes you on a journey through time inside the iconic, 18-story sphere of Epcot for the story of human communications. Spaceship Earth shows exactly where we, as a human race, started and where we are heading through audioanimatronic scenes.
You’ll make your way inside the futuristic geosphere and board the slow moving “time machine.” As you navigate through a dark sea of stars, make your face visible for the camera above. Your picture will come into play later in the ride!
Soon enough, you’ll hear Dame Judi Dench’s voice as she narrates the progression of communications and human innoventions. The story begins at the dawn of time in the prehistoric era, where you’ll witness man’s first spoken word. Next, you’ll observe as the ancient Egyptians create hieroglyphics, and the Phoenicians develop an alphabet. The voyage through time continues and you’ll witness many more significant occurrences and discoveries, such as:
Invention of public schools and mathematics by the Greeks
Creation of road systems by the Romans
The burning of The Great Library of Alexandria in Egypt and the loss of historical books and literature
Copies of some of the books found in the libraries of the Middle East and watched over by Jewish and Arab scholars – known as the "first backup system"
John Gutenberg’s invention of the movable-type printing press and the rapid spread of knowledge
The Italian Renaissance with scenes of Renaissance artists and players and the Sistine Chapel
The American Industrial Revolution and the invention of the steam press, telegraph, telephone and phonograph
Creation of cinema and television (family gathered around television watching news report of the moon landing in 1969)
First use of mainframe computer
Evolution into a truly global community “poised to shape the future of this… our Spaceship Earth”
You’ll then rotate backwards to return to Earth with Dame Judi Dench ending your journey with this: “The choices we’ve made over the last 40,000 years have been inventing the future one day at a time. And now it’s your turn. Let’s have some fun creating the future, shall we? ” At this point, you’ll design your own “future” on the touch screen on the seatback in front of you. Your face will be super-imposed on the screen, so hopefully you smiled at the beginning of the ride! Spaceship Earth is an Epcot must-do for the Frog Family. We parents love the bewildered look on Tad and Lily’s faces when they’re reminded there was a time when there were no mobile phones and lap tops.
The Spaceship Earth attraction is located inside the iconic massive sphere in Epcot and actually spirals through the 18-story interior. The ride lasts 16 minutes and is suitable for all ages. Each ride vehicle seats two guests and has no lap restraints. The door to each ride vehicle closes when the attraction begins.
Guests must transfer from their wheelchair, motorized scooter or ECV to board the ride vehicle. Guests must transfer from their motorized scooter or ECV to an available wheelchair, then to the ride vehicle. Audio Description devices that provide supplemental audio for guests with visual disabilities are available at Guest Relations. Handheld Captioning devices, which display text segments at this attraction, are available at Guest Relations. Due to the nature of Spaceship Earth, guests with service animals should check with a Cast Member at the attraction for boarding information.
Save Spaceship Earth for later after you've experienced more popular attractions like Test Track® Presented by Chevrolet, Soarin' Around the World and Mission: SPACE. Many guests are tempted to ride Spaceship Earth first thing in the morning since it's the first attraction they'll see in the park, but don't make that same mistake!
Consider reserving a Genie+ Lightning Lane time slot for Spaceship Earth if the park is busy or going in the evening, since it is one of the rides whose wait time has increased because of Lightning Lane.
Don't panic too much if lines look long and you can't get a Genie+ Lightning Lane time slot- Spaceship Earth loads quickly and continuously, so you’ll usually be able to go on with minimal wait.
Fun Facts
It took two years and two months to build Spaceship Earth. That's 40,800 man-hours! Spaceship Earth weighs 16 million pounds and is made up of 11,324 triangles.
Did you know that rainwater never falls off of the sphere? It’s absorbed into the ball and funneled away into the World Showcase Lagoon.
Many of the inventions showed throughout Spaceship Earth are exact replicas of the originals, such as the steam press, the scrolls in the Egyptian scene and the quadrant in the Islamic scene. The movable type on John Gutenberg’s printing press can actually move!
*Free In-Room Decor Set: Undercover Tourist reserves the right to substitute this package for one of equal or greater value based on availability. This onboard offer has no cash value, is non-transferable and is forfeited if the sailing is cancelled for any reason. Not Valid on cruises within the next 14 days.