Since before the pandemic, the very first scene in Epcot’s Spaceship Earth has been a dark and foreboding experience… but not for the right reasons. Guests were supposed to experience the beginning of a journey into human communication, starting with hunters working together to take down a mammoth. Instead, because of an aging projector, guests were treated to narration and a very dark, nearly non-visible screen.
That appears to have been resolved over the weekend, with the mammoth restored to visibility. The room is still dark, just as intended, but now the images are at the light level intended.
Much remains to be done to fully restore Spaceship Earth to its full interior glory. A rework was scheduled prior to COVID, but that has been put on indefinite hold or canceled. Yet work certainly is called for in Epcot’s flagship attraction. That said, given some of the changes that have occurred with Epcot — and how they have been received — it might be a blessing in disguise that the attraction has not yet received its interior facelift. When it does, however, it would be very nice to see the entirety of the ride used, not just the ascent with touchscreens turned on to mask a descent void of anything other than scrims.
After all, the exterior is just to wonderful to house anything less…
