Small details make a big story impact at Epcot’s Spaceship Earth

Often, it’s the little details that make Disney attractions extra special. That’s certainly true of Epcot’s signature attraction, Spaceship Earth.

The planning details begin with the building’s outer shell, which is an 18-story-tall geodesic sphere made up of 954 full and partial triangular pieces. When it rains, none of the rain falls to the ground and drenches guests walking under the giant sphere. Instead, the water drains into the one-inch spaces between the triangular pieces, collects in gutters, and ultimately empties into the World Showcase Lagoon.

The history of Spaceship Earth shows us the evolution of communication and innovation, and Disney Imagineers spared little expense to make the scenes of this dark ride attraction as realistic as possible. Here are some interesting facts about the attraction:

– Michelangelo used a paint transport system when he painted the Sistine Chapel, and this transport system is accurately reflected in the scene recreating his efforts.

– In the Egyptian scene the character reads a letter from Pharaoh. The letter is actually a duplicate of an actual document written by an actual Egyptian pharaoh. Since no one would have noticed the difference, the designers could have easily written gibberish on the parchment. Instead, he investigated and wrote a real letter.

– Another scene shows a printing press showing the amazing advance that movable type brought. While no one could tell if Disney skimped here, the press Disney built for the scene has a guy who can really move. And what is the printing press that prints? It is an exact duplicate of Gutenberg’s forty-two line Bible (where 42 represents the number of lines printed on a page, as that is what the printing press allowed).

– In the Morse code scene, the code is actually writing the text of the announcement that the golden spike had been placed on Promontory Peak, a critical moment in the expansion across America that marked the union of the country from east to west.

– In the scene that represents the invention of the computer, there is a young man sitting in front of his new invention. Some speculate that it could be Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple. However, according to the book The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World, imaginator Pam Fisher claims that the scene is actually meant to honor all kinds of inventors who did great things, not just one like Steve Jobs.

All of these little details, many of which guests don’t even consciously notice, add up to incredible storytelling that makes Epcot’s Spaceship Earth an incredible storytelling experience.