You know, when we think of scary rides in EPCOT, we think about how some people may be afraid of the roller coaster aspect of Cosmic Rewind or the fart smell in Journey into Imagination. *We shudder to think of that dreaded scene.*
However, the one ride that does NOT come to mind when we’re talking about scary rides? Well, that would be Spaceship Earth…until now, that is. And it’s all thanks to Quincy and her endless Disney knowledge and (not so) fun facts.
Spaceship Earth is a traditional omnimover dark ride located right at the front of the park — yes, it’s the giant golf ball-looking thing. Some people visiting the parks for the first time don’t even realize there’s a ride in there! It’s one of the longest attractions in the park, and it’s a must-do for those who want about 15 minutes to sit down in the AC and travel back through time to see how communication came to be what it is today. It’s a classic!
Currently, the attraction is closed for a refurbishment for an undetermined amount of time, and while we’re not totally sure WHAT’S being refurbished, we have a feeling Disney is still not gonna touch the paper boy with a potentially melted face…okay, we’ll back up.
Inside Spaceship Earth, there are hundreds of animatronics taking you through all the different parts of history. In one scene, you hear a boy yelling, “Extra! Extra!” and see him holding up a newspaper. However, he’s facing AWAY from the ride vehicles, and you can’t see his face. He’s selling papers to a dark corner.
Quincy, one of our resident Disney experts, remembers that this boy used to FACE the ride vehicles, but many, many years ago, he was turned the other way to now be hawking the paper at the…wall? The reasoning behind this change has never been fully confirmed, but Quincy suspects that his face was somehow burned and melted due to a small fire, and instead of fixing him, Imagineers just turned him around.
So yeah, that’s terrifying. However, there’s no official confirmation as to what happened. Another rumor is that Imagineers found him annoying, so they turned him around, and a third rumor is that guests kept trying to touch the paper boy’s face when he faced forward, as he was much closer to the ride vehicles. Whatever the reasoning, we do feel bad that this poor boy is facing A WALL when most of the other animatronics get to face out towards the guests.
Perhaps this will be the refurbishment that Disney finally turns him around again! They don’t have to bring him closer to the ride vehicles again; they can keep him where he is, but just face him back out towards us. We’ll be one of the first to ride the attraction again when it reopens, so we’ll make sure we’re one of the first to let you know what’s changed — stay tuned to AllEars!
The Storied History Behind EPCOT’s Spaceship Earth
What’s your favorite part of Spaceship Earth? Tell us in the comments!
I assumed that he was turned round so we wouldn’t ask every time we rode Spaceship Earth, “ why does a little boy have an adult man’s voice?”