Spaceship Earth

Description And Comments

This ride spirals through the 18-story interior of Epcot's premier landmark, taking visitors past audioanimatronic scenes depicting mankind's developments in communications, from cave painting to printing to television to space communications and computer networks. The ride shows an amazing use of the geodesic sphere's interior.

Spaceship Earth's scenes are periodically redone to keep things fresh. The most recent include a 1970s-era computer room and a home garage showing what looks suspiciously like the invention of the Apple personal computer (perhaps a homage to Steve Jobs, Disney's largest individual shareholder). Interactive video screens on the ride vehicles allow you to customize the ride's ending animated video. A postshow area with games and interactive exhibits rounds out the attraction.

Apart from going deaf, a family of five from Columbus, Ohio, wrote approvingly of Spaceship Earth's makeover:

We loved the new Spaceship Earth - the kids thought it was hilarious at the end with the new interactive video screen. I did think the volume was too high, however, I felt like the voice was screaming in my ear the whole ride.

Touring Tips

Open for Morning Extra Magic Hour.
Open for Evening Extra Magic Hours.

Because it's near Epcot's main entrance, Spaceship Earth is inundated with arriving guests throughout the morning. If you're interested in riding Test Track, postpone Spaceship Earth until, say, after 4 p.m. Spaceship Earth loads continuously and quickly. If the line runs only along the right side of the sphere, you'll board in less than 15 minutes.

Spaceship Earth Wait Times

This chart shows you roughly how long you'll wait for Spaceship Earth when you visit on a day with a given Epcot Crowd Level. The blue bars represent the average "peak" wait time (that is, how long the line will at its busiest). The bottom and top black lines represent the range of peak wait times to expect (for you fellow nerds out there: it's the 5th percentile and 95th percentile of peak wait times). Please note that these are estimates, and for a better forecast for your travel dates, see Spaceship Earth Wait Times.