High quality video of Spaceship Earth in Walt Disney Worlds Epcot Center. Shot with a DSLR and GoPro Hero 3 Black Edtion. Spaceship Earth is the iconic and symbolic structure of Epcot, the second of four theme parks built at the Walt Disney World Resort. One of the most recognizable structures of any theme park, it is also the name of the attraction that is housed within the 18-story geodesic sphere that takes guests on a time machine-themed experience using the Omnimover system. The 15-minute dark ride demonstrates to guests how advancements in human communication have helped to create the future one step at a time. Passengers journey back in time to witness the origins of prehistoric man, then travel forward in time to witness important breakthroughs in communication throughout history—from the invention of the alphabet to the creation of the printing press to todays modern communication advancements, including telecommunication and mass communication. At the conclusion of the ride, passengers have the chance to design their own future using touch screens that are embedded into the ride cars.\r
The structure is similar in texture to the United States pavilion from Expo 67 in Montreal, but unlike that structure, Spaceship Earth is a complete sphere, supported by three pairs of legs. The structural designs of both Expo 67 and Spaceship Earth were completed by Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc. of Boston, Massachusetts.\r
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Geometrically, Spaceship Earth is a derivative of a pentakis dodecahedron, with each of the 60 isosceles triangle faces divided into 16 smaller triangles (with a bit of fudging to make it rounder).Each of those 960 flat panels is sub-divided into four triangles, each of which is divided into three isosceles triangles to form each point. In theory, there are 11,520 total isosceles triangles forming 3840 points. In reality, some of those triangles are partially or fully nonexistent due to supports and doors; there are actually only 11,324 silvered facets, with 954 partial or full flat triangular panels.\r
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The appearance of being a monolithic sphere is an architectural goal that was achieved through a structural trick. Spaceship Earth is in fact two structural domes. Six legs are supported on pile groups that are driven up to 160 feet into Central Floridas soft earth. Those legs support a steel box-shaped ring at the spheres perimeter, at about 30 degrees south latitude in earth-terms. The upper structural dome sits on this ring. A grid of trusses inside the ring supports two helical structures of the ride and show system. Below the ring, a second dome is hung from the bottom, completing the spherical shape. The ring and trusses form a table-like structure which separates the upper dome from the lower. Supported by and about three feet off of the structural domes is a cladding sphere to which the shiny Alucobond panels and drainage system are mounted.\r
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The cladding was designed so that when it rains, no water pours off the sides onto the ground. All water is collected through one-inch gaps in the facets into a gutter system, and finally channeled into the World Showcase Lagoon.\r
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Narrators\r
Lawrence Dobkin: October 1, 1982 – May 26, 1986\r
Walter Cronkite: May 26, 1986 – August 15, 1994\r
Jeremy Irons: November 23, 1994 – July 9, 2007\r
Dame Judi Dench: February 15, 2008–present\r
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A VIP lounge, operated by the pavilion sponsor, exists above the postshow area of Spaceship Earth. Employees of the current sponsoring company and their guests can relax in the lounge while visiting Epcot. The sponsor can also hold receptions in the space as well as conduct workshops and business presentations. When Spaceship Earth was without sponsorship from 2004–2005, the room was utilized for private events such as weddings and conventions.[citation needed] The layout is small and curved in shape, with one wall consisting of large windows where visitors can look out onto the park.\r
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When Siemens AG took over as sponsors, the lounge was given the name Base21. In 2012, the name was dropped and it is now simply known as the Siemens VIP Center.\r
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Project Tomorrow current attractions are:\r
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An illuminated globe that shows the hometown of all Spaceship Earth visitors for the day.\r
Body Builder – a 3-D game that challenges guests to reconstruct a human body. Features the voice of Wallace Shawn as Dr. Bones.\r
Super Driver – a driving simulation video game featuring vehicle accident and avoidance systems. It simulates what is supposed to be the future of driving. You drive a smart-car and try to stop the city from being destroyed.\r
Power City – a large, digital shuffleboard-style game that has guest racing around the board to power their city.\r
InnerVision – a coordination and reaction-time gam
