Popular Disney Ride To Briefly Close This Week For Refurbishment

From time to time, Disney World rides may be unavailable to Guests visiting due to refurbishments. These scheduled refurbishments are to allow Imagineers and workers to make any necessary operational or technical changes needed in order to make sure the ride can operate for Guests on a day-to-day basis.

One Walt Disney World ride will be undergoing a very short refurbishment this week.

According to the Walt Disney World refurbishment calendar, Spaceship Earth, a popular ride located in EPCOT, will close for one day due to refurbishment.

Spaceship Earth will close at EPCOT on Wednesday, July 19, and remain closed for one day. The attraction is scheduled to reopen on Thursday, July 20.

Although details are not released as to what Imagineers will be doing on Spaceship Earth, it is likely some sort of critical maintenance needed that cannot be completed overnight.

For those visiting EPCOT on July 19, there are plenty of other rides that will be open including Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, Frozen Ever After, Test Track, Soarin' Around The World, Journey Into Imagination With Figment, and the newest EPCOT ride, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.

Spaceship Earth is the icon of EPCOT and brings Guests through some of the monumental times of innovation history.

Disney describes the ride as:

Witness the landmark moments of amazing innovation that made today’s spectacular communications technology possible.

Travel back to the dawn of humanity, when early man painted on cave walls. Watch new ideas spread like wildfire with the invention of Gutenberg’s printing press. The wheels of time turn ever faster as we enter the modern age of media, from newspapers announcing the end of the Civil War to the televised broadcast of the moon landing—and beyond.

All of these great moments are brought vividly to life using elaborate sets and advanced Audio-Animatronics figures during this inspirational, 16-minute, Omnimover-style attraction.

As Guests "return to Earth" while on Spaceship Earth, they will have the opportunity to design their very own future life using touch technology inside their ride vehicle. Disney states, "Once you’ve returned to the present day, you’ll have a chance to design the kind of future you want to live in using the touch screen inside your vehicle. Answer several brief questions and get ready to see what your tomorrow looks like!"

When speaking to the story behind Spaceship Earth, Disney World's website states:

It’s the flagship attraction of Epcot and the signature symbol of the park. To create the experience inside the iconic geosphere, Disney Imagineers assembled some of the world’s greatest talents.

The all-star roster includes Academy Award® winner Judi Dench as the narrator and Emmy® winner Bruce Broughton, who conducted a 63-piece orchestra and 24-voice choir for his musical score. If you listen closely, you’ll notice that the music for each scene features styles and instruments appropriate to the era, transitioning seamlessly into the next—no small feat.

Spaceship Earth is located inside EPCOT at Walt Disney World Resort.