Spaceship Earth reimagining announced at D23, its first update in nearly 20 years
Disney announced at D23 that Spaceship Earth at EPCOT will be reimagined for the first time in nearly two decades. Imagineer Ali Rubinstein, joined onstage by Neil Patrick Harris and Mark Rober, said the new version will shift the ride's story from human communication to the broader theme of human connection, carrying it into the internet age.
Spaceship Earth is getting its first update in nearly 20 years. Disney announced the reimagining at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, where Imagineer Ali Rubinstein revealed that the EPCOT opening day attraction will trade its current story of human communication for a broader theme of human connection, carrying the ride into the internet age and beyond.
Key Details
- What: A reimagined Spaceship Earth with a new story built around human connection
- Where: EPCOT at Walt Disney World, inside the 180-foot geodesic sphere at the park entrance
- Announced: On the Horizons: A Carousel of Progress stage at D23, by Imagineer Ali Rubinstein with Neil Patrick Harris and YouTuber Mark Rober
- Last major update: 2007, when the current Judi Dench narration and interactive descent were installed
- Opening date: Not yet announced
How the news came out
The announcement arrived during a session about outer space hosted by Neil Patrick Harris on the Horizons: A Carousel of Progress stage. Harris was joined by Rubinstein and Rober, who walked the audience through the history and engineering of the attraction before Rubinstein confirmed the update. Disney framed the reveal as a natural fit: it is hard to talk about the future of Disney Experiences without discussing the ride that traces humanity from the caves to the cosmos.
What is changing
The current version of Spaceship Earth tells the story of human communication, from cave paintings through the printing press to the dawn of the personal computer, which means its version of the future stops roughly where the modern internet begins. The reimagined attraction will widen that lens to human connection, a theme Disney says is still classically EPCOT, broadening the focus from how humans share information to why they do, and extending the timeline into the internet era and beyond. Disney has not shared a closing date, an opening window, or details about the new scenes, narration, or finale.
This is the first substantial change since the 2007 overhaul that added the current narration and the animated "future you" screens on the descent. A previously announced Spaceship Earth reimagining was postponed indefinitely in 2020 during the park's transformation, so this marks the project's official return to active development.
A short history of the sphere
Spaceship Earth opened with EPCOT on October 1, 1982, and has anchored the park entrance ever since. Disney shared several facts about the attraction during the panel:
- Four narrators have voiced the ride since opening. Walter Cronkite recorded a script added in 1986; Jeremy Irons and Judi Dench followed in later versions.
- The structure is a geodesic sphere, a fully round building held in the air by three sets of supports.
- The sphere stands 180 feet tall and holds 2.2 million cubic feet of space inside.
- Walt Disney Imagineering considers it one of the most complicated ride systems it has ever built. A continuously moving train of vehicles spirals up through the structure, then rotates backward for the descent to Earth.
- The current storyline follows human innovation from prehistoric times to the 21st century.
What this means for guests
Spaceship Earth remains open for now, and guests who want to ride the current Judi Dench version should plan to do so before Disney announces a closing date. A refurbishment of this scale usually means an extended closure for EPCOT's most recognizable attraction, so watch for timeline details in the months ahead. Paired with the Journey Into Imagination reimagining announced the same night, EPCOT's original pavilions are getting their most attention in decades, and the new story keeps the ride's optimistic core intact: a look at how people connect, and an invitation to imagine what comes next.