Today In Disney History ~ July 5th
Spaceship Earth is an 18-story geodesic sphere supported by three legs, sometimes jokingly called “The Epcot Golf Ball” by some guests. Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc of Boston made the structural design for Spaceship Earth, and Expo 67 a similar incomplete sphere that was built for the 1967 World’s Fair in Montreal and is now a part of the Biosphère Environment Museum.
Spaceship Earth has 960 flat panels that are divided into 11,324 isosceles triangles and 954 partial or full flat triangular panels. It took 26 months to build Spaceship Earth. The ride inside the sphere takes guests through the history of man.
In 2000 the 25-story “magic wand” was built next to Spaceship Earth to celebrate the new millennium. The number 2000 was replaced with the word Epcot in 2001. When the announcement was made that the wand was being removed, Spaceship Earth closed for 3 months, allowing the ride to be updated as well. Currently the Spaceship Earth ride is on it’s fourth version.
TMSM Today in Graphic by Sherry Rinaldi DeHart
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