Disney has announced plans to significantly reimagine one of EPCOT’s most iconic attractions: Spaceship Earth. The attraction is set to receive its first major update in nearly two decades, with a new storyline intended to bring its exploration of human communication into the internet age and beyond.
The announcement was made during D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, where Disney Imagineer Ali Rubinstein joined Mark Rober to reveal the first details about the project.
Since its debut, Spaceship Earth has taken guests on a journey through the history of human communication, tracing the evolution of how people have shared ideas and connected—from prehistoric times to the modern era.
The upcoming reimagining will expand that concept, placing a greater emphasis on human connection while retaining the core themes that have long defined EPCOT: innovation, progress, and the possibilities of the future.
Disney also plans to extend the attraction’s story into the internet age and beyond. This will allow Spaceship Earth to address many of the technological and cultural changes that have transformed the way people communicate and interact since the attraction’s last major update.
Spaceship Earth has been an EPCOT landmark since the park opened in 1982. Over the years, the attraction has undergone several updates and featured four different narrators, including Walter Cronkite, who took over the role in 1986. The current version debuted nearly 20 years ago.
For now, Disney has not revealed which specific scenes will be modified, whether the attraction will feature a new narrator, or when the refurbishment will officially begin.
What is clear is that this project will be more than a minor refresh. Disney is describing it as a reimagining of Spaceship Earth, with the attraction’s central narrative evolving from the history of communication toward the broader theme of how people connect with one another.
The announcement comes as EPCOT continues to receive significant attention from Disney. Alongside the Spaceship Earth reimagining, the company also revealed the return of Dreamfinder and Figment, adding to the park’s growing slate of updates.
As Disney releases additional information, fans can expect to learn more about the attraction’s refurbishment timeline, updated scenes, and how Imagineers plan to bring Spaceship Earth’s story into the modern era.
Janine is a theme park and pop culture nerd from an early age. Since 1994, she’s been traversing the theme park world and has enjoyed all things from Halloween events to new ride releases and beyond. When she’s not at a theme park, she’s probably at a concert or doing something fun with her kiddo.