|
I remember when the park first opened and the sphere was then, as now, the dominant symbol for EPCOT in Disney-semiotics (anybody actually remember what EPCOT stands for? "Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow." Reality turned out a lot different that what ol Walt was envisioning, eh?). Anyhow, in a recent visit, I noticed that the lines for this one were all but evaporated. So, on a whim, some of my friends and I went on it, not having ridden it in probably over 10 years. Whoever called it "somber" was pretty dead on. Its really got very little going for it. The take on history is amusingly skewed (I think this was an AT&T ride or something, or some big communications company, I dont remember), the AA dioramas were definitely showing their age (although probably owing to the fact that they dont move around much, they still looked darned good), and the speaker system was, um, kind of inadequate. And yet some little hokey nostalgic part of me cant bring me to give it less than a 5. I remember the unjaded wonder with which I gawped at the idyllic replay of history (I still remember the tip of the hat to DaVinci). There were a few changes too, owing I think to the fact that the corporate sponsorship had changed in the interim, but theres not a whole lot you can do with those installations. So, a roller coaster you say? Excellent. Times change and theres plenty more hokiness out there to make up the difference. Hey, wasnt this ride supposed to have been "solar powered?"
|