This
giant golf ball has become a Disney icon to rival
even Tinkerbell and the Cinderella Castle. Standing
on a 15-foot base, the 165-foot tall geodesic sphere
is a thrill for both children and parents. When it
opened, it was considered revolutionary and to this
day the majesty of the building makes up for the only
mediocre ride inside. The inside volume is 2,200,000
cubic feet, while its outside surface area is 150,000
square feet. The sphere is made up of triangular panels
the poke outward like a pine cone. There are 11,324
of these panels made of something called Alucobond,
a contraction of "Aluminum Composite Bond." The most
interesting structural detail of the giant golf ball
in the sky is what happens when it rains. The water
does not run off of the sphere. Instead it is absorbed
into an internal gutter system which then filters
the water and expels it into the Epcot lagoon. As
part of the park's turn of the century celebration
an enormous tower has been erected that is faced with
the number "2000" and a likeness of Mickey Mouse's
hand from the Sorcerer's Apprentice holding a wand.
In spite of its huge size and hurricane-resistant
girth, this scaffold is only temporary. In fact, it
isn't even attached to the Spaceship Earth. It appears
to extend over the sphere, but looking carefully you
can see that a substantial portion of it leans in
the opposite direction, shifting the center of gravity
and stabilizing the structure.
The
following items may or may not be true:
- The
name "Spaceship Earth" comes from he Buckminster
Fuller book "An Operating Manual for Spaceship
Earth".
- Buckminster
Fuller came up with the idea for a geodesic sphere.
- Spaceship
Earth's foundation is between 110 and 185 feet deep.
- Spaceship
Earth weighs 16,000,000 pounds.
- The
distance between the inner and outer sphere is two
feet.
- The
original narrator for the journey was journalist
Walter Cronkite. He has since been replaced by actor
Jeremy Irons, who also does a voice in the Disney
film The Lion King.
- The
male robots were made from the same molds as the
presidents from the Hall of Presidents, they're
just dressed differently.
- The
hieroglyphics in the ancient Egyptian scenes are
copies of authentic messages.
- The
call letters of the fictional radio station WDP
stand for Walt Disney Productions.
- The
names of the people who designed Spaceship Earth
are written on the book the sleeping monk is leaning
on.
- More
people ride Spaceship Earth than any other attraction
at Disneyworld and since Disneyworld is the most
popular tourist attraction in the world, Spaceship
Earth is the most popular ride in the world
