Don’t Panic: Disney Is Turning Epcot’s Spaceship Earth Into The Death Star Temporarily

Lucasfilm/Shutterstock

That’s no moon. That’s Epcot Center’s Spaceship Earth depicted as Star Wars’ Death Star! The giant weapon of mass destruction looms large in the marketing for the upcoming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story but I think Disney understands it’s not the type of symbol folks from around the world would like to see when entering Epcot from now on, whether they’re Star Wars fans or not, so it’s with great personal relief I tell you this vision won’t be permanent.

While Disney’s Hollywood Studios is the main home for Disney’s new Lucasfilm attractions, this idea was probably too perfect to pass up. The Disney Parks Blog announced that the moon-like Spaceship Earth is set to transform into the Death Star in celebration of Rogue One at a special after-hours event at Epcot on December 5th. (I’m surprised they didn’t shoot to coincide with the building’s opening anniversary, October 1, 1982.)

During our Star Wars celebration, Spaceship Earth will be transformed into the Death Star through digital projections. And before the Death Star appears, we will be sharing updates on current and upcoming Star Wars experiences at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

This isn’t the first time the building has had a digital makeover. Back in 2013 it was made to resemble Mike Wazowski from Monsters, Inc. But if you were in the area and hoping to witness this big Star Wars event first hand, you’re out of luck since available slots have already been filled. But don’t worry, in another post the blog let Disney/Star Wars fans know they’ll be able to see the magic happen on the #DisneyParksLIVE stream set to begin at 10:25 p.m. that night.

Remember how fans reacted when it was announced Disneyland’s Tower Of Terror ride was going to turn into a Guardians of the Galaxy attraction (director James Gunn had reservations at first but loves what they’ve done)? Something tells me even though this is temporary, some Disney fans won’t appreciate it. Though others would prefer it became a permanent attraction. In October of 2014 one fan actually started a Facebook page to campaign Disney to make Spaceship Earth into the Death Star permanently. They call this digital transformation news an “awesome start” and suggest “there’s no reason that it can’t be done more than once!”

What do you think of the news? Should Spaceship Earth become a permanent reminder of the Empire hovering above us or is this partial transformation already too much? There’s no word yet on how long the Death Star digital projection will stay up but Rogue One hits theaters December 16th.

(via InsideTheMagic)

×