Disney to transform Spaceship Earth into the Death Star for one night only

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Posted: Friday December 2, 2016 2:49pm EST by WDWMAGIC Staff

Walt Disney World will be celebrating Star Wars at Disney’s Hollywood Studios as well as the upcoming film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story with an invite-only meet-up that’ll feature Spaceship Earth magically transforming into the Death Star.

The official Disney Parks Blog today invited signups for the event, to be held at Epcot after hours.

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

Disney will also be live streaming the event on the Disney Parks Blog website beginning at 10:25pm.

Spaceship Earth has been used for a promotional tie-in previously, with the icon taking the form of Mike Wazoski in 2013 to promote a Monstrous Summer at Walt Disney World.

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The_JobuDec 12, 2016

No. I was answering a question, but, you know, points for effort!

RSoxNo1Dec 12, 2016

It was a press event with projection mapping. You're focusing your energy on the wrong things to complain about.

The_JobuDec 11, 2016

Nuthin', friend. A whole lotta nuthin' at all...

Sonic SunglassesDec 11, 2016

Well, the options were rather simple: either use Spaceship Earth as a stand-in for the Death Star via digital projections and laser effects (and save a boatload of money in the process) and have everyone complain about it or construct a massive sphere just like Spaceship Earth at DHS (and waste a boatload of money) and make it look like the Death Star via digital projections and laser effects and have everyone really complain about it. The majority of complaints are coming from people who, like me, saw it on the live stream. We saw it through cameras that weren't white balanced against SSE; they were balanced against the stage with the badly scripted people. Really, that was painful. But anyway, back to the Death Star... Through the eyes of those who were there, no doubt it was an impressive display of the Empire's soon to get kaboominated might.

Beacon JoeDec 11, 2016

WTH does that movie have to do with EPCOT Center?

AgeEight-EDec 09, 2016

I thought the laser effect was neat. It looks to me like they mounted the laser in between the plates on the surface. It could be an optical illusion, but it looked to me in the video as if the laser was firing outward, not inward.

JohnDDec 08, 2016

RIP Earfell Tower

larryzDec 08, 2016

LOL. Photoshop (or whatever they use at Disney) is a wonderful thing!

Cmdr_CrimsonDec 08, 2016

Well, there was that other one that landed in Echo lake.....:cautious:

larryzDec 08, 2016

Those Cali folks are such overachievers... ;)

Cmdr_CrimsonDec 08, 2016

So they have an X-Wing Fighter out in LA For the Premier of Rogue One.... Now I wonder why they can't Land an X-Wing out at Disney's Hollywood Studiooohhhhh Yeaahh..

disney4life2008Dec 08, 2016

Indeed.

Mike SDec 08, 2016

larryzDec 08, 2016

If I had paid extra to see it, I might have been disappointed. But watching from the comfort of my office chair, warm cup of Earl Grey by my side, and a nice crispy biscuit to munch, I found the whole thing rather amusing.