LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (April 11, 2007) -- Inside the Epcot icon, remarkable changes will be taking place over the next several months. A re-imagined Spaceship Earth presented by Siemens will combine the magic of the iconic attraction's time-travel adventure into the past with a new finale which provides guests the opportunity to imagine their futures.

On a trip through time inside the Spaceship Earth attraction, guests discover how each generation of mankind has invented the future for the next generation, and how the spirit of innovation has moved people from the caves to the cosmos.

Enhancements to the time-travel attraction will encompass changes to each of the ride scenes. New show scenes will be added to the attraction's story along with new lighting effects, costumes, set decoration, narration and musical score.

This adventure through time leads ultimately to the very top of Spaceship Earth's geodesic dome, where guests arrive at the present. The time travel adventure will be enhanced through new, interactive touch screens installed aboard each "time machine" that will enable guests to create their own visions of the future and see themselves in that future.

As guests disembark the time travel experience, they are invited to visit "Project Tomorrow: Inventing the World of Tomorrow," where interactive exhibits bring to life the ideas and technologies Siemens is developing to help make the world a better place for the future.

The space is filled with fun, interactive games and displays that showcase innovative technologies. Here guests step into the world of tomorrow and glimpse the future of medicine, transportation and responsible energy management across the globe.

Opening to Epcot guests later this month, the first completed phases of Project Tomorrow will include:

An illuminated globe measuring 20 feet in diameter that will offer an ever-changing collage of inspirational images that invite guests to imagine the wonders of tomorrow.
Body Builder, a 3-D game that enables users to assemble a digital human body, simulating the Siemens technology developed to perform remote surgeries.
Super Driver, a driving simulation video game that showcases motor vehicle accident and avoidance systems developed by Siemens.
With phased renovations occurring through the year, Spaceship Earth's makeover is scheduled to be fully completed in early 2008.
 

Guests Choose Their Destiny in New Star Wars™ Interactive Area at Downtown Disney Marketplace

It's a 'Toy de Force'

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- There's an exciting new way for Walt Disney World guests to choose their Star Wars destiny -- be it Jedi or Sith -- and live their adventure inspired by a galaxy far, far away.

Now open at the Once Upon a Toy store at Downtown Disney Marketplace is the "Build Your Own Lightsaber" kiosk, a step-by-step, Star Wars merchandise experience that invites guests to build custom lightsabers with thousands of unique possibilities.

The experience takes guests through nine steps in which they choose every part of their lightsaber, including the color of the blade, sleeve rings, hilt sleeves and ignition switches.

Each lightsaber features authentic Star Wars sound effects, and guests can select colored crystals and filters to cast the legendary glow of the lightsaber blade (purple, green, red or blue).

From the start, guests opt for a Jedi or Sith lightsaber, with bins of custom parts available for each order. Guests can create their very own design or follow instructions to replicate lightsabers used by such favorite Star Wars characters as Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader. Each electronic lightsaber features specialized lights, sounds and vibrations.

Once complete, guests proceed to checkout where they receive batteries to power up their creation and a store-exclusive Jedi or Sith pin.

No matter how elaborate the design -- guests can even create the double-bladed lightsaber like the one made famous by the evil Sith apprentice, Darth Maul -- each completed lightsaber is $19.95.

The "Build Your Own Lightsaber" display is the latest in customizable merchandise experiences at Once Upon a Toy, joining the "Build Your Own Potato Head" and "Create Your Own My Little Pony" areas.
 

Kamen Wilmington,  8 years, (pictured above), faces off against special guest Darth Vader. He and Hannah Foster, 10 years, (pictured right and below), are two of the first to create their own customized lightsabers during the grand opening of the new “Build Your Own Lightsaber” kiosk, a step-by-step, Star Wars merchandise experience that invites guests to build custom lightsabers with thousands of unique possibilities.

The display, an exclusive to Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., takes guests through nine steps in which they choose every part of their lightsaber, including the color of the blade, sleeve rings, hilt sleeves and ignition switches.

Guests can create their very own design or follow instructions to replicate lightsabers used by such favorite Star Wars characters as Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader. And no matter how elaborate the design – guests can even create the double-bladed lightsaber like the one made famous by the evil Sith apprentice, Darth Maul -- each completed lightsaber is $19.95. (Kent Phillips, photographer)