Theme Park Thursdays feature photos from one of our theme park adventures in the past.

Please don't call this a "big, silver golf ball"!

"Since the dawn of recorded time, communication has revolutionized our lives and changed our world.  We now have the ability and the responsibility to build new bridges of acceptance and co-operation between us; to create a better world for ourselves and our children as we continue our amazing journey aboard Spaceship Earth."

The iconic symbol of EPCOT Center, er, Epcot, is Spaceship Earth, an 18-story geodesic sphere that opened with the park in 1982. I took today's photo during a trip in 2009. Thankfully, it wasn't ruined by a stupid Mickey wand.

It houses a ride originally sponsored by the Bell System (1982-1984) and focused on communications.  This theme was continued when AT&T (1984-2004) picked up the sponsorship after the breakup of the Bell System.  In 2007, the storyline was changed to reflect general technology, thanks to sponsor Siemens AG (2005-present).

Epcot has changed a lot over the years, mostly for the worse, but Spaceship Earth remains an element that still reflects the World's Fair feeling of awe found in the original EPCOT Center.