Diamonds

When I saw Imagineers installing hundreds of small, half-domed LED lights on the surface of the geodesic dome that houses Spaceship Earth at EPCOT in preparation for the 50th anniversary, I nearly bee-lined for the craft store to start making protest signs. I’m not a known traditionalist, but I worried these little lights would just look tacky. Even if they did create interesting points of light, I imagined they would surely be heinous in the daylight — like Christmas lights on those houses that have taken decorating to the next level. Sure, you may rival the Griswolds at night, but the daylight comes and it looks like the house has been snared by an ugly fishing net.

Well, it just so happens that those half-domed LED lights were a game changer. They are brighter than bright, can be any color in the spectrum, and are programmed to work seamlessly, turning this already amazing geodesic dome into something truly spectacular. I have no problem admitting when I’m wrong, and the “heinous in the daylight” concern, turns out, is not much of a concern at all. Sure, you can see the lights during the day, but they really don’t distract from the perfection that is Spaceship Earth.

As for this photo, I think it captures how my mind’s eye remembers that first experience. From the first moment I saw the lights doing their thing at night, I felt like an infant staring at something for which I had no reference. It was just so bright and brilliant and sparkly, I couldn’t process it. My favorite thing of any Disney park (Spaceship Earth) elevated beyond what I had expected or even imagined.

The photo itself was an easy one, snapped on the way out of the park. Nothing special about the edit or the framing. Just an attempt to capture the awe I felt as I took the picture. It worked.