4 cool facts about the lights on Spaceship Earth Beacon of Magic

The Spaceship Earth Beacon of Magic at EPCOT is a remarkable addition to the Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary celebration.

The new lights shine across the reflective panels of Spaceship Earth, connecting to one another like stars in a nighttime sky.

Zach Riddley, Portfolio Executive, New Experience Development at Walt Disney Imagineering, recently shared a number of fun facts about the new system on Instagram.

In response to a number of questions about the design “I went straight to the source and asked our Imagineering lighting designers responsible for this experience – Jason Read and Galen Lande – to give us a few fun facts that we’re revealing for the first time here:”

1. The system is capable of generating more than 30 million lumens of light – equivalent to more than 35,000 standard light bulbs.

2. With nearly 2.000 fixtures, there are nearly 12,000 side-firing beams that produce the iconic starburst effects.

3. Lights from 14 locations shine onto Spaceship Earth in addition to the integrated LED fixtures. This allows for more artistic flexibility to blend colors.

4. About 60 miles of cable was installed for the project, enough cable to travel around the World Showcase Lagoon more than 45 times