Fore!
In the shadow of the world's most famous golf ball sits a restroom, much maligned for being too bland, unthemed, milk toast. We've all seen it -- heck, we've probably all walked past it thinking, "Naw, I'll wait for a better loo." That said, is it fair to judge the worthiness of a loo by its exterior? Can one adequately determine whether a toilet is suitable for one's posterior without first trying it? After all, my 7 year old son hates Brussels sprouts, though he's never tried them -- this makes no sense ("How do you know you don't like them, Will? You've never tried them!" -- ed).
This week, therefore, we plan on venturing to an oft overlooked loo in an attempt to truly learn whether or not it's worthy of our buttocks. Yes, this week, we venture to Epcot's Spaceship Earth East Loo!
The Spaceship Earth East Loo sits, as is implied by said name, to the attraction's east. Residing in a grey, nondescript, low building with a futuristic, contoured eave as its only style point, it's easy to see why this loo is passed over for other options. I mean, just look at it: we've seen more attractive restrooms at abandoned truck stops!
The building, though fairly squat, is also quite large, its footprint affording separate men's, women's and companion restrooms. It's good to have options near Spaceship Earth so that the ever-changing list of ride narrators has its pick of the litter (we hear Dame Judi Dench prefers the companion one, while Jeremy Irons was a big fan of the men's room).
Outside, an overhead navy-colored sign welcomes those with crowded colons, bursting bladders:
Grey walls and salmon concrete are the motif for this loo's exterior, leaving much to be desired, aesthetically. Here is the entrance to the women's loo:
Blue Man Group represent!
Much like its neighboring attraction, this loo's exterior is simultaneously a little dated (see these pay phones, hold-outs from that pre-smartphone era) while still looking to the future (AED, anyone?):
Heading inside the men's loo, one can't help be impressed by the sheer collection of urinals. 9 wall-bound potties (well, 8 if you exclude the one here that is having a bad day) welcome crowds of those who had too much Coke while taking the Epcot Monorail.
Before we move on to the next photo, take a closer look. This loo is actually pretty nice. The interior is tiled in more modern grey tones, the floor a likewise grey, but updated tile. While not a colorful experience, the loo looks fairly nice, clean and altogether surprising in light of the blander, dated exterior.
A moment of silence for this poor chap:
Hey now, check this out! Multiple sink stations hold two sinks, four soap dispensers and plenty of paper towel options as well. Again, we find evidence of clean lines, refined colors. Not too shabby!
A closer look at the floor. This tile is a far cry from many of the other front of the park loos whose tile reflects patterns and colors popular in 1981. Again, it's not colorful, but it is classy, clean and modern.
Taking a peek inside the ADA-complaint stall, we again find plenty of space for those who might need it. The grey wall tile and those of the lighter colored floor carry over into the stalls.
A standard-sized stall with evidence of prior graffiti on the left-hand wall. Why would someone do such a thing? Is this the modern day equivalent of cave art?
It takes 15,000 years to come up with the next bright idea: recording our knowledge on cave walls. There is only one small problem, when we move, the recorded knowledge stayed behind.
Hey now, lookin' good, baby changing station! Check out that accent strip! No stainless steel for the babies with poopy nappies near Spaceship Earth! Snazzy!
Heading back outside, here's the entrance to the companion restroom. We'll see if it's unlocked and try to get a glance of the interior.
Wow! Lot's of space in here. It's a little sullied on the date of our visit, with bits of toilet paper and other debris on the floor. That said, this companion loo affords plenty of room for families (and for those unique couples who wish to stare at each other when using the toilet -- ed).
One more glance up towards what is arguably WDW's most unique structural icon before heading into the park for some Food & Wine action!
WDW Loo Review Recap of Epcot's Spaceship Earth East Side Loo:
Capacity: Large (9 urinals, many stalls -- 1 ADA compliant)
Cleanliness: So-So on the day of our visit
Theming: Modern and Grey. Seems to fit in with the neighboring attraction
Traffic: Busy
Changing Station: Yes
Companion Restroom: Yes
Access: Super Easy
OVERALL RATING: 4/5 urinal wafers
This loo serves to prove that one can't judge a book (or a restroom) by its cover. What appears tired and fairly drab on the outside turns out to be an updated place to tend to one's business on the inside. Though it lacks the charm of many of the newer on-property loos, this one surprised us with a decent (albeit busy) location to evacuate.
We here at the blog would love your take on this loo. Have you used it? Were you as surprised as we were by the modern interior? Did you bump into Judi Dench while inside? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below, on our Facebook page or by emailing us at wdwlooreview@gmail.com. We would love to hear from you!
Thanks, again, for taking some time out of your week to visit our blog. We hope to see you again soon!
Until then, bottoms down and thumbs up!
Loo Review Matt