Epcot without Spaceship Earth

With Spaceship Earth out of commission until 2008 (probably February), Epcot is almost a different park. We find ourselves just a touch less excited about going there than had been the case before - is SSE really that central to the experience of Epcot?? I never realized it entirely. It's making me miss the older Epcot Center even more, when there were lots of AA extravaganzas.