DVDizzy Forum

This was a ride in EPCOT that first opened in 1983. It closed in January of 1999, to make way for Mission: Space. I consider myself to be one of the last riders of this attraction, since I rode it in December of 1998. I recall it being a rather long ride (my guess would be close to fifteen minutes), but I can see why they closed it. The technology that it both included and informed us of was relatively groundbreaking for '83, but as the park approached a new milennium, they had to update their technology.

Here's a video of it: http://www.extinct-attractions.com/horizonsflash.html

Enjoy!

I just saw that Escapay already started a Horizons thread ( ), but I still encourage everyone to contribute to this one.

No worries. Someone can just merge them for us.

http://www.ultimatedisney.com/forum/vie ... php?t=6976

Escapay

I love these big lavish Audio Animatronic spectacle rides so was sorry that i never got to go on it (and that they've fallen very much out of favour at Disney)--though I knwo it ocul dbe argued Future World maybe had one too many (Horizons was dated I suppose--the one they removed that I think there still is no justification for was the original Journey into Imagination)

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EricMontreal22 wrote:the one they removed that I think there still is no justification for was the original Journey into Imagination

Funny story: The only time I went on Journey, when they took my picture, you could clear;y tell how bored I was. I mean, for the first couple minutes, it was interesting, but the more I was on it, I got the feeling that they were trying to jam the whole concept of imagination (something I never had trouble understanding) down my throat.

I dunno I never got to ride it--though comparing the 3 versions of the ride on youtube there's no question in my eye which one is best. And everyone I did knwo as a kid who went to Epcot--this was the 80s and early 90s--were usually disappointed by the place but all loved Imagination. Tony Baxter put a lot into that ride

I have always said that the Florida Disney parks were at their peak and the most wonderful places to be, ever, ha, during the late 80s and early 90s, and, even though I was like 11 or so the first time I went, have always LOVED EPCOT and never understood why folks wouldn't like it. Of course, I am now under the impression that it is a simple matter of folks not liking educational theme parks, ha. The only attraction there that I could ever recall being boring was the original version of Universe of Energy, except during the all too short dinosaur part. And, truly, they never should have changed the original "Journey Into Imagination" ride.

Now, isn't Horizons the ride that everone says was actually shut down because it was sinking? I mean, literally sinking? I THINK it was Horizons. Anyway, as for these futurist themed rides that Future World was loaded with, I absolutely loved them and don't really feel that they were that dated. Especially Horizons, which predicted a future of families living in space and at the bottom of the ocean. We're not exactly doing that yet. Maybe dated in the technology the ride uses? But, frankly, I still find audioanimatronics more fascinating than a lot of the other effects rides use nowadays. EPCOT used to be a really magical place, and a big part of it was Futureworld, which I feel they've kind of ruined over the past 10 years. Yeah, I like a few things there still. Love "Honey, We Shrunk the Audience," and, thankfully, Spaceship Earth is still there. I'm hoping they have made "Living Seas" enjoyable again..., but they lost so much great stuff, and most of the big replacements have done nothing to peak my interest. I greatly miss the optimistic futurist feel of all of FutureWorld, though I guess it's that philosophy that has become really dated. Perhaps people in general have a much bleaker view of the future again. Most of all, I miss the creepy futurist music/songs EPCOT used to have. Wow, I wouldn't want to hear them everywhere I go, they were eerie, but they tied all of FutureWorld together and were really fascinating! I've gotta replace my old cassette with a CD!

From images and videos I've seen I meant dated in... hrmm I guess the imagery used. yah there's still thougths about living undersea and in space (though I'd dare say less so than there were in the late 70s when Horizons was largely designed) but the fashions shown for the future, etc are clearly an early 80s fashion view of then, etc, etc. So nothing that oculdn't have been fairly easily updated in all honestly and I agree with everything you said--I love (liek I said) AA based rides, the educational element doesn't bug me, etc.

While I enver visited the parks as a kid I did get the official tape soundtrack of Disneyland/Disneyworld when I went to California at 10 and the songs I lvovd the most were those ones you mention fomr EPCOT--Tomorrow's Child especially (i also like the Canada song--I find it stuck in my head at the oddest times still--and not just cuz I'm Canadian--funny most of the EPCOT songs weren't written by the usual reliable Disney songwriters--and I can't find much else written by the songwriters used).

I think you got the almost eerily clinically optomistic take of the future dead on (one EPCOT fan site also said--and they loved 80s EPCOT--that, even for Disney, it was a distinctly sexless view of the future). I find that kinda oddly appealing (not the lack of sex the creepy/optomistic odd mix) but I think it's very much a, maybe not even 80s, but late 70s view of the future that just isn't in synch anymore. While I don't think most of the updates to EPCOT have lived up to the original epic attractions in terms of thougth behind them or even appeal (to me), a Future World based around those original rides, even if updated and handled with care I think would seem even more creepy and slightly "off" in our modern take on the world than, say, 1967's Tomorrowland at Disneyland would now.

I do hope that Planet Earth remains as AA based ride--At the least it seems it would be the last of the major original Future WOlrd attractions to be replaced so I guess it's safe--in some form--for a while longer. ANd there continue to be rumours about a more faithful and major return to the original Imagination still happening...sometime...

You know how Horizons ends with one of three scenes of your choice: desert, ocean and space? The last time my family went on Horizons, in July of 1996, we decided to do space. What did you pick, if you remember any?

My first two trips to Walt Disney World were shortly after EPCOT was built. I went about four more times up until 1999 when I went there on a honeymoon with my wife. I just went back again this summer and the magic that was prevalent at EPCOT before is just not there now. As a child it was my favorite park. Now I'm not sure where it ranks. There was an energy and a feeling of discovery and wonder before that is now missing. I have very vivid memories of World of Motion, Spaceship Earth, Horizons, and all of the rest of Future World. Other than Spaceship Earth (which needs to get rid of the stupid Mickey wand) and Universe of Energy they have all changed or been replaced for the worse.

I loved in Horizons where everybody sits together and then based on consensus you visited one of three different futures. I particularly enjoyed the underwater future. I couldn't get enough of this ride and usually made my parents ride it three times so that I could get the different endings. I don't think they were quite as enthused.

I recently bid on two cells from the ride through Ebay but unfortunately I wasn't able to get either of them. They were used in the part of the rides after you choose your path. They were quite beautiful, hand signed, and would have looked nice on my wall.

R.I.P. Horizons

My first trip to EPCOT, and Disney World in general, was probably around 1986 or so. Before that, I had only been to Disneyland, only once, back in 1980 or '81 or so, when I was like 5 or 6. Even that quick, one-day (I think) visit left a strong impression of me, though I was a Disney fan even before that, probably due to both seeing films in theaters like Robin Hood and Pete's Dragon, and seeing the Wonderful World of Disney on TV every week. Oh, and the many Disney books and book and records I had.

Anyway, I don't remember what my first or last choices were on Horizons, but with all the times I've been to the Disney World parks since my first visit (probably still under 10 visits, but pretty darn close, which is pretty good since I'm from the southern-most tip of Texas and we ALWAYS drive), I am sure I experienced all of them. Unfortunately, Gurgi30 is spot on about EPCOT not having that magic it once had. However, I would only accuse the Futureworld half of this (which I think is what Gurgi30 was getting at too). World Showcase hasn't changed THAT much... YET... and remains a wonderful experience. Subtle changes make it not QUITE as great as back in the 80s and early 90s, but it's still much the same (I worry though, since they say the Canada film will be "updated" soon, probably causing us to lose another of those wonderful old EPCOT songs!). But, FutureWorld was once truly "special" and "magical" too! As Gurgi30 said, the place had a certain "energy and a feeling of discovery and wonder before that is now missing." I imagine a lot of the reason it was so special, and consistently so, is that it was all designed together and with a strong, artistic, eerily optimistic futurist's style. Now, we have replacement after replacement that don't seem to have a running feeling, or else the modern feeling/inspiration/vision of the future just isn't as inspirational/magical as that of the 70s and early 80s. But, maybe it's just the emphasis on thrills and popular animated films that is causing Futureworld to lose its focus on attractions built to inspire a love and interest in discovery and progress... All I know is, old EPCOT made us dream and wonder about the future; current EPCOT gives me more of a feeling that modern society's obsession with the here and now and whatever is the current fad is bringing us to a dead end. I think we'd be better off if Futureworld hadn't changed much at all, even if some call it dated. As long as the ideas of the future are still "futuristic," it shouldn't really be seen as dated. Perk things up. Make things run more smoothly. If aspects of the attractions seem dated, update those aspects. Sure, change Captain Eo to Honey, We Shrunk the Audience. And, as much as we hate the unnecessary changes to the ride, the Imagination pavilion's "Imagination Institute" theme is the one adjustment to EPCOT that seems to carry the feel of Futureworld's earlier, better days (though they didn't have to change the ride to incorporate it!). Of course, most importantly, probably, is the music. That odd music gave the park its own feel, and for most of us, it's our fondest memory of it. But, since it's a memory for us, does that make it dated? Some might say the tunes themselves are outdated. I don't know. To me, those tunes were unlike anything I had (or have) heard anywhere else. They were special and specific to EPCOT for me, so I'm not sure it would be right to say that they're dated. Just that certain feeling they convey is perhaps dated. As Eric stated, that sexless, clinically optimistic view of the future,... perhaps just isn't how folks see the future nowadays... But what do we want to see, a lot of clones having orgies in sex shops a la Logan's Run? A ride that depicts the wonderful future of easy abortions at home and designing your children on your home computer? Okay, it's a more realistic view of the future, but I'd rather take my kids on one of the old EPCOT rides than THAT version of Horizons.

Oh well, that's enough ranting for now. By the way, congrats to Gurgi30 for getting to have a Disney World honeymoon. Certainly, that's a dream of mine, though I never have met an attractive girl as into Disney as myself, ha. Not a single one, anyway. And I totally agree about that Mickey Wand on Spaceship Earth, though I want them to get rid of that Sorceror hat blocking view of the Chinese Theater at MGM even more!

Great points I agree with. I admit, one thing I didn't really for some reason guess was just how damn expensive those huge Audio Animatronic shows are just to run day to day. I gues I sorta thought, knwoing how expensive they are to build and installa nd design that after that you just have to dust them every so often but of course I realize now they're VERY VERY costly to run, maintain etc

come on...horizons wasnt very exciting...too old now...and yes they should have kept the old imagination...definitely!