| Horizons | |
|---|---|
 | |
.jpg) Horizon's exterior, pictured in 1998 | |
| Epcot | |
| Area | Future World East |
| Coordinates | 28°22′26″N81°32′48″W / 28.37389°N 81.54667°W /28.37389; -81.54667 |
| Status | Removed |
| Cost | USD $60 million |
| Opening date | October 1, 1983 |
| Closing date | January 9, 1999 |
| Replaced by | Mission: SPACE (World Discovery) |
| Ride statistics | |
| Attraction type | Dark ride |
| Designer |
|
| Theme | Future life |
| Music | "New Horizons" byGeorge Wilkins |
| Length | 1,346 ft (410 m) |
| Speed | 1.04 mph (1.67 km/h) |
| Site area | 136,835 sq ft (12,712.4 m2) |
| Vehicle type | Omnimover |
| Vehicles | 175 |
| Riders per vehicle | 3–4 |
| Duration | 14:45 |
| Hosts | Grandfather (Bob Holt) Grandmother (Dena Dietrich) |
| Sponsor | General Electric (1983–1993) None (1993–1999) |
 Must transfer from wheelchair | |
Horizons was a suspendedomnimoverdark rideattraction atEpcot (then known as EPCOT Center), atheme park atWalt Disney World inBay Lake, Florida. Located on the eastern side of theFuture World (nowWorld Discovery) section of Epcot. The attraction depicted scenes from the then yet to come 21st century showing the possible future of life on land, under the sea, and in outer space. It is believed[by whom?] to be the sequel toWalt Disney'sCarousel of Progress, an attraction inTomorrowland atWalt Disney World'sMagic Kingdom. Horizons was the only attraction in Future World to showcase all of Epcot's "Future World" elements: communication, energy, transportation, anatomy, along with humankind's relationship with the sea and the land.
The attraction officially opened on October 1, 1983, as part of Phase II ofEpcot.[1] Horizons originally closed in December 25, 1994, a little more than a year afterGeneral Electric had ended its sponsorship of the attraction. Horizons re-opened on December 24, 1995 due to the closure of two other attractions that were down for refurbishment in Future World,Universe of Energy andWorld of Motion. The attraction permanently closed on January 9, 1999, after which the attraction was dismantled and its structure demolished to make room forMission: Space, amotion simulator thrill ride that opened on October 9, 2003.
Horizons, in its concept phase, was namedCentury 3 (orCentury III), to recognize the third century of American existence (1976–2076). The name was changed toFutureprobe to help appeal the attraction toward international guests who wouldn't understand or appreciateCentury 3. In the end, theFutureprobe name was scrapped due to the medical connotation of the word "probe". After much debate, GE and Disney officials settled on the nameHorizons. Prior to the start of construction, the project's budget was slashed by $10 million (USD). The building size was reduced and the length of the ride was shrunk by 35%, shortening the ride length by 600 feet (180 m).
Horizons opened exactly one year after Epcot opened and was located betweenWorld of Motion and theUniverse of Energy. TheWonders of Life pavilion became Horizons' new neighbor in 1989, and World of Motion closed in 1996. Horizons remained operational until World of Motion's successor,Test Track, was ready to open to the public in early 1999.[2]
It was proposed that Horizons would be the sequel to theCarousel of Progress (located in Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom), Disney's ride from theGeneral Electric Pavilion at the1964 New York World's Fair. As the Carousel of Progress followed the changes in lifestyle that faced a family as they lived through the 20th century, Horizons continued their story, showing how they might live in the 21st century. The Carousel's theme song "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" was part of the Looking Back at Tomorrow portion of Horizons. The version of "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" that could be heard in Horizons coming from a television (sung byLarry Cedar) in the Art Deco scene is the exact version that can still be heard on a radio during the first act of the presentCarousel of Progress.
The original ride concept came fromReginald Jones (then-CEO ofGeneral Electric) andJack Welch (future CEO of General Electric). The concept was to focus onThomas Edison and his body of work along with the origin of GE; it was changed to focus on the future of America, a theme that changed yet again to respect that EPCOT Center was to appeal to a global audience. The building which housed Horizons was designed to resemble aspaceship, while accentuating the third dimension and giving the impression of an infinitehorizon.
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On June 24, 1993, it was announced that GE would not renew sponsorship of Horizons. The sponsorship's expiration occurred on September 30.[3] Following this, all references to the company were removed. Without a sponsor, Horizons would begin to have technical issues as time went on. Several animatronics were deteriorating and the ride would frequently break down. Ideas were tossed around about the pavilion being turned into a space-themed pavilion. The building would have been upgraded and rethemed. The ride system would be changed drastically, in which the guest would be in an individual space harness while viewing space stations and space in general and would control the pitch and yaw of the vehicle. The attraction would close on Christmas Day, 1994, with no reasoning given. The attraction was left dormant for slightly under a year, before its reopening on Christmas Eve, 1995. This was due toWorld of Motion closing the following month for its conversion intoTest Track, andUniverse of Energy's refurbishment intoEllen's Energy Adventure, leaving no other attractions outside ofWonders of Life open in the east half of Future World.[4] The attraction would operate until January 9, 1999, when it would close permanently.
No reason was publicly given, but the lack of corporate sponsorship, which happened around the same time of the financial disaster ofEuro Disneyland is widely accepted as having played the largest part in the decision. Also widely speculated as a reason for the attraction closing was major structural problems, along with rumored problems with the roof.[4]
The building stood unoccupied for well over a year as Disney decided between either relaunching the attraction (which would have required a new storyline and major building renovation and upgrades) or demolishing the building and creating a new attraction in its place. It was decided to build a new cutting-edgeouter space-themed attraction, so the Horizons building was slowly torn down in July of 2000. The demolition of the building marked the first time in Disney history that an entire ride building had to be demolished in preparation for a new attraction. Construction onMission: SPACE began in late 2000 and the new attraction opened on August 15, 2003.
Various props from Horizons used to be displayed around Walt Disney World and formerly inWalt Disney Studios Park atDisneyland Resort Paris. A display that featured the butler robot animatronic was set up inEPCOT: Creating the World of Tomorrow for Epcot's 25th anniversary. At Disney's Hollywood Studios, a few props were found in the warehouse ofThe Studio Tour. The mould for the desert hovercraft can be found hanging from the ceiling of a restaurant. AtWalt Disney Studios Park, the desert hovercraft prop and sub pod were on display on theBacklot Tour. However, that attraction hassince been replaced and the props are now missing. The McCall mural,The Prologue and the Promise, painted on canvas, was removed prior to demolition and its current whereabouts are unknown. Some artifacts from the attraction are in private collections.[citation needed]
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Horizons began with a section entitled "Looking Back at Tomorrow," showcasing visions of the future as perceived from the era ofJules Verne andAlbert Robida through the 1950s. The ride then moved past two immenseOMNIMAX screens (groundbreaking technology at the time the ride was built), showing modern technologies and ideas that could be used to build the world of tomorrow.
Afterward came the main part of the ride: visions of futuristic life in a section entitled "Tomorrow's Windows". The grandmother and grandfather live in an apartment in the city of Nova Cite. Their daughter supervises irrigation robots at the desert farm of Mesa Verde (depictingarid-zone agriculture). She then talks with her boyfriend over video chat, who is a marine biologist at the Sea Castle research base (depictingocean colonization). At thespace station Brava Centauri (depictingspace colonization), everyone sings "Happy Birthday" to the narrators' grandson through holographic teleconferencing.
The only Disney attraction at the time with multiple endings, Horizons then allowed riders to select which path they wanted to take back to the FuturePort: from Brava Centauri, from Mesa Verde, or from the Sea Castle. As the final part of the ride, guests in their "omnimover" would push a button to select among the three choices and would be presented with a 31-second video sequence. A film would then be displayed to riders in each individual car. The videos showed a simulated flyover of an outdoor scene. To create the effect, scale models were built and a camera swept across the futuristic terrain. The models were some of the largest ever created at the time.
The model for the desert sequence, for example, was 32 by 75 feet (9.8 by 22.9 m) long. The visual effects were filmed in a hangar at the Burbank airport. Produced in 1983 by 30 model makers, it took over a year to build and shoot the three segments.[5] The exit corridor of the ride originally featured the muralThe Prologue and the Promise by renownedspace artistRobert T. McCall.[6]
Some of the attraction's robots appeared in the entry mural ofInnoventions in Tomorrowland.
A number of tributes to Horizons can be found throughout its successor attraction,Mission: SPACE. The center of the gravity wheel in the queue has the attraction logo, and a stylized version also appears on the front of the checkout counter in the Cargo Bay gift shop at the exit to the attraction. Also, following the 2017 refurbishment, a new mural added to the entrance features the space station Brava Centauri orbiting the Earth.
The concrete planter west of the current attraction is a physical remnant of the previous installation where the main sign for Horizons once stood, and reflects the distinctive shape of the original ride building.
Space Mountain includes a number of tributes to Horizons in its post-show:
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Some of the props used in Horizons were once on display in the exhibition gallery before theshort film presented atDisney's Hollywood Studios, including the famous robot butler.
During a portion of the queue ofGuardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind,Peter Quill discusses how he visited EPCOT Center as a child and is excited to ride Horizons again (along with other former Epcot attractions), unaware it has closed, as he had not been to Earth since 1987.[9]
Located at the exit ofStar Tours - The Adventures Continue atTokyo Disneyland is a kiosk featuring video of 3 other Star Tours excursions. Each different "Tour" advertised is the full 31-second sequence from the Horizons finale. The Mesa Verde, Brava Centauri Space Colony, and Sea Castle (said to be located on planet "Praya" for the purposes of tying it into the Star Wars universe) ending sequences are unedited and played in their entirety.
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|---|---|---|
| World Discovery | ||
| World Showcase | ||
| World Nature | ||
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