Gourt Home::Gourt :: Horizons (Epcot attraction)
- For other uses of horizon, see Horizon (disambiguation).
The attraction
Horizons began with a section titled Looking Back at Tomorrow, showcasing visions of the future as perceived from the era of Jules Verne through the 1950s. The ride then moved past two immense OMNIMAX 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 deserts, undersea, and even in space.
The only Disney attraction with multiple endings, Horizons then allowed riders to select which path they wanted to take back to the FuturePort: from the space station Brava Centauri (depicting space colonization), from the desert farm of Mesa Verde (depicting arid-zone agriculture), or from the Sea Castle research base (depicting ocean colonization).
History
Horizons, in its concept phase, was named Century 3 (or Century III), to recognize the third century of American existence (1976-2076). The name was changed to Futureprobe to help appeal the attraction toward international guests who wouldn't understand or appreciate Century 3. In the end, the Futureprobe name was scrapped due to the medical connotation of the word "probe". After much debate, GE and Disney officials settled on the name Horizons.
Horizons opened exactly one year after EPCOT Center opened, and was located between World of Motion and Universe of Energy. Wonders of Life 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.
The Carousel of Progress (located in Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom) followed the changes in lifestyle that faced a family as they lived through the 1900s. Horizons continued their story to show how they live in the future. 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 in the Art Deco scene, is the exact version can still be heard on a radio during first act of the Carousel of Progress today.
The original ride concept came from Reginald Jones (then CEO of GE) and Jack Welch (future CEO of GE). The concept was to focus on Thomas Edison and his body of work along with the origin of General Electric; it was changed to focus on the future of America, a theme that changed yet again to respect that Epcot was to appeal to a global audience. The building which housed Horizons was designed to resemble a spaceship, while accentuating the third dimension and giving the impression of an infinite horizon.
During the early 90s, after GE had dropped sponsorship, some 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.
On January 9, 1999, Horizons was closed. No reason was publicly given, but the lack of corporate sponsorship probably played a large part in the decision. 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-edge attraction themed on outer space, so the Horizons building was torn down in July 2000. The demolition of the building marked the first time in Disney history that an entire ride building was demolished in preparation for a new attraction. Construction on Mission: SPACE began in late 2000 and the new attraction opened in 2003.
Horizons is currently referenced in Mission: Space. The center of the gravity wheel in the queue line has the attraction logo. The 2003 episode of The Simpsons, "Special Edna" features the Horizons building.
Attraction facts
- Grand opening: October 1st, 1983
- Closing date: January 9th, 1999
- Designer: WED Enterprises
- Sponsor: General Electric (1983-1993)
- Building size: 136,835 square feet (12,712 m²)
- Steel: 3,700 tons of steel (More than Spaceship Earth)
- Pavilion surface area: 37 000 square feet (3400 m²)
- Show capacity: 2,784 guests an hour
- Queue capacity: 696
- Show time: 14:45 (complete cycle of 15 mins)
- Number of show vehicles: 174 (10 spare)
- Ride length: 1,346 feet (410.3 m)
- Ride interval: 4.8 seconds
Timeline
- August 5th, 1981: site work begins
- January 1982: Pavilion construction begins
- October 1, 1983: Horizons opens as part of EPCOT Center's 1st Anniversary celebration.
- September 30, 1993: General Electric's sponsorship ends after expiration of 10-year contract.
- 1994: Horizons closes indefinitely. Disney officials give no timetable for reopening.
- December 1995: Horizons reopens while other attractions are renovated.
- January 9, 1999: Horizons closes permanently.
- September 30, 1999: Horizons briefly reopens but only for press groups.
- July 2000: Horizons demolished.
- Winter 2000/2001: Construction begins on Mission: SPACE on former site of Horizons
- August 15, 2003: Mission: SPACE opens to the public.
- September 19, 2003: Walt Disney World issues a Horizons pin commemorating the attraction. On the pin is Mickey Mouse, a drawing of the ride's building, and the years 1983 and 1999 to signify the years between which the ride operated.
- September 9, 2005: Walt Disney World issues a license plate pin, part of their lanyard series, commemorating Horizons.
External links
- Horizons at Intercot
- Horizons Extensive Audio Listing
- Horizons Yahoo! group
- Horizons Tribute Site
- Horizons Pins and Buttons
Walt Disney World Resort | Disney parks and attractions | Omnimover attractions | Epcot
"Horizons (Epcot attraction)"