Horizons (Disney)
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Horizons was an attraction at Walt Disney World's EPCOT theme park in Orlando Florida. Its corporate sponsor was General Electric (which means they helped to finance the ride in turn for advertising opportunities) until 1993. It was a dark ride which explored some visions of the 21st century. Riders first experienced a 1950s perception of the future with android servants, then more modern ideas such as arid-zone agriculture, ocean colonization, and space colonization. It was well known as the only Disney attraction with multiple endings and it allowed the guests in the cars to choose a way back to the present by three ways: In Space from the space station Omega Centauri, On Land and to the desert farm of Mesa Verde, or in the Sea to the Sea Castle research base. The ride featured an IMAX screen, which was groundbreaking technology at the time the ride was built.
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History
The attraction shared many similarities to Carousel of Progress, primarily of the use of its theme song, "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow," and also the extended family we see in the ride are similar to the family of Carousel of Progress. Horizons was considered by some to have been the sequel to it. Ironically, both rides closed permanently within a few years of each other, both plagued by building disrepair and an outdated storyline.
The building which housed Horizons resembled a spaceship, but was designed to accentuate the third dimension and give the impression of an infinite horizon.
The actual concept for the ride came from Reginald Jones (CEO of GE) and Jack Welch (future GE CEO). The original 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 Center was to appeal to a global audience.
On January 9, 1999, Horizons permanently closed due to its outdated storyline and poor condition of the building, which was built on a sinkhole and was said to endanger guest safety. The building stood unoccupied for well over a year as Disney decided to either relaunch the attraction (which would have required a new storyline and major building renovation and upgrades) or demolish the building and start from scratch. It was decided to build a new cutting-edge attraction themed on outer space, so the Horizons building was demolished in mid-2000. Construction on Mission: SPACE began in late 2000 and the new attraction opened in 2003.
Facts and Figures
- Opening date: October 1st, 1983
- Closing date: January 9th, 1999
- Original sponsor: General Electric (until fall of 1993) sponsorless after that date
- Building size: 136,835 Square feet (3 acres)
- Pavilion surface area: 37 000 square feet
- Steel: 3,700 tons of steel - more than Spaceship Earth
- Show capacity: 2,784 guests an hour
- Queue capacity: 696
- Show time: 14:45 (complete cycle of 15 mins)
- Number of show vehicals: 174 (10 spare)
- Ride Speed: 410.3 m (1,346 feet)
- 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.
- Summer 2000 - Horizons demolished piece-by-piece.
- Winter 2000/2001 - Construction begins on Mission: SPACE on former site of Horizons
External links
- Horizons at Epcot Discovery Center (http://www.intercot.com/edc/Horizons/index.html)
- Horizons Yahoo! group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheHorizonsTribute/)
