A World We've Yet To See
Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 9:33PM By Kevin Quigley
“Wait,” my friend Doug asked, baffled, “how is it possible that you love an attraction that you’ve never been on, or even seen in person, that much?”
That will take some explaining. You see, I had never even been aware of Horizons until 2008, on my third trip to Disney World. My limited awareness of Disney parks until the previous year had something to do with that, but still, I should have known something. Since growing obsessed with Disney, my studies had lead me in two basic directions: the Right Now, and the Long, Long Ago. Basically, it was either the Disney World I knew when I visited it, or the Disneyland I had never seen, whose history was rich and deep and fascinating. I was missing everything in the middle.
Cue my friend Joe, for whom Disney World history mirrors his own. He was at the Magic Kingdom the year it opened. Much of his boyhood was spent there, riding now-defunct attractions like Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, the Skyway, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. He got to personally witness Disney World’s epic growth … including the birth of EPCOT Center.
Now, by my third trip to Disney World, I’d pretty much made up my mind that Epcot was my favorite of the four parks (except on the days I was convinced that it was Hollywood Studios, or Animal Kingdom, or Magic Kingdom). World Showcase was like the best social studies class ever, and with way better food. Living with the Land was charming, unlike anything else in all of Walt Disney World. Spaceship Earth had fired my imagination in ways I’m still struggling to define. Beyond individual attractions, though, it was the feel of Epcot, the sense of possibility bursting out of everywhere.
And there was something else, too. Walking with Joe around the park, I got a sense of immense history here, even more so than in Magic Kingdom – a sense of the past layered just under the present. Don’t get me wrong; the Epcot of now is stunning, immersive, breathtakingly beautiful. But the early days of Epcot are nothing short of mind-blowing. The attractions! How did they get away with the attractions?! There was a history of cars? There was a whole pavilion about energy? Oh, and a somewhat newer one that apparently teaches us about the birds and the bees? What the what?
I sensed some of this myself, just walking through the park, noticing some of the old attraction icons that still remained, catching glimpses of the Wonders of Life pavilion lurking in the background of things. But the tipping point came one night on that third trip. Exhausted from the day (and a bout of bronchitis I was powering through), I returned back to the room early with Joe, who immediately opened his laptop. “You’ve heard of Horizons, right?”
The name sounded vaguely familiar. “The pavilion that was there before Mission: Space?”
“It was way better than Mission: Space.”
“Yeah, but it was just like the Carousel of Progress, right? Just a little, you know, futurey?”
“You should watch this.”
I leaned in close … and fell in love. That’s the only way to describe it. It wasn’t just one thing, it was everything: the hope and wonder in the preshow song - “if we can dream it, then we can do it, yes we can!” The look at the future through the past – something that Tomorrowland had picked up on at Magic Kingdom. The unseen couple having a conversation that narrated the ride without it feeling like narration, making the whole experience more intimate and less like learning. The effects. The unique ride system. The choice of ending. Its deep ties to the Carousel of Progress, and, by extension, the entire Disney history. I watched that video and reveled in borrowed nostalgia. Joe seemed pleased.
One of the main tenets of Disney park fandom is that half (maybe more) your love happens back home, in between visits. When I returned to my real life, I went Horiz-insane. Did you know there are roughly 18,000 websites about Horizons? (This is an estimate. I’ve personally found three.) I bought old Epcot books from Ebay and studied the Horizons stuff. I’ve seen blueprints.
And, um. Then this happened.
Then my buddy Joe also got a Horizons tattoo. I am a trendsetter and have been featured in Tiger Beatmagazine, is why. (Editor’s note: that did not happen.) At least Joe has an excuse. He had ridden Horizons when it existed, and not just a memory. For me, Horizons will have never existed, coming into being during my lifetime, amazing people, and then disappearing before I caught up to it. For me, Horizons will always be a dream I only want to be real.
But then, wasn’t that always the point of Horizons, anyway?
Reader Comments (4)
Horizons is hands down the best attraction Disney has ever produced. It captured almost every concept Epcot Center was based on. It is a shame that it got replaced with such a terrible new ride.
I only wish I could remember more about Horizons. On my first trip to Epcot--coincidentally my first trip to Disney and my first experience in a Disney park--I remember riding Horizons. Then on my honeymoon, I know we rode Horizons. It would have closed shortly thereafter. Your enthusiasm, however, is infectious!
My first visit to WDW was, I believe, in March of 83 (photo evidence), and I was born in 82. I have a bunch of pics predating me, some from '77. But my earliest MEMORY of Horizons was when I was about 5 years old. My mom and I were sharing an Omnimover with a couple from Japan (I was already a "veteran" on the attraction). When asked to choose their destination, they didn't understand or make a move. Sooooo, I reached over and chose for them. I forget which ending I wanted; likely undersea at that time in my life. My mom scolded me for being rude, and my retort was simply that they didn't understand our language or what to do, hence why they simply sat watching.
Anyway, it's amazing how many memories and emotions this attraction can create (along with World of Motion). Sure, I miss my Toad and 20K (sorry, Skyway scared the bejeebus outta me), but if I can't have the attractions themselves, I'll take the memories any day.
I'm very happy you posted this. I thought I was alone here.
Now, I am very lucky to have ridden most of the classic rides at WDW. 20K, Mr Toad, Skyway, etc. But more than anything, my favorite was JII. I feel that I love that ride the same way most EPCOT fans love Horizons. From my very first trip I became a Figment collector.
At the same time, however, I was unfortunate to only experience half of Future World until about 10 years ago. As a result, my biggest regret is that I never rode Horizons. I don't even remember the building since it was something I didn't go on, and I didn't really become an EPCOT finatic until my my third trip when it was too late. Horizons is spoken in hushed tones in our community like the holy grail which is what lead me to probably do as much research on it as you (only a long time before your discovery). We share in common the fact that it feels like the perfect ride experience. No flaws. The positive message it inspired and the level of depth and expense are so amazing.
It's sad that you and I can't say we love the Horizons that everyone else rode, but I believe it's more than possible to love an attraction you've never been on. I have the ride soundtrack in my car, and I watch POVs every so often. It really puts me in a easy, spacy atmospheric mood that I can only describe as fitting with the old themes of the park.
Anyway, my point of this long ramble is that you're the first fan I've seen online who didn't ride it but loves it as much (or probably a lot more in your case) as I do. We're the minority. But if we can dream it, we can do it, and that's the most exciting part.