Horizons

[A Foolish Mortal]

I always hear on these boards how people loved the old Horizons attraction that Mission:Space replaced. What was this attraction? I never got a chance to experience it, so I don't know what was so special about it.

[ibrowse17]

Not a big fan of Mission Space, but Disney has always had a Mars ride at one park or another. Horizons was a look at tomorrow, if I remember right. Check this out...
http://intercot.com/themeparks/epcot/futureworld/horizons/default.asp

[Anborn]

This should be a landslide... Horizons was awesome. Everytime I smell oranges I can immediately see (and smell) the scene where you are looking out over the orange fields from the control room, and seeing the harvesters, and hearing them talk about how it looks like its going to storm. there was at least one hidden mickey in the ride too.

mission space is cool, and some of the post ride interactive stuff is fun... but nothing can replace one of the top EC attractions and the memories of it.

makes me happy (and sad) just thinkin about the ride... :D:(

[Pocahontas]

Our family loved the ride Horizons! I still remember the year we went to Epcot and hurried over to ride Horizons first thing, and you can imagine our disappointment when it was closed. I still can't understand why they closed a ride that was a favorite of so many people.

I do love Mission Space, but I would trade it to have Horizons back.

[indytraveler]

I guess I'll be in the minority when this is done. I'm more of a thrill rider.

[biodtl]

Mission Space is great and comparing it to Horizons is apples/oranges, but I would choose Horizons any day. It was awesome -amazing, mesmerizing, very Disney.

[TexasPrincessAurora]

I too love Mission Space, but would trade it in a second for Horizons back. (I still miss World of Motion too!)

It was a look into life in the future and was pure Disney, down to the smell of the orange groves as you went through. It was really neat that you could choose your method of transport at the end.

And the theme song was catchy too...If you can dream it then you can do it...yes, you can, yes, you can!

It would be nice to be able to go back to EPCOT when the original Journey Into Imagnination were there, along with World of Motion and Horizons, just for one day...

[SBETigg]

Horizons was a great ride, and I wish they could have both but if I have to choose one, Mission:Space is the far more exciting ride. I prefer Mission: Space.

[EvilQueen2006]

I don't think I ever rode Horizons, I watched a video of it to see if it would jog my memory, but I still don't remember it. It looks a lot like a Spaceship Earth type of ride. SE is cool and all, but I like the thrill rides. Mission : Space is one of my top three rides at WDW so I don't think Horizons would have beaten it for me.

[offero]

Mission space is a great ride, but even though I only went on Horizons a few times before it was retired i have to say Horizons wins hands down.

[mcjaco]

Horizons take all the Future World attractions and mashed them altogether into one ride experience. It touched on how communication (SSE), imagination (JII), living with the land (The Land), energy (UoE), travel (WoM) and, underwater exploration (LS) were all a part of the future. It was probably the greatest dark ride experience Imagineering ever came up with.

[chick20679]

I miss Horizons!! And World of Motion!!
I guess my reasoning sorta goes back to those are the rides I remember from when I was younger - they always brought back the magic for me.
Also, the OLD Journey into Imagination!!! :( Ahhh...

[AssumedIdentity]

I LOVED Horizons. It was my favorite ride in EPCOT. DW & I get motion sick - just dizzy though - on many simulator rides, so we haven't tried Mission Space yet, but will probably do so now that they have the green line next time we are there and have time.

I say tear down the WOL pavillion and rebuild an updated Horizons! :number1:

[LoriMistress]

I never been on Horizons, but what I've seen it looks like a wonderful ride. Though, I personally LOVE M:S. There's nothing like it and you feel like you're in space! It's my favorite ride in Epcot.

[snifflesmcg]

I just had a blast from the past. See, I don't remember Horizons. The last time that I was on it (If I remember correctly) was 1989. Since this topic came up, I decided to youtube this ride. My memories came back and I am going to have to vote for Horizons. Question: Did this ride smell like oranges? I think that I got this ride and Carousel of Progress mixed up. For years I swore the COP smelled like oranges but as I see, there were oranges in this ride and the rides remind me of each other.

[Anborn]

I just had a blast from the past. See, I don't remember Horizons. The last time that I was on it (If I remember correctly) was 1989. Since this topic came up, I decided to youtube this ride. My memories came back and I am going to have to vote for Horizons. Question: Did this ride smell like oranges? I think that I got this ride and Carousel of Progress mixed up. For years I swore the COP smelled like oranges but as I see, there were oranges in this ride and the rides remind me of each other.

you have seen (or smelled) the light... may you never be led astray again. :)

[RAIDER]

I love mission space :mickey:

[Mickey91]

Horizons was a ride that everyone could enjoy. It was also more imaginative and more of what I think EPCOT is about.

[lyle21]

horizons was one of my favorites.

[dizneygirl]

Our family LOVED Horizons (and World of Motion too, while we're at it). With all the land Disney has...I wish they'd build their new fancy THRILL rides and keep the old nostalgic ones too....it would give us something to ride on while we wait for our MS fastpass to validate :thumbsup:

[KAJUNKING]

Mission Space is great and comparing it to Horizons is apples/oranges, but I would choose Horizons any day. It was awesome -amazing, mesmerizing, very Disney.

i agree, love ms but horizons was so classic epcot

[4ubie1]

I am huge into thrill rides but this time..the slow dark ride wins. I loved traveling slowly through different scenes..trying to take it all in before we moved on to the next one. I really hope they come up with something similar down the road.:D

[Joanna]

Horizons was an attraction EVERYONE could enjoy! It was not scary in any way and educational. I liked that fact that it was interactive and you could choose the place you ended up. YES! This ride smelled like oranges...just like in SOARIN'...over the orange groves.

[mainemajor]

I vote for Mission Space and will be in the minority, but I do not miss Horizons

[January-2007]

Horizons is one of the few memories I have of my first trip to Walt Disney World when I was 6 years old. The company my dad worked for sponsored the ride so we got to go to a special party room and watch the Superbowl. It was amazing. I actually remember it and I was 6 years old. Horizons all the way. I love futuristic stuff but have no interest in riding Mission Space.

[GrmGrninGost]

I love Mission Space, but I'd give it up in a heartbeat to get Horizons back!! It was a wonderful ride that could be enjoyed as a family. While we're at it, I wish they could bring back World of Motion and the original Journey into Imagination. There is nothing wrong with the thrill type rides ( I love them myself) , but why get ride of beloved rides that are so family friendly? Why not build the thrill rides in addition to, and not in place of?:confused:

[denygold]

Horizons was my favorite !
The huge movie screen (Omnisphere?) was unbelievable.

[Donald Duck]

Horizons !
It was my favorite EPCOT ride.

:mickey:

[Jared]

I don't remember riding Horizons, but I definitely would like it more than Mission: SPACE. Three or four times on the original version have kept me on Earth from now on.

[Quasimodo]

I still can't understand why they closed a ride that was a favorite of so many people.

I heard that the Horizons building had structural problems and had to be torn down. Don't know if its true, but Disney does usually recycle attraction buildings.

This from wikipedia:


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. It is also claimed that one of the reasons for the attraction closing was major structural problems (that being a large sink-hole underneath the structure which emerged in 1998), along with problems with the roof. The building was claimed to have been close to collapsing under its own weight. 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.

[Main Street Jim]

Lil' bit o' trivia for y'all:

Horizons was supposed to be a sort of "Carousel of Progress: The Sequel". The original working na,e for Horizons was "Century III", since we were progressing into our thirde century as a country. The "father" that narrated Horizons was supposed to be the son from CoP. And you could actually hear "There's a Great, Big, Beautiful Tomorrow" in Horizons.

:thumbsup: