Attractions of yester-ear: EPCOT Center!

[JasonH]

To kick off reaching my 300th post milestone, I wanted it to be something that a lot of us could really get into. As of late, there has been a lot of discussion about things that are bad now, the missing of old attractions, and sometimes the bashing of both old and new attractions. I figured, let's make a positive post, let's reminisce, no negative remarks about anything old or new. If you do make negative comments, I will make sure to send security guards in mouse suits to beat you senseless. (Yes, this was similarly said by David Letterman from Monster Sound Show.)

To make a long story short (too late) and get to the question at hand:

"What top 3 attractions from EPCOT Center do you miss and if you want to elaborate, tell us why."

1. Horizons - This one I truly miss the most imo. Two great narrators (Bob Holt & Dena Deitrich), the sideways moving omnimover, the use of omnimax, spectacular attention to detail, the smell of oranges (still think they should have had an orange stand outside), this was just a great relaxing ride altogether. Also it was missed so much that it has it's own tribute site which is pretty outstanding. Favorite scene had to be the floating sea city. Loved the use of "water" lighting.

2. World Of Motion - A whimsical look at the evolution of transportation through the ages. It truly was "fun to be free" and it kept that theme throughout all the scenes. Disney did a great job in keeping the same basic music but changing it to fit each scene. I don't know of any other song in history that has had so many versions of itself. And who could forget Transcenter and the show of "Bird & Robot".

3. Journey Into Imagination - I'm talking the orignal folks, with Dreamfinder and Figment. Somewhere I got a pic of the two of them with me and I think my brother. There was so much throughout the ride, you'd have to ride it more than once to make sure you seen everything b/c you had things going on both sides of you. And then afterwards, you had the play area UPSTAIRS, starting off with a small gallery of photos from Kodak, then the bubble music room (which later became an area to paint your own picture with a giant digital paintbrush that magically could send the color to the pic that's high in the air), the rainbow walkway that would change color with you walking through it, the giant pin screens, giant kaleidoscopes, the symphony that we could conduct by raising or lowering our hands over the instruments and let's not forget the original stepping tones that we didn't know what sound they would make until we stepped on one of the lighted spots. And then after all that play time, we still had Magic Journeys to watch or, at a later time in history, Captain EO both with the original True Colors pre-show.

*sigh* It sure brings back a lot of memories, doesn't it.

[ransam]

1. of course Horizions. I really enjoyed it a lot.

2. i really did like the original area dedicated to the sea better than the one now.

3. and i miss Le Cellier being only one dining credit ha...(does that count?)

[Ms. Mode]

Well, it's hard to miss what I never saw; but I had read a book before our first trip that still listed Cranium and I really wanted to do that! I was very disappointed that it was "seasonal" that trip and we had missed the season. They closed it shortly after that so we never got to see what it was all about.

I have read on Intercot about Horizons and was really wondering about it. On our January 2011 trip my DH bought a set of DVDs about WDW and they actually showed the Horizons ride on it..cool.

[Jeddie]

1. Horizons - hands down my most missed attraction at WDW period.

2. Spaceship Earth with the Walter Cronkite narration and the "Tomorrow's Child" theme music - reminds me of my mom (RIP).

3. Original UoE - always loved the power of the dramatics used in the pre-show movies (both the movable screens and the cartoon before the ride started moving), and also loved the Universe of Energy song that ended the show with those cool 1980's computer graphics.

[Daisy'sMom]

Horizons, World of Motion, Walter Cronkite and the original Spaceship Earth.

[Georgesgirl1]

1. Journey Into Imagination- I love Figment! When I was little I always saved all my money to buy Figment stuff. I also loved the room in the ride that was all white and silver. For some reason that room always smelled like Ivory soap to me. I also loved the area upstairs: the rainbow tunnel, the room with all the spots on the floor you stomped on to make music, the giant pin screens, the rainbow tunnels, and the list could go on and on. The first time I saw the very end of the newest ride with the throw back to the original ride, I started to cry. Lame, I know, but it brought back so many memories!

2. Horizons- I was so sad when they torn it down. Love the music from this ride! My brother and I used to fight over the "pick your own ending." He always wanted space and I wanted sea.

3. Kitchen Kabaret and/or Food Rocks- I find myself singing the songs from these shows all the time and the jokes were corny, but hilarious "His mother sat in a hot tub and his brother was born hard boiled!"

[Melanie]

I miss The Living Seas and in particular The Sea movie. And it rained, and rained, and rained......

Also miss World of Motion. Loved the start with the great view of Spaceship Earth, and I can see that wreck scene with all that produce and food in my mind like it was yesterday.

Wonder what John would pick if he weighed in on this one?

[AlliMo]

I agree with everything that has already been mentioned so I am not going to reiterate (sp?) it...It's pretty obvious from my avatar what I miss most
I miss the overall feel of future world...it was cool...really cool...and very educational in the most amazing way. And I first saw future world when I was 6 and it was still my favorite area over anything in MK. Everything had a certain cohesiveness and inspiration to it. Every ride was complete..had it's own song written specifically for the pavilion. I have an old cassette of epcot music that I still listen to and cry..I can't help it...the memories, the feeling, and the nostalgia are so overwhelming. Nowadays, I search for any little piece of this left and I appreciate any little bit I can find.
I am going to Disney for my honeymoon this year and my future husband has never been! I hope to share these memories with him so he can relive the magic with me and feel what I felt as a lucky kid that got to grow up with Disney World.

[tiggerbuddy]

Right on the money !!!