I Just watched some ride video of Horizons, World of Motion, the Original JII

[canda]

I just watched some old home movies of a complete ride through POV video of the above mentioned favorites. while in my memory and in my heart I have always loved these rides and was very sad to learn of their destruction. After watching the videos I was very shocked at how boring these rides were. Now, I agree that MS and TT are much better rides. The new JII is not very good to my personal taste. I do think THe whole imagination pavilion needs to be reworked. (I am sure it will be turned into a pixar or stitch place at some point)

I have always thought, "why could they not have stayed and added the newer rides around the old ones". But after watching the ride videos, I understand why they were scraped and that they were just SE clones.


ps. My skin is tough and thick and I am prepared for what I am about to receive.

the ride video is online at another website that you have to join.
I don't know if I am allowed to post other websites, so I will edit and let you know if I can once I am given the ok.

 

[GhillieGirlBelle1987]

Personally I never thought Horizons was boring, world of motion wasn't either but perhaps it was less organized due to the ride space being more open and you have more to look at in one time. it could be overwhelming. But if i remember correctly the detail was amazing at horizons with all the little easter eggs and hidden mickeys, If I remember correctly, it had the most hidden mickeys out of any disney attraction I believe.

 

[ransom]

I've never been on any of those rides (we didn't go to WDW until last year), but looking at the ride videos, it makes me wish we had. For us, Horizons would have been better than Mission:Space (which is boring to us) and the original Journey Into Imagination is much better than the current version. It's a toss-up between World of Motion and Test Track.

 

[Jaclynfett]

I went on those rides in the early 90's and miss the original figment ride the most.

 

[La2kw]

I disagree about them being boring. WOM was basically Epcot's Pirates of the Carribean ride. In fact, it was designed by the same people. Both it and Horizons were heavily loaded with animatronics and were family friendly rides with no height limits. Both TT and MS, while fun rides, have no whimsy, IMO. They are just so industrial. I would have preferred they remove Wonders of Life if they wanted to remove something. They could have added TT and MS and kept WOM and Horizons too.

 

[Jalva22]

No flames from me, but do realize that there's a HUGE difference between watching an old home movie on the internet and the totally immersive experience of being on the ride itself. I've seen all 3 videos you mention and rode all 3 in the early 90's. They were amazing attractions in their day. But, yeah, if you're not blown away by SE you might not have liked them. The original Epcot attractions were my first WDW experience and were the heart and soul of the entire property to me. Those who grew up with the MK probably don't feel that way though. It takes different types of rides to reach us all, but Disney has always managed to have the right mix to do just that.

 

[CanadianGuy]

You know what's interesting of course.. is that the memory of any ride is often better than the actual ride itself. Anyone ever noticed that??

In some ways.. I'm thankful I have memories of some closed attractions.. but just as thankful that I have something new to make memories of on a future trip too!

Knox

 

[GhillieGirlBelle1987]

I agree they need to retool The Imagination Pavillion. While I grew up on the original with Dreamfinder, Figment and a untweaked version of "one little spark"

I hate the new version with figment, i mean figment just seems malicious and out of place in the entire thing, I actually prefer the refurb w/o figment. Sure it wasnt the original but it had its good points, I mean it definitely was much more scientific than the original, and definitely carried across the message of one perceives things and how the mind works and such

 

[cabanafrau]

Sorry, but I loved all those oldies but goodies & wish I could share them w/ my daughters today. Change & progress is wonderful, but I've also noticed that the oldies offered much more ride time for your wait than the new stuff does.

 

[Jalva22]

Sorry, but I loved all those oldies but goodies & wish I could share them w/ my daughters today. Change & progress is wonderful, but I've also noticed that the oldies offered much more ride time for your wait than the new stuff does.

Definitely true!

 

[BillyRayJimBob]

Videos just can't compare to the real thing. Watch a video of Splash Mountain on youtube and you'll see what I mean. If that was my only exposure to it, I'd wonder what the fuss was about.

 

[BTown]

I'm obsessed with collecting ride through video, and I have a ride through for just about in attraction at Disney, past or present. But, one thing is certain, no matter what the ride, it's always going to seem at least a little boring watching a dark, shakey, grainy live cam ride through of an attraction, because it's always much more exciting and interesting.

Though, these rides may have been much more interesting than the rides we have at Epcot today, they were by no means more "exciting." This, to me, is indicitive of the problem with Epcot today. The park is, and always has been my favorite park, but I believe it is far out of touch with it's original purpose. In the 80's and early 90's, the parks main goal was to educate first, and then entertain. It was less about cheap thrill and more about show casing a brighter tomorrow, and how we might obtain that. Now, the park is watered down with cheap thrills and attractions geared to make the park more entertaining, but the education aspect has been so watered down, that the element is almost non-existant.

Spaceship Earth is the last remaining element of the Epcot that was, and with the refurb on its way, I feel like we are going to lose it as well, and there will be nothing to remind us of the way Epcot once was.

 

[Jalva22]

I'm obsessed with collecting ride through video, and I have a ride through for just about in attraction at Disney, past or present. But, one thing is certain, no matter what the ride, it's always going to seem at least a little boring watching a dark, shakey, grainy live cam ride through of an attraction, because it's always much more exciting and interesting.

Though, these rides may have been much more interesting than the rides we have at Epcot today, they were by no means more "exciting." This, to me, is indicitive of the problem with Epcot today. The park is, and always has been my favorite park, but I believe it is far out of touch with it's original purpose. In the 80's and early 90's, the parks main goal was to educate first, and then entertain. It was less about cheap thrill and more about show casing a brighter tomorrow, and how we might obtain that. Now, the park is watered down with cheap thrills and attractions geared to make the park more entertaining, but the education aspect has been so watered down, that the element is almost non-existant.

Spaceship Earth is the last remaining element of the Epcot that was, and with the refurb on its way, I feel like we are going to lose it as well, and there will be nothing to remind us of the way Epcot once was.

I agree with everything you said, with the exception that I think the SE refurb is intended to keep the current "feel" of the attraction. It needs the love, and it needs a new vision of the future in the sequences following the 180 starfield at the top. It sounds to me like the scenes prior to the starfield will be cleaned up and improved, and yes changed. But not changed to the point to where they're unrecognizable from their current form. I'm optimistic that the new theming will serve as the park's focal point and be very true to Epcot's original vision.

Epcot was my original Disney visit park, and its original vision was what made me excited about WDW. It was one of the very few places that was excited and optimistic about the future. I'm afraid the reality though, is that Epcot's vision and educational approach just didn't sell well. The Living Seas hadn't drawn well for years before Turtle Talk came along. Energy Adventure gobbles up people, but it's not really "popular" in terms of being an attraction people really get excited about. It appeals to me, but I definitely think I'm in the minority on this one.

Unfortunately (for me), most people would rather have a new coaster than a new dark ride. I sit here close enough to Missouri to love Silver Dollar City. While definitely nothing to compare to WDW, Silver Dollar is highly themed to a particular vision of the past. But, the place I love is rapidly evolving into another coaster and thrill ride park, and many of the things I grew up loving about it have either disappeared or are in an extreme state of neglect. But they're giving the people what most of them apparently want and attendance is booming.

 

[kidd_freeper]

I think MS and TT are great rides...the first time you ride them.

After the first ride, there's nothing different. The script is the same each time you ride.

OTOH, WOM and Horizons offered a wide variety of things to look at...Horizons even offered different endings. You could ride them time and again...something new would always pop up.

 

[Reminiscing_Cody]

My memories of Epcot are all about the sense of wonderment, optimism and awe the various attractions instilled in me, and really I think this is what Epcot should still be all about. I was 10-14 on my family's 5 WDW trips (91-95) and my memories of Horizons, World of Motion, Universe of Energy, and JII are all very fond.. I particularly remember the Horizons music. They all had an impact on me, though. I suppose I should be happy that Epcot appeals more to my adult thrill-seeking self now, but I will still miss certain things on our upcoming trip

 

[BTown]

Honestly, I welcome some tasteful changes to SSE. I am certainly in agreement that the end is in need of changing. The pre-1994, Tomorrow's Child ending was nothing short of beautiful, and perhaps the most inspiring moment of any Disney attraction. This was taken out and replaced with three annoying kids playing on a computer with their teacher. They use a dated computer animation program to morph a dragonfly into a spaceship. Wow, I can't wait for that future. Oh, wait. That future happened in 1994.

I guess what I am afraid of is that in the refurb, the ride will lose any link to what the attraction once was. I'm afraid it will turn into "Spaceship Earth, feature Stitch and Pals!" or that they'll get Rossie O'Donnel to do the ride narration, and it'll turn into a zanny romp through the past, as Rossie takes us on a comical history of human communications.

Judging from Disney's past track record, these things are highly likely. The only thing that gives me hope is that John Lasseter not only has brains and imaginiation, but he has a love for Disney that goes beyond the dollar. Meaning, he's not going to screw up SSE, at least I hope...

 

[Buzz Litebeer]

The only thing that gives me hope is that John Lasseter not only has brains and imaginiation, but he has a love for Disney that goes beyond the dollar. Meaning, he's not going to screw up SSE, at least I hope...

The only thing I've seen John Lasseter have a love for so far is Pixar -- the overwhelming majority of projects greenlighted for WDW by Lasseter have been Pixar-themed (Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor, Toy Story Mania, The Seas, Finding Nemo: The Musical, etc).

 

[Horizons1]

I miss the old Future World more than anything else in WDW.

I still like Epcot, but I LOVED it when it was Epcot Center

The Epcot today is only an echo of what it once was. Don't get me wrong. I love Mission Space, and Soarin' is amazing, but I would trade them all in for Horizons, World of Motion, Kitchen Kabaret, and the old JII.....

Makes me sooo sad to think I'll never get to go back on these great attractions

 

[Morganw42]

I'm 33 yrs old and grew up going to EPCOT in the 80's and Horizons remains my favorite Disney attraction. I've shown my wife the pov video that's online and she thinks that it looks boring. I guess it just doesn't translate well to the small screen.

 

[BTown]

The only thing I've seen John Lasseter have a love for so far is Pixar -- the overwhelming majority of projects greenlighted for WDW by Lasseter have been Pixar-themed (Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor, Toy Story Mania, The Seas, Finding Nemo: The Musical, etc).

Well, it's no secret Lasseter loves Pixar, it's a company he helped create. However, I think the overwhelming influx of Pixar themed attractions has less to do with Lasseter's bias towards Pixar and more to do with Disney's utter lack of creating a decent animated film in the last decade. Honestly, what was the last truly great Disney animated feature? Lion King?

New Disney attractions that are geared towards families and marketed to draw in crowds are always going to play on pre-established Disney characters and themes that have proved to be successful and have all ready found a place in the publics fickle minds and hearts. It just so happens to be that Pixar films have been the only really great, well recieved Disney films of the past decade, so it's no surprise to see them popping up more and more.

As far as The Seas pavilion going the way of Nemo, though I don't care for it personally, that's just good marketing. Disney took a failing, if not "boring" pavilion and transformed it into a park draw designed towards kids. Suddenly kids actually WANT to go into Epcot, where as before, Epcot was just the "boring" park. Giving kids something to do at Epcot, means more families have a reason to visit, rather than glance past it, which means mom and dads wallets will be opening more and more often inside that park as well.

However, all of these rides employ some pretty sleek, cutting edge technology, and that shows me that Lasseter is not in the business of making "bad" or even "standard" rides. I see WDI moving in a direction of making only great rides from here on out (which means no more flops, like stitch's Great Escape).

I also believe that Lasseter has the good since to keep Epcot's vision alive in the parks central icon, SSE, rather than turn it into another cheap Pixar commercial.

I also am hoping that we will see a revitilization of Epcot soon. Once Universe of Energy gets a new sponser, I am certain it will get a much needed update, and I have heard from sources here and there that Journey into Imagination is due another update, finally bringing Dreamfinder back into the story. So, I think there is a lot to be excited about on Epcot's horizon.