Abandoned Attractions

[CarltonFamily5]

Just found this blog about a couple of guys exploring the Horizons ride back in the 90s...

http://mesaverdetimes.blogspot.com/

Thought it was interesting, so felt like sharing!
R

 

[Belle2009]

I remember there was flamingos somewhere....not sure if it was Epcot or not....it has been a long time. I did take photos of them though. I know they were somewhere at one point.

There were definitely some flamingos at Epcot. They would stand over in the water by the Odyssey restaurant that led over to the World Showcase.

 

[Belle2009]

Farewell to the Big Red Boat HERE.

What was the big red boat and where was it located? I've never heard of this?!

 

[Santana]

I haven't seen much mentioned about the area that housed the 20K ride after it closed. I've read that the ride closed in 1994, but sat derelict until 1996 when Ariel's Grotto was built on the shore of the lagoon. I visited Disney World for the first time in 1998, and, even though I was only six at the time, I was curious as to why there was a giant lagoon there that seemingly served no purpose. I have a photo of a small King Triton fountain that was just off the shore of the lagoon, with his trident pointed into the air and water shooting from the ends of it. Does anyone know if that fountain remained there until the lagoon was drained in 2004? Another photo that I have (most likely taken from the Skyway) shows the lagoon, with what appears to be one of the submarines submerged in the middle of it.

I also took photos with characters (Captain Hook, Smee, Chip, and Dale) in what appears to have been the queue for the 20K ride, with the lagoon in plain sight behind us.

 

[Santana]

Here's a photo of the fountain, btw. I can scan the others if anyone is interested in seeing them.

 

[Belle2009]

http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2007/04/19/why-for-did-wdw-s-asian-venetian-and-persian-resorts-never-get-built.aspx

-Kevin

Those resorts looked amazing! It is a shame that they were never built

 

[Belle2009]

Here's a photo of the fountain, btw. I can scan the others if anyone is interested in seeing them.

I would like to see them if you don't mind scanning them I never got to see the lagoon

 

[Robo]

what are they doing with the wonders of life pavilion..??

Nothing as an attraction, per se.

They just open up the doors of the building and use the indoor space for special events, when needed.

 

[eeyorethegreat]

What was the big red boat and where was it located? I've never heard of this?!

http://www.cruisecanaveral.com/big-red-boat.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premier_Cruise_Line

 

[Robo]

What was the big red boat and where was it located? I've never heard of this?!

The ship was not at WDW.

It was a cruise liner that was connected to Disney for cruises.

It was a precursor to the Disney Cruise Line... before they built their current Disney Cruise ships.

The old outdated "Red Boat" was retired from service.

 

[onnawufei]

I haven't seen much mentioned about the area that housed the 20K ride after it closed. I've read that the ride closed in 1994, but sat derelict until 1996 when Ariel's Grotto was built on the shore of the lagoon. I visited Disney World for the first time in 1998, and, even though I was only six at the time, I was curious as to why there was a giant lagoon there that seemingly served no purpose. I have a photo of a small King Triton fountain that was just off the shore of the lagoon, with his trident pointed into the air and water shooting from the ends of it. Does anyone know if that fountain remained there until the lagoon was drained in 2004? Another photo that I have (most likely taken from the Skyway) shows the lagoon, with what appears to be one of the submarines submerged in the middle of it.

I also took photos with characters (Captain Hook, Smee, Chip, and Dale) in what appears to have been the queue for the 20K ride, with the lagoon in plain sight behind us.

According to 20kride.com (which is where pretty much all my info comes from since I never got to ride it myself) the statue was there till 2004 when the demolition began. It looks like it was taken out before the lagoon was drained though.

 

[oasispaul]

The first time we visited Disney's MGM Studios (back in April 1990), our family was in some type of production where we were on a set dressed up in costumes and a "director" gave us lines to practice then had us act out a scene (which of course was videotaped so we could purchase it).

Our scene took place in a spaceship and we were dressed up as coneheads. The director was fantastic - he played the part of a stereotypical fast-talking hollywood professional from the 40's - full of quips and one-liners. Come to think of it, his persona was more hollywood agent than director, but either way, I remember he had us in stitches the entire time. There was also a really funny lady who played the director's bumbling assistant - she held a clap-board and yelled out "scene 1, take 2.....and......ACTION!". The two of them had great chemistry.

Does anyone remember what this "attraction" was? How long was it offered? How many different "scenes" did they offer? I don't remember being able to pick our scene - was that an option? Also, I can't remember how much my parents paid for the videotape (I was 12 at the time), but considering we had 2 talented CM's devoted to us for at least 15 minutes, I have to assume the finished videotapes weren't cheap. It was a really cool experience - I haven't seen that tape in almost 20 years - I'll have to see if my parents can find it..

 

[doconeill]

The old outdated "Red Boat" was retired from service.

That's putting it nicely

There were three Big Red Boats...one of which (the one pictured) sat abandoned where it was for years as they couldn't even sell the things off (they were old and didn't meet ADA requirements) before finally being cut up for scrap. Another was heading for the cutters when it sank off the east coast somewhere. The third (actually, the original) still exists as far as I know, but was sold to a group in Japan. The company itself had gone out of business.

 

[jitterbug7129]

WOW! I have spent the morning reading through this thread and looking at all the links and Youtube videos... amazing!

I sailed on the Big Red Boat and seem to remember it having Warner Brothers characters aboard (e.g., Bugs Bunny, Tweety). I also remember it being incredibly stormy the final night of the cruise and having a helicopter sent out to the middle of the ocean so that a passenger could be air lifted to a hospital after having a heart-attack. Everyone was so incredibly sea sick that evening. Not sure about ever cruising again, honestly.

Let me also chime in and mention how much I loved World of Motion, Journey into Imagination, and Horizons. I have always been an EPCOT gal and those attractions made me.

Imagination had this incredible activity at the end of the ride where you could squirt "paint" into white Figment pictures on the walls.... OH MY that was fun!! Every time I go, I always hope that they'll have been replaced but to no avail...

 

[doconeill]

I sailed on the Big Red Boat and seem to remember it having Warner Brothers characters aboard (e.g., Bugs Bunny, Tweety)...

After Disney cut ties with Premier/BRB (1993?), Premier signed a deal with Universal, and then later Warner Bros. to use the Loony Toons characters, before finally going out of business around 2000.

 

[Santana]

I would like to see them if you don't mind scanning them I never got to see the lagoon

Here's the picture from the Skyway:

Can't seem to find the meet-and-greet photos atm.

 

[Santana]

According to 20kride.com (which is where pretty much all my info comes from since I never got to ride it myself) the statue was there till 2004 when the demolition began. It looks like it was taken out before the lagoon was drained though.

Just checked that site. Wow, Triton was looking rough in '03.

 

[Belle2009]

Here's the picture from the Skyway:

Can't seem to find the meet-and-greet photos atm.

Thanks so much! It is so cool to see that! Do we know if Disney will be using that space with the new Fantasy Land expansion?

 

[Belle2009]

If you go on youtube there are a series of videos of attractions in Disney's past years. It is really cool seeing the rides I never got a chance to experience. Here is one of Horizons!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBxRvSG8tDM&NR=1

 

[Bunch24]

I never got to experience Disney until our Disneymoon, so it's great to see how the parks have evolved over the years.

Thanks for the pics and videos.