Horizons Open letter to Lassetter and Rasulo

[Remzlightyear]

Alas, Jakk, that is why my letter is open to Rasulo and Lassetter. So I can at least do something, anything, about it. Most people who rode Horizons remember how fantastic it was (along with that orange grove smell). It really was the epitome of Disney's statement, "If you can dream it, you can do it." So go ahead and rain on my parade, I'll go take shelter inside Horizons (while others wait outside Test Track waiting for it to re-open after the rain).

[Jakk]

Alas, Jakk, that is why my letter is open to Rasulo and Lassetter. So I can at least do something, anything, about it. Most people who rode Horizons remember how fantastic it was (along with that orange grove smell). It really was the epitome of Disney's statement, "If you can dream it, you can do it." So go ahead and rain on my parade, I'll go take shelter inside Horizons (while others wait outside Test Track waiting for it to re-open after the rain).

I agee the ride was fantastic and I loved Horizons as much as the next guy but it wont ever come back. Your just waisting your time. It's like asking a dead person to come alive it wont ever happen....

[skylardad]

Okay, it's been several months since I last posted anything on any Disney board, but my all-time favorite WDW attraction needs a little support here.

I must first state that it was very refreshing to see another Horizons fan post this open letter. While I agree that it is unlikely going to cause the return of my favorite attraction, topics and posts like this one regarding Horizons seem to be getting someone's attention at WDW.

While Horizons will likely never come back in its original form, it has been inspiring other WDW attractions - which is why devoted fans to Horizons get so frustrated that we can't have it back. It's tough to see (and hear) its inspiration sprinkled around EPCOT but not return as a whole.

For example, Soarin' is very much a tribute to Horizons' Omnimax film loop combine with the orange smell. Horizons was the first venue to commercially use the IMAX style format. During your travels on Horizons you were suspended in front of an IMAX-size screen to give you that larger-than-life feeling of being in the ocean, a Space Shuttle launch, flying (or Soarin') over the city scape, and spinning within the DNA chain. The only mechanical differences on Soarin' are you are suspended at a higher position and your ride vehicle gently pitches to enhance the flying feeling.

As many may know, the Horizons logo is in Mission: Space on the gravity wheel in the queue line.

A small musical reference of the Horizons theme song can be heard in the Futureworld loop heard once you walk beyond Spaceship Earth and through the walkways to FW East and West (and in the Electric Umbrella).

And we will soon see one of Horizons' favorite features being worked-in to Spaceship Earth. The "choose your own ending" from Horizons aparently has inspired the creative team working on SE to give riders the opportunity to select what they would like to see in their future. (Please note: this is an interpretation of the vague details outlined in the official WDW press release, but there is definitely going to be some interactive feature on the new version of SE just as Horizons was interactive).

I had to move from the Orlando area to Georgia before the first wave of "Project Tomorrow" opened in the SE post-show but from what I have seen online, it appears the folks at Siemens and WDI are masterfully mixing the original "spirit" of Epcot with the technology required to bring a park of the 80s into the future. So far Siemens has been true to their word from when they first announced their sponsorship of SE and Illuminations. While they were planning on making some changes, they promised they would do so with the original spirit of the attraction in mind. That new post-show is VERY in-touch with the original spirit of EPCOT.

I also feel that posts like this all over the internet have inspiried the new regime at The Walt Disney Company and the new EPCOT VP to take a look at the park and challenge themselves to re-imagine EPCOT so that it can successfully appeal to the fans of the 80s-early 90s EPCOT and the next generation of fans who have come to know it in its current state.

I agree that EPCOT has had to evolve to bring in new audiences (thrill seekers included) but the classic Disney attractions like World of Motion and Horizons also have their place. Afterall, it was these epic style attractions that made WDW a unique experience - no oter theme park ANYWHERE could offer attractions like these (and still don't). No other theme park company has ever created (or bothered to immerse themselves in storytelling) attrations that were rich in story, music, art direction, and detail. That is why Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Spaceship Earth, and the memories of Horizons, World of Motion, and (the original) Journey Into Imagination have become the timeless classics that they are.

Well, there it is. I hope those responsible for EPCOT's future will never forget that "If you can dream it, you can do it".

[Horizon93]

Well spoken Skylarded! Horizons was the best and will live on forever in our memories, the smell of oranges, the great song, and in the future of Epcot!

[ronandjulie]

While WDW is Paradise to all of you, as well as myself, it is still a business. The Epcot of old didn't generate the revenue. I know it's hard to do, but let the past go. It can't and won't ever come back. It saddens me, too! I am just going to embrace the present and long for the future. I truly believe they will do the right thing, even if it isn't exactly what I want.