This digital photo-essay was written and produced by Bing Futch in 1997 when it was announced that HORIZONS would be closing. We've rescued the original web page from the Prodigy server and have re-launched it here. Complete with Bing's minimalist interpretation of the pavilion's theme song and lots of memory-inducing pictures, here is our tribute to one of Epcot's finest attractions. This page looks best on a really big monitor....

After traipsing merrily through the park on our visit--we were headed for the exit when I looked over and noticed the angular building with the copper and beige colors. The cool electric blue of the attraction sign drew me like a moth to a flame. "Horizons", I said--looking into the guidebook that I was embarrassed to carry in plain sight. "I remember reading about this--it's a ride, let's go". Little did I know that we were about to experience much more than a simple "ride".

Horizons probably speaks more to Walt Disney's original dream of a self-supporting and technologically brilliant future than any of the other pavilions in Future World. The distinctive building occupies 3 acres of land and is situated between Universe of Energy and World of Motion, both of which underwent major rennovations. Optimistic and inviting in its message of "if we can dream it--we can do it"--once inside the pavilion, it's clear that you're in for an all-encompassing sensory journey. The striking interior features a destination and arrival board for a Futureport where shuttles service areas with exotic names like Ville-Du-Mer, Ciudad Atlantica and Astral Base 4. The Horizons shuttle departs from gate 4A. Sort of nice to know that in the future, even the future is a destination.

Winding carpeted corridors lead past observation windows that depict the three distinctive environments to be explored throughout your journey into the 21st century. Upon reaching the gate--it's into the sidewards-moving cars--and just in time too, according to the announcement that comes over the interior speakers.

None of these dreamers had more impact on the notion of space travel than the "grand old man himself"--Jules Verne. After passing two screens containing varying visions of space flight--the vehicles pass Jules, who floats weightlessly along with a chicken and a dog--possibly for food and companionship, maybe not in that order. A rather baleful moon with a rocket stuck in its eye is a comical tribute to French filmmaker George Melies--one of several visionaries who are saluted throughout the attraction. Kinetic imagery and sketches from the artist Albert Robida greet the eye as onward and upward we travel--our guides reflecting on how far the space race has come:

HUSBAND
You know; people have painted some pretty fantastic views of the future.

WIFE
And some pretty mixed-up ones too.

HUSBAND
Easy living, it's always been just around the corner.

And indeed it is--a delightful Audio-Animatronics set filled with a turn-of-the-century view of tomorrow--complete with robot butler, auto-barbers and electronic cooks (though the latter doesn't seem to be handling its chores at all well). A woman takes a bubble bath and is enjoying a television break that features a small tribute to another Disney attraction that recalled the past and looked to the future. The happy-dappy guy on the tube is singing "Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" from The Carousel Of Progress.

There's more trivia to be found within the next section, awash in neon and flickering images--the early cinemas portrayal of the future takes center stage as clips from films like "Metropolis" and "Woman In The Moon" share billing with rare animated Disney shorts like "Magic Highways U.S.A.". The latter piece goes hand in hand with "the future of the fifties"--a kitschy, day-glo "Jetsons" sort of reality where rocket packs and astro-burgers go hand in hand. Sharp-eyed Disney fans will spot the Monsanto House Of The Future amidst the pop-art and clever animations. The sound design during this sequence fairly rumbles with rock and roll music, hovering helicopters and the honking of cars tied up in a traffic jam on a highway where the speed limit is 200 m.p.h.

There's a hint of the old General Electric sponsorship in the dialogue ("we really can bring our dreams to life") as our guides lead us out of yesterday and into the future by way of what is popularly known as the most exhilerating part of the trip. The vehicles move into a large OmniSphere where two hemispherical screens, each 80 feet in diameter, feature larger than life images of a space shuttle launch, stunning shots of a cityscape, underwater sequences and computer generated imagery. Never will I forget the first time encountering the splendidly mind-boggling DNA chain sequence--just a little bit of sensory overload and worth the price of admission alone. By bridging the past and future with this dynamic transition--Imagineers effectively shift into "heavy detail" mode:

"Our place" would be Nova Cite--a vast cityscape filled with towering dwellings, mag-lev transportation and multi-level houses with all the major acoutrements. At first glance, husband looks like Father from The Carousel Of Progress and added with the voice, sort of sounds like him too. He's playing music using a nifty synthesizer that he simply waves his hands over. Meanwhile, wife is talking with their daughter via holographic telephone. Their baby girl is out in Mesa Verde--a desert farming community and as the tiny figure speaks to her mother--the background shapes immediately intrigued me on that magical first ride. A nice bit of storytelling by the Imagineers--the family is neatly introduced here as daughter oversees a crop harvesting operation using robots. It's evident that she's turned her folks onto hydroponics as we continue around the outside of the house and into the pantry where genetically engineered fruits and vegetables are arranged in racks.

Those must be some space shuttles--because "minutes away" is a vast desert where scientists have brought the soil to fruition again. While father works in a pantry where the food is automatically delivered, a birthday cake is prepared with the help of his son--meanwhile, his daughter talks on the viewphone with a boyish young lad who just happened to be WDI's top guru at the time.

The conversations that take place throughout the ride are loops that contain variations on a basic theme. Whenever you're passing by the figures, the flow of conversation is about the same. This is hysterical to note if you manage to ride enough times to catch the entire loop of conversation. If these were actual exchanges, they would be between the most brainless people on the planet. The scene with the view screen is a perfect example. ("Don't be late", "Why would I be late?", "Because you're always late," "When I was I late last?" etc.)

The scene changes and real actor switches with animatronic--offering us a glimpse of the next community dwelling; Sea Castle. An inventive floating city that can travel to various locations--keeping a balance of nature by not overfarming kelp and other oceanic harvestables. A class of children (one of whom looks suspiciously like a young Pirate of the Caribbean) take aqualung lessons from an instructor before heading out on their first dive. Suddenly, through wet-for-dry effects--we find ourselves floating through the water, looking in through bubbled windows into a restaurant where one of the patrons seems to be Harvey Keitel.

The other folks inside might be dining on fresh seafood and kelp, which is an excellent source of protein as well as being a low-cost fuel. From the desert to the sea, the 21st century has found a way to make things work for the greater good--which leaves only a journey to the majestic space outpost called Brava Centauri. A huge floating space-station with artificial gravity and room for literally millions of people is one of the technological breakthroughs in the next millenium. This colony is made up of many space stations, some of which are being built like the Death Star before our very wide-open eyes. With the incredible musical score accompanying our journey into space--we catch a vast look at the new frontier.

Once inside the station, watch the scolling landscape and you may notice not only hidden Mickey-mouse heads, but a scale replica of Disneyland as part of the set-up.

Here in a zero-gravity gym, folks can try rowing or canoeing in various virtual reality settings. Nearby in one of the cavernous residences, a young boy and several other objects have fallen prey to the weightless conditions. His mother watches in bemusement as dad attempts to retrieve the family pooch.

They named the dog Napoleon?

Crystals grown in zero gravity are also one of the benefits of this artificial region--for use in computers. This becomes highly engrossing stuff until a phone begins ringing somewhere--it belongs to husband and wife who are apparently in some home broadcasting studio that has a phone ringer in it--they are busy 21st century people after all--and there's the matter of grandson Davey's party to teleconference. It always echoed faintly in my head that if they were only minutes away from their kids, why didn't they go to the party in person? Maybe traffic is still one of those things that need resolving in the future.

Taking a quick look at my watch, I marvelled at how long the experience was going on. There was a blast of sonic noise and the whining of turbines that fired up and blinking lights following sequences and patterns in the walls. And we almost passed this up?

LAUNCH SEQUENCE INITIATED--SYSTEMS CHECK COMPLETE--AIR LOCK OPEN--the flashing signs got my adrenaline up again. Snapping out of a domestic fog, we're thrown into a multiple choice ending where the front of the armrest that you thought was only an armrest suddenly begins flashing choices at you. You can end your journey by heading to any of the three worlds that you just explored briefly. Majority rules. We picked space. Space paid off. Viewscreens locked into place and with the rumbling of the engines beneath us, we blasted off. What will they think of next?

When Rick and I stepped out onto the ramp that is moving at the same speed as our ride vehicle, I was momentarily heart-broken that we had waited till the last minute to accidentally stumble across this jewel of a journey. The park was most certainly closed and I didn't think to ask the attendant for a second go-round--he had a night at Crossroads to think about. As we stepped out into the warm November evening, I figured that Omega Centauri looked a lot like Epcot. Which might be just the point:

For certain--there will always be the definitive experience known as Horizons and the knowledge that "if we can dream it--we can do it".

And that's the most exciting part.