Communicate

Site information:

• Currently this website does not pay for its running costs through advertising revenue.
• The home page receives approximately 1,875 unique visitors per month.
• The second most visited page is the Media page which receives around 600 visitors per month.
• Around 160 people download the Horizons ride MP3 per month.
• 380 people download the Horizons video per month, the largest file on the site, equalling 14,373,265 Kilobytes of data transferred.
• Most visitors click through from http://epcot82.blogspot.com/ (now closed)
• 362 people find the site via Google, 128 via Wikipedia, and 40 via Yahoo each month.
• The majority of visitors (80%) are from the US.
• 65% of visitors leave the site within 30 seconds.
• 10% of visitors stay on the site from 5 to 15 minutes.
• 5% of visitors stay on the site for over 30 minutes.
• 2 visitors have threatened to sue the site for inaccuracies!

Visitor comments: (newest at bottom)

Jaime writes:

Thank you so much for your site.

I visited Epcot on June 2006 and was very diappointed at all the changes made to it, particularly the loss of Horizons. I also miss the old World Of Motion, and the original ending to Spaceship Earth, and Backstage Magic at the Communicore <sigh>

I still had a good time on my trip, but visiting this site was much more staisfying.

I wish I'd found your site before I went to Orlando. Had I known Epcot had changed so much, perhaps I would have spent my vacation elsewhere. I had no clue Horizons was gone, or that Spaceship Earth had changed to reflect the present (some Future World, eh?).

Barbara writes:

Hey, I came across your site cause for sometime I have had these dreams of Horizons from when I was a little girl but could not remember what the name of the ride was :) Thanks for having a nice site to come and remember the greatest ride ever. Do you think that there is anyway to get Disney to recreate this ride for all the millions of people who loved it so very much. you think with all the property that they own they would be able to rebuild it. Thanks

Megan writes:

"It was very good. Any bit of info or pics about Horisons is a good way to preserve it. I liked how you answered the questions where did all the ride stuff go after they unfortunately tore it down.
I liked how you answered the questions if Horizons type ideas have happened or not.
I miss that nice orange smell they pumped through the ride.
Horizons has been good inspiration for me as an aritist and no fast ride can do that."

Raul writes:

"Absolutely love your site. Brings back incredible memories of my childhood at EPCOT.
I miss Horizons very much, would appreciate any continued information about the most beloved attraction in the history of the Disney parks. Once again I thank you for creating this site, you will never know how much this means to me. Seeing the photos and reading the script brought tears to my eyes."

David writes:

"Nice tribute site. I got to ride horizons on my first visit to Epcot in 1997, well after its heyday. I thought the ride was a great trip, however I am a bit of a visions of the future nostalgist. It bums me out that this great ride has been closed but que sera. I just wanted to drop a line saying that I think your site is the best least whiney tribute site I've been to."

Caroline writes:

"Great website! I got to see Horizons in 1985, by the time I went back (09/95) it was closed...It was nice getting the whole story as to what happened. Thanks for keeping the memories alive!"

Jonathan writes:

"This is a GREAT website! I miss HORIZONS too! When I visited Epcot in 2001, I wanted to show my fiance the ride, but I was shocked to see that it was GONE! I miss it! It was nice to have rides that didn't have people getting violently ill after riding them. I have never ridden
MISSION SPACE and I have no plans to.

I heard that WONDERS OF LIFE is going away. These are just rumors. I wish they could rebuild HORIZONS. They could have it reopen in 2009. Crazy idea, I know.

Again, thanks for your time. Great website!"

Burt writes:

Thanks for the ride down memory lane. I'm currently listening to the Horizons loop from Live365's "D-Magic" station, and looking at your pictures.

I mutch preferred Horizons to the abomination that took its place. I think that M:S violates Walt's vision of EPCOT in the worst way. Eisner should be forced to return weekly for a 3G ride in that monster.

Thanks again

Lucy writes:

This website is great and I thank you for it. I always wondered what ever happened to Horizons then I found this website and it answered all my questions. My family first experienced Horizons back in 1990 I was 8 years old. We all absolutely loved this ride we continued going as a family every other year until 1996.

I went back there with my sister in 2003 and to our horror it was gone! We were so upset because it was apart of our childhood. We are such suckers for nostalgic stories of our childhood and seeing this website brought all the memories back. Thank you for a happy trip down memory lane. I had no idea that others felt the same, which I think is nice

Coral writes:

THANK YOU SO MUCH for this website! This was my favorite ride at Epcot center when I was a kid and I thought I'd never see a sign of it again. Just to see pictures of it and hear the music brings back such good memories. All who worked to make this website are great =)

Kirsten writes:

We were once members of the GE Executive Club and had access to the GE corporate lounge within Horizons. It was great for a clean bathroom, cold drink, refreshing tangerine candy, air conditioning, and a movie screen-view of Epcot. Sadly, I have no pictures of the lounge, but I can see it clearly in my head. We had our own private entrance to the ride, accessed by a long hallway from the lounge. We loaded in the regular guests' unload area.

Horizons is, to this day, my absolute favourite Disney ride.

Juanita writes:

My boyfriend is a total fan of Horizons. He was so heartbroken when they destroyed the ride.

Brian writes:

Thank you so much for this site. It sure brings a lot of memories back of a child in the 80s. Great effort!

Joanie writes:

Hi - First of all, I'd just like to thank you for your Horizons tribute site. I will be 26 in about a week and I've lived in Florida all my life. That meant frequent visits to Disney World from age 4 on. I am so disappointed that Disney removed the ride. It was my favorite ride out of all the parks. It's a ride that I was able to share with family members of all ages and it's something I'll always cherish. My favorite part was the scent of the oranges on the desert farm. Unfortunately, a good ride such as this, was replaced with that HORRIBLE Mission Space ride. Several people have died on it. I went on it once and it caused me to have a migraine headche for nearly 24 hours. I know Disney's logic is likely, "People want thrills and chills, lets get rid of a slow moving family ride. People are bored with it." Well, we're not. If I ever won the lottery, I'd love to re-create the ride someday. I often wonder what the demolition crew did with the props inside. I'm sure if they sold pieces of the ride in an auction, people would've paid a lot to have those memories.

Thanks again for honoring Horizons.

Scott writes:

Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU!!!! Horizons was, bar none, my favorite attraction at EPCOT. I've been disappointed as other pavillions have come and gone, but the loss of Horizons was devastating to me. Your site has brought back so many fond memories that I thought had been lost forever.

When I took my first trip on that attraction in 1983 (I was 9), its effect on me was profound. This may sound silly, but my experience on that attration helped to shape my interests and eventual career that followed.

I could never understand why Disney wouldn't just upgrade the scenes and technology, rather then scrapping the entire attraction. The concepts of living under water and in space are timeless, and the opening sequence like an oversized pop-up book were a wonder to behold.

And am I alone in thinking that the Omnimax screen effect was pulled off more effectively in Horizons then it currently is in 'Soarin' Over California'? I can see the edge of the screen on 'Soarin'' whereas on Horizons, the screen truly was all-encompassing.

Horizons, you are missed.

Nancy writes:

What an incredible tribute to Horizons! Walt would have been proud.

EPCOT is my favorite park, and Future World the very best part of Disney World. The first time i saw Spaceship Earth (at a far distance during construction in 1979) I knew this would be such an awesome place to see...and it was. I spent a lot of happy times visiting Horizons as well as the other pavillions there.

It is so sad that the thrill ride is taking the place of such fun adventures. Im glad that i didnt see the tearing down of this beautiful place (seeing the pictures is hard enough :(

Thanks for all the wonderful things you have done here, esp the ride soundtrack and the wonderful music of Horizons. there is much here to see and it is keeping Horizons alive for those of us who loved it. :)

Thomas writes:

am in tears over you site. I miss this ride so much. I have wonderful memories of riding horizons with my grandfather. The best part was always the smell of the oranges! Thank for making such great site.

Chris writes:

The old EPCOT was the bomb. I loved the old attractions. The new Attractions are not near as impressive as the old rides. I was so excited when I found this web site. I never thaught I would see Horizons again. I know it sounds wierd but my favorite part of Horizons was the sequence just before you enter the Omnimax Theatre. You know the thin wall with the vibrant red,blue, and purple lights that would splash beautiful lighting everywhere just before the Omnimax theatre presentation. For some reason the lighting and the dramatic music just made the whole ride come together. I think that Disney should do a new pavilion at EPCOT and they should call it New Horizons!!!!!

Jason writes:

I just want to say thank you so much for this great site. I've been mourning the loss of this great attraction forever it seems, and finding your site was like reconnecting with an old friend. Thank you!

[A different] Jason writes:

This is such a great site. It reminds me a lot from when I first went to epcot when I was nine years old, now that most of it has changed it's kinda sad to know that all the stuff I grew up with is now gone. Thanks for the videos. I always like watching them.

Justin writes:

I would like to say that I almost started crying when I found this website. I have been going to Disney World at least once per year since I was 6 months old and have been well over 30 times. I was horrified and hearbroken when I found out that they were killing my most favorite ride, Horizons. Now, instead of mourning the loss of such a great experience, I can watch it anytime I like and relive the magic. Thank you.

Dan writes:

Thank You Thank You Thank You. Thanks for making a tribute to one of the greatest rides in WDW's history. I can not express how much I love your site. Even though it's hard to view without getting a bit depressed it does remind me of all the great times riding my favorite ride.
Let me know if you ever need any help with the site!

Matt writes:

The video you have linked from youtube.com is mine. I'm requesting you take it down, as the user there never asked for permission to post it. It's exclusively my property and only to be for the members of Themeparkreview.com.

If you'd like a copy of the movies for the site and I get due credit for it, I can send you a file.

Thank you for understanding in advance.

Randy writes:

I stumbled across this site by accident (the usual story, right?) and fell in love with it immediately. I too have fond memories of Horizons, and although I will admit to enjoying the Mission Space ride, I am always aware of the magic that it replaced. Horizons will forever be a part of my childhood memories. I wanted to live in that building.

Timothee writes:

The hole in the back of Horizons was an entrance into a utilidor which ran under Horizons to the Communicore closest to the Land Pavilion. This was how food and beverage items were transfered to the restaurants in the communicores. There was also a small breakroom down there. This utilidor was not as big as the one under the Magic Kingdom. It was also not utilized as much.

Christopher writes:

I just wanted to thank you so much for this website!

I am 16 years old, and I visited Epcot back in 1997, when I was 7. I vaguely remember this ride as neon lights and that we ended up going on the underwater part. I think I was pretty scared to go on it, as I thought it was kind of intimidating… I guess.

Anyway, I only recently found out about its closing, and I must say I was really disappointed, as most people are. I was looking forward to riding it when I went there next year! Total bummer.

Well, thank you for the memories.

Chris writes:

When I was seven, I was too afraid to ride Horizons, for whatever reason I don't know, but my dad made me and I just kinda rode through it, not taking in anything. Now that I am sixteen, I am dying to ride it, but obviously that's not going to happen. All I can remember from the ride was that I picked the desert ending and it ended up being the underwater ending. I really hope Disney understands how they've ruined my dreams! My goal (at least as of right now) is to become rich and in my basement of my house recreate the Future of the 50's scene, my favorite by what I can tell by the videos (neon colors rock!). I am planning to go back to Disney World in two summers, and (as others said) I will not bring myself to go on that Mission Space thing. I honestly don't know why this brings back so many fond memories for people, but I'm very glad that it does. For all of you who remember this ride in its fullest, I'm jealous! But I must thank the creator of this site for all his extremely hard work. Thank you, and thanks to all the supporters of Horizons. You rock!!!

Chris writes:

Since Spaceship earth's music and narration have been updated several times since Epcot's opening in 1982, I was wanting to know if ANY aspects of the Horizons' narration or music had changed in its 17 years tenure, and is it at possible to find music (anywhere) of the other attractions at Epcot? What you have here is superb, brings back great memories!

Aaron writes:

"If we can dream it, we can live it" should be soaked and applied to our every day life. So why can't we start engineering our future. You see, you look at Horizons. And all of it exhibits, well all of that is gone now, and the whole meaning for the attraction was to be how we live in the 21st century." We pretty much lied, the 21st century is going to be gone before we know it. All that work that the designers and engineers put into that attraction pretty much wasted their time. Why isn't our present lifestyle looking like that yet? "Hey" I'm a big dreamer my self so we should all work together and bring the future to us.

Hey great to see you guys are back, well hope you stay on, and happy 25th Epcot

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I am so glad someone has archived the experience that Horizons was. I remember going thru it in the 90's as a kid and just being in awe of what the future held. I wish I could have gone back a few times to experience it again, but that was not to pass. I am going to make a replica of Horizons for Sim City 4, and would like you to know that once it is done, I'll give you the file so Sim City and Horizons fans that visit can have their own Horizons. Do you have any blueprints of the structure that I could use? Thanks again for an awesome site with pictures that will surely aid my 3d reproduction!

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Hello there. Love the site! Although I was never able to ride this beloved attraction, I still watch the Horizons Tribute by Martin Smith. Mission:SPACE doesn't even have the same class as Horizons, so when I go again, I will not even look at the former shell of the best Disney attraction ever. It even surpasses ATIS as the most original educational and fun ride Disney did.

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What a wonderful trip down memory lane! Thank you so much for putting this together. It makes me sad to think my children will never get to experience these great rides like I did as a kid. However, perhaps with this site, I can share with them what is one of my most treasured memories - my alltime favorite ride, Horizons!

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What an amazing site! Thank you so much. I, along with many others, miss Horizons so...this is a great place to visit.

Where were you able to find such great recordings of the music?

Keep up the wonderful work.

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Nothing profound to tell you...I was just browsing the site for the umpteenth time and wanted to let you know how much I appreciate it. It is beautiful and very tastefully done--I make it no secret that I am very much anti-Horizons-demolition (duh), but I love that your site manages to document the ride's content and history without taking unnecessary jabs at "the powers that be" who put Horizons on the chopping block.

So again, thank you. Many of us love your site and visit frequently. As the years go on, fewer and fewer people will remember this wonderful attraction...and your site will remain an invaluable resource for everyone out there who could never experience it.

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Thank you for making the Epcot audio available. With its upcoming anniversary, I was looking for some of the original ride tracks, and fortunately this was the first result on google lol.

I've always loved theme park design and even got to animate on Pocahontas II. Needless to say a big Disney fan here and miss the early days. Thanks for your hard work in allowing us to relive these attractions.

And god bless the person behind the wand's removal! :D

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My dad opened Horizons back in 1983. If I remember correctly, he installed the IMAX projectors and was responsible for maintaining them.

I went there just after GE announced they wouldn't sponsor it anymore. There used to be a GE employee visitor's lounge. My cousin, a GE long-time employee, always joked about the lounge and its telescopes focused on the Contemporary Hotel. When I visited, there were no telescopes, but one of the cast members joked, "We just took them out."

Please contact me if you want me to ask my dad any questions about the early days of Horizons. Write up a list or such and I can pass it on or call him up and see if he'd do a telephone interview.

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Dude this site is to nice, can't thank you enough for having it, first road this when I turned 18 and just fell in love with it now to find the video and music, WOW. I regret that they tore it down and never reopened it but this really brings back some great memories, seriously this was my favorite spot in the world

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You ROCK!!! Horizons and World of Motion were my two favorite attractions at EPCOT, specifically because of the music. Thank you thank you thank you!!!

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On this, the 24th anniversary of Horizons, i wanted to say thanks once again for all the great things you have done here. ive worn my Horizons pin all day long, and im taking a ride-thru again now...makes me both happy and sad, but its a good feeling to be able come here and spend time with Horizons... : )

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Great site & great job, I was an unfortunately not able to ride Horizons. But a funny story is that, my mother was pregnant with me when she rode it, so "technically" I did ride it.

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I know you probably hear this quite a bit, but I wish to thank you for preserving my memories of Horizons. My only momento of the ride to this point was an old family video on VHS. I had only recently started searching the net for Horizons today as it poped into my head.

Again thank you for the time and effort you've put into horizons1.com.

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I never thought I would be able to relive the best memories of my life on a website...but thanks to you I have.

I met my wife in 2004 and she was never able to experience the optimistic future that was Horizons. Thanks to your website, I can share the ride and fond memories of my EPCOT Center youth with her.

Thanks again for doing such a thorough job with this. A fantastic tribute to say the least!

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First, let me thank you for a wonderful re-visit to my favourite EPCOT attraction. It was an emotional one, especially when I listened to the Horizons music on your site. I closed my eyes, suddenly it was 1985 and I could remember almost every experience of the ride. I could even remember my grandparents on each side of me in the Omnimover. What a great memory.

On your site you mention seeing photos of the removal of the interior props of Horizons. Is it possible to view these photos? I was unable to find any online. It would be torture to see them, I know, but my curiosity is peaked.

Thank you again for all your hard work

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Great Site!!! Horizons was my favorite ride as well, and at least now I understand why it disappeared. Thanks for letting me relive the attraction.

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Thank you so much for the website. It was nice to rekindle memories of one of, if not, the best Disney attractions. Wish I could see it again for real.

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Just wanted to write a note of thanks for your having www.horizons1.com available to the fans of the attraction! Horizons and JII were my absolute favorites in the 80s era of EPCOT Center. It is so wonderful to watch the video clips you've gathered as well as read up on the making of Horizons through links!

This has been a treasure to explore

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I'm sure you hear this a lot....but thank you for posting these rides. I still visit Disney World on a regular basis, but other than Spaceship Earth, Horizons was one of my favorite rides. You have really allowed me to revisit childhood memories and for that I am appreciative.

Thank you again

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