It was the gateway to one of Walt Disney World's most beloved attractions, a relatively simple backlit display that can still evoke idealistic visions of future living. The Futureport remains an almost iconic representation of first generation EPCOT, and names such as Brava Centauri, and Mesa Verde are bittersweet reminders of a level of Imagineering achievement that will likely never be reached again. While Horizons the attraction sadly fell into neglected obsolescence, even more tragic is that Horizons the idea and concept is something no longer embraced or celebrated by the Walt Disney Company.
EPCOT fans have to hold on to hope that a personality will rise within the Disney company who will remember, believe, and reach again. It will come!
ReplyDeleteHow absolutely true is the last sentence of this post... it isn't that we lost Horizons, it's that we lost the spirit of Epcot that it embodied. Hopefully someday we'll get a leader in the company that will bring back the spirit that we need... and made disney so great. (Meg Crofton is certainly NOT a step in the right direction...)
ReplyDeleteI, too, would welcome the spirit of Horizons back to the Disney company...so long as I never again have to hear "It's fun to be free."
ReplyDeleteI'd rather slide naked down a razorblade into a vat of iodine than listen to that awful song again.
I still miss Horizons after all these years and wish I could ride it every time I’m in Epcot. Recently re-listened to the WDW Radio episode where you and Lou remember Horizons. Always fun to re-visit one of my all-time favorite attractions.
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