Here's my pal Chief, yellow flashlight in hand. He's grinning like that because he's trying to hook up! In fact, he was the last person on Earth to kiss that Animatronic figure goodbye. This took place as the "last" people to ride Horizons were about 10 cars ahead of us:)How is that so? We saw a handful of die hards toasting with grape juice just outside of the entrance. Some sort of management person was with them. We went in ahead of them, hid out, watched them go by, we then paid our goodbye's to the greatest vision of future living ever created. When we got to unload there wasn't a person to be seen. We walked out and sat in front of Horizons. It was officially over for us and everyone else.
The rumble of poorly built cars on a shaky track ran next door at the new "Test Track". We sat and looked at the pastel wonder we had tried to document and couldn't help but to feel empty. Mrs Gibson found us there, bag of cool stuff from the Japan Pavilion, and we all three went home.
New Years Eve 1999/2000 happened and....................................
Amazing!!
ReplyDeleteHow much fun you guys must have had...I really wish I could have seen the Horizons...Thanks Guys
ReplyDeleteInteresting detail in the Tree line, seeing the forced perspective at work.
ReplyDeleteIt was for sure some of the best times of my life. And it is sorely missed! :(
ReplyDeleteheart break 4 sure. how did you keep from chaining your self to the building
ReplyDeleteI didn't have any chain:(
ReplyDeleteIt's true about the grape juice. I was in one of those "die hard" cars on the last day of operation. Rode Horizons 40 times that day ... never saw Chief or Hoot.
ReplyDeleteMan, I wish I would have been old enough with enough money to ride that very last day. I was chained to a desk making sh*t money at the time...no doubt.
ReplyDeleteMan I must have rode Horizons 30 or 40 times in the late 80s/early 90s with my cute little redhead wife (which made it all the more poignant... and hot, for me). Every time we went through we would laugh at this gal's wide hips for some unknown reason. To have been in that control room with her would have been akin to getting high on lorange juice & vodka.
ReplyDeletewow, i jsut noticed this one post... that's amazing, honestly... Being able to just get on and ride it after the 'last' group, and i bet you guys did your usual hang around for a bit too. it must have been a feeling to know that you were some of the last to be in there, last to ride, and enjoy those out of the millions, before it left for good.. :( it had to be a bittersweet moment
ReplyDeletePoignant, yes. But what I want to know is, Hoot, when you say Chief was the last man to kiss her goodbye, did he really kiss her? No, seriously, did he?
ReplyDelete@Galen: yes, i really did kiss her! and others as well, no joke. i really put my mouth on their fake dirty mouths and gave them a smooch. no tongue tho!!! it was simply my way of saying goodbye to this wonderful thing, Horizons, that i knew i was never going to get to see ever again. :(
ReplyDeleteSeems absolutely 'right' that you guys were the true final riders. Good job.
ReplyDeleteYou two are my heroes.
ReplyDeleteJust found out about this Blog through The Dark Side of Disney book. You guys are legends and have huge sets of cojones. Thank God there were people like you, crazy enough to do this and document what you did! It seems like your work really helped Horizons Resurrected be designed and perfected, which may be the closest thing that people ever get to experiencing Horizons in the future. Thanks!
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