Response

Anonymous said ", but you guys actually out-foxed the Horizons intrusion detection systems and managed to come out with some damn unique coverage". Thank you for that, BUT that's the glory of it all. There was NO security in that ride what so ever. Nothing. As far as I know it was the only Disney attraction ever built that way. I hope Chief chimes in on this one:)

Hold the BUS!

ok. ok. I just talked to Chief and he made a great point about this blog. We're NOT trying to be the best Horizons blog or tribute site ever. Wikipedia beats our asses on info! These pics are nothing new and the info isn't either for that matter. Really! TONS more research went into other sites and much more was gathered in the way of cool video, information, and pics. Do we get it now?

I need to do a better job of illustrating that this blog is about the adventures of two dorks who couldn't stand to see Horizons close. Now that I look back it was pretty amazing and some of the stunts pretty stupid:) These dorks, Chief and I, just wanted to document as much as we could for ourselves before it all went away.

For the time and place, we were the boys. Nothing to lose, no regard for our own safety, passes to all of the theme parks, etc. We worked boring desk jobs, rented shitty apartments near all the parks, rode rides and roller coasters, and thought nothing of the future......until! Horizons.

Look, dear reader, We left our ride vehicles, crawled through filth, and spent 8 hours at a time inside Horizons while it was OPERATIONAL. Every pic we have here was taken while the show was being enjoyed by people visiting EPCOT CENTER. Every one. We weren't employees or anything. Just two dorks looking for adventure and trying to preserve something special to us.

Thank God we were sort of young and had the time and balls to do this. We want you to get a feeling for what we did:)

Grand Scale

Unless there's another request we'll focus next on the massive scale of the Horizons building. We'll try to show the concept of how small the actual sets were compared to the vast empty spaces above and below them. Huge empty rooms! Makeshift beds made by maintenance persons! Amazingly high catwalks! 24 ft ladders duct taped together that only the daring would climb! Dead birds! Dirty Flintstone cartoons scrawled on the walls! Beer cans from 1983 and on! Retired machinery from axed visual effects! Incredibly water damaged ceilings that dropped huge chucks of soundproof tile at will! Encounters that would have killed Indiana Jones!

Another Angle

Here's the rock work from the back of the kitchen scene. That's Dad up there making a cake that 'lil Davey will never enjoy. It would probably be hard to ship a cake to outer space. Right? It's nice to know that Dad has time to make cakes while his wife is working on the farm!

Unfortunately this pic shows some disrepair happening probably from the moisture of the stream:(

Going deeper

The area under this rock work was hollow with a concrete floor. There were two I-beams that could have served as benches for adventurers to eat their lunch on. It also could have served as a nice storage place for cameras and equipment because of it's easy access. One might have called it base camp if one were so inclined.

In this pic we're going deeper and you can see the end of the rock work in the lower right corner.

Under the Kitchen

Some one requested a shot of the rock work under the kitchen scene of Mesa Verde. Here's a nice one. You can see the stream running through it if you look close. I think the see through floor and ceiling was an awesome touch and allowed for light to pass through to the cacti below! I'll bet the AC bill was high. Hell maybe not! Maybe this home was completely solar powered!

I'm back!

Do you keep up on the news? Apparently several horrible "accidents" to individuals around the country were linked by the FBI through one simple clue. At one time or another, ALL of these poor victims posted a dislike for Horizons on a certain message board! Sad isn't it?

HAHA! Enough of that goofy shit! I took time out to scan my entire library so it'll be easier for me to post. All the pics have been scanned and the video is well under way. Like I said I'd like to post 1,983 things but I DON'T want it to take that long in days or years! I have a short attention span.

Hologram call for....you!

Here's a mouth watering pic of the tiny animatronic figure in the Holophone effect! She was small but her arms moved. I love the background.

Look, folks, we have about a dozen pics of this 'lil figure and, on that note, I want you all to know one thing. This blog is for YOU. The handful of people who still love Horizons over 10 years later. Remember when EVERYBODY had a Horizons tribute site? Chief and I wanted nothing to do with that short lived mania so we held out. NOW is the time for the hardcore survivors to enjoy this collection and were overjoyed that we can serve to you on a silver platter:)

1983

I'd eventually like to end this blog with 1,983 posts. Wouldn't that be dorky??! hehe.

Speaking of cute redheads...

Next to the tower was a cabinet with a framed picture of the granddaughter! They must have been proud of her. The other pic looks like it came with the frame 1983 style.

Let's hang around...

Let's hang around Nova Cite for a couple more posts since we're already here. Here's a gem! See that white tower? After looking it over we decided it must be some sort control panel for the apartment itself. Maybe f0r light's, AC, music?

In the foreground you see the Hologram table. The call must be over:(

You want a couch like that don't you?

Plant detail

When I rode Horizons I felt like I was looking into a strange world of the future for sure. I'd see little things and wonder, out loud, "Hey! What was that thing???!" I remember asking a Cast member guy what something was once. After an hour of waiting around at Epcot Outreach I gave up. Luckily for you, dear friends, CHIEF and I researched as much as we could and guessed at the rest.

Here's a good example for you. You saw the picture in an earlier post right? WTF is that plant on the table? For that matter why are there no house plants that we recognize back here in the past? Nova Cite was on Earth. I know that for fact. So what happened to our plants? Did the first space colonist bring back invasive vegetation? Were our flowers replaced with giant Venus Fly Traps like in the above pic? How did we get carrots that look like the Michelin Man?

See? These are things I need to know. THEY put them in the ride and I want to know why.

Requests

Let's share some memories! What was your favorite part of Horizons? Which tomorrow did you choose on the light up panel? What would you like to see pics of?

If there are things you'd like to see just ask. I probably have pics:)

About the last post....

Did anyone out there ever notice the cool pattern on the carpet? Whoever had the excellent job of vacuuming this scene at night made a kick ass design! I'm digging up pics so stay tuned.

Oh, will some kind soul please comment on at least one post so I can see if it's working? Or so I don't lose interest and start blogging about my wife's dog?

Thanks, Horizons fans!

Nova Cite dinner time!

Here's Mom and Dad's dinning table in their Nova Cite apartment. It's so beautiful! Can you imagine them playing Gin Rummy with the neighbors on a Nova Cite Saturday night!? I love acrylic on furniture! 80's-liscious!

CHIEF and I just got done talking about the amazing amount of detail in this attraction. SOOOOO many things were visible but unexplained to the average guests. I'll get into plenty of that as the weeks go by.

Look at the craftsmanship in this pic. This LOOKS like real furniture! I miss old school Disney:(

Science

Back to Barrier Island. Everyone knows that if you want to keep a bay or harbor safe from the ocean waves and currents it's VERY important that there be a barrier. A reef or an island. Sea Castle has it's own barrier island! "Well who cares, Hoot?" you might ask. I care and the point is that more thought went into this one painting then went into the entire "Mission Space" attraction! One background painting, folks. It has more research and detail and it reflects old school Disney pure and true.

Was Horizons.....?

Was Horizons a continuation of The Carousel of Progress? Many think so and many are wrong. Yep I said it. I'M wrong???!! Let's compare. The only two things that were shared by both Horizons and COP were:

1. A Father narrating about his family
2. The sponsor, General Electric

That's it. I'm sorry folks but COP never dealt with future living and wasn't even on the same page as Horizons. The father wasn't the same head and wasn't the same voice! Different dad!

"Ok, Hoot, then what was it the same as, if you dare?" Horizons was the expanded version of The Home Of Future Living, the first Space Moutain post show! It was for MANY reasons including:

1. They were both about future living. COP isn't about future living it's about electricity from past to present.
2. The baby in HOFL is the SAME baby as in the Horizons birthday scene! The same baby!
3. Not one person in COP is wearing a jumpsuit! EVERYONE in HOFL has one! And silver belts!!! Come on!

Here's a link. See for yourself.
http://www.omniluxe.net/wyw/sm.htm

West Bay

An overall view of the West Bay. Sorry the painting ends right there:(

Look closely and tell me if you spot any details. Share them! I'm a drunk now so I can't see EVERYTHING.

Next up: Barrier Island

More Watercraft

Here are some more subs! All styles and some with numbers. Maybe those were the rentals? I don't know but they're cool as hell.

Somebody left their hatch open! They'll be charged and extra $11.50 for that!

10th post......West Bay, Sea Castle

10th post! Thank you to all the Horizons fans world wide for your support (both of you)!

Check out these cool R2-D2 looking elevators that carry guests up and down the main towers! What a view that must have been!

East Bay

Here's an overview of the East Bay. How do I know it's East? I don't 'cuz I make this stuff up as I go. Seriously, how cool is this painting though???! Can you imagine being there? I can.

I can also imagine how hard it was to see this stuff from your seated position in your omnimover car.

I can imagine a dancing cactus too.

Next up....West side, Yo!

Sailing takes me away....

Sailing was also available at Sea Castle. There's a fountain back there and just right of the sail stand two people. Lovers in love? Perhaps. As far as I can tell they're the only two humans in this painting. The only two that weren't told about the Hurricane?

Space Mountain x2

Check out these cool structures. Looks like Space Mountain? I wanna think it's not a hidden pair of Space Mountains but rather a wedding pavilion. Maybe huh? Or maybe it's an event area of some kind.

Watercraft

Around the inner ring of the Bay were docks for the various watercraft. Here's the Solo Sub and a cool red sub that looks like it could hold two people.

How cool is THAT!?

Sea Castle, See fun!

That's a dorky title I know but hey it's me so.....

Here we are in the first scene of the lovely Sea Castle Resort. We're above water here and you can see the Bay through that window. What you can't.....damn that red haired girl was cute*.....see is the amazing level of detail on that backdrop painting. Horizons was FULL of small details that the the average visitor would never notice. Even if you rode it 200,002 times you'd never see it all. Wanna take a closer look? YES YOU DO.

*There's no way that guy landed her. Nope

Easy Living.....

....It's always been just around the corner This was one of my favorite figures even if he wasn't animated. Sure he smoked but he had it all! "Easy" as I call him (I don't know if he had a name) liked to look upon his Art Deco environment while enjoying a pack and a half of Lucky Strikes. His robot servant doesn't do a very good job of sweeping. That floor is filthy!

You'll only encourage him!

Egg me on folks! Comment your heads off and share your stories! Don't be shy. "If you can dream it, you can comment on it"!

Understand

Here I am after sweet talking a girl employee into letting me wear her silver coat. Did I mention how handsome I am?

Now we understand what drove CHIEF and I to document the future. Here's my goal:

1. I'm not going to go through Horizons in any sort of order. I like to jump around and write about things as I remember them.

2. I'm not going to write about the history of the attraction. You can find that elsewhere. It makes no difference to me who designed or built it just that it was there.

3. CHIEF and I sold our souls to the devil to get Horizons to open one last time. An afterlife of eternal suffering awaits us both so PLEASE ask before you use any of of our material. (This means YOU Extinct Attractions Club!)

4. The views presented here are mine, Hoot Gibson, and have nothing to do with the Walt Disney Company.

Bye and Bye

Bye and bye life happened. I never worked at EPCOT CENTER but I went once a week. Around this time my best pal CHIEF called and said that they had closed Horizons. WHAT!!!?? that's right, GE had pulled out, Test Track was on the way next door, and as far as we knew Horizons would never open again. Well, at least I had plenty of video and pics, right? WRONG! I went through my stuff and found that I only had 11 pictures and two crappy videos. HOW COULD I HAVE BEEN SO STUPID!!!?? WHY didn't I take more pictures???? These were dark times, folks. I decided to kill myself by drinking bleach. Not really but I WAS sad:( See the little sad face I just made?

Bye and Bye, again, CHIEF called me at work to tell me that Horizons had re-opened but only long enough to handle crowds 'til Test Track opened. YES!!!! Right then and there it was my life's mission to get as many pics and as much video as I could. CHIEF and I took a blood oath that very night under the full moon and with a 12 pack of Busch. But how much time did we have? Test Track was right on schedule (he he)! Our work began and everything else in our lives took the back seat.

10 years gone

A good 10 years has gone by. I think it's time to share my pics and memories of the once great EPCOT Center attraction "Horizons". Everyone on Planet Earth loved that ride, don't lie, YOU loved it. If you didn't you wouldn't have found this crummy blog. So sit back, relax, and enjoy looking back at tomorrow.

I was a Horizons junky. I can admit it now that I've gotten over my addiction to orange fragrance. I patiently waited for the attraction to open, I slobbered all over my copy of "Disney News" and it's article on Horizons, etc. I rode it for the first time in late October 1983 and it became my all time favorite EPCOT Center attraction. Above is the first pic I ever took.

Being in High School in 1983, I had no use for dating, grades, school plays, or any of that crap. I was a Disney dork from day one. I spent vast hours drawing pictures of Walt Disney's great Audio-Animatronic attractions. I'd rather look at Horizons pics than take some lame High School tramp to the mini golf or movies. Hey! I was saving my money so I could go to EPCOT CENTER!!! duh.