Horizons: Was it Worth Saving?

[raidermatt]

I have gone to several coaster events and i have seen them spend more money than most families i have seen and they love to have souvenirs of their favorite rides etc, myself included!!!!!

Bob, the majority of thrill ride seekers are there for the ride. The majority of families are there for a vacation. There's a reason Disney sells more merchandise than Six Flags....actually, there's several reasons, but one of them is the type of guests they are going after. You maybe an exception, and that's great.

The bottom line is if these rides had the ridership to justify them to still be operating they would be operating, the people voted with their feet and choose not to ride these rides!!!!!!

You maybe right about these particular rides... I don't know.

But just because a ride needs to be replaced, it does not mean it should be a thrill ride every time. That's my point. And judging by the recent additions, as well the rumored major additions, it appears Disney is losing touch with that point.




Somehow, I've got this strange feeling that I've been here before....Hmmmmmm..........

 

[Bob O]

Raidermatt-Well from personal experience and not just assuming how things may be i have been to ACE events with coaster enthusiasts and have seen how they purchase items/mementos from their vists and it rivals what i have personally seen from families at wdw. A big difference is disney's ability to produce high quality items that people want while Six Flag parks sell the same merchandise for years without changing their items at all and my local Six Flags park celebrated their 25th anniv several years ago and in a stupid merchandising move sold out their anniv. products by May and never re-stocked for some unknown reason!! One company knows how to market themsleves much better than the other.
Disney does need to improve there thrill ride selections at all the parks but im also in favor of adding HM/POTC type rides which they havent done in awhile. Isnt the Mickey 3d show being put in the old Lion King building a non-thrill attraction??

 

[raidermatt]

Isnt the Mickey 3d show being put in the old Lion King building a non-thrill attraction??

Yes, it qualifies (at least I think it will). I ususally add the disclaimer "except 3D shows" when I say they aren't adding much in the way of significant all-family attractions, but neglected to do so this time.

Nothing wrong with the 3D shows, and other live shows too for that matter, but they need to do more than that.

 

[Planogirl]

I'm still very suspicious about the drop-off in popularity of rides such as Horizons. It's funny to me that Disney lets these attractions deteriorate so badly and then seems suddenly surprised that ridership drops. I personally don't like to ride run-down rides either. Even though I still remember Jules Verne's melting face with great fondness.

I totally believe that the Horizons CONCEPT was its greatest strength and was certainly worth saving and now is worth bringing back in some capacity. Motion sickness meant to enlighten and educate? I see....

 

[Bob O]

Raidermatt-I do consider 3d shows to be for all the family and im guessing that by using Mickey it wont be a wild show. And i agree that disney does need to add more family attractions but if Superstar Limo was any indication they have forgotten how to do family dark rides.
Planogirl-Disney could have spent gobs of money on World of Motion/Horizons and that wouldnt have increased their attendance much and would have been throwing bad money after good. Sometimes rides have ran their course and need to be removed and these two are examples of it.

 

[Wes]

I was not at all sad to see World of Motion go.

I cannot even remember what Horizons was. So it certainly never made much of an impression on me.

I am disappointed in Innoventions -- we seldom go in there anymore. It is like a cross betwwen a museum and a MacWorld Expo and seems much heavier on the corporate identity than the rest of the park. I was there the day Innoventions opened, and one of the nice things they had was a tour of the Imagineering studio (or whatever they called it) there. I guess the Imagineers and the studio are gone, since I have not seen that offered recently.

I think Test Track was a good addition for EPCOT. The ride is really not much different than a fast drive down the highway, with a somewhat sharp turn thrown in for torque. It is really very tame compared to a roller coaster ride -- which it is not.

But I hope that they do not go overboard in the thrill ride direction at EPCOT. EPCOT is a more adult-oriented park, and I really think that it should stay that way.

 

[Conure]

I would like to point out, that, though not related to any other post, (I think), if you compare Disney World to Six Flags, you see younger people headed to Six Flags. But, how many of these teenagers will come back in their 50s or 60s because of the lifetime of enjoyment provided? Disney's stats for that are far, far better. It can hook someone's interest for life with it's variety, and mainstays.
As for Horizons, the people who looked for technical and developemental flaws obviously did not enjoy the ride, for it was ment for optimists, not pessimists. Sure, it needed work, but name one ride in Disney World that has never or will never need touching up or additions. They just didn't bother, for some reason, to fix one of Disney's most memorable attractions.

 

[HorizonsFan]

One word...

Absolutely!

 

[d-r]

Frankly I don't remember Horizons that well, so I can't say that I miss it. I find it interesting that people always want WDW to add new things or update things, but when they do some people aren't happy with that either! And I absolutely don't think it was worth saving if no one was going there. Anyone remember the Swan Boats? They can't keep attractions open for a handful of people that are there for a few days - maybe a few times a year - what a waste of money. Having said that though I do think there are some attractions that should be left alone for nostalgia's sake - Pirates and HM come to mind. Those are Walt originals - back off!

Personally I think Mission Space will be incredible, but that's just my opinion. As far as Testtrack - I honestly don't consider that much of a "thrill-ride". If people have a problem with it they shouldn't go on it. There are far more tame attractions at WDW than thrill attractions - so go ride some spinneroo thing and leave my "thrill" attractions alone!

As far as Pirates and Haunted Mansion are concerned - if WDW tries to "kiddie" them up I think we will sell our DVC and stop going - WDW is for everyone - NOT just kids - there are plenty of things for timid people to do - if they don't like the handful of "thrill" attractions there - DON'T RIDE THEM!

Melissa

 

[Bob O]

I agree with DR that while TT is a decent ride, it is no thrill ride!!!! Most people go faster in their car ride from the airport to wdw!!!

 

[Planogirl]

Originally posted by Bob O
Planogirl-Disney could have spent gobs of money on World of Motion/Horizons and that wouldnt have increased their attendance much and would have been throwing bad money after good. Sometimes rides have ran their course and need to be removed and these two are examples of it.

BobO, I don't deny that Horizons had run its course in its last form. However, I still believe that the Horizons theme is a good one and the premise could have been adapted to a new attraction. However, keeping up-to-date on new technologies and exploring new "horizons" would have taken some effort and more importantly money and we all know how likely any of that is nowadays!

I keep the Horizons theme in mind however and keep daydreaming about what could have been.

 

[eeyore0062]

I never liked Horizons, so the fact that it is being replaced is no problem for me. I look forward to Mission Space. Epcot needs a shot in the arm, which was started with the conversion of World of Motion to Test Track, and will continue with Mission Space. They are on the right track, with redoing Journey To Your Imagination with Figment, and Universe of Energy with Ellen Degeneres and Bill Nye! I hope that the changes in Spaceship Earth will be as good, and that they soon do something to update Living Seas!

 

[Bob O]

Planogirl-I do agree that the concept of Horizons is good and the ride could have been redone but with JITYI as a example disney doesnt have a good track record of re-doing rides and has shown little creativity to do Horizons any better than they did.

 

[King Triton]

Why Not build a Horizons II ride at Epcot? Disney made a huge mistake taking that ride out. Epcot hasn't been the same since. The old Epcot was 100 times better.

King Triton

 

[Bob O]

Removing Horizons/WOM was one of the few good moves disney has made as of late!!!!!!

 

[King Triton]

Horizons and World of Motion had the true Disney magic. Those who disagree with me may prefer going to Six Flags instead without any theming - just concrete and beams all around.

YES - Removing Horinzons and World of Motion was WRONG! Every TRUE disney fan will say so.

Epcot lost a lot of it's old charm and magic. Test track lacks imagination. Adding new rides is OK, but don't remove the classic old rides. It's time to sprinkle some pixie dust over the park.

King Triton

 

[Barb]

King Triton, I couldn't agree with you more. Why do they have to sacrifice that Disney magic to get the "thrill" they're looking for? I remember very clearly my first times on WOM and Horizons. I was in awe. These rides were something special and something entirely different than what I was used to. I loved the slow moving vehicle taking us through all sorts of interesting scenes. I loved finding things I missed on a previous trip. How sad that they have been replaced by that all important high speed thrill ride.
I love Test Track, but I loved WOM, too. I wish they could find a way for us to have the best of both of these worlds.

 

[HorizonsFan]

I have to echo the sentiments of others and say that it wouldn't have bothered me one bit if they had added Test Track to an upgraded WOM type ride. It wouldn't have bothered me if they had built MS in one of several available locations. My problem is, why did they have to lose the old in order to get the new? Since most of the new attraction would be funded with corporate money, why couldn't Disney have invested some money in upgrades and refurbishment and now have four attractions instead of two?

 

[King Triton]

I agree.....keep Horizons and World of Motion and add the new thrill rides too. WE can have the best of both worlds. Disney never did bother surveying their guests about keeping Horizons. I really do believe keeping the old rides would attract more people to Epcot today.

I wish Disney would build a Horizons II. "If we can dream it, we can do it." - Walt Disney

Everytime I go to a Disney pin traders meet, the topic of "why did they remove Horizons" always comes up. These are true Disney fans who appreciate what makes Disney so special. Believe me, Horizons is missed - more so than Disney realizes. A lot of people tell me they stop going to Epcot because they did take out those rides. Those slow moving dark rides were great for every member of the family and I was always in awe after seeing it. Horizons always opened up your imagination and took you on a magical journey. Kids loved it - everyone loved it. Oh boy, I sure do miss those good old rides.

King Triton

 

[Bob O]

So what makes a true disney fan???? Is it being in love with a ride that had a outdated concept that few people went on??? If this is the case disney should NEVER remove any ride once it is built because some one "who claims to be THE TRUE DISNEY FAN" will complain even if few people go on the ride and the ride due to the lack of people riding it doesnt justify keeping it!!!
Why should disney throw good money after bad money by trying to update two attractions that no longer had the ridership to justfy their existence!!!
While some here will cry over the loss of two boring/outdated rides that VAST majoirity of guests ride TT happy it replaced wom and will do so even more once MS is up and running!!!
Maybe we should petition disney to give us back the moon attraction at MK because im sure some supposed "true disney fan" was upset by its demise!!!! Or maybe we should have back Mission to Mars and a return of the Lion King show at MK if this critieria was used!!!
POTC/HM are true disney classic's and their popularity shows it which wom/horizons never developed that status!!!