Abandoned - Disney's Horizons

I was a Disney Imagineer in the late 70s and early 80s before they laid us off when EPCOT was finished. One of the projects that I built was the "barbershop man" in the Horizons pavilion (Timecode 9:11 & 16:30). Thank you for providing this footage. I always wondered what happened to him after it was torn down and you suggested that it might have been reused as parts in your commentary.

I wish, if nothing else, the mural had survived. It’s such a beautiful piece of art and really distilled the essence of Horizons to the purest form, and truly a a shame the original has been lost.

I feel that Disney attractions go through phases. They are usually popular when they first open, then after a while they decline in popularity as they become uncool. If the attractions sticks around long enough, however, they becomes "classics" instead of kitschy. I feel than Horizons is one of those attractions for which it would have become unthinkable to demolish, if only it had survived another 10 years.

Disney accomplished something pretty incredible. They made their park worse, with less corporate sponsorship. That takes effort. Disney survived long enough to become the bad guy.

I worked for GE when GE still supported the Horizon Pavilion. I went to EPCOT as a family vacation but also for a few business meetings that included trips to EPCOT. A little known feature of the Horizon Pavilion was a lounge at the top of the building. As GE employees visiting the pavilion, we could go to the lounge to rest our weary feet and get something to drink and relax. On one of the business trips, we had a cocktail party of 60+ GE employees in that lounge. They provided drinks and some snacks for the group. While we partied, the employees of the lounge then made dinner reservations at different EPCOT restaurants for the 60+ people. I had dinner at the Chinese restaurant. After dinner was over, we as a group watched the Illuminations show from a closed off area for the group. We also had a dessert buffet table while we waited and watched the show. Talk about memories.

I miss this so badly. This felt like it was ahead of its time. We rode this more than anything else. The feeling of nostalgia is amazing with this

So sad that EPCOT has abandoned "education mixed with entertainment" and gone with thrills instead--Ratatouille, Frozen Ever After, a ridiculous re-skin of Test Track, Harmonious, Cosmic Rewind, and soon Moana. None of those even pretend to be educational--so I'm glad this channel exists to both Educate AND Entertain!

Wow, I remember watching the original Horizon video so many years ago. Never thought you'd come back to this one in particular, but you have a track record of doing that!

I’m heartbroken to hear about that mural. Not only was it gorgeous, it also had a great message and really embodied retrofuturism, which is one of my favorite aesthetics.

Anyone who hasn’t watched it, watch “Remain seated please - a hoot and chief story.” An amazing story that involves Horizons

I remember riding Horizons on my 7th birthday, Nov 25 1998, not too long before it closed for good. It’s one of the few rides I can remember as a kid. The forced perspective and physical detail of everything was just great. I also remember the ride smelling like a musty antique car (there was probably a roof leak). I miss the old Epcot. It used to be a one-of-a-kind place for the curious and creative. It’s slowly becoming just another theme park…

Had Walt Disney lived to his 80's, I could no doubt see him loving & being proud of Horizons. Some of the Imageneers who worked on it, even worked w/Walt Disney. They knew & understood his vision. By getting rid of Horizons, they got rid of part of Walt & his spirit.

I loved this ride! They got one prediction correct: That family sitting in the living room doing a video chat for a birthday party - must have been 2020. LOL!

Dude, we're already at 71 episodes, and each one brilliantly researched, filmed and edited! Another great video, as expected..!

All I can say is that it’s incredibly sad that they would just tear it all down. It’s a mistake that both Disney and fans alike will never forget.

I’m not even a Disney person, but I still felt nostalgic watching this. So well done.

As someone born in 1979 and family moved to Orlando in 1980 I literally and I mean literally was raised by Disney and I loved Horizons. This period of Epcot was the best, Figment and Captain Eo were the best. RIP MJ! BTW I still know all the rides songs by heart. I can still taste the way the lake water tasted when you’d get water up your nose on a slide at River Country lol. Also on horizon I’ll never forget the amazing smell of oranges on part of the ride.

That McCall mural was amazing , It’s horrible to hear it was destroyed . Growing up I always had a space painting of his on my wall and worshiped it ! What an artist he was .

Mission Space is a one and done ride. I've gone twice, the second time only because my son wanted to experience it. Horizons was a wonderful ride with heart and soul and it was my family's favorite ride at EPCOT. We were so devastated when Disney closed it. Once during a bad storm we rode it at least 6 times in a row and could have kept going. We REALLY loved that ride. I love Test Track, but World of Motion was such a loss also. The loss of those 2 rides and the OG Figment Ride really spoiled EPCOT for us. Spaceship Earth is the only ride of that kind left in the park and I'm terrified about what they will do to that ride. They really just took away the spirit of the park as far as I'm concerned.

We rode Horizons in 1998, during our very first visit to Epcot. Had no idea at the time how significant the experience would be, since it was closed forever during our next trip. In retrospect, am VERY happy we were blessed to see it... and a bit sad we didn't understand then how precious our time at Horizons was.