There isn’t much that can said about EPCOT Center’s magnificent Horizons pavilion that hasn’t been said already. Opening in October 1983, the ride was initially shuttered in 1994 and then reopened in 1995 when the conversion of World of Motion into Test Track ran late. It closed permanently to the public in 1999.
All of the original versions of the EPCOT Center pavilions were fantastic. Horizons (along with Journey Into Imagination) were my absolute favorites, and when rumors started that the ride would close, I joined in with a group of friends determined to do anything possible to document it. Hoot and Chief of Mesa Verde Times went above and beyond in their mission, spending hours at a time inside photographing and videotaping. While I got to join them once, I spent the majority of my time on the ride videotaping and recording the audio, which includes the following:
- Entrance and Exit music loop
- Queue Mesa Verde window dialog
- Queue Brava Centauri window dialog
- Queue Sea Castle window dialog
- 3 ride through with vehicle speakers in one channel and show audio in the other channel
- A binaural recording of the entire attraction, from the queue through the exit
- Ride vehicle unload spiel
It’s amazing how many memories these recordings have brought back for me — hearing the high-pitched sounds of the squeaky wheels and the narration audio cutting in and out was a reminder of how neglected Horizons had become towards the end. It’s always fun to looking back at tomorrow.
Sony MZ-1 MiniDisc recorder
Radio Shack 33-1089 omni mics
“The Head”
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