Just a Little Link

So I'm actually just testing some html code for a series of blog posts back to some of my past WDW shots to highlight some of my favorites. Hope you enjoy this first one.

Ode to Horizons - A True Classic of EPCOT Center

The Attraction
Horizons began with a section entitled "Looking Back at Tomorrow," showcasing visions of the future as perceived from the era of Jules Verne through the 1950s. The ride then moved past two immense OMNIMAX screens (groundbreaking technology at the time the ride was built), showing modern technologies and ideas that could be used to build the world of tomorrow. Afterward came the main part of the ride: visions of futuristic life in cities, deserts, undersea, and even in space. The only Disney attraction with multiple endings, Horizons then allowed riders to select which path they wanted to take back to the FuturePort: from the space station Brava Centauri (depicting space colonization), from the desert farm of Mesa Verde (depicting arid-zone agriculture), or from the Sea Castle research base (depicting ocean colonization).
As the final part of the ride, guests in their 'omnimover' would push a button to select amongst the three choices and would be presented with a 31-second video sequence. A film would then be displayed to riders in each individual car. The videos showed a simulated flyover of an outdoor scene. To create the effect, scale models were built and a camera swept across the futuristic terrain. The models were some of the largest ever created at the time.
The model for the desert sequence, for example, was 32 feet (9.8 m) by 75 feet (23 m) long. The visual effects were filmed in a hangar at the Burbank airport. Produced in 1983 by 30 model makers, it took over a year to build and shoot the three segments. The exit corridor of the ride originally featured the mural The Prologue and the Promise by renowned space artist Robert T. McCall.

History
Horizons, in its concept phase, was named Century 3 (or Century III), to recognize the third century of American existence (1776-2076). The name was changed to Futureprobe to help appeal the attraction toward international guests who wouldn't understand or appreciate Century 3. In the end, the Futureprobe name was scrapped due to the medical connotation of the word "probe". After much debate, GE and Disney officials settled on the name Horizons. Prior to the start of construction, the project's budget was slashed by $10 million (USD). The building size was reduced and the length of the ride was shrunk by 35%, shortening the ride length by 600 feet (180 m).
Horizons opened exactly one year after Epcot opened and was located between World of Motion and Universe of Energy. Wonders of Life became Horizons' new neighbor in 1989, and World of Motion closed in 1996. Horizons remained operational until World of Motion's successor, Test Track, was ready to open to the public in early 1999.
It was proposed that Horizons would be the sequel to the Carousel of Progress (located in Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom), Disney's ride from the General Electric Pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair. As the Carousel of Progress followed the changes in lifestyle that faced a family as they lived through the 20th century, Horizons continued their story, showing how they might live in the 21st century. The Carousel's theme song "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" was part of the Looking Back at Tomorrow portion of Horizons. The version of "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" that could be heard in Horizons coming from a television in the Art Deco scene is the exact version that can still be heard on a radio during the first act of the Carousel of Progress today.
The original ride concept came from Reginald Jones (then CEO of GE) and Jack Welch (future CEO of GE). The concept was to focus on Thomas Edison and his body of work along with the origin of General Electric; it was changed to focus on the future of America, a theme that changed yet again to respect that Epcot was to appeal to a global audience. The building which housed Horizons was designed to resemble a spaceship, while accentuating the third dimension and giving the impression of an infinite horizon.
During the early 90s, after GE had dropped sponsorship, some ideas were tossed around about the pavilion being turned into a space-themed pavilion. The building would have been upgraded and rethemed. The ride system would be changed drastically, in which the guest would be in an individual space harness while viewing space stations and space in general and would control the pitch and yaw of the vehicle.

On January 9, 1999, Horizons was closed.

No reason was publicly given, but the lack of corporate sponsorship probably played a large part in the decision. It is also claimed that one of the reasons for the attraction closing was major structural problems (that being a large sink-hole underneath the structure which emerged in 1998), along with problems with the roof. The building was claimed to have been close to collapsing under its own weight.
The building stood unoccupied for well over a year as Disney decided between either relaunching the attraction (which would have required a new storyline and major building renovation and upgrades) or demolishing the building and creating a new attraction in its place. It was decided to build a new cutting-edge outer space-themed attraction, so the Horizons building was slowly torn down in July 2000. The demolition of the building marked the first time in Disney history that an entire ride building had to be demolished in preparation for a new attraction. Construction on Mission: SPACE began in late 2000 and the new attraction opened in 2003.
Various props from Horizons have been displayed around Walt Disney World and even in Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Resort Paris. A display that features the butler robot animatronic was set up in EPCOT: Creating the World of Tomorrow for Epcot's 25th anniversary. At Disney's Hollywood Studios, a few of the props from the underwater city scene are displayed in one of the studio warehouses. And one of the Desert ships has made its way to Disney's Hollywood Studios, hanging from the ceiling of a restaurant.

Alice in Wonderland Movie Review

Where can you start with a film like Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. I guess the best and most appropriate place to begin is to say that I definitely don't see this as being a movie for everyone. I think that Tim Burton's style of making films just doesn't sit well with everyone. But if you are one of those Burton fans then listen up! Alice in Wonderland has got to be some of Burton's best work yet. This film is odd yet playfully delightful every step of the way. If you take into account that this is more a continuation of the two original books I think it holds up very well. With nothing to directly compare it to it holds on it's own perfectly.
There are three things I'd like to cover in this review. The first of which is the story. I thought that the story was very well rounded and a lot of fun. They tied the original stories into this new adaptation very well. It seemed like every time I was finding a bit of a hole in the story it was quickly cleared up.
The second thing is the characters. All of the characters that we are used to seeing or reading about from Alice in Wonderland whether it be Alice herself, the red or white queens, the Mad Hatter, March Hair, Door Mouse, or the white rabbit, every character is represented. The casting for these roles was definitely well suited to each character. Not once did it seem like any of the characters were out of place or saying something that put them outside that character.
Finally, and this is the best part of this movie, the animation and visual effects. The visual effects and animation in this movie I believe is reason enough to go out and see it. This was a feast for the eyes as each scene gave way to a new part of Burton's carefully constructed Wonderland. Lighting and color palettes set each scene for the correct mood and ambiance. The special effects in the battle scenes were some of my favorite parts.
To conclude, I think that this movie is definitely worth going out to the theater to see. Just for the visual effects alone. My girlfriend and I saw it in 2D instead of 3D because we noticed that the digital 3D seems to blur out the background as it is designed to focus in on the characters. The 2D version I believe is better suited for this movie because the backgrounds of this movie are so extravagant. Again, if you are not a fan of Tim Burton's film thus far, this is not the movie for you. It is full of little oddities that only Burton could think up. But for all you die hard Burton fans, like me, you will absolutely love this movie. Well done Disney and Tim Burton.

Large photo leaked of tabletop model for Fantasyland’s makeover (found at AttractionsMagazine.com)

Click on the photo to see the full size version.

This photo of a large model of the expanded part of Fantasyland has been appearing around the Internet this past week. It’s a bit different from the originally released blueprints of the redone Fantasyland at Disney’s Magic Kingdom. The Pixie Hollow area has been moved back a bit and the Dumbo ride has been moved to just before the current Barnstormer ride. The blueprint also shows a pooh meet and greet area, which isn’t clearly marked in the model.

Neither the blueprint or this photo of the model were officially released by Disney, so there’s no way to tell which is the newer design, but logic says it’s the model. The model also fits along with the officially released concept art, which can be seen in the video below.

Disney's Tangled from Disney Animation Tweet

"Hey everyone, I'm Roy Conli, producer of Disney's next animated film. I have some exciting news to share, and it was important to me that YOU guys – the Disney fans – hear it first. I want to tell you about Walt Disney Animation Studio's 2010 release, Tangled. It’s a really fresh,
smart take on the Rapunzel story.

In our film, the infamous bandit Flynn Rider meets his match in the girl with the 70 feet of magical golden hair. We're having a lot of fun pairing Flynn, who's seen it all, with Rapunzel, who's been locked away in a tower for 18 years.

I’m so proud of the crew working on this film – they’re doing a fantastic job creating an awesome story with great characters and a stunning world – and it's all going to look amazing in 3D. All of us
here at the studio are incredibly excited for you to see Tangled when it comes out in theaters this November."

Living with the Land

Living with the Land (originally Listen to the Land) is a ride located within The Land pavilion which is part of Epcot theme park in Walt Disney World Resort at Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It is a boat ride, which is part dark ride and part greenhouse tour. The focus of the ride is on agriculture, especially new technology to make agriculture more efficient and environmentally friendly.

Living with the Land is a slow-moving boat ride. The dark-ride portion of the attraction opens with a scene of a deciduous forest in the middle of a thunderstorm, illustrating how the forces that shape the land can appear destructive to us. The boat then sails through artificial biomes representing a tropical rainforest, a desert and the American prairie. Some of the audio-animatronic figures in this section were originally created for the never-built Magic Kingdom attraction, Western River Expedition. The biomes feature sound and lighting effects, in addition to heat, wind and mist, to simulate real conditions. The boats float through a small theater that illustrates the relationship between humans and the environment, and the ways that we have been modifying the land to better serve our purposes.

The second part of the attraction takes place in The Land's "Living Laboratory," which showcases ideas about the future of agriculture. All of the plants in this section are grown through various methods of hydroponics. Plants are grown in sand, perlite, coconut coir and rockwool.

There are five distinct areas of the "living laboratory," which are:

* Tropics Greenhouse - This greenhouse features crops from the tropical areas of the world, including both familiar and exotic foods. Plants on display include banana, cacao, jackfruit, peach palm, dragonfruit, vanilla, cleome, pineapple, java apple and papaya.

* Aquacell - This section focuses on aquaculture, or "fish farming." It includes several high-density tanks and a few low-density display tanks and tubes. Animals on display include Tilapia, Sturgeon, Bass, American Alligator, and shrimp. Some of the fish harvested from the Aquacell are served in the Coral Reef Restaurant in The Seas with Nemo and Friends pavilion.

* Temperate Greenhouse (formerly the Desert Greenhouse) - A greenhouse featuring crops from temperate climates. Currently, the Temperate house showcases large-sized crops, such as Prizewinner and Atlantic Giant pumpkins, winter melon, pomelo, and "Nine-pound Lemon." Other crops include sunflower, beets, turnip, cotton, millet and cassabanana.

* String Greenhouse (formerly the Production Greenhouse) - This greenhouse focuses on innovative high-density techniques, such as Nutrient Film Technique. It also shows off "vertical growing techniques," in which plants are grown on specialized trellises which cause the herbaceous plants to approximate the shape and structure of trees. One of the most famous examples of these trees is The Land's "tomato tree," which produced over 32,000 tomatoes in a 16-month period. It was recognized by Guiness World Records as both the largest and most productive tomato plant in the world. Other crops include eggplant, peppers, winged bean, lettuce and snake gourd. Furthermore, cucumbers and pumpkins are grown in the shape of Mickey Mouse through the use of special molds. Much of the produce grown in the String Greenhouse is used in The Garden Grill and Sunshine Seasons, both restaurants in The Land pavilion. In total, over 30 tons of produce are harvested from The Land each year.

* Creative Greenhouse - The final greenhouse in the attraction shows some unusual ideas about the future of agriculture. Most of the plants in Creative House are grown via Aeroponics, in which a fine mist of water and nutrients is sprayed directly onto the roots of the plants. The roots dangle freely in the air, and are not hindered by any growing medium. Some of the plants' roots in Creative House are enclosed within rotating columns and A-frame structures, while others are completely exposed to the open air, at least temporarily, so the entire plant may be viewed by the Guests on the boat ride. Creative House also features a small exhibit of NASA hydroponic growing units, which were developed for use on extended-length space journeys. Crops on display include tomato, squash, lettuce, basil, rosemary, cabbage, super-dwarf wheat, swiss chard, marigold and snapdragon.

Additionally, the Living Laboratory contains:

* Biotechnology Lab - Attached to the Creative Greenhouse, the Biotechnology Lab is a sterile research environment. Several USDA scientists are on-site at The Land, performing research on crop improvement. The Land also produces a product called "Mickey's Mini Gardens" in the Biotechnology Lab, which are available for purchase in several locations in Epcot.

* Integrated Pest Management Lab - An Entomology laboratory that raises beneficial insects for use in The Land and all over Walt Disney World property. It is not visible on the Living with the Land boat ride, but is visited during the Behind the Seeds backstage tour. Insects raised here include tiny, stingless parasitoid wasps and ladybugs.

The ride concludes with a lighted collage of people and produce from all over the world, along with a projection of Earth as seen from space.

Listen to the Land

Living with the Land is an updated version of a previous attraction, Listen to the Land. Very little was changed between the two versions of the attraction. The opening scene, the "Symphony of the Seed," which provided a stylized look at the growth of a plant, was replaced by the opening storm scene. Also, the Biotechnology lab was relocated from the exit tunnel to the Creative Greenhouse. The Integrated Pest Management Lab is now housed in the space formerly occupied by the Biotechnology Lab.

Also, the theme song "Listen to the Land" is no longer used in the attraction, though instrumental version can still be heard in The Land's exterior background music loop as well the music loop played inside the Garden Grill.