- World of Motion
Infobox Disney ride
name=World of Motion
caption=Logo for the World of Motion
park=EPCOT Center
land=Future World
theme=Transportation
sponsor=General Motors
opened=October 1 ,1982
closed=January 2 ,1996
designer=WED Enterprises
manufacturer=
type=Dark ride
control_system=Omnimover
vehicle_type=Omnimover
propulsion=
soft_opened=
host=Gary Owens
music="It's Fun to Be Free "
vehicle_names=
guests_per_vehicle=4-6
cars_per_vehicle=
guests_per_car=
duration=15
length=
attraction_height=60
track_height=
speed=
height_requirement=
site_area=79,400
lift_count=
audio-animatronics=188
custom_label_1=Ride Capacity
custom_value_1=20,000
custom_label_2=Show Scenes
custom_value_2=30
custom_label_3=Average Annual Attendance
custom_value_3=7 million
custom_label_4=Succeeded by
custom_value_4=Test Track
custom_label_5=
custom_value_5=
custom_label_6=
custom_value_6=
custom_label_7=
custom_value_7=
custom_label_8=
custom_value_8=
fastpass=
single_rider=
accessible=
transfer_accessible=
assistive_listening=
cc=The grand finale of the attraction attempted to predict a real future for transportation, with CenterCore, a sparkling metropolis that seemed to be in perpetual motion, and
Pepper's Ghost illusions putting guests into futuristic vehicles. At the ride's conclusion, visitors disembarked into the TransCenter, an interactive area about new products in development by GM.History
The premise of the ride was to be a humorous look into the history of
transportation , from the ancient days of foot power, through time into the future.General Motors signed a 10 year sponsorship deal for the ride, in a move to compete withFord (which had sponsored a Disney-created attraction at the1964 New York World's Fair ). The pavilion's construction was a part of the initial construction of EPCOT Center itself. The attraction was ready for grand opening with the park onOctober 1 ,1982 , and was in EPCOT Center's "opening cast". The pavilion was given a specific opening ceremony with GM executives a few days later.The ride was designed by the legendary
Marc Davis , well known for his work onPirates of the Caribbean ,The Jungle Cruise andHaunted Mansion , among others. His humor was evident in such gags as a used-chariot sale, and the world's first traffic jam.The ride
The ride began with a modern u-turn up a
portico that was situated directly in the entrance into the building. The Omnimovers would then bring you to a simple caveman cave. However, it would head into the first means of transportation: footpower.The second scene brings you into the earliest means of over water transportation, people traveling on a raft. The next scene shows you the first time animal power was introduced. It shows an
Assyria n tableau with a person trying to control animals from camels to zebras.The next scene shows the invention of the wheel at
Babylon . A gag shows men holding a square object, a triangle object, and the award-winning circle object. Before exiting, we pass a wheel factory, where everything, including theTrojan Horse , is trying to be sold.The next scenes are the "Age of Flight". It begins with
Leonardo da Vinci and his many attempts to fly and next to him is a clearly upsetMona Lisa . The following scene is a man looking overLondon in a hot air balloon.The next scenes are the evolution of steam. It starts out with a Mississippi Riverboat with the never ending stream of stagecoaches and such for the Western Expansion. The steam locomotive is the next evolution of steam travel, which in turn shows an authentic steam locomotive -- and an authentic railroad robbery.
The scene shifts over to one of the most photographed and most remembered scenes: the world's first traffic jam. The chaos includes items such as an upset horse, a spilling ice truck, and kids screaming during the 1900s.We than travel past the open road scenes which include a man who crashed a bicycle, a family picnic, and early 40's and 50's cars.
The following areas are "speed tunnels" which pay homage to the Magic Kingdom's "
If You Had Wings " successful tunnels. The Omnimover travels through these bullet-shaped tunnels while images are played on the screens. Some include crop-dusting, rafting, and traveling down a snowmobile trail.The tunnels let out to the final exhibit: CenterCore, the amazing city of the future. Just before unloading, you are asked to "help shape tomorrow's mobility" with a similar effect as The Hitchhiking Ghosts from the Haunted Mansion, you in your Omnimover appear to be a simulated car of the future.
TransCenter
You leave your Omnimover vehicles and go to the TransCenter, which is full of exhibits and shows about transportation and the things surrounding it. It takes an
Innoventions -style feel to all of it. You traveled through the center, looking at prototype cars such as the Lean Machine in the Dreamer's Workshop and a show called The Water Powered Engine, which pits nine all-new Disney characters in a debate over which motor design should be used to power cars. There is a replica of America's only wind-tunnel on display. The ever-popular show "The Bird and the Robot", starring a toucan, Bird, and an assembly-line robot, Tiger, entertain people with acts (and Bird's signature bad jokes) about the importance of the GM assembly line. A computer-generated display shows GM's car 'torture' test without actually performing it. Concept 2000 shows the process of creating prototype cars for GM. An exhibit called Aerotest educated people about air-flow on auto concepts and fuel economy. Another exhibit featured stylings of clothes with GM's advanced polyester production styles.Closing
Economy slumped with General Motors after the second sponsorship deal ended for WOM, and GM started signing 1-year contracts for the ride. However, a suggested idea to gut the building and turn it into a new attraction stuck with Disney representatives and GM businessmen. It would take World of Motion, close it down, and rehab it into a new ride that focused only on cars. Thus, World of Motion was shut down to the public while a new ride, called Test Track, was taking its place. Scheduled to open 19 months after WOM's closing, this new ride would put you in a test car against vehicle tests that were needed to deem the car safe for road travel. "General Motors and the Walt Disney Company sign a new contract that ensures GM's presence at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida until the 21st century. The contract extends the partnership at Epcot until 2007 and provides for a complete redesign of the existing GM World of Motion pavilion." http://www.gm.com/company/corp_info/history/gmhis1990.html] However, nothing went as planned, and the new ride opened significantly later than the scheduled opening date.
Facts and figures
* Building size: 60 feet high and a 318 feet diameter (circular building)
* Building exterior: The building was clad in stainless steel panels.
* Pavilion sponsor General Motors signed a 10-year sponsorship contract in December 1977. When the second contract finished in 1992, and with a slumping economy GM agreed only to one year contracts and wanted Disney Imagineering to work on a new attraction. GM insisted that the new ride would focus only on cars, as opposed to the general concept of transportation. The marketing department wanted to strongly promote their cars. GM was the sponsor for the whole run of the attraction.
* The prototype concept cars at the TransCenter were the most photographed spot in Walt Disney World.
* After the ride closed, several of the Audio-Animatronic characters were reused in refurbishing the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction atDisneyland in 1997. The sea serpent featured in the ride was shipped toDisney's California Adventure , and the horse pulling cart driver animatronic was made into Ellen for "Ellen's Energy Adventure" at the adjacent Universe of Energy pavilion.
* Famous radio disc jockeyGary Owens provided the ride's humorous yet very informative narration.
* Chickens from the ride can now be found in theMagic Kingdom at Mickey's Toontown Fair. They are inside the barn located at Goofy's Wiseacre Farm.
* Various animatronics, sets, and props can be found in the Backstage Tram Tour queue atDisney's Hollywood Studios .
* Ironically, on the final ceremonial ride of World of Motion, onJanuary 2 , 1996, it broke down. GM executives who were riding it had to climb out and walk back to the exit.
* The closing of World of Motion forced the reopening of Horizons, another Disney attraction focusing on the future of the family. It was closed 2 years prior to the closing of World of Motion.oundtrack
The theme song for the ride was "
It's Fun to Be Free ", written byX Atencio ("Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me) " from Pirates of the Caribbean and "Grim Grinning Ghosts " from The Haunted Mansion), and Buddy Baker, another legendary Disney composer. The song was played throughout the ride (and queue area) with music changing to reflect the different time periods as the ride progressed through the various scenes.The song can be found on
The Official Album of Disneyland and Walt Disney World (1991 CD) .References
ee also
*
Epcot attraction and entertainment history External links
* [http://vistaway.freeservers.com/motionindex.html World Of Motion Memorial] : A fanpage preserving the attraction's memory.
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