Top 5 Hidden Secrets of Extinct Disney Rides – Epcot at Disney World
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Top 5 Hidden Secrets of Extinct Disney Rides – Epcot at Disney World

November 26, 2019


Welcome to TPMvids Disney Beat where we talk
about all things Disney! If you’re new to the channel, hit that subscribe
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find us @TPMvideos. EPCOT was the second theme park at Walt Disney
World and originally opened as Epcot center on October 1st, 1982. {Walt Disney} Epcot will take its cue from
the new ideas and new technologies that are emerging from the creative centres from american
industries. Many of the original Epcot Centre attractions
were great storytelling vehicles. They were designed to educate the public on
subjects such as technology, transportation and nature. A lot of these old rides and attractions were
fan favourites but as our world progressed so did the attractions leaving a lot of them
as defunct pieces of the past. Many people reminisce about the old days at
Epcot but there are many hidden reminders of these lost attractions; you just need to
know where to look. So while exploring the park’s history, today
we’re gonna be counting down the Top 5 Hidden Secrets of Extinct Rides at Epcot. Number 5
One of the opening day attractions in 1982 was World of Motion. This omnimover dark ride was sponsored by
General Motors and took you on a humoured journey through the history of transportation. here at the World of Motion shows how people
from thought the ages have searched for and found better ways to get from here to there. With 24 different show scenes that included
over 100 animatronics, it was similar to Spaceship Earth except it only spoke about transportation. Well, in the mid 90s the attraction began
to see a major decrease in popularity and Disney decided to close World of Motion in
January of 1996, making it extinct. Test Track would become the replacement and
after months of delays and complications the ride officially opened in March of 1999 and
General Motors remained the attraction’s Sponsor. Disney reused the original World of Motion
building creating a new experience where you took on the role of a crash test dummy going
through testing procedures. This version of the ride was actually a lot
of fun. Well in 2012 GM’s contract was up and Chevrolet
became the attraction’s new sponsor. Test Track received a complete overhaul which
meant getting rid of the realistic crash test scenes and creating new environments that
were much more futuristic looking. Well this new version of the ride actually
allowed Imagineers to incorporate some tributes to World of Motion. This here is the old World of Motion Logo
and if you look at the right side of the wait time sign, you can see the logo is hidden
in the corner. You can also spot the logo on the trash cans
as well as in the loading area right here. As you make your way into the outdoor portion
of the ride, there’s a few more hidden details that are really easy to miss. The first is the brownish sign on the left
which shows a futuristic city similar to the original model for Epcot. Well the finale of World of Motion showed
this modern city and the sign acts as a little reference to that scene. It’s also pretty ironic that after the capability
test, theres what looks like a very similar futuristic city and I think it’s safe to
assume it also references the scene from World of Motion. Now immediately after the first sign, you’ll
see this other sign with some letters and numbers. Well if you read this acronym out loud it
says Fun to be Free and that’s actually the name of theme song from World of Motion. {Music} together a care, to do what you wanted
to do its fun to be free. Again, the World of Motion logo can be found
on this sign as well. In the new Epcot logos released at D23 to
go along with the park’s transformation thats already underway, it seems as though
they’ve brought the old World of Motion Logo back. We can only imagine that this is the new official
logo for test Track. So with the original intent of Test Track
2.0 making a callback to World of Motion, is seems as though it’s a full circle moment
as it becomes an official part of Test Track. Number 4
Heading into World Showcase, Malestrom opened with the Norway Pavilion in July of 1988. This water based dark ride took you through
many scenes depicting the sprit and charm of Norway from the mythological trolls of
the Viking Days along with the Polar Bears of the arctic and oil rigs of the seas. Malestrom continued to draw crowds since it
was only one of two rides in World Showcase but in October of 2014 Disney closed the ride
to make way for a new experience. In June of 2016 Disney opened Frozen Ever
After as a response to the wildly successful animated film Frozen. Now theres quite a stark contrast between
the reality of Malestrom and the fantasy world of Frozen so there isn’t much leftover but
there are a couple things to take note of. Since Frozen Ever After used the same ride
system and track as Malestrom, the longship ride vehicles were reused so this begins to
create a little sense of familiarity in the attraction. Next when you head into Elsa’s Ice Palace,
this was where you were able to find the three headed troll on Maelstrom. {Trolls} Over the falls! As you were sent back there was a swirling
light effect and if you look up at the ceiling on Frozen Ever After you’ll see this same
lighting effect is still being used but that’s not all. During the Polar Bear scene on Maelstrom,
you were able to find these puffins on the left hand side. Well after your ship passes marshmallow and
heads down the drop, you’ll find the puffin animatronics from Maelstrom on the right hand
side. Recycling these figures into the snowy mountains
outside of Elsa’s Ice castle acts as one of the most noticeable tributes to the extinct
Disney ride and reminds us that the spirt of Malestrom still lives on. Number 3
The Germany Pavilion is incredibly vibrant and although it’s never had an attraction,
it is home to an extinct attraction concept. The Rhine River Cruise was a water based dark
ride that was supposed to have a home right here in Germany. It was said that you were supposed to experience
the history and culture of Germany as you traveled past famous landmarks down Germany’s
most famous rivers. Well Germany was an opening day Pavilion in
1982 and during the initial construction, part of the show building was already built
that would have housed the load and unload areas. It was planned for phase two but like many
of the World Showcase pavilions, phase two never happened so the Rhine River Boat ride
was cancelled. Well if you head to the back of the pavilion
towards the restaurant, theres a mural that covers the back wall, and this is actually
where the entrance of the Rhine River boat ride was supposed to be. If you knock on the wall, you’d hear its
hollow and up close it looks very temporary. Originally this wall had wooden gates but
Disney covered the opening to this building around 1987 and never spoke about the attraction
again. I mean everyone loves a classic Disney water
based dark ride and it’s really unfortunate that this one never made it into Epcot. Maybe one day Germany will get its very own
ride but for now, beer and pretzels it is! Number 2
Step into the Future with Horizons. Step into the future today. To celebrate the park’s one year anniversary,
Horizons opened on October 1st 1983. Sponsored by General Electric, Horizons was
another omnimover based dark ride and took you through scenes that envisioned what the
future would be like. By using audio animatronics and intricate
show scenes, it was Disney storytelling at its finest and combined all of the pavilion
ideas of Future World into one attraction. It was a fan favorite but shortly after GE
pulled out as a sponsor in 1993 Horizons closed unannounced in December of 1994. However this wasn’t the end since it reopened
a year later in December of 1995 since World of Motion was set to close in January to make
way for Test Track and the now extinct Universe of Energy was down for refurbishment. This unexpected reopening gave Horizons an
extra 3 years of operation then it was closed again, this time for good, in January of 1999
once Test Track began its soft opening. Now there is a rumour that Horizons closed
due to a large sinkhole around the attraction, but whether that’s the actual reason for
closing or not, the building was demolished by July of 2000. Its pretty crazy to think that’s almost
20 years ago. Then in August of 2003 Disney officially opened
Mission Space leaving the days of Horizons in the past. Now with Mission Space you get the chance
to experience a mission to mars and passing through the queue before your mission you’ll
find this gravity wheel. Horizons had a scene where the family was
walking through their own gravity wheel but the gravity wheel in Mission Space has one
specific hidden tribute to Horizons. In the centre of the wheel you’ll find the
Horizons logo and this is not the only place at Mission Space Where you can find it. After exiting the ride, if you head through
the gift shop the cash desk has a very obvious Horizons logo on the front of it. So the attraction isn’t complexly forgotten
about but there is one more Horizons remnant left over. This planter right here in front of Mission
Space is the same planter that used to be in front of Horizons. If you take a look at this google maps view
you’ll see its in the same irregular hexagon shape as the former show building Number 1
Another Future World attraction that you weren’t able to find on opening day at EPCOT centre
was Journey into Imagination which opened in March of 1983. This one of a kind omnimover dark ride featured
two protagonists, Dreamfinder and Figment, who explored the power of imagination through
vibrant show scenes. One of the most memorable scenes was where
we were introduced to these characters. {Dreamfinder} You’ve got a Figment. Oh figment of imagination. {Figment} Dreamfinder i’m just right! {Dreamfinder} Not quite! Look Figment some new friends have joined
us {Figment} Can they Imagine too? {Dreamfinder} Of course, Imagination is something
that belongs to all of us. {Figment} Everyone can think of new things. {Dreamfinder} Thats right figment. The sequence operated on a turntable and there
were 5 identical scenes rotating simultaneously. Well in October of 1998, Journey Into Imagination
closed to make way for what was to be a substantial improvement to the original ride, but later
we found out this was far from reality. The current version of Journey into Imagination
with Figmnet does not include the Dream Finder but there is a little hidden tribute to this
beloved Disney parks character. As you make your way into the sound lab, the
very first door it reads Dean Finder which is a little play on words and tribute to the
Dream Finder. Now just when you thought that 1998 would
be the last time anyone would see Dreamfinder’s Dream Mobile, well you’re wrong and just
in luck because one of the 5 vehicles still exists to this day at Epcot. Mousegear opened on October 1st, 1999, one
year after the original Journey Into Imagination closed. The amazing Imagineers incorporated one of
the Dream Mobiles into the store’s cog and spoke theme. Although its missing some pieces such as the
plaid cover on the back, it is one of the 5 original vehicles from the ride hidden right
in plain sight. Now with the transformation of Epcot fully
underway, MouseGear is getting a total revamp and is set to close sometime in very early
2020. The concept art for the transformation from
D23 shows a complete retheme so if you find yourself at Epcot be sure to get one final
glimpse of the Dream Mobile before it flies away forever and becomes a figment of our
imagination. So what’s your favorite hidden secret from
Epcot and if you could bring back just one of these extinct rides, which one would you
choose and why? I’d love to know! Leave a comment down below to start a conversion
and don’t forget to hit that like button if you enjoyed the video. Oh and be sure to out check some of these
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