World of Motion
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World of Motion, sponsored by
General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
,"GM's World of Motion Exhibit opens in Epcot Center at the Walt Disney World Resort. Before the year is out, the one millionth visitor to the exhibit is recorded." http://www.gm.com/company/corp_info/history/gmhis1980.html was the former tenant of the Transportation pavilion at
Epcot Epcot, stylized in all uppercase as EPCOT, is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Inspired by an unreal ...
at the
Walt Disney World Resort The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake, Florida, Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando ...
. It was an opening day attraction at EPCOT Center in 1982 and it closed in 1996 to make way for Test Track, a new thrill ride through a GM testing facility. Visitors would board moving four to six person Omnimover vehicles, and would be taken through scenes that were populated with
Audio-Animatronic Audio-Animatronics (also known as simply Animatronics, and sometimes shortened to AAs) is the registered trademark for a form of robotics animation created by Walt Disney Imagineering for shows and attractions at Disney theme parks, and subsequent ...
figures and also projection effects. It was a whimsical look at the history and achievements in transportation, showing scenes from the invention of the wheel right up to the present day and beyond. 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 Pepper's ghost is an illusion technique used in the theatre, cinema, amusement parks, museums, television, and concerts. It is named after the English scientist John Henry Pepper (1821–1900) who began popularising the effect with a theatre ...
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. World of Motion closed in 1996. GM has continued its sponsorship in World of Motion's replacement attraction,
Test Track Test Track is a high-speed slot car thrill ride located in World Discovery at Epcot, a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. The ride is a simulated excursion through the rigorous testing procedures that General Mot ...
, since its opening in 1999. Since that attraction's 2012 overhaul, GM has sponsored the attraction through its
Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
division.


History

The premise of the ride was to be a humorous look into the history of
transportation Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, ...
, from the ancient days of foot power, through time into the future.
General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
signed a 10-year sponsorship deal for the ride, in a move to compete with
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
(which had sponsored a Disney-created attraction at the
1964 New York World's Fair The 1964–1965 New York World's Fair was a world's fair that held over 140 pavilions and 110 restaurants, representing 80 nations (hosted by 37), 24 US states, and over 45 corporations with the goal and the final result of building exhibits or ...
). 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 on October 1, 1982, and was in EPCOT Center's "opening cast". The
pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...
was given a specific opening ceremony with GM executives a few days later. The ride was designed by the legendary
Ward Kimball Ward Walrath Kimball (March 4, 1914 – July 8, 2002) was an American animator employed by Walt Disney Animation Studios. He was part of Walt Disney's main team of animators, known collectively as Disney's Nine Old Men. His films have been honored ...
. This was the only attraction the animator ever worked on. 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 A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...
that was situated directly in the entrance into the building. The Omnimovers would then bring riders to a simple caveman cave. However, it would head into the first means of transportation: footpower, where a caveman and cavewoman are seen blowing on their hot feet. The second scene presented into the earliest means of over water transportation, people traveling on projected boats and a man fast asleep on a raft floating while a crocodile lunges at him. The next scene showed the first time animal power was introduced. It showed an
Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...
n tableau with a person trying to control animals from camels to zebras who get tired. This scene also shown a man holding a crystal ball on a flying carpet. The next scene showed the invention of the wheel at
Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
. A gag showed men holding a square object, a triangle object, a pentagonal object, and the award-winning circle object that won the king’s laughter. Before exiting, riders passed a wheel factory, into a part called trade and commerce where it shows many useful ideas using wheels from different lands. There were examples such as a rickshaw and a chariot. The next scene was a used chariot dealership where everything including the
Trojan Horse The Trojan Horse was a wooden horse said to have been used by the Greeks during the Trojan War to enter the city of Troy and win the war. The Trojan Horse is not mentioned in Homer's ''Iliad'', with the poem ending before the war is concluded, ...
, was trying to be sold. Ships were introduced next as an explorer run into a sea serpent. The next scenes were the "Age of Flight". It began with
Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...
and his many attempts to fly and next to him was a clearly upset
Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known ...
. The following scene was a man looking over
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
in a hot air balloon. The next scenes were the evolution of steam. It started out with a Mississippi Riverboat with the never ending stream of stagecoaches and such for the Western Expansion. The steam locomotive was the next evolution of steam travel, which in turn showed an authentic steam locomotive—and an authentic railroad robbery while a sheriff with a gleaming badge protects us on our way to the next scene. The scene shifted over to one of the most photographed and most remembered scenes: the world's first traffic jam. The chaos included items such as an upset horse, a spilling ice truck, and kids screaming during the 1900s. Guests then traveled past the open road scenes which include a man who crashed a bicycle, a family picnic, and early 40s and 50s cars and a Suspicious policeman. And addition a picture is taken with a flying ace and a woman, the wind and the airplanes makes it hard to take a picture. And then scenes are shown with all the modern forms of cars. The following areas were "speed tunnels" which paid homage to the tunnels in the
Magic Kingdom Magic Kingdom Park, previously known as Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom (1971–1994) and The Magic Kingdom (1994–2017), is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida. Owned and operated by The W ...
's "
If You Had Wings If You Had Wings was an attraction at Walt Disney World. It was a two-person Omnimover dark ride in Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom, sponsored by Eastern Air Lines. It featured travel destinations throughout the Caribbean and elsewhere, all of ...
". The Omnimover traveled through these bullet-shaped tunnels while images were played on the screens. Some included crop-dusting, rafting, and traveling down a snowmobile trail. The tunnels led to the final exhibit: CenterCore, the amazing city of the future. Just before unloading, riders were asked to "help shape tomorrow's mobility" with a similar effect as The Hitchhiking Ghosts from the
Haunted Mansion The Haunted Mansion is a dark ride attraction located at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, and Tokyo Disneyland. The haunted house attraction features a ride-through tour in Omnimover vehicles called "Doom Buggies", and a walk-through show is displaye ...
, the riders in their Omnimovers appeared to be a simulated car of the future.


TransCenter

Riders left their Omnimover vehicles and went to the TransCenter, which was full of exhibits and showed about transportation and the things surrounding it. It took an Innoventions-style feel to all of it. The TransCenter portion of World of Motion, designed by award-winning experience designer
Bob Rogers (designer) Bob Rogers is an American designer, producer, and director, most known for his work in themed entertainment. Rogers is founder and chairman of strategic design and production company BRC Imagination Arts. Rogers oversees the creative elements ...
and the design team BRC Imagination Arts, offered educational attractions which included prototype cars such as the Lean Machine in the Dreamer's Workshop and a show called The Water Engine, which pitted nine animated characters associated with various and alternate fuel-systems in a debate over which motor design should be used to power cars. There was a replica of America's only wind-tunnel on display. The ever-popular animatronic show "Bird and the Robot", starring a cigar-smoking toucan ("Bird") and an assembly-line robot ("Tiger", actually a GM-developed PUMA) entertained people with acts (and Bird's signature bad jokes) about the advanced technology of the GM assembly line. A computer-generated display showed GM's car 'torture' test without actually performing it. Concept 2000 showed the process of creating prototype cars for GM. The prototype concept cars at the TransCenter were once the most photographed spot in Walt Disney World. 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.


Closure

Business slumped with General Motors after the second sponsorship deal ended for World of Motion in 1992, and as a result, 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 refurbish it into a new ride that focused only on cars. In November 1995, Epcot announced the closure of World of Motion and
Universe of Energy The Universe of Energy was a pavilion on the eastern side of Future World at Epcot, a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. One of Epcot's opening day attractions in 1982, it explored the world of energy through four ...
. World of Motion would be transformed into
Test Track Test Track is a high-speed slot car thrill ride located in World Discovery at Epcot, a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. The ride is a simulated excursion through the rigorous testing procedures that General Mot ...
, while Universe of Energy would be rethemed to Ellen's Energy Adventure. On January 2, 1996, World of Motion was shut down to the public. Halfway through the final ride, the attraction faced technical difficulties. GM executives were riding World of Motion and had to walk back to the loading station. Scheduled to open 19 months after World of Motion's closing, Test Track would put guests 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. The closing of World of Motion forced the reopening of Horizons, another Disney attraction that focused on the future of the family. It was closed in 1999. Test Track pays tribute to World of Motion. The logo can be found on the entrance signs, outside banners, and trash cans. It is also visible inside the station on the backside of one of the posts. During the climactic outdoor speed portion, guests can spot a few signs. One of them has a picture of a futuristic city, which echoes a model of the same future city seen earlier in the ride right after the brake test. There is another sign located near the right turn. It contains the World of Motion logo and the "FN2BFRE" text, which is a reference to the theme song heard in the attraction.


Sponsor

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.


Soundtrack

The theme song for the ride was " It's Fun to Be Free", written by
X Atencio Francis Xavier Atencio, also known as X Atencio (September 4, 1919 – September 10, 2017) was an animator and Imagineer for The Walt Disney Company. He is perhaps best known for writing the scripts and song lyrics of the Disney theme park attra ...
("
Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me) "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)" is the theme song for the Pirates of the Caribbean attractions at Disney theme parks. The music was written by George Bruns with lyrics by Xavier Atencio. Versions * 1992: The song was parodied in a promotional ...
" from Pirates of the Caribbean and "
Grim Grinning Ghosts "Grim Grinning Ghosts (The Screaming Song)" is the theme song for The Haunted Mansion attractions at Disney theme parks. It was composed by Buddy Baker, with lyrics written by X Atencio. Its melody has been adapted for numerous uses since its compo ...
" from The Haunted Mansion), and
Buddy Baker Elzie Wylie "Buddy" Baker Jr. (January 25, 1941 – August 10, 2015) was an American professional stock car racing driver and commentator. Over the course of his 33-year racing career, he won 19 races in the NASCAR Cup Series, including the 198 ...
, 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)'' and ''Official Album: The Happiest Celebration on Earth – Walt Disney World Resort Album''.


See also

*
Epcot attraction and entertainment history Epcot is a theme park located at the Walt Disney World Resort. The term "attractions" is used by Disney as a catch-all term for rides, shows, and exhibits. World Celebration World Celebration attractions * Spaceship Earth is an eighteen-story- ...
*
Futurama (New York World's Fair) Futurama was an exhibit and ride at the 1939 New York World's Fair designed by Norman Bel Geddes, which presented a possible model of the world 20 years into the future (1959–1960). The installation was sponsored by the General Motors Corpo ...


References


External links


World Of Motion Memorial
A fanpage preserving the attraction's memory.

{{General Motors Amusement rides introduced in 1982 Amusement rides that closed in 1996 Former Walt Disney Parks and Resorts attractions Audio-Animatronic attractions Omnimover attractions Future World (Epcot) General Motors Amusement rides using motion pictures 1982 establishments in Florida 1996 disestablishments in Florida