Next door to Horizons stood the World of Motion pavilion. “General Motors now invites you to travel the open road - to discover that when it comes to transportation. It's always fun to be free!"
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| Disney Parks Blog |
World of Motion
The World of Motion pavilion was a humorous and educational road trip through the history of transportation. It was sponsored by GM from its opening in a move to compete with Ford who had sponsored Disney's Magic Skyway attraction at the 1964/65 World's Fair in New York.
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| Disney Parks Blog |
Looking Back
After entering the wheel-shaped pavilion, guests would board omnimover vehicles to begin their road trip, which featured 30 scenes and 188 audio-animatronics. First, the vehicles would head outside and spiral up the column before reentering the building and heading to the first scene.
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| Disney Parks Blog |
Starting at the beginning of transportation history, guest entered the Ancient Times. Here, cavemen were seen cooling off their feet after walking on them all day since it was the only form of transportation they had. From the cavemen, guests headed next to the first safe highway - water. Boats are seen projected onto a black screen, and an Egyptian boy is seen floating on a reed raft. Then, ancient people are seen trying to ride various animals such as zebras, camels, and elephants. The next major invention in transportation was the wheel, and guest saw different types of wheels projected onto the screen.
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| Walt Dated World |
With new forms of transportation came the ability to explore new parts of the world. A large projected map showed different ships sailing to different parts of the world. It’s here when guests entered the Renaissance. Leonardo da Vinci is seen working on a flying machine while the model for his Mona Lisa painting waits on him. A man in also seen in a hot air balloon.
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| Walt Dated World |
The next invention comes when steam power is used to get people from place to place in various forms of transportation. As the narrator said, “great boilers of steam change our sails to paddle wheels.” Heading west on the Mississippi River, the steam engine chugs along as settlers on wagons and Indians on horseback are see fighting.
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| Disney Parks Blog |
Traveling to a peaceful countryside, guests saw people riding bikes as well as projections of different bicycles. "The call of the open road brings us a new wonder - a carriage without a horse. Yes, with the horseless carriage we thunder full speed into the twentieth century,” the narrator proudly proclaimed. Along with the new horseless carriage came a new kind of problem: traffic jams.
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| Walt Dated World |
But there were, of course, some great things to come from the new forms of transportation. Sunday drives became a new tradition for families. Airplanes are also introduced and projected onto the black screen. As the history of transportation moves forward, guests saw freeways, racecars, and the short “Freeway Fobia” featuring Goofy.
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| Disney Parks Blog |
The final section of the attraction was the speed-tunnel, which used a wraparound screen to project scenes onto to make you feel like you were in the scene. Guest got the feel of flying down a country road, being in a bobsled, and on a surfboard while hidden fans created a wind effect to enhance the experience. After the speed-tunnel, guests were transported to the CenterCore, the 60-foot high core of the pavilion. Lighted roads and highways of the future were projected in CenterCore along with futuristic vehicles. As guests descended back down to the lower level of the pavilion, they saw themselves in futuristic bubble cars.
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| Disney Parks Blog |
Upon exiting the attraction, guests were encouraged to visit Transcenter. Transcenter was designed by GM and featured several different interactive areas. There was Aerotest, where guests could use a computer to design their own car and use a virtual wind tunnel to see how well the aerodynamics were on the car. The Bird and the Robot section of Transcenter was an audio-animatronic vaudeville show that featured a robotic car manufacturing arm and his manager. Another guest interaction area was the Water Engine Theater where an animated film titled “The Water Engine” was showed to discuss the different types of engines. Finally, the Dreamers Workshop was a place for futuristic sketches and models of cars. Located at the exit of the pavilion was Concept to Reality, where GM featured its current line of cars and trucks for guests to see.
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| RetroWDW |
Looking Forward
In 1996, World of Motion closed to make way for Test Track, and it would take nearly three years for the attraction to open. Test Track originally took guests up to a test facility for cars in which they would get to experience what it was like to be a ‘test dummy.’ Personally, I like the original version of Test Track better than the updated build-your-own-car-so-you-can-wait-in-line-longer-and-hopefully-not-notice version.
Some people may throw tomatoes at me for what I’m about to say, but I think a Cars themed overlay for Test Track would be better than what it is now. With the newest installment in the Cars franchise focusing on the new cars and how they are prepared for race day, it would be cool to get to see what it’s like to be a car from Cars getting ready to race for the Piston Cup. Just an idea...don’t start hating me yet, readers.
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| RetroWDW |
Robyn Fleenor is a contributing writer for The Mouse Knows Best Podcast. She is an avid Disney fanatic and would rather be at Walt Disney World eating glazed almonds than anything else. When she isn't working to pay for her next Disney vacation, she likes to binge watch TV shows and fall in love with fictional characters. She can be found tweeting at @rahrah6263.
