Was World of Motion more timeless than Spaceship Earth?

THEMEPARKPIONEER

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I’m not old enough to remember World of Motion, I’ve been on it once and remember almost nothing about it and only glanced at some footage but I really dug into it. In today’s world it has got to be the most relevant and upgradable ride ever built there. It almost needs nothing but upkeep and projection upgrades for the ending tunnel. It would have been a great ride to ease wait times on other rides including Test Track. Such a shame they gotten rid of it, they could have easily created Test Teack as we knew it in another show building out back or even outside in a real test track type setting. They could have literally had the entire ride under the elevated track out back and still take us around the main building.
 

Minnie Mum

Well-Known Member
In today’s world it has got to be the most relevant and upgradable ride ever built there
Why? It's heavily dependant on outmoded animatronics (expensive to maintain and update) and cringe worthy screens. Not unlike Spaceship Earth, only transportation themed. How many people today would stand for the "Indian attack" scene or the railroad robbery as appropriate for family viewing? Heavy emphasis in the later scenes on gas guzzling, polluting cars. And of course nothing on more modern forms of transportation, but 5 minutes worth of seizure inducing flashing lights and shapes in the dark. Timeless? I think not. Dated, yes. Upgradable? No doubt, but at what cost? Certainly not at a cost Disney was willing to pay, or it would still be here, like Spaceship Earth.
 

celluloid

Well-Known Member
World of Motion had a more characterized approach filled with ironic humor.. If one understood the narration dry humor with the dramatic irony of the visuals, one could argue that the attraction was more timeless. Especially if the future of motion portion and finale could have been updated to be more inspiring rather than literal with continued humor.
 

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
WoM was a very iconic attraction for those who are fans of WED attractions and form - but it doesn't hold up as entertainment now.

That's all relative. People who want physical thrills never thought it was good entertainment.

There are plenty of people who would still love it now (especially in an upgraded form), including people who never saw it when it existed -- just like the people who only recently experienced Spaceship Earth for the first time and still love it.

If you like dark rides, it would still be better than most.
 

Sir_Cliff

Well-Known Member
WoM was a very iconic attraction for those who are fans of WED attractions and form - but it doesn't hold up as entertainment now.
I'm a bit torn on this as WoM was a very impressive attraction, but I tend to agree with this perspective.

I think the big difference with Spaceship Earth was WoM's reliance on humour that might read as a little corny in 2021. Perhaps it would still work and people would still enjoy the ironic tone, but my suspicion is that the more straightforward and dramatic approach of SSE has aged a lot better.
 

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
I'm a bit torn on this as WoM was a very impressive attraction, but I tend to agree with this perspective.

I think the big difference with Spaceship Earth was WoM's reliance on humour that might read as a little corny in 2021. Perhaps it would still work and people would still enjoy the ironic tone, but my suspicion is that the more straightforward and dramatic approach of SSE has aged a lot better.

A lot of that could be changed via a simple change in the narration, though.

Not entirely, of course, because of some of the visuals in the scenes, but I think the majority would have worked as is with a more serious narration.
 

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
WoM was a very iconic attraction for those who are fans of WED attractions and form - but it doesn't hold up as entertainment now.
The basic build up to current times is still funny, cute and well imagined. They could easily have changed the end to reflect what the current goals might be. However, it was the sponsor, General Motors, that wanted it changed completely so it is gone no matter how good it might have been.
 

Jrb1979

Well-Known Member
While it was a bit outdated now, I still loved if. Mainly due to it big being heavily relied upon an IP. It's really the biggest thing I hate about Disney now. The pushing of IP for every new attraction.
 

flynnibus

Premium Member
That's all relative. People who want physical thrills never thought it was good entertainment.

My comment had nothing to do with thrills. But everything to do with content, form, and delivery. WoM was grand in scale as a sum - but lacked the awe or real memorable feats - especially compared to it's contemporaries like SSE and Horizons. Between Horizons, SSE, and Imagination which all are on the same level as far as 'thrills' goes and are all fundamentally slow wandering AA heavy dark rides... WoM was still the least favorable of those FW attractions.

WoM was a poster child of common techniques WED used of the era... lots of projection for setups/transitions... focused field of view to physical sets with limited movement AAs on loops that you passively observe. It's stand out was the SIZE of the whole thing.. it was long.. it had large complex sets and had a ton of show scenes. But it also was largely was the same experience you found everywhere else in FW... but not as enjoyable. Communicore had better interactive exhibits... Imagination had better songs and heart... SSE and WoM basically had the same format just comms vs transportation... SSE and Horizons had basically the same kinds of sets but also had other gimmicks in the show experience.

WoM was a bunch of 'its the same, but not as much fun'. I think it's the epitome of the complaints about the dull edutainment of the original EPCOT.

Now fans fawn over the lost time of huge sets with large numbers of AA... but while it used those admired techniques, it just wasn't all that compelling itself.
 

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
My comment had nothing to do with thrills. But everything to do with content, form, and delivery. WoM was grand in scale as a sum - but lacked the awe or real memorable feats - especially compared to it's contemporaries like SSE and Horizons. Between Horizons, SSE, and Imagination which all are on the same level as far as 'thrills' goes and are all fundamentally slow wandering AA heavy dark rides... WoM was still the least favorable of those FW attractions.

WoM was a poster child of common techniques WED used of the era... lots of projection for setups/transitions... focused field of view to physical sets with limited movement AAs on loops that you passively observe. It's stand out was the SIZE of the whole thing.. it was long.. it had large complex sets and had a ton of show scenes. But it also was largely was the same experience you found everywhere else in FW... but not as enjoyable. Communicore had better interactive exhibits... Imagination had better songs and heart... SSE and WoM basically had the same format just comms vs transportation... SSE and Horizons had basically the same kinds of sets but also had other gimmicks in the show experience.

WoM was a bunch of 'its the same, but not as much fun'. I think it's the epitome of the complaints about the dull edutainment of the original EPCOT.

Now fans fawn over the lost time of huge sets with large numbers of AA... but while it used those admired techniques, it just wasn't all that compelling itself.

I still think that's a subjective assessment.

It wasn't as good as Spaceship Earth, Horizons, or Imagination, true, but those are three of the best theme park rides ever built anywhere. World of Motion was still a better attraction than much of what Disney has built at WDW since -- rides like Little Mermaid and Frozen Ever After aren't even in the same stratosphere. Splash Mountain, Rise of the Resistance, and Great Movie Ride are the only attractions that clearly surpass it off the top of my head, although I could easily be forgetting something.

I understand your point, though.
 
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WondersOfLife

Blink, blink. Breathe, breathe. Day in, day out.
World of Motion would of the same quality today as Pirates of the Caribbean & Haunted Mansion are, in my opinion. It wasn't so futuristic, and it was comedic.. So therefore, that would have played in its favor.

I admit, though, that Test Track is an attraction that Epcot needed, and I think it actually fits well with what Epcot intended to be. Mission: Space fit, but sucks. Sadly, that doesn't even matter anymore anyways.
 

SteveAZee

Well-Known Member
My comment had nothing to do with thrills. But everything to do with content, form, and delivery. WoM was grand in scale as a sum - but lacked the awe or real memorable feats - especially compared to it's contemporaries like SSE and Horizons. Between Horizons, SSE, and Imagination which all are on the same level as far as 'thrills' goes and are all fundamentally slow wandering AA heavy dark rides... WoM was still the least favorable of those FW attractions.

At the time, I enjoyed the "slow wandering AA" attractions with edutainment as the theme. In retrospect (and in reviewing Martin's videos among others) it's sometimes difficult for me to remember what scene or story was in what attraction... the three (WoM, SSE, and Horizons) are too similar to me to stand out from one another, other than SSE has the more notable ascent/descent.
 

Sir_Cliff

Well-Known Member
My comment had nothing to do with thrills. But everything to do with content, form, and delivery. WoM was grand in scale as a sum - but lacked the awe or real memorable feats - especially compared to it's contemporaries like SSE and Horizons. Between Horizons, SSE, and Imagination which all are on the same level as far as 'thrills' goes and are all fundamentally slow wandering AA heavy dark rides... WoM was still the least favorable of those FW attractions.

WoM was a poster child of common techniques WED used of the era... lots of projection for setups/transitions... focused field of view to physical sets with limited movement AAs on loops that you passively observe. It's stand out was the SIZE of the whole thing.. it was long.. it had large complex sets and had a ton of show scenes. But it also was largely was the same experience you found everywhere else in FW... but not as enjoyable. Communicore had better interactive exhibits... Imagination had better songs and heart... SSE and WoM basically had the same format just comms vs transportation... SSE and Horizons had basically the same kinds of sets but also had other gimmicks in the show experience.

WoM was a bunch of 'its the same, but not as much fun'. I think it's the epitome of the complaints about the dull edutainment of the original EPCOT.

Now fans fawn over the lost time of huge sets with large numbers of AA... but while it used those admired techniques, it just wasn't all that compelling itself.
I tend to agree with this assessment of where WoM fit into the original assortment of Future World attractions, as well as the description of the attractions themselves.

Each attraction on its own was impressive in scale and had a lot to admire, but (and I realise this is not a new observation) they were too similar to one another to all sit side by side in the same park. In time, I think it was inevitable that one or more would need to be replaced. Of the original line-up, I probably would have kept (in this order of priority) JII, SSE, and Horizons. The easiest cuts, I think, were WoM and Energy, though maybe the dinosaurs saved that over Horizons. One loss that will never make sense was Journey Into Imagination. I don't think they could do much better than trying to more or less recreate the original ride with new technology, but then I doubt WDI could do that for under $200 million these days.

The main criticism I would have about the original EPCOT Center is the somewhat surprising lack of creativity the Imagineers displayed in finding ways of educating guests about their main themes. It seems that, at least as far as rides went, all they could think of was some kind of slow-moving exposition of the history and future of the theme. Imagination is one exception to that, but not a radical departure. It's surprising they never even experimented with putting guests somehow in the middle of the experience rather than just passively watching it explained to them.
 

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
The main criticism I would have about the original EPCOT Center is the somewhat surprising lack of creativity the Imagineers displayed in finding ways of educating guests about their main themes. It seems that, at least as far as rides went, all they could think of was some kind of slow-moving exposition of the history and future of the theme. Imagination is one exception to that, but not a radical departure. It's surprising they never even experimented with putting guests somehow in the middle of the experience rather than just passively watching it explained to them.

I think they addressed this with Body Wars when Wonders of Life opened.

With that said, the fact that all the rides were like that at original EPCOT is a big part of the reason I loved it so much. I don't really care about physical thrills -- that's not to say they can't be an enhancement for rides like Splash Mountain, but when the point of the ride is the physical thrill, I feel like I'm wasting my time. I like long rides that show me something.

Original EPCOT was basically my ideal theme park. It felt like a park specifically designed for me, between the types of attractions and the place setting/theming of the World Showcase!
 
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