The Promise of Brighter Days

I recently discovered a new documentary called “Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow: The Futurism of Walt Disney” and the title instantly intrigued me. The filmmaker behind the documentary is Christian Moran, President of CM Films.

In his documentary, Moran focuses on Walt Disney’s life as a futurist, recounting Walt’s search for the latest and greatest technological advancements, and his plans to implement them into his upcoming projects. The film itself is “dedicated to Walt Disney, and all those who still believe in his dream of a better future for all peoples.” 

Futurism is, by definition, “the belief that the meaning of life and one's personal fulfillment lie in the future, and not in the present or the past.” Well known Disney-isms such as “keep moving forward” and “there’s a great big beautiful tomorrow” prove just how relevant futurism was to Walt Disney’s philosophy of life. 

Along with archival footage of Walt Disney, the film features insightful commentary from Disney Historians, Sam Genneway and Jim Korkis, as well as Animation Historian, Maureen Furniss. Moran also sat down with Disney Legends, Bob Gurr and Rolly Crump, who are delightfully charming as they recount their days at the Walt Disney Studios. 

In his film, Moran says that when he thinks of Walt, he thinks of “positivity, progress, and the belief that tomorrow can always be better than today…so long as we all work hard enough to make it so.”

Though Horizons is not directly referenced in the film, this documentary is an essential addition to the archive for its eloquent expression of its inspiration and ideals.

If you would like to learn more about Christian Moran, or his upcoming films, visit www.ChristianMoran.com.

Say, We're Just In Time For The Matinee!

For everyone who was asking to see it, here is the video of the tour I was asked to give in Epcot, with a special nod to Horizons, to Matthew and Amanda. We had a wonderful day filming this, and I hope you enjoy this look back at tomorrow!

Our Final Destination

Today, I was lucky enough to spend the day at Epcot, vlogging with my good friends Amanda and Matthew Connerton of Connerton Adventures. (You can check out their Youtube channel here!) While we were visiting Epcot, they asked me to give them an impromptu guided tour of a few remnants of EPCOT Center that still remain, and I was truly happy to see how excited and interested they were in the tidbits of history and hearsay I was able to share with them. I also had another special reason for visiting Epcot today...

Horizons fans are well aware that January 9th is by far the saddest day in its history. For those of you who don't already know, January 9th, 1999 was the final day of operation for Horizons, in the painfully ironic fate that the attraction, whose main theme was the 21st century, never actually survived to see it. I don't remember a lot of things from when I was 10, but I vividly remember the day I found out Horizons was closing forever. 

Back in the early, early days of the internet, when the only real sources of Disney information were the original Walt Disney World website and a few informational message boards, I was checking Intercot.com (which is still alive and well, and you should check them out) for the latest Disney news, and saw that devastating headline. My family and I were planning a trip to Walt Disney World for that fall, and it never even occurred to me that our last trip in 1997 would be the last time I would ever see it.

To the average guest, Horizons was outdated. Anything 80’s in the mid-90’s was considered "lame" and "cheesy". So, in the mid to late 90’s, Disney decided to update many of its attractions to be “hipper and edgier” (or at least by mid 90's standards). Now, due this generation's overwhelming nostalgia for their childhood, the 80’s have made a comeback, and all of the footage from the 90’s now looks cheesy and outdated. Oops. 

This year also makes another interesting milestone. On the 17th anniversary of its demise, Horizons has now been a memory longer than it was a reality. For 16 years, Horizons was a staple of EPCOT Center, and later Epcot, and ultimately touched the lives of everyone involved during that generation. For another 16 years, it lived on in the hearts and memories of everyone who experienced it. 

As we enter the 17th year of its demise, I really have to wonder what is it about it that I truly yearn for. Yes, I loved the animatronics, and the storyline, and the smell of the loranges (the lime/orange hybrid), but its the idea of it that I believe to be the most important part of Horizons for us to remember. The idea that if you can dream it, you really can do it. Not just the dream of tomorrow...the dream of a better tomorrow. That's what I hope everyone takes away from this archive, and why I am so passionate about keeping the memory of Horizons alive.