Step Back in Time: EPCOT’s World of Motion

(This week’s blog is written by Joe Gallagher from Magic Timeline Maps. You can read his full article in the Summer issue of Celebrations!)

Let’s take a trip back in time to the early years of EPCOT and specifically, World Discovery. Prior to EPCOT’s recent transformation, this section of the park was called Future World East, and was home to Test Track, Mission: SPACE, and Cosmic Rewind. But back in EPCOT’s early years, Guests had the opportunity to learn all about energy (at the Universe of Energy), the promise of tomorrow (Horizons), and the story of how we got from here to there…literally. This last adventure took place an attraction that is often overlooked today, the World of Motion. World of Motion opened with EPCOT on October 1, 1982, and took you on a whimsical tour through the history of transportation. The pavilion was sponsored by General Motors, and included an Omniverse-style attraction and the General Motors Transcenter, which highlighted new automobiles and included five transportation-related exhibit areas.

Buckle Up!

As you approached the massive, gleaming 65-foot high cylindrical building, you could see Guests passing over the main entrance in their ride vehicles. This unique feature helped build anticipation before you even entered the building! Upon entering, you proceeded up a ramp to the loading area, which was located on the mezzanine level. After steadying yourself on the moving walkway, you climbed aboard your continually-moving vehicles (similar to attractions like the Haunted Mansion). Your journey began as you looped outside and over the main entrance, giving you a picturesque view of Spaceship Earth before proceeding up to the second level. As you reentered the show building, you were actually traveling back in time! The show portion of the ride took place mainly on the second floor. It consisted of a winding serpentine excursion that featured approximately two dozen different scenes depicting the historical progress and development of transportation. Your journey began with a trip to the prehistoric age, back when humans traveled by foot. Backlit footsteps on the wall represented this early form of transportation, but it was the next scene that made you aware that this would be a fun-filled trip through time. Here, you encountered a prehistoric human blowing on his feet to cool them, which provided a humorous reminder of how far humankind has come. The use of water as a travel highway was the subject of the next scene, with humans using small and large floating devices to travel the waterways of the world. This scene included a variety of watercraft ranging from Viking ships to canoes. This was followed by a scene showing people using animals as a form of locomotion. These included elephants, oxen, camels, a zebra, an ostrich, and yes, even a flying carpet, all of which were used to carry goods to distant locations. Hey, maybe the flying carpet was a look into Disney’s future since the movie Aladdin didn’t debut until 1992! In any case, this Persian Bazaar scene featured folks queuing up to pass a toll booth – after all, someone had to pay for new roads.
Next up was a scene depicting the invention of the wheel. Hopeful inventors were lined up, offering various prototypes, including a triangle, a square, and a hexagon. Fortunately, it was the round device in the back of the scene that was selected as the wheel of choice. Overhead, you heard the quote, “…now things really get rolling,” followed by the upbeat, ubiquitous song, “It’s Fun to Be Free,” composed by X Atencio and Buddy Baker. Even though the scene is relatively small, the importance is significant and a reference point for much of the remainder of the attraction. The scene was followed by a wall filled with projected images of wheels and wheel-oriented transportation methods. Further emphasizing the importance of the wheel, you saw video screens and Audio-Animatronic displays depicting rickshaws and chariots, some basic and some very ornate.

Next was the marketplace, where various modes of transportation were being sold, much like today’s used car lot. Here, purchases were made to obtain your personal mode of land transportation and improve your mobility. You could hear the salesmen’s pitches about previous owners and up-graded features. Further on was the explorer scene, which contained more detailed “wind ships” with giant human heads providing wind for ships and advancing the flat earth superstition. The staring contest between a large dragon-like sea serpent and a sailor with a telescope (above) always got a chuckle from Guests. Next was the age of the Renaissance. Here, you saw a quiet Mona Lisa waiting for her portrait to be completed, followed by Leonardo da Vinci working on his Flying Machine. Despite the humorous tone of the scene, it’s still amazing to see how his rudimentary experiments were not too far off from the flying aircraft we see today. On your left was the hot air balloon, complete with farm animals and sandbags, I assume to aid with ascent and descent. Based on the occupants of the basket, it must have been a very curious voyage!
Just around the corner on your right was a steam-driven stagecoach confronting a snorting bull on a one-lane bridge, each staring at the other, contesting who had the right of way. Soon after, you heard the narrator saying, “from hot air to the power of steam,” followed by an animated video wall of various steam-powered vehicles driven by humans. (I’m sorry to say that no self-powered vehicles were predicted.) Back on the left, just before a sharp turn, were some massive steam-powered paddlewheel boats filled with nighttime partiers dancing and singing to joyous banjo music. But instead of the Rivers of America or the Seven Seas Lagoon, it was the Mississippi River that was the water highway for this form of travel. Soon after, you came upon visions of the scenic west as wagon trains traveled into new and unexplored regions of the American mid-west. Back on your right was the expansive and elaborate train robbery scene showing one of the downsides of traveling in less populated, remote, and uncharted areas. This scene was packed with fun details and plenty of humor. For example, one of the train robbers announced, “Keep your hands up. This means you. This is called passing the hat.”

On your left, a man on a unicycle was being chased up a tree by a curious dog, followed by a well-dressed cyclist who had fallen off his bicycle into a pigpen. He was being investigated by two very curious pigs. The following few scenes transitioned from quiet country roads to bustling city congestion. There were horses, horsedrawn buggies, automobiles, and public streetcars, all of which needed to share those city roads. This culminated in a very detailed major traffic accident complete with astonished pedestrians, clucking chickens, and a police officer trying to sort out the mess. The scene was upgraded a few times during its operation, but participants included an overturned horse-driven wagon carrying chickens, a “city transport” or jitney, an underground worker with an apple on his head, an ice delivery truck, a youngster on a go-cart, a girl on a bicycle, and of course numerous automobiles.

Next was the dawn of air travel, where you were entertained by airplanes and other flying machines. You then went on a Sunday drive back out to the country to watch an airshow. The song “It’s Fun to be Free” returned as everyone was enjoying their newfound mobility through family trips and air travel. Travelers included college students on the open road and honeymooners traveling to distant locations, all under the watchful eye of the motorcycle officer who set up a speed trap behind a billboard.
Next up was the highlight of the attraction, the curved wall “speed rooms.” Even though the vehicles traveled at the same speed as before, you really felt the need to hold on! The bobsled ride was invigorating, as was the futuristic spinning and flashing tunnel grid similar to the movie TRON (interestingly, the ground-breaking film debuted in 1982, the same year World of Motion opened!). The final scene was of a futuristic city that promised bolder and better ideas related to travel and mobility. “Ideas that will fulfill our age-old dream to be free. Free to follow the distant star of our ancestors to a brighter tomorrow.”

In summary, the multi-media video and Animatronic scenes showed how humans progressed from walking to watercraft to animal power and eventually to the invention of the wheel. You saw how these developments improved not just travel but commerce and trade. The show was populated with a staggering number of human and animal Animatronics and over-the-top scenes. World of Motion wasn’t just about the ability to transport goods further; it was also about the opportunity to travel to visit family and friends and the freedom to enjoy activities far beyond those within walking distance.

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Joe Gallagher is the author of “A Walking Tour of the Magic Kingdom,” a fun-filled coffee table book that takes you on a detailed exploration through the Magic Kingdom’s 50 Years (the book also includes Joe’s “Slightly Impossible Quiz”!).
You can learn more about Joe’s book and explore his other illustrations, tours, and maps at magictimelinemaps.com!)

Catch up on Summer Fun in Walt Disney World with the new Summer issue of Celebrations Disney Magazine!

Immerse yourself in the magic of Disney with features and pictorials on:
• Summer Fun at Walt Disney World
• The BoardWalk and BoardWalk Inn Resort
• Disney Parades Throughout the Years
• Percy Jackson
• Wayback Machine: The World of Motion
• Top Ten Facts About the Dreamfinder

• and Much More!!