Disney attractions obviously aren’t movies- well except for the ones that literally are
movies - but most of them aren’t.
However it’s no secret that the thought, design, and execution behind some of our most
beloved attractions are treated in the same way Disney treated their films.
Originally I was going to take that and make a video posing the question of why we don’t
see the attraction equivalent of movie sequels, but then the more I thought about it the more
I realized we have.
Not direct sequels in the way A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back are sequels, but spiritual
successors that carry on the theme and goal of an original ride.
Some might be intentional, perhaps some are accidental, but either way, here are five
examples of Disney ride sequels.
Let’s jump into the first example, which is Mostano’s House of the Future in Tomorrowland
at Disneyland, and the Dream Home exhibit at Innoventions in Disneyland.
The House of the Future opened in 1957 and offered guests a look into what home life
in the future would look like in 1986 which included advances such as video phones, microwaves,
and motorized adjustable bathroom sinks.
It stood in Disneyland for just over ten years and was closed at the end of 1967.
Over 40 years later in 2008, Disney, in partnership with Microsoft, HP, Lifeware, and Taylor Morrison,
opened the Innoventions Dream Home which featured a number of high tech devices that were built
into the various rooms of the house to give us a glimpse of what a technologically cutting
edge house would look like.
The Dream Home ran for seven years and eventually closed in 2015.
Next up is a Tomorrowland/Epcot combo, and that’s Adventure Thru Inner Space in Disneyland
and Body Wars in Future World.
This 1967 Tomorrowland attraction, also sponsored by Monsanto, was an omnimover ride in which
scientists shrank guests down so that they could explore and experience a snowflake all
the way down to its subatomic scale.
The ride would close 18 years later, and just four years after that it’s spiritual successor,
Body Wars, would open at the Wonders of Life Pavilion in Epcot.
Similarly, Body Wars was a ride in which scientists shrank the guests down, however this time
instead of an omnimover system, the guests would board a motion simulator and rather
than a snowflake, guests were injected into the human body and given an unintentional
tour of its major systems.
Body Wars would entertain guests for 18 years as well before finally closing with the rest
of the Wonders of Life.
This next one is also Tomorrowland/Epcot combo, and that’s the Carousel of Progress and
Horizons.
This pair is a spiritual successor of a different sort.
While the previous two were a revisiting of the same concept in a new way, Horizons was
said to be a continuation of the Carousel of Progress.
The Carousel of Progress was designed to show us how human innovation has improved our lives
in the past, with its last scene covering the present or near future.
Horizons was a similar concept that faced forward and showed us how human innovation
could improve our lives well into the future.
Some even say that the sequel status is strengthened by the fact that both attractions focus on
this theme through the lens of a family dynamic.
There’s even a callback, with Horizons using the theme song of the Carousel, “There’s
a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow.”
It also might not be a coincidence that the original Carousel of Progress was sponsored by
General Electric and Horizons was sponsored by General Electric.
This next pair is interesting because while they’re both Disney attractions, the original
was never a Disneyland or Disney World attraction.
I’m talking about Ford’s Magic Skyway from the 1964 New York World’s Fair and
World of Motion at Epcot.
Like the Carousel of Progress, Ford’s Magic Skyway was one of the four attractions developed
by Disney for the New York World’s Fair.
If you want to learn more about the fair, I have a mini-series that covers the history
of each of the four attractions.
The Magic Skyway was a slow moving ride that predated the modern omnimover system.
It took guests back in time to the days of the dinosaur.
From there it progressed through history to the introduction of mankind and its various
advancements, including harnessing fire and inventing the wheel before jumping ahead to
a futuristic city filled with advanced cars.
It was the only World’s Fair Attraction to not make it back to a Disney park, but
17 years later it’s spiritual successor, World of Motion, would open in Epcot.
Sponsored by General Motors, the omnimover attraction would also take guests back in
time where they would explore various comical looks at advancements in transportation technology,
from the creation of the wheel to steam powered vehicles.
Like the Skyway, World of Motion would end with guests visiting a futuristic city, called
CenterCore.
After 14 years of operation it would eventually close for Test Track.
Last but not least is the pair I feel most deserving of the title of spiritual successor,
and that’s Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln from Disneyland and The Hall of Presidents
in Liberty Square.
Beyond their obvious connection of focusing on a theme of the office of the president,
there’s a historical connection linking them together.
In 1956, years before the creation of Great Moments for the New York World’s Fair, Walt
Disney had planned a new area for Main Street called Liberty Street.
It would be a representation of colonial America that featured a show called “One Nation
Under God” in which guests would get to see robotic recreations of every US president.
The technology for such an idea just wasn’t feasible at the time, and so the idea was
ultimately shelved.
It was revived nearly a decade later when Walt would create an animatronic show for
the World’s Fair.
The technology was now possible, but due to time and resource constraints, the idea was
cut down from representing every US president, to just one, Abraham Lincoln.
Years later imagineers were finally able to follow-up on Great Moments, and in 1971 the
Hall of Presidents would open, featuring every US president.
So there you have it.
Five sequels, so to speak, of classic Disney attractions.
I’m sure these aren’t the only examples, and they’re probably not the last either.
Sure they’re not sequels in the classical sense, but part of what makes Disney attractions
so great is that while they borrow from all sorts of artistic mediums, they still manage
to be unique in their own right.
If you have any in mind that I didn’t mention here, be sure to leave it in the comments
below!
Have a great week, and I’ll see you next time.