HORIZONS

LINER NOTES

ENTRANCE PLAZA

1. SPACE
The second of three arrangements that comprised the Millennial Edition of the Entrance Plaza’s atmosphere, “Space” is easily the most recognizable of all Horizons’ underscore cues. Ironically, this is the only element of the pavilion to survive into the century for which it was created.

HORIZONS

2. PAVILION ATMOSPHERE
Excluding Spaceship Earth, Horizons rightfully dominated the Future World skyline with its innovative architecture that evoked the form of a multifaceted jewel or a massive spaceship just landed from an advanced civilization. The pavilion’s atmosphere complemented its surroundings with a score as uplifting and futuristic as the attraction itself featuring various versions of GE’s “We Bring Good Things to Life” and “New Horizons” themes.

3. HORIZONS — THE E82 EXPERIENCE
From the opening description:
“An incredible journey through lifestyles for the 21st century. After "blasting off" from the Futureport, you'll examine the marvels imagined by visionaries of the past ... Jules Verne's cannonball flight to the moon, for example. Through the wonders of micro- and macro-photography, never-before-seen images of today's world unfold on the world's largest motion-picture screen. Then it's off to explore four future habitats... the urban environment of tomorrow, a robotics-staffed desert farm, a working ocean colony, and a "space city" where asteroid mining and zero-gravity crystal manufacture are facts of everyday life. The rest of the adventure is up to you! You and your fellow passengers control which future environment to explore as you choose your own "new horizon" for the finale.”

FUTUREPROBE ‘81

4. REACHING NEW HORIZONS — DEMO MEDLEY
Composed by Richard and Robert Sherman, this arrangement of demo recordings depicts a far different tone of the attraction that might have been. Although melodic and dreamlike, its somber tenor all but makes us appreciate the up-tempo strains of “New Horizons” even more.

THE ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK

FUTUREPORT
    
LOOKING BACK AT TOMORROW
    
OMNISPHERE
    
NOVA CITE

MESA VERDE
    
SEA CASTLE
    
BRAVA CENTAURI
    
CHOOSE YOUR TOMORROW

Easily one of the most complex and varied attractions ever created, Horizons featured a score equally as intricate as its subject matter. From the iconic melodies of Futureport, to the intense underscore for Omnisphere, Horizons featured songs and arrangements that encompassed a wide range of dramatic states. The playful arrangements of “Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow”; the kitschy tunes of the 50’s; the upbeat electronically-driven tremolos of Nova Cite; the pastoral arrangement for the farms of Mesa Verde; the dreamlike strains of Sea Castle; the powerful chords of Brava Centauri and the exciting expressions of the “Choose Your Tomorrow” finale all adding up to a transcendently diverse musical experience that was as awe-inspiring as it was optimistic.

13. NEW HORIZONS &

14. OMNISPHERE - SOLO PIANO
More than 20 years after its unceremonious closure, Horizons is impressively still cultivating fans. Among those is Joe Cardello who specializes in creating piano arrangements of various theme park compositions and, in this case, Joe created two for Horizons including an austere rendition of John Debney's Omnisphere score.

15. RENEWED HORIZONS
"I wrote it after working on the Mission Space project for Disney Imagineering. I am a bit of a Disney nut and wanted to write something in the style of the old school attraction area loops that feature all over Disney. The piece wasn't commissioned for any specific purpose but was a nice creative outlet for me!" — Cliff Masterson

16. New Horizons — 2019 Tribute
Any discussion of Modern Theme Park Music appreciation would not be complete without addressing the impressive ablities Gijs van Winkelhof whose piano medleys and orchestral arrangements of Disney classics have become world renouned. This entirely instrumental version of George Wilkins theme features a 40-piece orchestral arrangment that breathes new life into the iconic song.

17. FWSS – MAIN THEME
FWSS – MAIN THEME Starting from the digital frontier of TRON then expanding into the entire Universe of Energy, the Future World Soundtrack Series theme encompasses some of the most iconic and impactful themes in the history of the park.