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EPCOT was the second theme park at Walt Disney World and originally opened as Epcot center
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on October 1st, 1982.
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{Walt Disney} Epcot will take its cue from the new ideas and new technologies that are
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emerging from the creative centres from american industries.
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Many of the original Epcot Centre attractions were great storytelling vehicles.
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They were designed to educate the public on subjects such as technology, transportation
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and nature.
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A lot of these old rides and attractions were fan favourites but as our world progressed
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so did the attractions leaving a lot of them as defunct pieces of the past.
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Many people reminisce about the old days at Epcot but there are many hidden reminders
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of these lost attractions; you just need to know where to look.
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So while exploring the park’s history, today we’re gonna be counting down the Top 5 Hidden
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Secrets of Extinct Rides at Epcot.
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Number 5 One of the opening day attractions in 1982
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was World of Motion.
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This omnimover dark ride was sponsored by General Motors and took you on a humoured
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journey through the history of transportation.
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here at the World of Motion shows how people from thought the ages have searched for and
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found better ways to get from here to there.
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With 24 different show scenes that included over 100 animatronics, it was similar to Spaceship
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Earth except it only spoke about transportation.
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Well, in the mid 90s the attraction began to see a major decrease in popularity and
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Disney decided to close World of Motion in January of 1996, making it extinct.
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Test Track would become the replacement and after months of delays and complications the
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ride officially opened in March of 1999 and General Motors remained the attraction’s
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Sponsor.
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Disney reused the original World of Motion building creating a new experience where you
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took on the role of a crash test dummy going through testing procedures.
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This version of the ride was actually a lot of fun.
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Well in 2012 GM’s contract was up and Chevrolet became the attraction’s new sponsor.
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Test Track received a complete overhaul which meant getting rid of the realistic crash test
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scenes and creating new environments that were much more futuristic looking.
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Well this new version of the ride actually allowed Imagineers to incorporate some tributes
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to World of Motion.
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This here is the old World of Motion Logo and if you look at the right side of the wait
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time sign, you can see the logo is hidden in the corner.
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You can also spot the logo on the trash cans as well as in the loading area right here.
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As you make your way into the outdoor portion of the ride, there’s a few more hidden details
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that are really easy to miss.
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The first is the brownish sign on the left which shows a futuristic city similar to the
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original model for Epcot.
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Well the finale of World of Motion showed this modern city and the sign acts as a little
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reference to that scene.
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It’s also pretty ironic that after the capability test, theres what looks like a very similar
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futuristic city and I think it’s safe to assume it also references the scene from World
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of Motion.
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Now immediately after the first sign, you’ll see this other sign with some letters and
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numbers.
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Well if you read this acronym out loud it says Fun to be Free and that’s actually
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the name of theme song from World of Motion.
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{Music} together a care, to do what you wanted to do its fun to be free.
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Again, the World of Motion logo can be found on this sign as well.
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In the new Epcot logos released at D23 to go along with the park’s transformation
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thats already underway, it seems as though they’ve brought the old World of Motion
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Logo back.
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We can only imagine that this is the new official logo for test Track.
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So with the original intent of Test Track 2.0 making a callback to World of Motion,
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is seems as though it’s a full circle moment as it becomes an official part of Test Track.
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Number 4 Heading into World Showcase, Malestrom opened
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with the Norway Pavilion in July of 1988.
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This water based dark ride took you through many scenes depicting the sprit and charm
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of Norway from the mythological trolls of the Viking Days along with the Polar Bears
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of the arctic and oil rigs of the seas.
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Malestrom continued to draw crowds since it was only one of two rides in World Showcase
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but in October of 2014 Disney closed the ride to make way for a new experience.
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In June of 2016 Disney opened Frozen Ever After as a response to the wildly successful
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animated film Frozen.
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Now theres quite a stark contrast between the reality of Malestrom and the fantasy world
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of Frozen so there isn’t much leftover but there are a couple things to take note of.
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Since Frozen Ever After used the same ride system and track as Malestrom, the longship
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ride vehicles were reused so this begins to create a little sense of familiarity in the
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attraction.
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Next when you head into Elsa’s Ice Palace, this was where you were able to find the three
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headed troll on Maelstrom.
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{Trolls} Over the falls!
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As you were sent back there was a swirling light effect and if you look up at the ceiling
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on Frozen Ever After you’ll see this same lighting effect is still being used but that’s
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not all.
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During the Polar Bear scene on Maelstrom, you were able to find these puffins on the
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left hand side.
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Well after your ship passes marshmallow and heads down the drop, you’ll find the puffin
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animatronics from Maelstrom on the right hand side.
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Recycling these figures into the snowy mountains outside of Elsa’s Ice castle acts as one
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of the most noticeable tributes to the extinct Disney ride and reminds us that the spirt
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of Malestrom still lives on.
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Number 3 The Germany Pavilion is incredibly vibrant
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and although it’s never had an attraction, it is home to an extinct attraction concept.
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The Rhine River Cruise was a water based dark ride that was supposed to have a home right
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here in Germany.
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It was said that you were supposed to experience the history and culture of Germany as you
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traveled past famous landmarks down Germany's most famous rivers.
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Well Germany was an opening day Pavilion in 1982 and during the initial construction,
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part of the show building was already built that would have housed the load and unload
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areas.
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It was planned for phase two but like many of the World Showcase pavilions, phase two
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never happened so the Rhine River Boat ride was cancelled.
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Well if you head to the back of the pavilion towards the restaurant, theres a mural that
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covers the back wall, and this is actually where the entrance of the Rhine River boat
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ride was supposed to be.
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If you knock on the wall, you’d hear its hollow and up close it looks very temporary.
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Originally this wall had wooden gates but Disney covered the opening to this building
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around 1987 and never spoke about the attraction again.
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I mean everyone loves a classic Disney water based dark ride and it’s really unfortunate
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that this one never made it into Epcot.
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Maybe one day Germany will get its very own ride but for now, beer and pretzels it is!
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Number 2 Step into the Future with Horizons.
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Step into the future today.
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To celebrate the park’s one year anniversary, Horizons opened on October 1st 1983.
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Sponsored by General Electric, Horizons was another omnimover based dark ride and took
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you through scenes that envisioned what the future would be like.
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By using audio animatronics and intricate show scenes, it was Disney storytelling at
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its finest and combined all of the pavilion ideas of Future World into one attraction.
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It was a fan favorite but shortly after GE pulled out as a sponsor in 1993 Horizons closed
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unannounced in December of 1994.
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However this wasn’t the end since it reopened a year later in December of 1995 since World
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of Motion was set to close in January to make way for Test Track and the now extinct Universe
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of Energy was down for refurbishment.
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This unexpected reopening gave Horizons an extra 3 years of operation then it was closed
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again, this time for good, in January of 1999 once Test Track began its soft opening.
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Now there is a rumour that Horizons closed due to a large sinkhole around the attraction,
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but whether that’s the actual reason for closing or not, the building was demolished
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by July of 2000.
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Its pretty crazy to think that’s almost 20 years ago.
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Then in August of 2003 Disney officially opened Mission Space leaving the days of Horizons
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in the past.
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Now with Mission Space you get the chance to experience a mission to mars and passing
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through the queue before your mission you’ll find this gravity wheel.
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Horizons had a scene where the family was walking through their own gravity wheel but
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the gravity wheel in Mission Space has one specific hidden tribute to Horizons.
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In the centre of the wheel you’ll find the Horizons logo and this is not the only place
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at Mission Space Where you can find it.
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After exiting the ride, if you head through the gift shop the cash desk has a very obvious
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Horizons logo on the front of it.
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So the attraction isn’t complexly forgotten about but there is one more Horizons remnant
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left over.
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This planter right here in front of Mission Space is the same planter that used to be
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in front of Horizons.
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If you take a look at this google maps view you’ll see its in the same irregular hexagon
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shape as the former show building
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Number 1 Another Future World attraction that you weren’t
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able to find on opening day at EPCOT centre was Journey into Imagination which opened
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in March of 1983.
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This one of a kind omnimover dark ride featured two protagonists, Dreamfinder and Figment,
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who explored the power of imagination through vibrant show scenes.
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One of the most memorable scenes was where we were introduced to these characters.
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{Dreamfinder} You’ve got a Figment.
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Oh
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figment of imagination.
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{Figment} Dreamfinder i’m just right!
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{Dreamfinder} Not quite!
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Look Figment some new friends have joined us
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{Figment} Can they Imagine too?
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{Dreamfinder} Of course, Imagination is something that belongs to all of us.
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{Figment} Everyone can think of new things.
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{Dreamfinder} Thats right figment.
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The sequence operated on a turntable and there were 5 identical scenes rotating simultaneously.
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Well in October of 1998, Journey Into Imagination closed to make way for what was to be a substantial
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improvement to the original ride, but later we found out this was far from reality.
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The current version of Journey into Imagination with Figmnet does not include the Dream Finder
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but there is a little hidden tribute to this beloved Disney parks character.
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As you make your way into the sound lab, the very first door it reads Dean Finder which
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is a little play on words and tribute to the Dream Finder.
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Now just when you thought that 1998 would be the last time anyone would see Dreamfinder’s
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Dream Mobile, well you’re wrong and just in luck because one of the 5 vehicles still
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exists to this day at Epcot.
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Mousegear opened on October 1st, 1999, one year after the original Journey Into Imagination
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closed.
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The amazing Imagineers incorporated one of the Dream Mobiles into the store’s cog and
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spoke theme.
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Although its missing some pieces such as the plaid cover on the back, it is one of the
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5 original vehicles from the ride hidden right in plain sight.
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Now with the transformation of Epcot fully underway, MouseGear is getting a total revamp
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and is set to close sometime in very early 2020.
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The concept art for the transformation from D23 shows a complete retheme so if you find
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yourself at Epcot be sure to get one final glimpse of the Dream Mobile before it flies
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away forever and becomes a figment of our imagination.
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So what’s your favorite hidden secret from Epcot and if you could bring back just one
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of these extinct rides, which one would you choose and why?
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I’d love to know!
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