T H E G R A N D T O U R

A H O R I Z O N S O D Y S S E Y

A Once In a Lifetime Getaway! From the Canyons of Mercury to the Peaks of Mars to the Oceans of Europa, the Galaxy Is Yours Today!

Visit the Space Pavilion in EPCOT to embark on a journey through the 31st century. Here, the world has changed: space colonization is in full swing, all eight planets and their many moons within a plane's flight away. Luxury cruises tour the solar system, in the same manner we today travel abroad the continents of Earth.

Presented by NASA, and inspired by NASA's 2016 "Visions of the Future" space tourism advertisement campaign, the Grand Tour aims to inspire guests into the upcoming world of space colonization. Planetary colonization is presented realistically, using up-to-date scientific theories and engineering models to represent the unique methods humans might colonize Mars, Venus, and even the jovian gas giants of Jupiter and beyond.

This is the Grand Tour - welcome aboard!

PRESHOW

We funnel into a large room, where a familiar voice greets us:

"Welcome to the 31st century. My name is Neil DeGrasse Tyson. You might remember me from your century. Thanks to advancements in digital intelligence, my likeness - and yours - can continue to advise future generations even after you and I are long gone. We are about to embark on a journey across the stars. Thanks to the visions of NASA, this just might be our future: everything you see, while far from practical in your time, is our best estimate of how a colonized solar system might really be."

An animatronic then whirls to life: original character TOV-I (pictured right). TOVI-I is an excitable robot that communicates in beeps and boops. He is celebrating meeting us with a Disney DoleWhip.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson leads us to boarding. The Grand Tour is a simulator attraction similar in format to Star Tours, although its tone more closely matches Soarin' and Horizons. The attraction features a number of alternative routes like Star Tours, as there are simply too many planets to explore in a single attraction. This will encourage guests to ride the tour again and again!

Like R2-D2 and C-3PO in Star Tours, original character TOV-I pilots guests around the Solar System. This is newly programmed TOV-I's first flight, so he is just as excited as us to explore the stars!

Our tour always starts on Earth, but the exact location is randomized between three locations, which longtime fans might recognize - Mesa Verde, Sea Castle, and Brava Centauri.

INTRODUCTION

MESA VERDE

Our journey begins on the Desert City of Mesa Verde. Our ride begins and epic music swells... only for the ride to abruptly jerk backward as alarms beep. TOV-I, having never encountered this problem before, starts pressing random buttons, and just as abruptly as it began the problem is fixed.

Our spaceship quickly travels through the City of Mesa Verde, catching a glimpse of modern innovations on our home planet. The desert has been thoroughly irrigated, supplying countless healthy, all-natural farming products. Unhealthy foods are a thing of the past.

As we pass overhead, a giant farming robot stops for a moment to wave goodbye.

SEA CASTLE

Our journey begins on the Aquatic Seabase of Sea Castle. Our ride begins and epic music swells... only for the ride to abruptly jerk backward as alarms beep. TOV-I, having never encountered this problem before, starts pressing random buttons, and just as abruptly as it began the problem is fixed.

Our spaceship quickly travels through Sea Castle, catching a glimpse of modern innovations on our home planet. The Earth is 71% water, yet it was only until recently that we truly realized the potential our oceans had for us. Research continues under the surface, with dolphins and sharks swimming peacefully among the human scientists. We have formed sustainable relationships with Earth's fellow species.

As we pass overhead, a pod of dolphins circle our transport to say goodybe.

BRAVA CENTAURI

Our journey begins on the Space Station Brava Centauri. Our ride begins and epic music swells... only for the ride to abruptly jerk backward as alarms beep. TOV-I, having never encountered this problem before, starts pressing random buttons, and just as abruptly as it began the problem is fixed.

Our spaceship quickly travels through Brava Centauri, catching a glimpse of modern innovations over our home planet. Humans are living in outer space just as they might on the surface thanks to a steady supply of oxygen and artificial gravity. Meanwhile, outside humans enjoy the feeling of zero-g in group space tours, all while transports to the other planets arrive and leave by hyperjump to the station, a hub of commerce.

As we pass overhead, some astronauts doing scheduled maintenance to the station stop to wave goodbye.

FIRST STOP

LUNA

TOV-I hyperjumps to Luna, Earth's only moon. In the years since space travel has become widespread, the Moon has taken on an awkward role as the middle-ground between Earth and beyond. A series of luxury resorts dot the largely barren world. TOV-I glides us towards one such resort, where guests of the resort play on hundred-mile-long golf courses with the help of reduced gravity. Their goal? Hit the balls into the holes marked by famous lunar landings (we see one such guest shooting for Hole 18, the Apollo 11 Landing, but wildly misses his mark and almost hits us!).

After that close call, TOV-I veers us away from the golf courses and towards a space station. We see a number of long-distance space shuttles like our own refilling for gas, including one prominently advertising:

DYSON SPHERE, UNDER CONSTRUCTION ON SOL

MARS

TOV-I hyperjumps to Mars, Earth's nextdoor neighbor. Mars is the most famous space colony, and for good reason. As TOV-I takes us down to the Red Planet, we can see massive cities hidden beneath glass domes, on par with modern New York or Chicago! TOV-I continues past these doms and towards a massive mountain - Olympus Mons, the Solar System's highest peak. Here, thrill-seeking tourists ski down this colossal point, and overly-excited TOV-I decides it would be a good idea to do the same! One fast rush and a near collide with the canyon later and TOV-I has earned a lesson in humility.

After that close call, TOV-I veers us away from the mountain and towards the red plains, where a number of old NASA rovers have been retrofitted into a demolition derby. Excited fans gamble to see which robot proves on top, as modern sports have become a thing of the past. All around the stadium, there are prominent advertising of:

DYSON SPHERE, UNDER CONSTRUCTION ON SOL

SECOND STOP

VENUS

TOV-I's next jump is to Venus, a planet extremely similar to Earth save one very important distinction: its atmosphere is toxic. As a result, NASA space colonies have adapted to colonies above the clouds, building massive "hot air balloons" to rest cloud cities. Giant zepplins patrol the skies, and TOV-I flies past, they beam alive to report on construction of the upcoming Dyson Sphere on Sol.

After guiding us around this idyllic world, TOV-I decides to "spice things up" and suddenly jerks us downwards. Bad idea! The surface of Venus is uncolonized for a reason. Massive volcanoes erupt continuously, and dangerous particles swarm our ship. TOV-I quickly returns to us to cloud level. That was a close call!

MERCURY

TOV-I's next jump is to Mercury, a planet of extreme contrasts. During the day the planet becomes scorching hot, and during the night it becomes freezing cold. To survive, the colonies of Mercury live atop giant rovers, speeding across the planet's "twilight zone" to remain at sustainable temperatures. Overhead, the upcoming Dyson Sphere over the Sun continues construction.

After gliding us above these super-structures, TOV-I decides to "spice things up" and suddenly jerks us towards the night zone. Bad idea! The room instantly freezes and TOV-I shivers comedically. TOV-I shifts us towards the day and things invert, as the heat overwhelms our ship. As we fly through the day zone, we catch an interesting sight: a solar-powered drag race held across the surface of the small planet! We follow along even as the ship continues to heat up, until we just make it back into the twilight zone (from the other side of the planet). That was a close call!

CERES

TOV-I's next jump is to Ceres, a dwarf planet within the Great Asteroid Belt. Ceres is the last stop of the more colonized terrestrial belt until gas giant Jupiter, so make sure to get all your supplies now! As we pass by the massive docks of Ceres, we witness thousands of "truckers" traveling between the asteroid belt stopping for much-need water. Some of these trucks complain loudly over the ever-rising price of water in the solar system, while an advertisement beams about a potential solution to this problem - you guessed it, the upcoming Dyson Sphere on Sol.

After guiding us around this friendly pitstop, TOV-I decides to "spice things up" and suddenly jerks us closer to the asteroids. Bad idea! Although far apart, the spontaneous motions of asteroids nevertheless make for a dangerous journey, and one should follow the established routes in space. TOV-I dodges the wild asteroids and just makes it back to safety. That was a close call!

THIRD STOP

JUPITER

TOV-I hyperjumps us for a final stop on Jupiter, the largest planet in the Solar System. Though not settleable (it is, after all, made of gas!) TOV-I glides us through the swirling gas clouds, while hot air balloons survey overhead, some tourists exploring this wondrous world, others scientists researching up-close the Jovian giant. A beautiful Aurora Borealis swirls above.

As we continue, TOV-I passes these balloons and continues deeper and deeper into the planet… past the warning signs… it’s like he hasn’t learned a thing from last time! We are suddenly caught inside the Eye of Jupiter, the largest storm in the solar system! Our ship begins swirling out of control, the power is going out, even TOV-I looks lost on what to do! All hope is lost… when suddenly our ship is held rigid in motion, rescued by a beaming light above. Looking up, we catch the familiar emblem of NASA, which continues to both colonize and study space, but also protects those space explorers caught in sticky situations.

To compensate us for his questionable decision, TOV-I decides to reward us with one extra visit in the Solar System, with guests able to choose between: Europa, Io, Saturn/Titan, or Neptune/Pluto.

FINALE

SOL

After our disaster-free extra trip around the Solar System, TOV-I hyperjumps one final time to the heart of the Solar System - our Sun. Massive solar arrays dot the Sun's surroundings, providing sustainable energy to the entire solar system... though as we can see, not enough... yet.

At the center, we finally catch a glimpse at something referenced throughout the ride - the Dyson Sphere, a massive human works project. All the planets, moons, and space stations of the solar system have collaborated for this major accomplishment. Surrounding the sun with millions of solar arrays, the (until now) theoretical Dyson Sphere generates energy on a scale beyond 21st-century comprehension, effectively providing infinite clean and sustainable energy to humanity, so it may explore the stars.

As the Dyson Sphere activates for the first time, a massive beam of power unleashes from the Sun and into the Sphere's generative structure. Fireworks launch from all the planets in celebration of this achievement, as Neil DeGrasse Tyson informs us with this near-infinite power supply, humans will finally have the methods of developing efficient spaceflight beyond our Solar System... opening another new frontier... the Milky Way Galaxy.

EXIT

As guests exit the Grand Tour attraction, we are surrounded with inspiration. Where before we were so inspired by a solar system filled with possibilities... now there is a galaxy to visit. As we enter into the gift shop, we see a number of concept-art posters & scale models of exoplanets (worlds beyond the solar system) that humanity may explore and colonize.

These retro-themed posters serve as the original merchandise item for the attraction. They can come in posters or t-shirts, with all profits of the merch. going to NASA, where it may continue to research the stars.

Tomorrow is now today!