During my early visits to Walt Disney World in the ’80s, I loved If You Had Wings. We visited the parks in June, and the charming Omnimover ride offered a relaxing escape from the Florida sun with little wait. Most of it remained for the replacement If You Could Fly, but its more generic song created a strange experience. When Delta Dreamflight opened in 1989, I was skeptical that it could match the success of the original attraction.
One of the reasons that If You Had Wings clicked with me was the brilliant staging from designer Claude Coats. The mix of projected films and basic sets created an immersive atmosphere way ahead of its time. Dreamflight included films but added more physical sets to drive the story. The speed rooms were another highlight, and those would also remain with brand new footage. The Omnimover ride system remained intact, which helped to maintain the comforting environment.
During this tribute, I’ll delve into the full experience of Dreamflight on its own merits. It’s easy for me to compare everything to If You Had Wings, and I can’t avoid that approach completely. Even so, I’ll try to focus on the best aspects and issues of Dreamflight on its own. For many Disney fans, this was the first attraction they experienced in this Tomorrowland location. Let’s board our ride vehicles to enjoy the past and future of air travel!
The Spirit of Delta
Let’s begin with a stroll through the queue, which takes us past the surprisingly large Spirit of Delta plane. Our path goes through smaller lighted lanes as we move towards the moving walkway. It’s a quick stroll through the line since the building occupies a small footprint. The airport lounge vibe sets the stage for our trip into the history of air travel. I don’t want to over sell it, but the queue has the right style.
Before we venture onto the attraction, let’s take a brief moment to visit how Disney presented the attraction. In his book Since the World Began: Walt Disney World: The First 25 Years, Jeff Kurtti describes Dreamflight this way:
“The new attraction returned the theme of the commercial flight and the OmniMover track layout, but replaced the show with whimsical views of the adventure and romance of air travel, from a giant pop-up book view of early barnstormer, to the elegance of the China Clipper M-130 Flying Boat.“
Kurtti doesn’t spend too much time on Dreamflight, but his summary accurately describes the more “whimsical” approach. The style fits more with Disney’s approach under Eisner to lighten the mood in Tomorrowland (and Future World). If You Had Wings wasn’t a serious attraction, but it leaned more towards inspiration than silliness. The difference between the theme songs of both attractions offers a perfect example of the change.
Make These Dreams Come True
Looking closer at Dreamflight’s theme songs, it’s not exactly clear who wrote each part. This article from Chuck Schmidt at AllEars.net mentions Bob Moline as contributing to the music. Moline should be familiar to EPCOT Center fans due to songs like “Golden Dream” and “Listen to the Land”. He played a key role in the overall tone of EPCOT Center.
This Walt Dated World article also cites Moline, so he likely had some involvement. On the other hand, Edo Guidotti’s name also is associated with Dreamflight. Jack Spence of AllEars.net references Guidotti in one his Tomorrowland articles. There are two major songs, so my suspicion is that Moline and Guidotti each contributed to one of them. I’m unclear on the exact details, so I’m not going to make assumptions.
The style for Dreamflight’s opening tune feels closest to “It’s Fun to Be Free” from World of Motion. That song was written by Buddy Baker and X Atencio but brings a similar approach to the history of automobiles. Both songs help create the mood for the attractions with their upbeat, whimsical style.
The lyrics for the original Dreamflight music sell the idea of “non-stop fantasies” brought to us by the magic of air travel. A key phrase to sell this concept is “by flying to help make these dreams come true“. This track connects to the early stages of the attraction where daring figures tried to conquer the air. Using their “new-fangled gizmos called flying machines”, people like The Wright Brothers started the push into the sky.
Early Flying Machines
After boarding the Omnimover, we pass by sets depicting early attempts with air travel. The sets resemble pop-up books and match the sense of technology just getting started. As we journey towards the future, the effects and physical sets get more complicated along with the tech improvements. Despite the simplicity, there’s plenty of movement on display in these scenes with planes floating around the room. The human figures would even fit perfectly inside Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. The vibe is similar to fanciful early scenes on Horizons of looking back at tomorrow.
We next enter a large room that originally held the Caribbean port sequence on If You Had Wings. This time, it just contains a large video screen on a single side of the room. The stunt flyer is an energetic guy, and his zany antics match the music style. He stands on top of the plane while it passes through various scenes and even flips upside down. We feel a sense of motion along with the antics. It’s a fun moment, but I believe this space could have included a lot more.
I mention the difference because Dreamflight does so many things well. The early show scenes convey a sense of fun about these new inventions. The screen with the stunt flyer isn’t bad on its own, but the dead space is strange when you consider the small footprint of this attraction. There was still a lot to enjoy in these tight quarters, and that makes the less impressive examples stand out more. Regardless, let’s continue our exciting journey!
Spanning the World
We’ve reached the age of international travel by plane, which seems a lot more elegant than what we experience today. Our Global Clipper passes scenes that include a fancy dining room within the luxurious space. The set design now matches the more complex set-ups of attractions in the late ’80s. There’s a definite EPCOT Center vibe to much of this area in the vein of Spaceship Earth and the “Tomorrow’s Windows” portions of Horizons. Transitions convey the idea we’re entering a plane with our vehicles.
We arrive at Japan for an interesting perspective on a garden scene. The design makes it feel like we’re floating above the land, which makes sense given Dreamflight’s theme. The serene music and relaxed vibe bring a calming atmosphere that was missing from the early scenes. Our next stop is Paris with the Eiffel Tower and lit-up city in the background. There’s also a great shot of a French cafe down below us. This second act is the highlight and has a wonderful use of forced perspective. The music helps to convey the idea we’re glimpsing an exciting international locale.
Next up is the jet age as we board a supersonic flight to the future. We pass through a cool lighting effect that creates a good transition into the speed rooms. The lights spin in circles in a pattern that’s a little too mesmerizing, even on a YouTube video. Our tech improvements continue in this attraction, and we’re now ready for entirely new footage in the speed rooms. Strap on your seat belts; it’s time for some serious flying!
Runways, Clouds, and Space
I love speed rooms! It’s sad that the only remaining one is a shooting scene in Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. Dreamflight begins with a futuristic video of a runway that’s entirely computer-generated. I’d rather spend time in the air, but it sets up the shots of clouds. Those have a similar vibe to early moments in Soarin’, including the pre-show video. There are definite connections between speed rooms and how Soarin’ depicts movement.
We next travel to outer space, which feels like the next logical step for air travel. The CGI may seem a little dated, but it works because of the massive screens around us. Our final destination is a futuristic city, which matches what you’d expect from an optimistic look at what’s to come. I’m still waiting for this type of vibrant community to become a reality. There are a lot of Spaceship Earth-like structures in this city.
Returning to If You Had Wings, its Mirror Room also set the stage for Soarin’ with its wonderfully relaxing atmosphere. Dreamflight didn’t use all of this space and removed the mirrors, which led to a less serene ending. I still love the speed rooms within Dreamflight, but this change slightly diminished the overall impact. Before we finish our journey, there’s one more step as we prepare to return to the ground.
Passport to Dreams Old and New
Before we step onto the moving platform, we pass by several large books of images that recall the attraction scenes. It’s an odd way to end but does connect to the look of the opening moments. The driving force of the finale is the second song, which connects to the idea of an optimistic future. An upbeat singer calls Dreamflight “the fantasy flight of your life” and “the best chance for a passport to dreams old and new“.
Along with being the source of a title to an incredible blog, the idea of “passports to dreams old and new” embodies what I love about all of Walt Disney World and theme parks. The term works in the context of Dreamflight but also captures the essence of classic attractions. I’m not sure this was the “most wonderful flight of your life” like the song declares, but it’s still a fun experience. There’s a lot to enjoy on this attraction.
Dreamflight changed to Take Flight in June 1996 after Delta was no longer the sponsor, but it was largely the same experience. Less than two years later in January 1998, the attraction closed for the arrival of Buzz Lightyear. While I enjoy battling the forces of the Emperor Zurg, it’s a change for the Tomorrowland I loved. I’m glad we’re still able to experience Dreamflight through online videos, and most importantly, or personal memories.
Sources
Since the World Began: World Disney World: The First 25 Years by Jeff Kurtti
Four Decades of Magic: Celebrating the First Forty Years of Disney World, compiled by Chad Emerson
If You Had Wings to Dreamflight by Martin’s Videos
Walt Dated World
AllEars.net
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16 All-Time Tomorrowland Attractions Ranked
It’s Fun to Be Free: A Tribute to World of Motion
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Nice article, Dan! I’m old enough to remember If You Had Wings VERY fondly, being a little kid and sitting next to my dad in the omnimover vehicle, and that he was so happy that I was so happy! As a parent, there’s nothing that feels better than giving your child a great experience and as you know, that’s half of why the changes to EPCOT hurt so badly, because most of us never got to share those same rides with our own children. I cope by listening to EPCOT discussions between you and Tim Grassi LOL
I too loved the If You Had Wings article in the Four Decades of Magic book, it’s one of my top three that I go back to read again.
My memories of Dreamflight are limited as I believe I only rode it once. I’d be interested to know if it gave the Peoplemover nice vistas to look down at. It’s so sad that Buzz does not serve up anything memorable for Peoplemover riders.
Thanks Melanie. Dreamflight still had views from the PeopleMover, though they weren’t as effective as on If You Had Wings. They were still better than what we see now on Buzz Lightyear, thankfully. I’m most familiar with If You Had Wings from riding it as a kid, and I think it’s stronger overall, but Dreamflight still has that classic dark ride vibe. Parts of it feel a lot like a smaller version of World of Motion, and that’s never a bad thing.
It’s worth noting that many of the aircraft, including the actual Spirit of Delta Boeing 767, are on display at the Delta Flight Museum in Atlanta.
The 767, in particular, now houses a really nifty history of their airline.
That sounds really cool! I’ll have to add the Delta Flight Museum to the very long list of places I hope to visit. Thanks Jonathan!