My Walt Disney World memories begin in the early-to-mid ‘80s during the resort’s second decade. Individual ride tickets were gone, and it was long before FastPass. We spent a lot of time in Tomorrowland, easily my favorite Magic Kingdom land at the time. Space Mountain was fun, but you could only stand in line for so long. Avoiding the Florida sun, we flocked to less-crowded indoor attractions. A perfect example was a small, charming Omnimover attraction tucked near the Circle-Vision Theater. If You Had Wings was our go-to spot.

If You Had Wings opened in June 1972 during a time when Tomorrowland was still coming together. Amazingly, construction only took three months to complete. Sponsored by Eastern Airlines, this ride revealed the many destinations you could visit thanks to that corporate sponsor. Yes, it was a commercial, but it never felt patronizing. This post will chronicle the many reasons that I love If You Had Wings. Let’s start with a quick list that summarizes why this little attraction has stuck with me for so long:

Relaxing, air-conditioned escape from the crowds and Florida sun

Omnimover ride system that offered guests the best view of a particular scene

A warm, catchy theme song by Buddy Baker and X Atencio

Attention to detail and inventive staging from designer Claude Coats

Speed Room that simulated movement with an immersive screen

Mirror Room with a Soarin’ like effect of floating over mountains

This list includes key reasons why If You Had Wings succeeded with so many guests. However, they only scratch the surface of its emotional connection. Grainy YouTube videos cannot translate the real experience of boarding the Omnimovers and traveling into the globe. The five-minute attraction looks simple to modern eyes, but that feeling misses all the little touches. The best theme park attractions don’t make sense on paper. If You Had Wings inspired guests to feel better about our world, which was the essence of early Tomorrowland.

A Forgotten Gem

It is telling that Jeff Kurrti’s history book Since the World Began: Walt Disney World – The First 25 Years includes just a few sentences about If You Had Wings. Here is the entire section from that reference guide:

“Another kind of flight, commercial jet flight, was the focus of If You Had Wings, which opened in June 1972. Film, music, three-dimensional sets, and speed effects took guests in Omnimover vehicles (a similar system to the Doom Buggies of The Haunted Mansion) from the Magic Kingdom to ports of call around the world.”

Kurrti provides a solid description, and I don’t mean to criticize a book that has so much material to cover. I’ve included the brief excerpt to remind you of that If You Had Wings is mostly an afterthought in Disney history. Many Disney World fans are too young and only know Dreamflight or Buzz Lightyear in that location. It has been more than 30 years since a friendly voice reminded us that we should widen our world.

There is definitely still a hardcore group of fans that love If You Had Wings. Anyone with a real interest in past theme park music can’t miss the memorable song. What strikes me is how far we’ve moved from seeing this type of attraction in the parks. The Omnimovers at EPCOT Center were the closest descendants, but only Spaceship Earth remains. El Rio Del Tiempo included many connections to If You Had Wings, but those have dissipated in the Gran Fiesta Tour. The loss of this type of experience is more telling than just missing a personal favorite.

You Do Have Wings

Before we explore the ride, let’s take a moment to discuss the wonderfully simple title song. The opening lines signify the theme: “If you had wings, you could do many things, you could widen your world, if you had wings.” Reading the lines without music or context, it is a silly opening. On the other hand, a direct message isn’t bad here. The idea of flying goes right for our heart and works for anyone. Our lives are stressful; wouldn’t it be great to fly to a stunning destination?

The chorus repeats the phrase “had wings” multiple times, which creates a mesmerizing effect. When viewed in connection with the birds flying through the entrance tunnel, the repetition adds to that transformative feeling. It feels like you’re entering a dream state. The chorus repeats after each verse and just reinforces the sense that we’re taking a journey. The verses describe the scenes in front of us, which are a little chaotic in the tight spaces. It’s the song that brings everything together into a cohesive whole.

Baker composed more than 200 scores for Disney movies, TV shows, and theme parks. His brilliant work on the Universe of Energy, Impressions de France, and The American Adventure were crucial in helping EPCOT Center succeed. He also worked with Atencio on “Grim Grinning Ghosts”, which shares a deceptive simplicity with “If You Had Wings”. Atencio also wrote attraction scripts and was a master at writing lyrics that worked at the parks.

If You Had Wings closes with a voice reminding guests that “you do have wings, you can do all these things, you can widen your world”. It’s a commercial for Eastern and silly, but it sums up our experience. I’ll always take cheesy optimism in my attractions over boring or predictable.

Boarding Our Flight

The predominant white colors of early Tomorrowland might appear strange today. They were simple but had a cool grace to them. The small blue sign for If You Had Wings stood out because it was a rare dash of color within all the white décor. You could easily stroll right by this attraction if you weren’t paying attention. A glance inside might also confuse visitors wondering what they were seeing. The wording outside describes If You Had Wings as “a flight of fancy through the world of Eastern Airlines”, which doesn’t explain it very well.

Before we even step into our departure lounge, you observe the constant stream of Omnimover vehicles traveling into a large blue globe. It’s such an odd sight! The theming includes a departure board with announcements (originally from Orson Welles) about impending departures. It’s subtle yet effectively sets the stage for the upcoming experience. There’s also the mystery of what’s lurking behind that globe. Where are all those people going?

The entry tunnel offers a smooth transition as we see images of seagulls and planes flying past us. The music kicks into gear, and we’re ready to venture to a series of new locales. Our first stop is Mexico in a room that’s filled with interesting sets and filmed scenes. It’s easy to forget how quickly we progress through each segment. There’s so much life to what we’re seeing, including a bustling market and dancing among the cool architecture. We venture into the Caribbean for one of my favorite effects, the excited passengers ready to depart on a cruise ship. The effect is simple yet convincing because we’re just the right distance from the film.

A Sense of Excitement

If You Had Wings is a slow-moving ride, but it feels energetic because so much happens in front of us. A couple tries to sell us their goods (similar to a scene in El Rio Del Tiempo), and revelers do the limbo in Puerto Rico. There’s music everywhere, and the various quick tunes mix well with the attraction’s main theme. Hearing the ride audio today can’t do justice to how the different songs connected to each scene.

A perfect example of the frenetic atmosphere is the Bahamas traffic scene, where a determined crossing guard directs a marching band, horses and carriages, and even flamingos. It’s the music that really sells this scene and adds to its comedy. Fun moments like this are everywhere on If You had Wings and enhance its charm.

Another factor in the attraction’s success is how enticing the destinations appear. When we see people enjoying waterfalls in Jamaica, we want to join them! The idea of visiting another place is common in theme parks, yet it’s usually a fantastical destination or story. With If You Had Wings, we observe a real place that’s just out of our reach. Eastern wants us to feel this way so we’ll book a vacation, and the effective design sells their product so well.

We Need Speed!

One of my favorite effects was the Speed Room, which first appeared here. You can still experience it on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, but it’s not the same. I remember always wanting more time in the Speed Room as a kid; you could never catch everything! That’s a sign of a classic attraction. You aren’t just checking it off the list and leave each experience wanting more. The combination of slow-moving vehicles with the speed on the curved screen delivers more thrills than you might expect.

I loved riding a dune buggy, water skiing, and taking off on an airplane runway, it wasn’t all about thrills. Following the excitement of the Speed Room, the Mirror Room was the perfect way to chill before exiting. The mirrors and clever staging created the effect of flying over the snowy mountains. I wish that I had the chance to ride If You Had Wings and study how it worked. The music just added to the feeling that you were escaping far up in the sky.

The two climactic rooms enhanced the idea that we were taking a real journey. Like a great story, our travels reach a feverish pitch and then gradually drift back to Earth. We see the seagulls once again before we exit our vehicles. The experience comes full circle, and there’s no jarring conclusion. It takes real skill to deliver so much fun and beauty into an attraction that’s less than five minutes.

If You Could Fly?

So many pivotal decisions in Disney’s theme park history come down to sponsorship. Attractions with life remaining are closed when the sponsor exits or asks for a change. With If You Had Wings, it was the demise of Eastern Airlines that ended its journey. The visuals and sets remained in place for If You Could Fly, but the soul was gone. I experienced that version, and it was mystifying to hear a generic pop theme.

If You Had Wings was never the same after losing its title song, and it was only a matter of time before changes happened. I enjoyed Dreamflight because it included some cool effects, and it was still a solid dark ride. Losing its sponsor had a similar effect on Dreamflight, though it was less severe than with the original. Its replacement Take Flight hung on for a while, but a new era was coming for Tomorrowland. Don’t get me wrong; it’s fun to compete on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. I just wish there was a way to enjoy that attraction without losing a past gem.

A Magical Trip

Is Disney still capable of creating secondary attractions that charm us? Immersive lands like Pandora and Cars Land are amazing, but what about supporting players? If You Had Wings reminds us it doesn’t take a huge investment to build a magical space. On the surface, the small space and loud film projectors should be a mess. It takes a brilliant designer like Coats to find the magic.

Another factor with If You Had Wings was the attention to detail, which included the People Mover preview windows. In his extensive If You Had Wings section of Widen Your World, Mike Lee explains how even that perspective was set up just right to deliver an effective and entirely different experience. Disney thrived by going well beyond what others would do to build incredible attractions. I’m not talking about how much money they spend. It was that willingness to offer guests more than they even realized was possible that made the difference.

If Disney gave me the chance to select one extinct attraction to place back at Disney World, Horizons would be the obvious choice. Looking only at The Magic Kingdom, it would be hard not to choose If You Had Wings. Even considering the ‘70s technology, I’d love the chance to relive the experience. It’s been more than 30 years since I last rode it, and the memories are still there. It’s really hard to make anything that resonates for that long; If You Had Wings was a truly rare attraction.

An Eternal Conversation

A constant discussion among hardcore Disney fans questions the direction of the parks. Some of us look back to past attractions and long to ride them again. We wonder about decisions that don’t seem to fit with each park’s theme. Others support the moves and lack the nostalgia for the extinct gems. They push back against complaints and recall Walt’s choices to “plus” the parks. Many reside in the middle and miss the past while still being excited about the future.

Why do we long for these extinct attractions? It’s partially nostalgia, but that explanation feels too simple. Some of those past experiences resonate so strongly inside us. I have clear memories of riding If You Had Wings, and those don’t come from online videos. I’m sure that experiencing it today would not generate the same feelings, but we all change over time. From what I can gather today, it’s clear that real talent was behind creating this attraction.

If You Had Wings used loud 16mm film projectors in a cramped building, and Coats and the other Imagineers made the most of the space. They maximized an attraction that could have easily been just a time waster for guests. The fact that I’m writing this piece today says everything about If You Had Wings’ continued impact. Tomorrowland was a magical place for this kid in the 1980s, and aspects of that wonder remain today. I would love to see that area recapture its glory. The basic structure is there if Disney has the will to make it better.

Sources: Widen Your World; Martin’s Vids Tribute; Since the World Began: Walt Disney World – The First 25 Years by Jeff Kurrti; Four Decades of Magic: Celebrating the First Forty Years of Disney World, edited by Chad Emerson and article by Mike Lee.

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