If You Had Wings
| If You Had Wings | |
|---|---|
| Magic Kingdom | |
| Area | Tomorrowland |
| Status | Removed |
| Opening date | June 5, 1972 |
| Closing date | January 3, 1989 |
| Replaced by | Delta Dreamflight |
| General statistics | |
| Attraction type | Dark ride |
| Manufacturer | Arrow Development |
| Designer | WED Enterprises |
| Theme | Flight/Travel |
| Music | "If You Had Wings" |
| Vehicle type | Omnimover |
| Riders per vehicle | 2-3 |
| Duration | 4:30 |
If You Had Wings (June 5, 1972 – June 1, 1987) was an attraction at Walt Disney World. It was a two-person Omnimover dark ride in Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom, sponsored by Eastern Air Lines. The ride featured travel destinations throughout the Caribbean and elsewhere, all of which were, in keeping with the ride's sponsorship, serviced by Eastern. The ride had an eponymous theme song by Buddy Baker.
If You Had Wings was located across from what originally was Flight To The Moon but later became Mission to Mars. The ride was sponsored by then-giant Eastern Air Lines. Eastern's initial investment in the ride was reportedly $10 million. Not well known or much promoted, waiting lines for IYHW were nonexistent or short even when the park was crowded. Nevertheless, the ride was imbued with the particular gentle charm and flavor characteristic of Disney productions and Walt Disney World more specifically. It was nicely air-conditioned and also free, when admission tickets were required of rides in the park.
If You Had Wings was a four-and-a-half-minute dark ride based on Disney's Omnimover system. The ride moved at a leisurely pace throughout. It was structurally similar to the Disneyland attraction Adventure Thru Inner Space, which might be considered its predecessor; both were designed by Claude Coats. The theme music was written by Buddy Baker with lyrics by X Atencio.
The ride began with projections of animated silhouettes of seagulls and airplanes sweeping past on the walls, enhancing the feeling of motion and gently suggesting flight. Riders passed through a series of colorful theater-like sets with embedded small screens looping rear-projected short filmed scenes, while their cars swiveled on their bases to direct riders toward points of interest. In all, thirty-eight 16mm projectors were used in the attraction. The scenes showcased various Eastern destinations and appealed to potential tourists with straw-hat markets, fishermen, limbo dancers, steel drum bands, and more. Many scenes had their own special sound effects. The omnipresent theme music featured a chorus of singers tunefully chanting,
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