Imagination Pavillion - What is inside the Glass Pyramids?

mcranmer

mcranmer

New Member
Original Poster
Hopefully, this is not contained in some existing thread that I did not find when I ran a search...

I am not one of those lucky people that get to go to Disneyworld 30 times a year (I envy all of you more than you can 'imagine'). So in my limited visits, 5 so far in my life, I have been on the Journey Into Imagination with Figment attraction in a few of its different forms.

Once upon a time, I recall that either before the ride or when the ride ended, I was actually inside the Glass Pyramids. But the two most recent times I was there (the last two summers), I never actually saw a way into them. Instead, I went through some area that allowed me and my family to get our picture taken and then we were presented in front of some previously photographed background. While this was fun, it did not take me 'upstairs' into the pyramids themselves.

Please help me satisfy my curiosity; What the heck is in those glass pyramids? If they are not currently in use, what are they intended for?
 
EpcotGrl

EpcotGrl

New Member
You're right! Waaay back in the day, there was a whole Imagination post-show in the pyramid. When they redid the ride, however, they changed the exit and now all that's up there is... wasted space :(
 
mcranmer

mcranmer

New Member
Original Poster
I am glad to hear that it is not just my 'imagination' that I was there before.

It seems to me that this is very prime real estate smack dab in the middle of Epcot that could be put to some very good use. Any suggestions?
 
The Mom

The Mom

Moderator
Premium Member
LeeSeeBabe said:
Yup. So-long Rainbow Tunnel :cry:
Click to expand...

And the music rooms! Anyone remember conducting her own little symphony, or hopping on the illuminated musical carpet? How about the nail tables, where you could make designs? When it first opened (1982), most people did not have a pc, so using a "paint" type program was a big deal. :lol:

So many memories.
 
LeeSeeBabe

LeeSeeBabe

Active Member
mcranmer said:
I am glad to hear that it is not just my 'imagination' that I was there before.

It seems to me that this is very prime real estate smack dab in the middle of Epcot that could be put to some very good use. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

I mean, I could totally see it being an upscale place to have closed parties, for example. They could clean it up, shine lights up into the pyramid, etc. For someone like me, dreaming of a Disney wedding and having so many fond memories in the old Imagination Pavillion :lookaroun
 
ToTBellHop

ToTBellHop

Well-Known Member
There are issues of evacuation up there--which I completely understand. I'm not so angry that we can't go up there as I am that the replacement post-show is so vastly inferior to the old one. I woulda been much happier if Disney saved money and just brought everything that was upstairs into the new postshow.
 
LeeSeeBabe

LeeSeeBabe

Active Member
The Mom said:
And the music rooms! Anyone remember conducting her own little symphony, or hopping on the illuminated musical carpet? How about the nail tables, where you could make designs? When it first opened (1982), most people did not have a pc, so using a "paint" type program was a big deal. :lol:

So many memories.
Click to expand...

I was a magical conductor...HA! I loved the Painting as well... For some reason I feel like when I was young (when the area was still like this) it never really seemed to be crowded up there.
 
marni1971

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
Sigh.... you could spend hours up there.

For the OP, the larger pyramid is an open atrium where the lift, stairs and escalators were - and the pyramid is glass offering some great views. One of the entrances into Image Works was into the base of the smaller pyramid, which was not glazed inside - it was a dark room in which you `painted` onto cartoon images on the pyramids ceiling.

Blowing my own trumpet again (as we say) my Journey into Imagination Ultimate Tribute video - free from Mousebits.com - has a full layout and video tour of the original imageworks. Stills to follow.

Anyone else think the fire escape for mobility impaired guests is a cop out? I heard storied of originally a safe room where wheelchaired guests would be left in the event of a fire (obviousy a fire proof room) until RCES could attend. Real or not, how hard or expensive would it be to build a simple steel ramp on the exterior of the building leading out to backstage?
 
ToTBellHop

ToTBellHop

Well-Known Member
marni1971 said:
Sigh.... you could spend hours up there.

For the OP, the larger pyramid is an open atrium where the lift, stairs and escalators were - and the pyramid is glass offering some great views. One of the entrances into Image Works was into the base of the smaller pyramid, which was not glazed inside - it was a dark room in which you `painted` onto cartoon images on the pyramids ceiling.

Blowing my own trumpet again (as we say) my Journey into Imagination Ultimate Tribute video - free from Mousebits.com - has a full layout and video tour of the original imageworks. Stills to follow.

Anyone else think the fire escape for mobility impaired guests is a cop out? I heard storied of originally a safe room where wheelchaired guests would be left in the event of a fire (obviousy a fire proof room) until RCES could attend. Real or not, how hard or expensive would it be to build a simple steel ramp on the exterior of the building leading out to backstage?
Click to expand...
it wouldn't be hard...but it's cheaper for Kodak to build a Kodak giftshop on the ground floor that guests must walk through than a post-show which is actually fun on the 2nd floor that guests must go out of their way to visit...the only problem with the logic was that they replaced an E-ticket with a C-ticket (I think I'm being generous) and a great post-show with an annoying maze which guests simply must navigate amid throngs of confused guests to escape into Future World. Magic.
 
marni1971

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
Some stills:
 

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G

goodolgm

Active Member
That's so sad. The rainbow tunnel is the earliest memory I have of my trips to WDW as a very young child. That and the top of SSE. I don't remember meeting Mickey Mouse, or riding IASW, all I remember is the imagination postshow and SSE. I'd love to see it again for nostalgia.
 

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