Figment Meet and Greet

[General Grizz]

Originally posted by DisneyInsider
I think that you need to realize dreamfinder won't be coming back

Isn't that what we could have said about Figment in 1999?

Isn't the support we're showing now for Dreamfinder AND the complaints of JII 2.0 the factors that brought Figment back?

And wasn't it Michael Eisner himself who said Figment was in "Figment Heaven" in the 1999 Stockholders Meeting??

Since this is a Disney board, I think it's rightful to believe that anything can happen.

What? Figment says so. :animwink:

 

[Pioneer Hall]

Originally posted by General Grizz
Isn't that what we could have said about Figment in 1999?

Isn't the support we're showing now for Dreamfinder AND the complaints of JII 2.0 the factors that brought Figment back?

And wasn't it Michael Eisner himself who said Figment was in "Figment Heaven" in the 1999 Stockholders Meeting??

Since this is a Disney board, I think it's rightful to believe that anything can happen.

What? Figment says so. :animwink:

But everyone loved Figment. He was the icon of the park. When people thought Epcot they thought Figment (probably before Mickey Mouse). And when you thought Figment you probably didn't think about Dreamfinder as much. They used to have hats of who...not dreamfinder...Figment. The merchandise always had whose picture? I'm just saying that sometimes the complaining is a waste of energy. Figment was a different situation than Dreamfinder is. Dreamfinder didn't make the ride, Figment did. Figment was the star and he was the popular one. Sure we would all like to see the original ride, but we aren't. We aren't going to see Dreamfinder. It is the same situation as all the retired attractions. The odds of seeing Dreamfinder are the same as seeing the construction walls for Horizons being put up. Both aren't happening, and there is nothing you are going to accomplish by complaining about everything they do. You may not love the idea of the Figment meet and greet, but most of the guests will. Disney doesn't really care (and I don't mean this rudely) what a bunch of fanatics think about their idea. They are looking out for what most guests will like, and most guests will like this.

 

[General Grizz]

Insider - - I'm not trying to sound like a complaining machine when I denounce the new ride. Rather, I'm trying to express how it is a failure (i.e. there is never a wait).

If this is all about Figment, the ride even has Figment's name on it, and it's failing.

There's something beyond the name. . . and that's the spirit of the attraction. The spirit of the original happened to be that balance of the two. Yes, Figment was the star, but the pavilion is a disaster without that spirit.

And a lot of us relate that spirit to Dreamfinder. i.e. the Meet and Greets weren't autograph signing. They were truly experiences. And I'm sure I have the right to complain if Disney's being cheap about making a meet'n'greet so that they can make money off photographs rather than bringing back that experience.

The same goes for the quality of the ride (black curtains on the wall are inexcusable - although this WAS better than 2.0), and as mentioned, the Image Works. There is something obviously wrong with this picture: Imagination is supposed to be what Disney stands for, but the company has become so unfocused as to let it rot away.

And, based on the current state of the pavilion, it will, in time, have to change again. And in the long run, Disney would have had to pay more money changing it than they could have spent making it better than it was even from its original form.

Back in the 1980s and up to 1998, the original ride was heavily populated by fans who loved the Imagination attraction. It was a great experience, highly budgeted, with great attention to song, show, and detail.

At least the spirit could be brought back.

So back to the connection to the thread, why NOT use Dreamfinder in this meet and greet?

 

[Pioneer Hall]

Originally posted by General Grizz


So back to the connection to the thread, why NOT use Dreamfinder in this meet and greet?

Because besides for a few people...no one will know who dreamfinder is. Newbies will get off the ride and go to the meet and greet, and then see someone totally new who had nothing to do with the attraction.

 

[General Grizz]

Originally posted by DisneyInsider
Because besides for a few people...no one will know who dreamfinder is. Newbies will get off the ride and go to the meet and greet, and then see someone totally new who had nothing to do with the attraction.

And that's certainly valid, but I think it would be much more worthwhile for children to actually interact with Figment (whether it means introducing them to a new character or not) instead of posing for a picture and leaving. I think the experience is ultimately the crowd pleaser. . . the picture is secondary. In the minds of the guests, at least.

 

[Dayma]

I like the idea. I think that the more attention the ride gets with younger kids its is more possible for the ride to be upgraded and cared for.

 

[TinkerBell9988]

This idea sounds good to me...



Although, a full-costume suit doesn't sound very "Figment-like" to me, he's supposed to be small. Its nice that they are finally devoting a place to Figment and only Figment after all these years.

I miss Dreamfinder very much, and if there was a way to bring him back, then I would prefer the Figment/Dreamfinder combination costume... (thats what I call it!)

Thanks for the info, Grizz!

 

[netenyahoo]

I don't think they should have Dreamfinder at the Meet and Greet unless he was part of the ride. Since dreamfinder isn't a disney property either then I don't think it is an expense Disney would want to make for the few people who know who Dreamfinder is and are fans. If they wanted to change the ride to include Dreamfinder somehow then they should have him at a meet and greet.

As far as Image Works - I don't know what this is, but have heard great things about it. It is a shame that there is a lot of room in the pavillion unused. They should open up the area with lot sof great and fun things to do. I like the stuff at the end of the ride, but it does get crowded sometimes. Maybe they should spread that stuff out and add more upstairs.

 

[aimster]

Originally posted by netenyahoo

As far as Image Works - I don't know what this is, but have heard great things about it.

The Image Works was upstairs. It was basically an "interactive playground" where you could do things like conduct a symphony just by waving your arms, make music by stepping on coloured light on the floor, "paint" pictures on computer screens. There was also Dreamfinder's School of Drama, where a bunch of people would act out a story behind a blue screen type-thing and would appear on TV monitors to people watching with the full background and stuff. It was highly amusing to watch a scene where you're supposed to be running and everyone is just standing there. I remember the line for this was really long back in the 80's. There were a bunch of other things you could do up there. My fave was going through this tunnel/room where the ceiling was all rainbow coloured neon lights.

I wish they'd open that place back up again. I really miss it.

 

[netenyahoo]

It sounds similar to what they have now, but just scaled back. My daughter absolutely loves Figment, the ride and playing in there after. Disney really should market Figment more to kids and thats why I think this meet and greet will be a success.

 

[dizneeboy]

i could take it or leave it myself. at least they are trying to add something I guess. i'm glad i at least have memories of the once great attraction. Most people would leave wdw with its a small world stuck in their heads. i always left singing imagination. what a great tune! :sohappy:

 

[MKCP 1985]

In the early days of EPCOT Center, Mickey and friends did not make appearances in the park. Most people associated the "big golfball" of Spaceship Earth and Figment as the two park icons. I think they even sold souvenier EPCOT Center license plates with Spaceship Earth and Figment.

It was astonishing to see Disney pull Figment from Imagination. It is good that the company came to its senses and designed a new attraction that puts Figment back into the pavilion, but the damage has been done. The meet and greet is a step in the right direction to boost the popularity of that space.

Check out General Grizz's photo of Dreamfinder holding Figment with the overhead rainbow tunnel. Don't you think that tunnel would be a great inclusion to the meet and greet? The colors of the tunnel changed depending on where you were in the tunnel, so that standing outside, you could follow the path of a person walking through the tunnel by watching the changes in color of the rainbow. Very cool, I thought.

 

[OnWithTheShow]

Since dreamfinder isn't a disney property

Whose property is Dreamfinder then?

I always thought that he was created by WDI along with Figment for the attraction.

BTW Andy Gaskill was the artist who created Figment. He was also the Art Director for Lion King, Hercules, and Treasure Planet. A fellow Camden Catholic High School Alumn.

 

[FigmentJedi]

Kodak owns Dreamfinder, as they sponsored the original attraction and they still do, of course.

 

[General Grizz]

Originally posted by netenyahoo
It sounds similar to what they have now, but just scaled back.

WAAAAAAAAAAY scaled back. I wish you could have seen this thing.

 

[PeeplMoovr]

I'm a long-time EPCOT fan - especially from the late 80's or so. I rode the new Figment ride last week for the first time and was hugely disappointed. I never saw the version without Figment, but I'm glad that's the case.

That being said, I think this type of meet and greet is a bit lame. I'd prefer Dreamfinder back - in the ride and in the "meet and greets" (which are more like "shoot pics, sign books, and get the heck outta the way for the next person" to me).

But if there is going to be a Figment meet and greet without Dreamfinder, couldn't they do it better? Maybe have a small Figment (like in the old days) as a state of the art AA, controlled by someone nearby, that interacts with guests (much like the talking Trash can). This way fans can interact with a small Figment (even if he's stationary) in this "meet and greet". This way, if Dreamfinder isn't coming back (and I wish he was), fans get more of an experience out of seeing Figment - and would get to talk to him at the very least.

I so wish the old ride would come back - or something better than the old ride even. The imagination pavillion is barely worth visiting to me now. I wasn't inspired.

 

[TinkerBell9988]

I think I can agree with everyone in that a "large, human-like" Figment is not the way it should be. Bring back Dreamfinder!!!! He's the only person that could interact with Figment well, and his costume with Figment looked the most nostalgic and real to me.

 

[General Grizz]

Originally posted by TinkerBell9988
I think I can agree with everyone in that a "large, human-like" Figment is not the way it should be. Bring back Dreamfinder!!!! He's the only person that could interact with Figment well, and his costume with Figment looked the most nostalgic and real to me.

It's great to see how many generations Dreamfinder touched. Both young and old have asked for it. . .

. . . let's see if Disney listens to what their guests want. :wave:

 

[aimster]

Originally posted by MKCP 1986
In the early days of EPCOT Center, Mickey and friends did not make appearances in the park. Most people associated the "big golfball" of Spaceship Earth and Figment as the two park icons.

I actually have a little figurine of Figment "holding" Spaceship Earth. I need to dig it out to stick on my desk here at home. I also have a Figment "squeaky toy" where's he'd holding a pot of gold.

 

[SirNim]

Originally posted by aimster
I also have a Figment "squeaky toy" where's he'd holding a pot of gold.

I've got that, too!

And my brothers, when we went this past April, got one "big" souvenir: The huge Figment sculpture in The Art of Disney stores and World of Disney!