I was reading, over on another board, that Figment is possibly getting a refurb. Any truth to it? If it's true I wonder if they'll be making any major changes or just airing out the skunk smell!
-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
Figment Refurb?
- Thread starter MissMorrow
- Start date
WDWisAMAZING
New Member
Figment definitely needs a refurb. I like the ride but after seeing it so many times, I find it to be quite boring. It's never crowded either, so if they did make some changes it wouldn't be as hectic as the Fantasyland Expansion.
spacemountain89
Active Member
I really hope so. After riding it twice I have no desire to ride it again. If they do a refurb hopefully they'll put the Dreamfinder back in it.
HouCuseChickie
Well-Known Member
I know this subject has been discussed ad nauseum and it would be too perfect and highly unlikely to see it restored to something comparable to its original state/version- but that would make me so happy. 
I found myself watching a YouTube vid of the original ride earlier this week and feeling so depressed with the reality of it all.
I found myself watching a YouTube vid of the original ride earlier this week and feeling so depressed with the reality of it all. 
MerlinTheGoat
Well-Known Member
The new version is terrible, nothing would make me happier than to bring Tony Baxter back in to redo it with all the loving care it deserves. Hopefully with Dreamfinder, but i'd imagine almost anything would be better than what they've got now (ok, there could be worse things, but just saying). The old ride was probably one of the most amazing fantasy dark rides ever created.
TropicalFig8
Active Member
You wouldn't believe how many threads I read about a Figment refurb. Figment really needs it badly but right now I don't think anything will happen in the future. I still want Dreamfinder back.
JustInTime
Well-Known Member
The current version is IMO the worst attraction on property.
aladdin2007
Well-Known Member
True, theres also the sponser issue. I imagine Disney would rather someone come in to help foot the bill, but whether they are shopping around or not.....
TropicalFig8
Active Member
Well I was there in June and when I rode Figment,I saw that they fixed the audio and added new speakers. Maybe Disney is trying to attract a new sponsor.
MerlinTheGoat
Well-Known Member
There were minor maintenance fixes all over the WDW property around June. But it's more than likely due to Iger, Staggs, the board, etc that were visiting that caused the sudden cramming in management to fix stuff. I doubt it has anything to do with anything else. Management and the heads at TDO were probably just trying to get everything fixed that they could as quickly as possible before they got there and saw all the stuff broken.
That themeparkone guy on twitter has been saying there are no plans for the ride whatsoever. He's been tweeting a lot about D23, whether his words are true remains to be seen. I'd have to say though, the fact that our insiders say the plans HAVE been on the table for a while says something against those twitter posts.
Lee
Adventurer
Not sure Tony wants anything to do with it.:lol:
When we spoke to him last fall, right out front, his comment about the current ride was "Uggghhh."
Nah...Sounds Dangerous is still the one to beat there.
No. There was no correlation between the board's visit and the work at the parks. The board never saw the parks, other than Iger, and even then his movements were planned well in advance. They knew where he was going and what he was going to see.
I've been hearing a bit about themeparkone. Keep a supply of salt handy when reading his tweets. I don't know the guy, but from what I hear....yeah...grain of salt.
As for the Imagination ride, various concepts have been in different stages of development for a few years. At least once it almost got the go-ahead, only to have the budger raided for use elsewhere. Blame the fish.
MerlinTheGoat
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the info. It just seemed strange that the sudden fixing of stuff correlated with Iger and the board's visit. AA's on Splash Mountain got fixed, as well as that tarp on BTM...
I heard Tony hates the new version of Imagination as well. But that's the reason i say bring him back. He would surely be a perfect person to correct it, and his hatred of the new one would make sure that one stays dead.
Yeah, i'm both following themeparkone's twitter but definitely taking what he says with a grain of salt. I'm basically waiting for D23 to make the final judgement. His "Festival of Fantasy" tease is pretty specific, compared to some of his other broad predictions for instance. We'll see. I agree with you though, too early to trust him for sure.
You seem to know somewhat about past plans for an Imagination redo. If you are able to answer any sort of specifics, let me ask what sort of redo we're talking about-
1- A restructuring into something like the original with Dreamfinder (similar show scenes, themes, etc)?
2- Something of an improved theme of the newer concept of the ride (the imagination institute with all the computer and lab stuff)?
3- Or something different entirely, totally new overhaul?
I understand if no one can answer, but thanks in advance anyways. I've yet to see Sounds Dangerous, perhaps i should to see how bad it is lol! Figment is probably my most hated new attraction, or among them.
Lee
Adventurer
3 is the closest to what I've heard. Totally different ride, but keeping Figment.
Nothing I've ever heard would indicate Dreamfinder would ever be coming back. Personally, I'm good with that. He was a product of his time (late '70s-early '80s) and would stick out like orange carpet these days.
FigmentJedi
Well-Known Member
If Eric Idle busted into my house, destroyed all my cool stuff, evicted my creator and having the audacity to claim he did it himself, I'd be a "brat" too.
MerlinTheGoat
Well-Known Member
I figured it would be either 2 or 3. Thanks for the answer.
I never got the impression that Dreamfinder was outdated personally, not any more than Figment or many other Disney characters anyways (who you could easily argue are "outdated" but still fun characters). I personally don't feel he is at all, he always felt like a great character and still does to this day. He reminds me of Merlin from The Sword in the Stone, the wise mentor who can do all sorts of fantastic things, while having a whimsical and silly side. His voice even sounds similar. His Dream Catcher blimp and his Dreamport reminded me of something Jules Verne would think of. I've seen a lot of more outdated characters and themes used in the park. And a lot of what didn't feel so outdated was changed for something that felt even more outdated (or not futuristic at least, but just modern and current era). The Honey I Shrunk stuff really shows its age to me (despite my being a pretty big fan of the original movie).
Watching videos of the old ride, i was actually surprised how well the majority of it has aged. At the very least, the concept itself. SOME of the technology has shown its age (like the laser show, though that still looks really cool and could benefit from newer tech). For the most part though, a lot of the ride really looks more elaborate than some of the other newer rides that came to the parks in more recent years (Pooh for instance, much of which is unfortunately actually just cardboard cutouts, like its predecessor Toad). Had the ride been redone with new technology while maintaining its old scenes and themes, i feel it would still hold up amazingly well. Ironically, the old animated figures and hand drawn film reels used in Imagination 1.0 look infinitely better than the ugly CGI Figment they created for the new ride.