EPCOT Figment, well, to be replaced by Figment

[FigmentsBrightIdeas]

While Imagination in & itself, showcased through all the realms/mediums it can be best utilized in, plus an interactive playground where we could experiment it in our own ways in a way only WED/WDI could accomplish it. Ways in which were ‘reminiscent’ but not an exact copy of their past successful works. With two loveable, passionate, and identifiable characters we found in Dreamfinder & Figment Is timeless/eternal. That concept ‘never’ gets dated. Particularly in the way the show scenes were arranged & done. Not to mention the great voice cast, music composition, etc. All that had to have were some of its spfx enhanced & updated slightly, mainly tech wise over time. Especially with the ones that were originally planned but couldn’t be executed at the time due to the fact the budget & tech wasn’t available at the time. Nothing else.

As such, none of us should have to settle for something less than what we got originally. It never should’ve left to begin with. Only tastefully enhanced, period

 

[mysto]

It's a purple dragon, everyone understands it.

On the other hand, the popcorn bucket commands much longer lines than the original attraction, probably due to lower throughput but hey. Some serious hype there. Maybe a special edition cupcake or AP magnet would drum up enough interest among the ambitious company execs to consider a "retro"-fit.

 

[FigmentsBrightIdeas]

It's a purple dragon, everyone understands it.

On the other hand, the popcorn bucket commands much longer lines than the original attraction, probably due to lower throughput but hey. Some serious hype there. Maybe a special edition cupcake or AP magnet would drum up enough interest among the ambitious company execs to consider a "retro"-fit.

Not the case.. have you seen Martin’s ultimate tribute video of the attraction? Line for the popcorn buckets was almost the same as the original ride yet the ride had the capacity to handle things. Otherwise, Figment is more than just a purple dragon.. if it were simply that he were a purple dragon, then how come the current ride hardly gets any ridership daily?… I thought the fact that he was a purple dragon is what made him popular… oh wait.. yeah, that’s what I thought.. a fundamental misunderstanding on WDI’s part. The true reason why Figment sells is due to his philosophy and his original curious, wide eyed child full of optimism, purity & wonder characterization. Yes he’s cute & appealing from a design perspective, but he’s more than that.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

This is a really bad take.

For one, RnRC is a weak off-the-shelf coaster that bangs your head up while being half the length of Guardians (without the massive projections and incredibly unique ways the vehicle maneuvers). To your other point, Hagrid’s is pretty universally considered to be the best (or amongst the best) themed coasters ever made, so that’s some stiff competition for Figment.

Any other rides that OG Figment is superior over? Indy? Shanghai Pirates? JTTCOTE? DLP’s Pirates? Rise? RSR? FoP? VelociCoaster? Mystic Manor? GMR? Tot? Splash? HM?

I mean, just because something is a classic doesn’t mean things can’t have been made better since then. It was a great ride (that never should have been removed), but if Journey Into Imagination was legitimately the best ride at EPCOT today we’d be in an even worse spot than we are now IMO, and this is coming from a huge fan of it.

Weird hill to die on.

 

[999th Happy Haunt]

 

[FigmentsBrightIdeas]

View attachment 692366

Truth be told, the expectations we hold for dark rides are all simply from the experience and the quality of how how good they truly were. The only folks complaining about how “unrealistic” they are are people who are on the same selfish, blind page as Iger. They don’t want to admit the bar was ‘that’ high back then because quite frankly, they don’t actually care or as passionate as we are, don’t have the actual experience nor knowledge of what was there before & refuse to acknowledge it, ‘or’ they simply don’t want to admit that things are worse now simply due to the fact that if they did say that, it’d hurt the illusion they’ve made up that “everything’s fine. I like it, others that aren’t in the know or as passionate like it, so nobody else’s opinion or history matters”

 

[FigmentsBrightIdeas]

The truth of the matter is, execs above that actually have the power to do anything are the ones who manipulated guest flow, signage, and intentionally dwindled awareness of the ride itself to support their own selfish goals w the Honey I Shrunk IP. Imagination never actually genuinely lost popularity or love. If it did, how come the IP themed version w little to no Figment or anything from the original attraction in between only lasted ‘2’ years due to how immense the backlash was against the changes…. Mhm, again, that says everything.

 

[FigmentsBrightIdeas]

the only reason the ill-conceived 02-current version masquerading as a “return” when really it’s a screw you towards the fans w little to no change (hence why Figment is shoehorned as an after thought and is treated like a nuisance that farts in your face & turns everything upside-down in it, to mock the fans that fought against the garbage version without him right before) has lasted as long as it has, despite it’s lack of ridership nor popularity, is neglect, a lack of caring, and intentional blindness/too large of an ego from the execs above to support only themselves and nobody else, period. Anyone with genuine good faith in the company and it’s legacy would look at the sales data, the testimonies/memories people hold for the original ride & characters, etc. and would ‘immediately’ greenlight a proper return of the pavilion & characters we all loved without question. They don’t need to do anymore “tests”. This very same stuff’s been going on for and they have data going back decades now, 20 something years. Just do what should & needs to be done already.

 

[HauntedPirate]

the only reason the ill-conceived 02-current version masquerading as a “return” when really it’s a screw you towards the fans w little to no change (hence why Figment is shoehorned as an after thought and is treated like a nuisance that farts in your face & turns everything upside-down in it, to mock the fans that fought against the garbage version without him right before) has lasted as long as it has, despite it’s lack of ridership nor popularity, is neglect, a lack of caring, and intentional blindness/too large of an ego from the execs above to support only themselves and nobody else, period. Anyone with genuine good faith in the company and it’s legacy would look at the sales data, the testimonies/memories people hold for the original ride & characters, etc. and would ‘immediately’ greenlight a proper return of the pavilion & characters we all loved without question. They don’t need to do anymore “tests”. This very same stuff’s been going on for and they have data going back decades now, 20 something years. Just do what should & needs to be done already.

It was a spiteful refurb. And it's existed longer than the original masterpiece.

 

[FigmentJedi]

Again, I don't think mocking Figment fans was the intent with the current version when the Eric Idle solo version was so hated. You're basically watching Figment beat the crap out of that guy that told guests they were creatively braindead for seven minutes. It's just that topical humor like that ages like milk, especially when you use it as the basis for a quickfix that was never intended to run for 20 years.

 

[FigmentFan82]

Again, I don't think mocking Figment fans was the intent with the current version when the Eric Idle solo version was so hated. You're basically watching Figment beat the crap out of that guy that told guests they were creatively braindead for seven minutes. It's just that topical humor like that ages like milk, especially when you use it as the basis for a quickfix that was never intended to run for 20 years.

Agree, I see it as more an embrace of the crass humor of the time, akin to Tiki Room's new management stint. Heck, bugs bunny himself notoriously stated "Ain't I a stinker?" as many hero cartoon characters we also portrayed as pranksters and such (just like Mickey Mouse many times in his career)

 

[FigmentJedi]

Agree, I see it as more an embrace of the crass humor of the time, akin to Tiki Room's new management stint. Heck, bugs bunny himself notoriously stated "Ain't I a stinker?" as many hero cartoon characters we also portrayed as pranksters and such (just like Mickey Mouse many times in his career)

Exactly. Under New Management was also one big joke about how stupid the premise of injecting cartoon IP into a pre-existing ride was. And we almost had a third example with the whole "Let's retheme Superstar Limo to the Muppets while its still operating and have temporary Muppet construction workers cracking jokes about how godawful the original Superstar Limo was over the course of its installation" proposal. Cries for help from late-Eisner era WDI all of them.

 

[FigmentsBrightIdeas]

Can’t help but find it “interesting” though how the sign has Figment painted in a similar way to New Management rather than the Channing in this case as it should be however… think of why the roles are changed aswell… as opposed to the new characters screwing with the old.. it’s the old character screwing with the new… hmm.. other things also point to it being a jab at the fans rather than the new stuff. Like the insistence to keep poorly received Dr. Channing & Institute theming (doubling down on their garbage decision) rather than return Dreamfinder and the original theming & have Figment be portrayed the same way he was before rather than the latter. The Tiki Birds were portrayed the same as the originals, so why not Figment? Seems like an intentional choice to me.. it also doesn’t help how the sign outside is quite literally a diagram of the turntable that they disabled/used as an execuse for being too costly to maintain to get that redo off the ground to begin with.. the ride vehicles also feature this same diagram.. hmmm..

 

[FigmentsBrightIdeas]

And why hire the very guys that did Your Imagination to do With Figment? It’s also known that Kathy Mangum & Tom Fitzgerald, the two heads behind those 2 iterations have constantly had a bone to pick with Tony & his team.. referred to as “foamers” internally that are too close with fans/folks beneath them.. despite Tony & his team being the ones who brought those guys in, in the first place because they saw potential in them.. Yeeah, no joke. Look it up

 

[FigmentsBrightIdeas]

Here’s something else put out in the open for us all to see.. further disdain for “Small Figment Brains” that supposedly don’t get how senses are related to the creative process/imagination. (Truth be told, it isn’t.. look up the definition of imagination on Google. It’s a process ‘seperate’ from the senses.) Kathy Mangum’s initials are there Infact… yeeeah… doesn’t seem like the folks here are very fond of Figment, Tony, or any of the imagineers that were involved with the original, or fans of them for that matter. So much so, they didn’t have any of them consult on it even… More to sight than meets the eye indeed..

 

[FigmentsBrightIdeas]

Even the lyrics of the current ride. Keep in mind.. he isn’t spraying Channing directly.. he’s spraying ‘us’ the guests on this tour… “One awful whiff can send you reeling. One lovely sniff can be appealing. Your mind defines what enters through your nose.. that’s “how you tell a skunk is not a rose”. (Hey.. remember when the orignal ride featured the scent of rose? Uh huh..)

Then right after that.. you pass by two doors, laugh lab & dream lab. Behind the dream lab door features snoring recorded by none other than Chuck McCann, the voice of the Dreamfinder.
“Haha, so funny! We put Dreamfinder to sleep behind closed doors”

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

Does it seem odd that they like using Monty Python performers as scientist..John Cleese is your host on Time Riders..


And somehow....I still think Nigel Channing is a villian..

 

[Rodj]

Here’s something else put out in the open for us all to see.. further disdain for “Small Figment Brains” that supposedly don’t get how senses are related to the creative process/imagination. (Truth be told, it doesn’t.. look up the definition of imagination on Google. It’s a process ‘seperate’ from the senses.) Kathy Mangum’s initials are there Infact… yeeeah… doesn’t seem like the folks here are very fond of Figment, Tony, or any of the imagineers that were involved with the original, or fans of them for that matter. So much so, they didn’t have any of them consult on it even… More to sight than meets the eye indeed.. View attachment 692404

The light that usually illuminates this sign is either disabled/burnt out since sometime last year. Around the same time, they also turned back on the "illusionary spiral" lights that are on before the scene actually starts:

 

[999th Happy Haunt]

Does it seem odd that they like using Monty Python performers as scientist..John Cleese is your host on Time Riders..


And somehow....I still think Nigel Channing is a villian..

Eric Idle is just in his responses to the rabid “Distwitter” morons that harassed him over a job he did. He likely had no creative input for the ride, and probably did not see or care about the final product.

 

[FigmentsBrightIdeas]

Eric Idle is just in his responses to the rabid “Distwitter” morons that harassed him over a job he did. He likely had no creative input for the ride, and probably did not see or care about the final product.

This, absolutley. Eric Idle himself is not at fault here whatsoever.