EPCOT Figment, well, to be replaced by Figment

[FigmentsBrightIdeas]

Whoops.

On topic to Figment: I may or may not be in the minority here, but the orange/blue exterior colors of the 1999 ride are IMO far superior to the original exterior colors.

Heck, even the finale to the 2002 ride captures a lot of the spirit of the 1983 ride. That's the one truly imaginative part.

Get where you’re coming from.. but in all honesty, if you look specifically at the color scheme of the original 83-98 attraction, the old color scheme worked better with the rest of it. The inside used to be very colorful & whimsical. And it was an airy, open space w lots of blues & purples and other colors of the rainbow (Dreamfinder & Figment’s colors) throughout, hence why both the exterior & ride vehicles were this same color scheme originally. It also kinda emulated the sky, as we were taking a flight w Dreamfinder & Figment basically, into the real of imagination (think of the phrase, “your head is in the clouds”)

They changed it to red, orange, & blue once the Honey, I Shrunk IP theming came in to match the Imagination Institute theming of said show. And while it def pops.. I personally liked the more peaceful colors of the original rather than the bright/loud scheme we have now per se. Again, just my opinion.. I get why some like the current scheme. It’s very 90s.. but I always felt the original was more timeless and peaceful per se, much like the ride used to be. It didn’t use to be so chaotic per say, it was a very relaxing journey, sure, it had it’s more dark/tense moments, for instance, the literature scene, but even that wasn’t exactly “terrifying” per say rather than really general aesthetics really. Wasn’t any more “scary” than say the Haunted Mansion, really.

 

[Zak and Wheezie]

I'm still sad we haven't gotten this, though:

It clearly appears to be a bigger revamp, a more exciting-looking space, than the rather tired exterior we currently have. Imagine if COVID-19 didn't happen. Who knows. Maybe EPCOT would be pretty darn good. Or still in a pretty bad state.

I do agree that the 1983 ride/colors worked better in tandem; at first I found it really odd that the 1999 ride's color are the same as Figment's shirt as he was barely in the 1999 one, but then that makes me wonder if the revamped colors were to reflect the Kodak sponsorship at the time.

Correct me if i'm wrong, but didn't Kodak not want to update the ride around this time? I think (not 100% sure) that Disney kind of forced them to revamp the attraction due to the contract. Had Kodak dropped out in 1997/98 the ride probably would've had a bigger budget for a revamp (and probably still terrible, but a much different ride than the revamp they made).

 

[Agent H]

I'm still sad we haven't gotten this, though:
View attachment 840829
It clearly appears to be a bigger revamp, a more exciting-looking space, than the rather tired exterior we currently have. Imagine if COVID-19 didn't happen. Who knows. Maybe EPCOT would be pretty darn good. Or still in a pretty bad state.

Knowing chapak it was probably going to be inside out

 

[MisterPenguin]

The original.. folks back in the day used to be able to access the sound control room, and through whatever jack I believe was meant for headphones to test each channel of audio, they’d bring a tape recorder w them, connect an audio cable from the headphone jack to their tape deck’s microphone/input jack and just, play each part of audio or mixture of audio and hit record.
Second version, guessing someone contacted the composer or someone close to the development of said ride and got the audio tracks.

Wasn't there a period in between in which people had an inductor placed near a speaker to pick up 'the signal'?

 

[FigmentsBrightIdeas]

I'm still sad we haven't gotten this, though:
View attachment 840829
It clearly appears to be a bigger revamp, a more exciting-looking space, than the rather tired exterior we currently have. Imagine if COVID-19 didn't happen. Who knows. Maybe EPCOT would be pretty darn good. Or still in a pretty bad state.

Yup, that looks to be the original color scheme, so seems like a ‘very’ good sign.. however, we know how Disney can be with their BlueSky art and how things change all the time. I genuinely believe though, they’ve got to know how much they’ve got to get this right after how badly they’ve fumbled so much as of late. The plans and everything are in their archives, right in front of them.

 

[FigmentsBrightIdeas]

Knowing chapak it was probably going to be inside out

My understanding is Pete Docter (the director of Inside Out, mind you ‘and’ the current head of Pixar) was dead-set against this upon being brought to a meeting to pitch the idea to him. He himself even commissioned Park Ops to put out a survey to send directly to WDI, to show them how much people still really loved & cared about Figment to prevent that from happening. All I can say is, thank God for folks like Pete Docter who get how much the Park Original icons & attractions mean to us and how important they are to the park going experience

 

[FigmentsBrightIdeas]

Wasn't there a period in between in which people had an inductor placed near a speaker to pick up 'the signal'?

For the area music. Most likely/probably. I wouldn’t 100% be sure though unless those that collected that audio shared exactly how they did those specific recordings.

 

[Haymarket2008]

Whoops.

On topic to Figment: I may or may not be in the minority here, but the orange/blue exterior colors of the 1999 ride are IMO far superior to the original exterior colors.

Heck, even the finale to the 2002 ride captures a lot of the spirit of the 1983 ride. That's the one truly imaginative part.

Very interesting. I think the purple hues were drop dead gorgeous in conjunction with the clean pyramid prisms reflecting a blue sky.

 

[Zak and Wheezie]

All they would have to do, is bring back the 1983 ride and just enhance it (as by 1998 many effects were starting to age). And make a new Imageworks, maybe upstairs, maybe not. That'd be gold. But again, I don't see them doing that; I have no clue ATP what they'll do, if they'll just sit and let it rot, or if they'll do something.

In 2010 when Kodak left, when I browsed what people said on Disney forums, they were thinking "woah this could mean a Figment rework!" And we kept getting rumors for the entirety of the 2010s and even today and it just seems like an eternity.

 

[Zak and Wheezie]

Very interesting. I think the purple hues were drop dead gorgeous in conjunction with the clean pyramid prisms reflecting a blue sky.

I guess i'm just so used to and tired of the minimalistic new buildings in EPCOT that are just "white and grey" that when I see something with color it makes it more appealing to me. Not much, but it's something.

Living With The Land is honestly the very last classic-style EPCOT ride left; everything else is essentially just inferior refurbs (Figment, SSE) or completely different (while Ellen's Energy Adventure was incredibly dated by 2017, GOTG just doesn't fit at all).

 

[Brer Panther]

I don't know if we're still talking about PBS Kids, but you know what would fit great in Animal Kingdom if Disney owned the rights to it? Zoboomafoo.

Zoboo reminds me a lot of Figment, honestly - they have the same sort of wide-eyed curiosity, good-hearted mischievous streak, and excitable nature.

 

[Zak and Wheezie]

I don't know if we're still talking about PBS Kids, but you know what would fit great in Animal Kingdom if Disney owned the rights to it? Zoboomafoo.

Zoboo reminds me a lot of Figment, honestly - they have the same sort of wide-eyed curiosity, good-hearted mischievous streak, and excitable nature.

Good lord I started something

I need to make a "what if there was a PBS theme park?" thread, as a theoretical question of what it'd be like.

 

[Zak and Wheezie]

My idea for a Figment rework.

The theater building is an afterthought. You can see all of those shorts at home on your TV. And no, some subpar effects are not going to make going to see the shorts worth it.

Replace Pixar's Short Film Festival with something. Anything. Magic Journeys, Captain EO, Honey I Shrunk The Audience. I dunno, even something that doesn't even fit the pavilion would be better, like Body Wars or Cranium Command. Anything other than what's there now. It is an utterly worthless show at this point. It's just so pointless. At the very least, they could at least rotate new shorts in there. It's literally the same 3 shorts 24/7/365.

Another idea: a 3D show adapting the story of Figment from the comic books! Dreamfinder, known here as "Blarion Mercurial", The Singular as the main villain, and of course, Figment! That would be great.

The main ride, JII. All I would do? Just bring back the original 1983 ride except with better effects/animatronics. That would be it. Everyone would be happy. The kids would love it, the adults would love it, you'd be looking at lines out past Living With The Land for months on end.

I'm not sure what I would do with ImageWorks honestly. I'd keep many of the existing activities but add in new ones, I just don't have many ideas here, actually. Definitely bring the rainbow tunnel back, maybe it could be a combination of 1982 ImageWorks and 2002 ImageWorks. Figment meet-and-greets too, sometimes even with Dreamfinder!

That's all I would do. That's all they would need to do.

I think they're just scared that there's no reason to spend the money on a rework of this scale, because Figment merch sells and the ride, while clearly not popular, is also not always a ghost town (I myself have had to wait in decent lines for it), so why spend all that money for Figment when it's doing alright as-is?

You sure about that? It'd make Disney so much money and it'd genuinely be incredible. I'm sure every massive Figment fanatic has said this. Like, someone please show this to some people that have power, cause i'm 100% certain Disney could capitalize on this nostalgia.

I'm not going to say "bring back Horizons, bring back EVERY old EPCOT ride!" To me, the only ride i'd bring back is the original Figment.

 

[Figments Friend]

I have always wondered how the source audio for the first two got out there.

When the show audio tapes were updated to a digital format some years ago, the tapes that were being used were then tossed in the dumpster.
Those tapes were salvaged….by individuals who happened to be working there at the time, and cared about saving that valuable material.

Or so I have been told…



-

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

Good lord I started something

I need to make a "what if there was a PBS theme park?" thread, as a theoretical question of what it'd be like.

 

[Jayspency]

My Idea for a figment rework:

-OG JII with reimagined effects
-extended queue similar to HM DL updated queue
-new imageworks
-Inside Out Cranium Command inspired show

Boom

 

[Figments Friend]

I saw a comment earlier citing Tony baxter saying Disney would only invest in a new attraction if they NEEDED to. However the release of the golden book, international merchandise, and other things, seem to hint that Disney is at the very least interested in doing something with figment; and perhaps maybe the ride. Disney can only put it off for so long before they need to replace a pre existing Epcot attraction for expansion.

There is a difference between Park Management feeling a real need to invest in changing / upgrading an Attraction and the Merchandising Department rolling out the next Figment collectible.
The two are unrelated.

The Attraction will never see serious investment until WDW Management feels that it needs it.
That need is just not there, as frustrating as it is.

It doesn’t matter how many Figment popcorn buckets and limited edition Figment shirts and pins sell….nothing will change until Management is convinced that there is a real public need to invest in this Pavillion again.
Thus far, in their opinion it does not need serious investment.

The meet n’ greet addition that was added last year was an inexpensive band aid on a wound that has been bleeding badly for more then two decades.
In their mind, it’s good enough to appease the Figment fans and give them an excuse to once again pass over the Pavillion and focus funds instead on creating more outdoor drinking spots.
That instant return of investment is the enticement.

Now, how do we get them to view the Pavilion and the Attraction with the same urgency of need to refresh?
Like I said earlier….follow the money.

-

 

[Moth]

That concept art posted last page?

Blame COVID for killing that.

 

[Nobody nobody]

That concept art posted last page?

Blame COVID for killing that.

What would it have been like? Good?

It was chapek era, so I don’t know how confident I feel about its quality
I wonder how better or worse the Disney parks would be if covid never happened.

 

[Moth]

What would it have been like? Good?

It was chapek era, so I don’t know how confident I feel about its quality.

Existed. It would've existed.

Just another one of the EPCOT casualties caused by COVID. That, SSE, PLAY! and UK.


Brazil also depending who you ask.