Rumor Figment, well, to be replaced by Figment

[RoysCabin]

patently untrue... There was always a demand for Imagination...The lines were probably not as large as they were in the first few years, but it was always well attended...and they had a huge uptick when Honey I Shrunk The Audience debuted...
They really needed to refresh the effects in the ride...but it was a good solid ride and a people eater...

If I recall correctly, wasn't there some issue with the original JII's lines because Honey I Shrunk the Audience's queue was allowed to snake in front of it, creating a lot of confusion?

 

[Phil12]

Facts?

It opened in 1983 and was a popular attraction for several years. After about 12 years, it lost its popularity. By 1995 it was a ghost town most of the time. Of course, just as with other unpopular attractions (such as the Tiki Room, CoP and CBJ) during periods of heavy visitation the unpopular rides do get some traffic. However, during normal visitation Journey Into Imagination did not attract very many guests. It was shut down in 1998 for renovations in the hope they could spur attendance. However, as we all know, they only made it worse. But at least we still have the ever popular Dr. Nigel Channing!

 

[ImperfectPixie]

It opened in 1983 and was a popular attraction for several years. After about 12 years, it lost its popularity. By 1995 it was a ghost town most of the time. Of course, just as with other unpopular attractions (such as the Tiki Room, CoP and CBJ) during periods of heavy visitation the unpopular rides do get some traffic. However, during normal visitation Journey Into Imagination did not attract very many guests. It was shut down in 1998 for renovations in the hope they could spur attendance. However, as we all know, they only made it worse. But at least we still have the ever popular Dr. Nigel Channing!

I really hope all this about the original Imagination being unpopular is sarcasm...

 

[pdude81]

It opened in 1983 and was a popular attraction for several years. After about 12 years, it lost its popularity. By 1995 it was a ghost town most of the time. Of course, just as with other unpopular attractions (such as the Tiki Room, CoP and CBJ) during periods of heavy visitation the unpopular rides do get some traffic. However, during normal visitation Journey Into Imagination did not attract very many guests. It was shut down in 1998 for renovations in the hope they could spur attendance. However, as we all know, they only made it worse. But at least we still have the ever popular Dr. Nigel Channing!

 

[marni1971]

It opened in 1983 and was a popular attraction for several years. After about 12 years, it lost its popularity. By 1995 it was a ghost town most of the time. Of course, just as with other unpopular attractions (such as the Tiki Room, CoP and CBJ) during periods of heavy visitation the unpopular rides do get some traffic. However, during normal visitation Journey Into Imagination did not attract very many guests. It was shut down in 1998 for renovations in the hope they could spur attendance. However, as we all know, they only made it worse. But at least we still have the ever popular Dr. Nigel Channing!

Facts?

 

[Epcot_Imagineer]

Except for certain figures like Ursula, Mater, the Na’vi Shaman, and I’m sure Hondo in Smuggler’s Run along with other super advanced figures. Those were done in house I read.

Actually pinging this again to see if I can't get some clarification as I hear widely different things about AA's on these forums. Can someone clarify how much work is done by Garner Holt in the parks? I read some places that NO AA's are done in house, they are all out sourced to Garner -- other places say what I quoted above, and others still say there is Garner Holt and another contractor that does AA work.

 

[Phil12]

patently untrue... There was always a demand for Imagination...The lines were probably not as large as they were in the first few years, but it was always well attended...and they had a huge uptick when Honey I Shrunk The Audience debuted...
They really needed to refresh the effects in the ride...but it was a good solid ride and a people eater...

I understand how fan goggles make some people feel that way. I always like the omnimover "people eater" excuse too. But when hours would go by with only one or two people getting on the ride, I guess you could call that a "people eater". Horizons suffered a similar fate. Things get old and guests stop showing up for some attractions. RIP.

 

[marni1971]

Facts?

 

[Phil12]

Facts?

They closed the original attraction down and renovated it.

 

[Brer Oswald]

patently untrue... There was always a demand for Imagination...The lines were probably not as large as they were in the first few years, but it was always well attended...and they had a huge uptick when Honey I Shrunk The Audience debuted...
They really needed to refresh the effects in the ride...but it was a good solid ride and a people eater...

I’d imagine attractions like Pirates, Mansion, and Small World had similar attendance around this time.

Nowadays, those attractions can get up to an hour (or more) wait. I’d imagine had it have lived, and with updated effects, 1.0 would have gotten similar wait times in today’s theme park “climate”.

 

[Horizons '83]

They renovated it because someone was trying make make their mark as the new VP of Epcot at the time.

 

[HMFan999]

Remember kids, only trolls set their profiles to private.

 

[Phil12]

They renovated it because someone was trying make make their mark as the new VP of Epcot at the time.

The biggest problem for Journey Into Imagination was the many other (too many other) omnimovers and boat rides bunched in a rather tight area of EPCOT. You had WoM, Horizons, Living with the Land, SSE, UoE and The Living Seas all competing with one another. Disney learned from that mistake as some of the attractions began to fall out of favor. Some survived being reinvented while others such as WoM and Horizons bit the dust due to fact the guest attendance was down.

So, at least Journey Into Imagination survived in a different form and we can all thank Dr. Nigel Channing. And let's not forget to thank the Phoenicians!

 

[lazyboy97o]

Seriously, it's astounding how poorly the aesthetic that was in circa mid-90s/early 00s has aged, not just in Disney but in pop culture in general. Every generation of aesthetics has something about it people aren't exactly eager to bring back (e.g. the strange color palettes of the 70s, some of the 80s more questionable 'neon' choices, etc.), but that particular era had such a busy, crowded look and a vibe of trying to cram far, far too much visual information in one place, whereas right before it and now after it you see more of a preference for sleeker/cleaner designs (I'm thinking DisneyQuest and the original Downtown Disney West Side as examples of that "90s aesthetic" as I write that out). No greater contrast than CommuiCore to Innoventions, or yeah, the complete closing of the open look of the original Imagination pavilion...man, no wonder EPCOT got hit the hardest with that hammer than any of the other parks, and astounding that it's taking this long to finally undo a lot of the worst of it. Doesn't mean what comes next will be perfect, but still.

Great, now I want to read a research paper or book on what social forces informed each generation's overall look, and see if there are reasons that make sense and that I can sympathize with.

I’m sure there’s more at play, but generally that time was about abundance because the economy was up. The more you had, the more you showed off. The tv show Friends is a good example of this - when Joey got his big break, he bought a bunch of useless junk to display in his place (like the giant dog) because that was a way to show off that he was financially doing well. Empty consumerism. He ends up having to return a bunch of it later because things go south, but Ross helps him out to keep the dog, the one thing Joey actually became attached to.

In turn, TWDC wanted to change Journey Into Imagination, not because they needed to change the show, but because new “stuff” showed off that they had the means to do it (even if it was on Kodak’s dime) - and of course bolster the new millennium celebration. WDI should have noted when they were allotted their approved budget that the money was better suited to simply refurbish the ride, but they chose not to. Because of society’s obsession with needless “stuff” (and potentially some arrogance tied to it) they felt that they were actually going to make the Imagination Pavilion better. Instead, they destroyed an attraction on par with rides such as Pirates of the Caribbean - so great that the ride should have been replicated in other parks, not changed into something unrecognizable.

It’s not so much the economy as it is technology. Computers were really starting to be utilized and removing a lot of technical limitations. This is a process that has been repeated a few times in history, technology allows ornament to become cheap, ornament goes crazy and eventually everyone eventually reacts by preferring a more minimal aesthetic.

 

[Horizons '83]

The biggest problem for Journey Into Imagination was the many other (too many other) omnimovers and boat rides bunched in a rather tight area of EPCOT. You had WoM, Horizons, Living with the Land, SSE, UoE and The Living Seas all competing with one another. Disney learned from that mistake as some of the attractions began to fall out of favor. Some survived being reinvented while others such as WoM and Horizons bit the dust due to fact the guest attendance was down.

So, at least Journey Into Imagination survived in a different form and we can all thank Dr. Nigel Channing. And let's not forget to thank the Phoenicians!

They weren’t competing with each other at all, they were all spread out in different sides of future world, it was designed that way.

 

[FigmentForver96]

Troll season is at its height I see. You must be the alter of hmmmm.mmm or whoever that guy was that claimed he was an insider during D23.

Nah Phil has been around for a while unfortunately

 

[Homemade Imagineering]

I really hope the proposals for the imagination redo aren’t mostly IP based. Imagination has so much potential to make it better, and Disney better be using this next year to come up with ways to reintroduce the attraction ( hopefully with dreamfinder ) to a new audience just as they did in 1982. Nobody knew of dreamfinder and figment before then, and if they created two iconic characters that today resonate with almost the entire Disney community, then I believe they can do it again with figment and dreamfinder in a new way for the next generation, and give them something special.

 

[DreamfinderGuy]

The troll is right though. Thanks to some terrible operation, the queue got routed directly into the interior Magic Eye entrance to cope with HISTA’s popularity. Since that was always meant to be the last thing at the pavilion, it really screwed with the crowd flow and decreased attendance at the ride. Part of how Disney swindled Kodak into thinking a new attraction was necessary.

 

[DCLcruiser]

I think we can all agree that Imagination! pavilion has had less attention and shorter lines than in its history. I love Figment, but the ride is a walk-on at the end for nostalgia. Not bc it's a great experience.

Now, TT, I could spend hours building a perfect car! (but I only get like 3 minutes to battle my wife for who's selections stick)

 

[Chupaca Bruh]

I have said this in the past but the Imagination Pavilion should be the best, most spectacular, innovative ride that everyone can ride. It should top all rides in all of the Disney parks in the world. It is the epitome of what Disney was, and is, all about. It should be the one ride that the budget is huge. It should make all Disney fans want to go to Epcot and experience it.