Rumor Figment, well, to be replaced by Figment

[Cmdr_Crimson]

What exactly could these "bigger problems" be?

Actually, do we want to know?

The "oh so" big problems of obsessed Spirit Jersey's, Loungeflys and whatever overpriced merchandise they want to make next.....

 

[Disstevefan1]

Brayden is leaving us hanging!

Hope he puts up a video on his channel to explain.

 

[Gusey]

Mission:Space seems to still hold up to me.
Not really seeing what might cause it to be considered in need of a update.

It did receive Mission Space: Green film in 2017, almost the first part of the Epcot Transformation to open as it was announced at the 2017 D23 with Guardians and Ratatouille

 

[James Alucobond]

Mission: SPACE is fine. It might not be anyone's favorite, but it's not outright bad show like Imagination and very much should be fairly far down the list of priorities at EPCOT. IMO, top priority is refurbishing Spaceship Earth simply to preserve the ride system. Next, it's adding capacity by getting Wonders of Life back online, alongside making cosmetic improvements to the interiors of The Land and The Seas, which should be a minor undertaking. Imagination is next since it's more extensive but ultimately an embarrassing spectacle in its current state. After that, World Showcase build-outs. Maybe then circle back around.

 

[SpectreJordan]

The only bigger problem they have is how DHS is a half-finished park, it doesn't seem like they have intentions of fixing that either...

I believe it. Look at all the Figment merch selling and tell me Disney is not content keeping the ride as is. The people that would be most interested and drawn in by a redo of Imagination are the people that are already in the parks every week and buying as much merch as possible.

I think they'd sell more if the ride was actually good though. They sell a lot now, but it's only Disney diehards buying it. Figment's an enigma to everyone else because the current ride is baaaad.

Mission:Space seems to still hold up to me.
Not really seeing what might cause it to be considered in need of a update.

Spaceship Earth however…
We all know the track needs work after 40+ years of operation, and a few show scenes could be refurbed or refreshed.

The Imagination Pavillion as a whole needs a complete rethink.
But everyone here and elsewhere already knows this.
The ride through Attraction, overall layout of the Pavilion, and even the upper level all need a rethink.

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It has to be one of the least popular rides at WDW. I don't think it's a bad attraction but people really don't like it & it almost never has lines. EPCOT desperately needs rides people actually want to ride so C/D tickets like Frozen & Ratatouille don't have E ticket lines.

They have that ride & the current JII wasting space with 10 minute long lines all the time.

 

[UNCgolf]

They have that ride & the current JII wasting space with 10 minute long lines all the time.

Don't forget the Finding Nemo abomination/waste of space. It would be more interesting if you could do something as simple as walking down that path with the aquarium windows uncovered.

 

[SpectreJordan]

Don't forget the Finding Nemo abomination/waste of space. It would be more interesting if you could do something as simple as walking down that path with the aquarium windows uncovered.

I'm not familiar with the original ride, so I'm not sure what they could do with that space especially since it's connected to the aquarium. But yeah, I'm not a fan of that ride either.

 

[James Alucobond]

I'm not familiar with the original ride, so I'm not sure what they could do with that space especially since it's connected to the aquarium. But yeah, I'm not a fan of that ride either.

The Seas is simply a case where the ride alone will never be enough. It needs to lead to a believable, visually compelling sea base bookended by an interesting pre-show and a post-show (hydrolators or some equivalent) to sell the concept. Uncovering the aquarium would help, but it was never designed to be super exciting by itself. It was part of the rising action of the pavilion.

 

[Epcot82Guy]

The Seas is simply a case where the ride alone will never be enough. It needs to lead to a believable, visually compelling sea base bookended by an interesting pre-show and a post-show (hydrolators or some equivalent) to sell the concept. Uncovering the aquarium would help, but it was never designed to be super exciting by itself. It was part of the rising action of the pavilion.

Agreed. It's effectively a ride-based pre-show. The way they did it doesn't work very well. But, I think there are any number of story lines tying it to the sea base that could work pretty well.

I think a Mr. Ray focused story or accomplishing basically what the hydrolators did could both be fine. It's not bad in it's current form. It's just not very good at anything it's trying to accomplish.

 

[UNCgolf]

I'm not familiar with the original ride, so I'm not sure what they could do with that space especially since it's connected to the aquarium. But yeah, I'm not a fan of that ride either.

As mentioned by @James Alucobond above, the original ride wasn't really a ride the way Nemo is.

It wasn't intended to function as a standalone attraction; it was just one part of the overall pavilion concept. It was transport across the ocean floor into the underwater base (there are windows into the aquarium that are just covered with curtains for Nemo).

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

As mentioned by @James Alucobond above, the original ride wasn't really a ride the way Nemo is.

It wasn't intended to function as a standalone attraction; it was just one part of the overall pavilion concept. It was transport across the ocean floor into the underwater base (there are windows into the aquarium that are just covered with curtains for Nemo).

Only one attraction to me reminded me of this and that was Wild Artic at Sea World..It made more sense when you had the simulator ride before the walk through section in the artic base.. But, now your lucky if the attraction is even running or otherwise you just bypass and head to the articbase nowadays...

 

[osian]

Only one attraction to me reminded me of this and that was Wild Artic at Sea World..It made more sense when you had the simulator ride before the walk through section in the artic base.. But, now your lucky if the attraction is even running or otherwise you just bypass and head to the articbase nowadays...

I think the Wild Arctic simulator might be closed permanently. It's a shame, it wasn't the most brilliant ride in the world (I'm not a big fan of Star Tours either, it was fine 20 years ago!) but it completed the story.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

I think the Wild Arctic simulator might be closed permanently. It's a shame, it wasn't the most brilliant ride in the world (I'm not a big fan of Star Tours either, it was fine 20 years ago!) but it completed the story.

Exactly! I would be surprised if they do the same thing they are doing with the new coaster they are building in the Antarctica section or something similar since it was close to Ice Breaker.

 

[BasiltheBatLord]

This made me laugh, the dedicated audio track for "Moon Channing" didn't play at all(except for the separate audio track that plays in the main finale area):

Fun technical fact, in the main finale area, each of the Figment voice lines plays out of their own individual speaker, this is why you will mainly hear "low pitched Figment" if you are sitting in the back(though this is more due to a volume balancing issue). This stream also reveals that once the ride vehicle fully enters the 2nd part of the finale, it silences the audio in the main area.

Not sure if it's just me or if anyone else can relate, but the finale of JII is actually one of the most anxiety-inducing parts of any theme park ride anywhere for me.

You know that huge scene with all those figures is all around you in the dark but you can't see any of it and you know the walls are going to come down at any moment. Plus if you know where to look you can see some of the figures in the dark waiting.

Terrifying. It's kind of the same feeling as being surrounded by all the abandoned figures behind black curtains on the SSE descent.

 

[pdude81]

Not sure if it's just me or if anyone else can relate, but the finale of JII is actually one of the most anxiety-inducing parts of any theme park ride anywhere for me.

You know that huge scene with all those figures is all around you in the dark but you can't see any of it and you know the walls are going to come down at any moment. Plus if you know where to look you can see some of the figures in the dark waiting.

Terrifying. It's kind of the same feeling as being surrounded by all the abandoned figures behind black curtains on the SSE descent.

To me it's the most satisfying part of the ride, because it's cheerful and reminds me of the spirit of the original attraction. Now if they could have turned each of those Figments into an AA and evenly divided among the rest of the ride, it would be rated much higher.

I get your point though. I didn't get scared by that on the first time I rode it, but after that I looked forward to it.

 

[GladToBeHear]

Mission: SPACE is fine. It might not be anyone's favorite, but it's not outright bad show like Imagination and very much should be fairly far down the list of priorities at EPCOT. IMO, top priority is refurbishing Spaceship Earth simply to preserve the ride system. Next, it's adding capacity by getting Wonders of Life back online, alongside making cosmetic improvements to the interiors of The Land and The Seas, which should be a minor undertaking. Imagination is next since it's more extensive but ultimately an embarrassing spectacle in its current state. After that, World Showcase build-outs. Maybe then circle back around.

Agree with this priority list 100%. Regarding M:S -- quite honestly -- I'd be happy (maybe content is more accurate) if they just updated the missions with 3-5 random videos/scenarios. That would go a long way. And maybe change out the post-ride group challenge with smaller, individual game kiosks.

 

[aladdin2007]

To me it's the most satisfying part of the ride, because it's cheerful and reminds me of the spirit of the original attraction. Now if they could have turned each of those Figments into an AA and evenly divided among the rest of the ride, it would be rated much higher.

I get your point though. I didn't get scared by that on the first time I rode it, but after that I looked forward to it.

he may be referring more to the striking flashing lights that make you jump with the gusts of air, I never cared for that at all, but I like the scene itself once it is over.

 

[WaluigiTime]

DSNY Newscast claims that before 2020 Imagination was going to be replaced with Inside Out but Pete Doctor vetoed it because he didn't want his characters replacing Figment. Then the plan was to make it a Muppet Labs dark ride and to put Muppet Vision 3D in the Magic Eye Theater but that also fell through. I am not sure how trustworthy the source is but he also seems to think they are wanting to do a overhaul with Figment now instead of replacing him.

 

[Earlie the Pearlie]

DSNY Newscast claims that before 2020 Imagination was going to be replaced with Inside Out but Pete Doctor vetoed it because he didn't want his characters replacing Figment. Then the plan was to make it a Muppet Labs dark ride and to put Muppet Vision 3D in the Magic Eye Theater but that also fell through. I am not sure how trustworthy the source is but he also seems to think they are wanting to do a overhaul with Figment now instead of replacing him.

I've heard the story about Pete Doctor before, and the general trend of news on this thread has supported that last claim.

 

[retr0gate]

Have heard the Inside Out rumor before but not the Muppet one. Interesting.