Brer Panther
Well-Known Member
Does anyone know why they repainted the building red in the first place? Not that I dislike the red color, I'm just curious...
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EPCOT Figment, well, to be replaced by Figment
- Thread starter Walrus from Paris
- Start date
Scamp
Active Member
I think the building was repainted to match Kodak's branding colors (yellow and red).
Also they were incorporating theming from HISTA which had the imagination institute.
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FigmentsBrightIdeas
Well-Known Member
To match the color of the Honey I Shrunk the Audience color aesthetics, as the ride was then (of course) rethemed in ‘99 to match the film playing in the Magic Eye Theatre at the time, an extension of said theme to be a backstage tour of the institute holding the awards ceremony in the film. A mistake IMO, the original blue & purple was much better, but it is what it is. Still think that film would’ve been a much better fit at DHS than EPCOT, somewhat near where the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids playground once was, certainly would’ve fit much better thematically, but yeah.
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Brer Panther
Well-Known Member
The same colors as Figment's sweater, now that I think of it!
FigmentsBrightIdeas
Well-Known Member
Ya know.. I just thought I’d mention something that I hadn’t even considered or thought about til now.. but you know the whole excuse of Journey Into Imagination changing that “Oh, it was the turntable opening scene of the ride that was a maintenance cost nightmare. That thing just had to go/be cut”. Well.. it’s funny, cause.. you guys ever notice that very same year (‘98), Disneyland got their very own Innoventions in Tomorrowland that (you guessed it) still utilized their turntable, all refurbed, functioning perfectly fine. Interesting, right? Huh. Granted, you could certainly make the excuse all the complex mechanical slide projectors and such on that scene would’ve been why, but that easily could’ve easily been upgraded/simplified to one or two projectors basically, to project all the spfx via a video file playing off a computer rather than the set of complex mechanical slide projectors to make it happen, if they really just wanted to cut maintenance on that so badly without destroying the core/theming of the ride entirely. Oh well, reeks of executives simply not being familiar/knowledgeable enough or caring enough about their own properties to make good decisions regarding those sorts of things, But yeah.
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WaluigiTime
Well-Known Member
Yup! Kodak wanted Figment to be their color scheme and that sweater was Tony Baxter meeting them part way. Originally he was going to be green but Kodak said people would associate him with Fuji Film.
Zak and Wheezie
Active Member
I wonder if there's any photos of the 1983-1998 ride just after it closed, around October-December 1998. Horizons closed forever January 9, 1999 and there is a picture of the outside of the closed ride from a day afterward.
FigmentsBrightIdeas
Well-Known Member
Haven’t seen photos from a day after per se but there ‘is’ a photo taken during the transition/construction I’ve seen before. This one:
Zak and Wheezie
Active Member
Aw man. They should have had a second thought...
Cmdr_Crimson
Well-Known Member
Nessie another rare character that has the looks of Kah and the body and inspiration of Figment...even Tho this is prior to his creation...And voiced by Sterling Holloway..
FigmentsBrightIdeas
Well-Known Member
He’s a fun character for sure, the whole short is a lot of fun. Though while I can def see familiar looks in the body, I’d say most of Disney’s “dragons” (both the good & bad ones) had a similar rounded/oval tummy, he personally gives me more of Madame Mim (from Sword in the Stone) in dragon-form vibes in design during the duel between her & Merlin vibes than Figment. On the topic of Sterling being the OG voice of Winnie the Pooh though, funny thing is decades later after this we got a short placed before the (of all things) the Winnie the Pooh 2011 movie, The Ballad of Nessie which featured it’s own iteration of a Nessie that was heavily inspired design-wise apparently by both Figment & The Reluctant Dragon.
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Zak and Wheezie
Active Member
So me and my Dragon Tales friends got to meet Figment today. And then we tried to ride it. We got to the Smell Lab and then it broke down and we had to evacuate. We got to ride an hour later but still. And this was right after opening.
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Zak and Wheezie
Active Member
I wonder if Nessie is Figment's long-lost love interest... lol
Cmdr_Crimson
Well-Known Member
Have a to wonder if Figment is still bringing in the crowds at his M&G lately? I'm concerned....Where are the crowds??
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Rodj
Well-Known Member
It really depends on the day. I still see ~15 minute lines on livestreams during “normal days”(no special events/start of a festival)
JohnD
Well-Known Member
They need to re-do the character. Early year versions were shorter. Not the Figzilla they have now.
Zak and Wheezie
Active Member
I was the first person to meet him today (May 2, 2025). Initially there weren't any people trying to meet him, although when the ride broke down/evacuated I did see a few more people in line for him. When I met him again (I actually met him twice after buying a sleeping Figment plushie), there were quite a few people but not a huge line.
FigmentsBrightIdeas
Well-Known Member
Well you also have to consider it’s a weekday, so there aren’t gonna be as big of crowds meeting him then either. Best way to judge crowd levels is on a weekend.
Zak and Wheezie
Active Member
True
Although Friday seems just as busy from my experience. Maybe i'm wrong though