HMF
Well-Known Member
To me EPCOT died when RoE ended it's run after being on life support for many years as I predicted in my article.
-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
Rumor Figment, well, to be replaced by Figment
- Thread starter Walrus from Paris
- Start date
Homemade Imagineering
Well-Known Member
I see your point there, and I definitely agree. Epcot is in its worst state atm. With that said however, there is a massive amount of unused potential sitting within those glass domes waiting to shine again, and if WDI resurrects that potential into something amazing again, Imagination may very well save Epcot... I know it may sound stupid or ridiculous, but fans will lose it, and I can already tell you, that the wait times will be through the roof. If only Chapek could stop seeing dollar bill signs in all the wrong places...To me EPCOT died when RoE ended it's run after being on life support for many years as I predicted in my article.
Also, that was a great read! Great job on the article! Epcot hasn’t been itself for decades now, and it’s downright heartbreaking to see the park in the state it’s been in now for the past few years. I like to consider myself an optimist, and I try to remain optimistic, especially when discussing something I love like Epcot, and in this case the Imagination pavilion’s future. I can’t help but feel pessimistic. I really, don’t want to feel that way about my second favorite Disney park. It hurts, and ultimately if TWDC continues on their steady downward spiral in quality and originality, I just can’t see myself remaining a loyal fan/customer.
Last edited:
Haymarket2008
Well-Known Member
Absolutely agreed. Losing Figment in such a huge way would be my personal “final straw” with the park.
A good ten years or so ago when the pavilion was being looked at (again) I was told “they know they have to get it right next time”
Although probably a lot of people with thoughts like that have moved on by now. Horrible as it seems anyone of persuasion in a position of power who’s less than 35 years old probably wouldn’t appreciate the original attraction.
Sir_Cliff
Well-Known Member
Although the attraction is not the most impressive, I feel like trackless technology kind of worked without the scale issues for Ratatouille. In that case, though, you're supposed to be a rat and the sets are very basic "giant things" you're mostly running under which makes it kind of work in terms of scale and movement. The technology also worked fairly well in terms of bringing the vehicles together and then having them split off to the different screens here and there.
Other than that, I tend to agree. The videos of the new BatB in TDL were particularly startling in that regard; it's hard to imagine that it wouldn't have been a better attraction if, instead of a trackless ride, they had drawn the sets closer around vehicles on a track and got rid of the whole idea of spinning around to music. The trackless tech seemed to diminish the effectiveness of all the AAs, sets, etc. Worth keeping that in mind whenever the suggestion to use trackless technology comes up.
Last edited:
UNCgolf
Well-Known Member
You're right. The scale isn't really an issue in Ratatouille for the same reason it's not in Rise. However, I think Rat does still occasionally look like you're in a huge warehouse. It's not as bad as it is in other rides but it's there.
Pooh's Hunny Hunt does well for the first part of the ride, but the Heffalumps and Woozles scene goes on too long and that room has the warehouse look that the earlier forest scenes do not. Which is another thing with trackless tech rides -- it's a creative flaw more than anything but they seem to often end up with one scene that lasts far too long, although MMRR kind of seems like it has the opposite problem where it rushes through everything too quickly.
Homemade Imagineering
Well-Known Member
Sadly yes. Hopefully Figment’s current popularity in terms of merch sales helps to keep him in the park in whatever is to come. I’d be more worried for the Dreamfinder. I’d like to think a revival of the original using new SPFX could still be possible several years down the line, but I don’t know whether that’s necessarily realistic. It’ll be interesting to see where they take Figment in the next several years from now. I definitely think fans, including myself, have been taking a magnifying glass to every little possible hint towards the refreshed attraction we deserve. Hopefully a D+ series is in the cards, as that would probably convince the execs to greenlight such a project.
Homemade Imagineering
Well-Known Member
Y’know, it’s absolutely baffling to me that Figment wasn’t in some way apart of the Inside Out proposal. Heck even Dreamfinder. Both of em would fit seemlesly in an Inside Out attraction, and you’d please both crowds for the most part. Not that I’d want the synergy, but it’s almost a win win scenario from my perspective. It’s a shame the execs are so blind. 
FigmentJedi
Well-Known Member
The real irony of the "Eric Idle forgot Figment" drama on Twitter right now is that him getting cast as Nigel Channing was a last minute change because Raul Julia had to drop out of production of Honey I Shrunk the Audience because of his declining health.
Homemade Imagineering
Well-Known Member
lol, DisTwitter is insane rn...
Giss Neric
Well-Known Member
DreamfinderGuy
Well-Known Member
So who do we have to send all these tweets to to get the ball rolling? Someone somewhere has gotta care. At least more than Eric Idle does.
Homemade Imagineering
Well-Known Member
This fills me with many intense emotions all at once
. I mean, he isn’t technically responsible for JII’s demise, that’s Kodak’s fault... although it would’ve been nicer if he responded differently lol. I’m just gonna sit here with my popcorn and watch as this madness plays out for the rest of the night... all of this is pretty ironic.
Brer Oswald
Well-Known Member
I do feel bad for the guy. He likely spent no more than 2 days recording what is less than 4 minutes of dialogue, and people are bombarding him, either discussing it like it was his only role ever, or pretending that he’s the reason it turned into a catastrophic disaster.
Homemade Imagineering
Well-Known Member
Yeah, everyone needs to calm down, it’s not like he personally went into JII with a sledgehammer and smashed the Dreamfinder AAs. Now, if only Kodak had a more responsive Twitter account, I can’t say I’d feel nearly as bad if this were Kodak in a war with DisTwitter
Brer Oswald
Well-Known Member
DisTwitter is just a bunch of babbling clowns. They have no say in anything.Yeah, everyone needs to calm down, it’s not like he personally went into JII with a sledgehammer and smashed the Dreamfinder AAs. Now, if only Kodak had a more responsive Twitter account, I can’t say I’d feel nearly as bad if this were Kodak in a war with DisTwitter
TalkingHead
Well-Known Member
It's reminiscent of the classic SNL sketch with William Shatner at a Star Trek convention. Back then the idea of a celebrity ridiculing fans to their face was satire, but now...
Homemade Imagineering
Well-Known Member
According to Ron Schneider, Micheal Eisner said “f that purple dragon” at some point during the whole debacle back in the late 90s, which, if I’m assuming is something he actually said, reminds me of this situation... except Idle has no familiarity with the character, and is simply tired of fans harrssing him, understandably... it certainly doesn’t make us fans look good. I wish the folks on Twitter treated him with more respect, since again, he wasn’t at all responsible for JII’s demise.
DoleWhipDrea
Well-Known Member
Eisner didn’t understand Figment’s appeal. He also thought it would be smart to build a cheaply-made California-themed theme park in California and would keep tourists on Disney property as opposed to visiting the rest of the state.
I do feel bad for Eric Idle, though he did reply to a tweet regarding the attraction not that long ago. This past year has felt like 5 in his defense.
I do feel bad for Eric Idle, though he did reply to a tweet regarding the attraction not that long ago. This past year has felt like 5 in his defense.