Rumor Figment, well, to be replaced by Figment

Inspired Figment

Well-Known Member
The drastic theme change (an IP no less.. the Honey, I Shrunk franchise) & fault of not providing whatever Kodak was able to fund at that time to properly upgrade the ride (simple tech enhancements along with some minor scenic changes and possible elements originally planned but cut due to budget at the time) was ‘completely’ on Disney. Don’t kid yourself. It also didn’t help matters in that they intentionally suppressed marketing on the ride & changed signage & queue ropes around ‘94-95 or so when Honey, I Shrunk the Audience opened in order to lower attendance numbers and prove to Kodak & other higher ups that it somehow needed a theme change...
Had the ride along with Figment & Dreamfinder continued to be marketed properly, along with Honey, I Shrunk the Audience simply using the exact same method in queing, signage, and marketing setup as Magic Journeys & Captain EO.. that never would’ve happened.
 

wbostic12

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
Had the ride along with Figment & Dreamfinder continued to be marketed properly, along with Honey, I Shrunk the Audience simply using the exact same method in queing, signage, and marketing setup as Magic Journeys & Captain EO.. that never would’ve happened.
That's very true, but I believe that HISTA was only supposed to be a placeholder, as the movie was already 5 years old at this point, and I think Disney would have (without the long-term financial philosophy change) put in a attraction that would have been better. I honestly think this was both companies fault, and was just a matter of bad timing.

My earlier comment was a little too much hyperbole and doesn't put enough blame with Disney.
 

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
They are never going to rebuild Horizons or anything like it, unless there's a serious shift in the thinking of management.

They want all new attractions to be tied to Disney film/show IP.
 

Inspired Figment

Well-Known Member
That's very true, but I believe that HISTA was only supposed to be a placeholder, as the movie was already 5 years old at this point, and I think Disney would have (without the long-term financial philosophy change) put in a attraction that would have been better. I honestly think this was both companies fault, and was just a matter of bad timing.

My earlier comment was a little too much hyperbole and doesn't put enough blame with Disney.
I agree.. but also, don’t blame yourself for repeating that whole “it’s all on Kodak” point. That story/blame of it being all Kodak’s fault has went around for way too long... There was certainly more to the story than simple Kodak funding issues. Funding issues don’t account for not using that budget properly and drastically changing the theme when absolutely unnecessary.
 

ppete1975

Well-Known Member
If it hadn't been for Kodak...
it might have been worse..... just playing devils advocate. We know how the Kodak story goes. But what if Kodak pulled out. We know how epcot and sponsorship goes. Do we get Horizons (bs on the sinkhole), or WOL. Or do we get a complete redo Energy or WOM. Figment could be gone entirely or the building even razed. As an architecture fan, someone who was there in 83 and a huge figment fan (i was 8 when i first saw him, he was cooler than mickey in my eyes) as much as what we have is a travesty and waste (the two rides after the original, no dream finder, the entire top floor and the building not being loved as it should be), part of me hopes that since we have any semblance of figment (esp with new popularity) and they building still stands.. thats theres hope. In another multiverse maybe theres a festival tent where JII was and figment is long dead.
 

wbostic12

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
it might have been worse..... just playing devils advocate. We know how the Kodak story goes. But what if Kodak pulled out. We know how epcot and sponsorship goes. Do we get Horizons (bs on the sinkhole), or WOL. Or do we get a complete redo Energy or WOM. Figment could be gone entirely or the building even razed. As an architecture fan, someone who was there in 83 and a huge figment fan (i was 8 when i first saw him, he was cooler than mickey in my eyes) as much as what we have is a travesty and waste (the two rides after the original, no dream finder, the entire top floor and the building not being loved as it should be), part of me hopes that since we have any semblance of figment (esp with new popularity) and they building still stands.. thats theres hope. In another multiverse maybe theres a festival tent where JII was and figment is long dead.
Figment was removed in the second incarnation except for a very small tribute, so there is that. But I definitely agree that the fact that the building is still a shell of its self without any crazy changes is a blessing for the pavilion's future.
 

wbostic12

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
They are never going to rebuild Horizons or anything like it, unless there's a serious shift in the thinking of management.

They want all new attractions to be tied to Disney film/show IP.
Hopefully that was just an Iger principle, and hopefully as his creative ideas depart, the unrelenting idea that "every attraction in these parks are going to be based on a movie or going to be made into a movie" goes with him.
 

Inspired Figment

Well-Known Member
Figment was removed in the second incarnation except for a very small tribute, so there is that. But I definitely agree that the fact that the building is still a shell of its self without any crazy changes is a blessing for the pavilion's future.
What people don’t tend to remember or realize is that initially when rumors spread of Journey into Imagination closing entirely for a Honey, I Shrunk themed darkride and that Figment & Dreamfinder would be gone entirely. People signed petitions & campaigned to keep the ride long before they changed it. Hence why Figment was shoehorned in at the last second it seems, particularly in the Your Imagination version. Course, once the backlash became a lot worse.. we got the ‘02 version we still have currently
 

wbostic12

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
What people don’t tend to remember or realize is that initially when rumors spread of Journey into Imagination closing entirely for a Honey, I Shrunk themed darkride and that Figment & Dreamfinder would be gone entirely. People signed petitions & campaigned to keep the ride long before they changed it. Hence why Figment was shoehorned in at the last second it seems.
In a sense, that last second addition of Figment almost added insult to injury. The 1999 version of the attraction essentially was the Imagination Institute idea, and only in 2003 did Figment return in any recognizable nature.
 

DreamfinderGuy

Well-Known Member
1613504974609.png

While we're all debating over whether or not it's Kodak's fault that this pavilion sucks now, it seems like a good time to revisit the proposed JIYI before it got cut to hell since Kodak was broke.
 

Inspired Figment

Well-Known Member
View attachment 532726
While we're all debating over whether or not it's Kodak's fault that this pavilion sucks now, it seems like a good time to revisit the proposed JIYI before it got cut to hell since Kodak was broke.
Yup... IMO, still looks sterile, cold, overly industrial, and completely misses the point both in a visual & narrative point on what imagination is all about. It’s supposed to be about ideas and how new ideas are basically other ideas combined in unique & different ways to create new things. That’s what creates “new” things. I still can’t see how presenting Imagination through a strictly scientific view is an improvement when the original presented it in a broad, abstract way through most of all creative occupations/mediums.
 
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Inspired Figment

Well-Known Member
I've never seen that art! Was this proposed a continuation of Dreamfinder and Figment, or a replacement like JIYI (but far superior than that)?
Basically a higher budget/more high tech version of Journey Into Your Imagination. Which again, wouldn’t have fixed the drastically inferior narrative & overall theme. It just would’ve had possibly higher quality special effects & illusions really.
 

Inspired Figment

Well-Known Member
Personally I think had they instead maybe built it as another seperate attraction, maybe on the side of Journey Into Imagination. Like how/where Great Movie Ride was initially planned and had ‘that’ be a backstage ride tour through the Institute. The backlash wouldn’t have been as huge. Granted, the IP & theme would’ve been considered instantly outdated, but still..
 
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wbostic12

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
Perhaps, if Humongus doesn't live up to it's hype, a "rushed" rehab of JIYI will occur to draw attention aware from Mistake On The Lake Part 2.

Perhaps.
If it doesn't work, I expect EPCOT forever to return temporarily until Davison can figure out how to use the barges for a new ROE.
That would be my hope.
But they probably just will run it until no one watches it.
 

Inspired Figment

Well-Known Member
Perhaps, if Humongus doesn't live up to it's hype, a "rushed" rehab of JIYI will occur to draw attention aware from Mistake On The Lake Part 2.

Perhaps.
True! And actually.. Harmonious is seemingly ‘yet another’ example of how budget really doesn’t mean anything when the overall concept, “story” or narrative is a bad fit for the park and not executed properly. And on another note, let’s hope that a JII overhaul wouldn’t be “rushed” per say in terms of quality and execution. Granted, since the original ride is already planned out and basically most of it would just have to be rebuilt.. it’d be a lot easier, quicker, and thus cheaper to build. But it all depends really... we’ll just have to wait & see what happens.
 

Homemade Imagineering

Well-Known Member
Here’s something they should try. In one section of the Play Pavilion, they reconstruct a revitalized version of the original Imagination attraction through a VR setup, so that way they could test guest satisfaction levels, if they truly feel it’s necessary before moving ahead with anything in say... 5 years from now. It’ll give them a while to wager both character’s popularity with children nowadays, and maybe even parents who are familiar with the original attraction. It’s also not out of the realm of possibility. I mean, that Figment “redesign” thing was indeed for a VR project according to Drew Taylor on Twitter, so I’m sure we’ll see something almost like this come to fruition, probably sans Dreamfinder unfortunately.
 

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