EPCOT Figment, well, to be replaced by Figment

[FigmentsBrightIdeas]

Figment is a big money maker for Disney. If they get rid of him and make him a cameo character, it won’t be like that for long. That’s why he came back after “Your” was such a bomb, cuz the merch department got ****ed off that they couldn’t market him.

While that’s ‘very’ true… don’t underestimate the absolute clueless/carelessness of upper management. Back when there was word of the ride initially changing to a film IP themed ride in ‘98 or so.. they got pushback even then (though not nearly as much) and didn’t listen. It’s when people saw just how drastically changed the ride was and how little his role was that they were forced to put him in a larger role. They didn’t correct the ‘real’ problem with the ride though and that was the ‘big’ mistake. Repeating the exact same thing.. yet ‘another’ Film IP themed ride with Figment shoehorned in is ‘not’ the way to go about this…

 

[FigmentsBrightIdeas]

As long as Bob Chapek is still the head honcho with nearly identical values to Iger & late Eisner & Paul Pressler. I don’t see this issue being solved anytime soon.

That being said though… I will always have hope they’ll correct the issue once Late Eisner/Pressler, Iger, and Chapek’s ways of doing things are ‘finally’ gone.

 

[SailorMercury]

While that’s ‘very’ true… don’t underestimate the absolute clueless/carelessness of upper management. Back when there was word of the ride initially changing to a film IP themed ride in ‘98 or so.. they got pushback even then (though not nearly as much) and didn’t listen. It’s when people saw just how drastically changed the ride was and how little his role was that they were forced to put him in a larger role. They didn’t correct the ‘real’ problem with the ride though and that was the ‘big’ mistake. Repeating the exact same thing.. yet ‘another’ Film IP themed ride with Figment shoehorned in is ‘not’ the way to go about this…

The only way to go about it (and the one they current most likely are) is a version that pays tribute to the original while being a completely new experience with Dreamfinder and Figment.

Honestly, someone could say “Hey, Chapek. There was a Dreamfinder Marvel Comic once” and his eyes would turn into dollar signs as he makes dog noises and throws a ton of money at Imagineering to redo the ride.

 

[FigmentsBrightIdeas]

Honestly, someone could say “Hey, Chapek. There was a Dreamfinder Marvel Comic once” and his eyes would turn into dollar signs as he makes dog noises and throws a ton of money at Imagineering to redo the ride.

‘Yet’, when they released those and it ended up being the highest selling Marvel comics series not based of a pre-existing Marvel franchise in decades. They ‘still’ didn’t budge…. ‘That’ my friends is why people like Josh Shipley, Tony Baxter, and many others left starting then. Current Upper management is only going to view Disney through their limited viewpoint. They don’t even care about what sells, they care about what makes ‘their’ vision & greenlit creations of Disney more prominent.

Little do they know if they truly respected ‘Disney’ and not just themselves & quarterly earnings and realized how much good it’d do them if they supported the values & spirit Walt set in place (which was nearly perfectly present in the original EPCOT Center). They’d make a lot more profit long term & improve their political positions within the company..

 

[180º]

I’ve been holding in this comment for two years.

Ready?

This thread’s title should be “Figment to be replaced by, well, Figment.” It’s a subtle difference in meaning that has bugged me every time I looked at this thread. Since this thread is meandering a bit I thought I’d share with the class.

I feel better now. Oh, and for the record, they’d be crazy to reduce Figment’s representation in the parks now that he’s almost a brand of his own.

 

[SailorMercury]

I’ve been holding in this comment for two years.

Ready?

This thread’s title should be “Figment to be replaced by, well, Figment.” It’s a subtle difference in meaning that has bugged me every time I looked at this thread. Since this thread is meandering a bit I thought I’d share with the class.

I feel better now. Oh, and for the record, they’d be crazy to reduce Figment’s representation in the parks now that he’s almost a brand of his own.

“I loved Figment when I was younger” - my Mother, who was a teen in the 80’s and never visited a Disney Park.

Figment’s impact is super strong and always has been. Disney reducing figment would be merchandise suicide for EPCOT. You can’t market Elsa and Rocket Raccoon because Target and Walmart already market them to pieces. You can try to make “Cosmic Rewind” or “Ever After” merch, but at the end of the day it’s the same basic toys they’re already selling with a different sticker on the box. The quicker Disney learns that park-made IP is maximum profit in the long run, the quicker the company will heal.

 

[Mac Tonight]

I’ve been holding in this comment for two years.

Ready?

This thread’s title should be “Figment to be replaced by, well, Figment.” It’s a subtle difference in meaning that has bugged me every time I looked at this thread. Since this thread is meandering a bit I thought I’d share with the class.

I feel better now. Oh, and for the record, they’d be crazy to reduce Figment’s representation in the parks now that he’s almost a brand of his own.

The thread title has always read funky to me too...

 

[Father Robinson]

What's up with the Imagination! fountains and reverse waterfall? Just maintenance? Looks terrible dry. Also shrubbery removed from next to fountains.

 

[MaximumEd]

What's up with the Imagination! fountains and reverse waterfall? Just maintenance? Looks terrible dry. Also shrubbery removed from next to fountains.

Didn’t they just come back recently?

 

[Father Robinson]

Didn’t they just come back recently?

From Bio:

 

[SonnyEcipse]

So....uh....someone on Insta just leaked a ton of Funko Pops supposedly coming later this year and one of them has me VERY INTRIGUED.

 

[Demarke]

So....uh....someone on Insta just leaked a ton of Funko Pops supposedly coming later this year and one of them has me VERY INTRIGUED.

I’m encouraged that maybe they are gauging interest in the duo again, but the cynical part of me thinks this is just a nostalgia cash grab. They released a similar thing in the Tsum Tsum line back in 2018 apparently, but that hasn’t stopped the speculation people have had the last few years of replacing it with a (shudders) Inside Out attraction.

New Figment and Dreamfinder Tsum Tsum Set Released! | Disney Tsum Tsum

disneytsumtsum.com

 

[Thelazer]

So what your saying here, is that Golden Dreams movie from Amercian Adventure, will be replaced with a I.P Filled Film that really has nothing to do with the show, except Figment will show up waving an American flag?

 

[SonnyEcipse]

So what your saying here, is that Golden Dreams movie from Amercian Adventure, will be replaced with a I.P Filled Film that really has nothing to do with the show, except Figment will show up waving an American flag?

The magic of possibility awaits lol.

 

[The Lochness Monsta]

I think Figment will stick around because...

1. Chapek is cheap

and

2. Figment's little purple makes them some moolah

 

[SailorMercury]

I’m encouraged that maybe they are gauging interest in the duo again, but the cynical part of me thinks this is just a nostalgia cash grab. They released a similar thing in the Tsum Tsum line back in 2018 apparently, but that hasn’t stopped the speculation people have had the last few years of replacing it with a (shudders) Inside Out attraction.

New Figment and Dreamfinder Tsum Tsum Set Released! | Disney Tsum Tsum

disneytsumtsum.com

Inside Out isn’t happening. Pete Doctor shot it down. If With Figment gets the boot, Figment will still be in the attraction. Right now it could be with Dreamfinder (he’s been on quite a bit of merch recently like MagicBands and Festival of the Arts and these upcoming Funkos), and the stuff sells so there’s clearly interest. Disney knows Dreamfinder is popular, and Disney has shown recently they love banking on nostalgia. I personally think that their current V4 plan will have Dreamfinder in the end. Whether it’s Marvel based or classic based, who knows.

 

[SailorMercury]

I think Figment will stick around because...

1. Chapek is cheap

and

2. Figment's little purple *** makes them some moolah

Ron Schneider said that a big reason Figment came back as the lead was because merchandising was upset they couldn’t market him with “Your” making him a cameo character. So….

 

[Demarke]

Inside Out isn’t happening. Pete Doctor shot it down. If With Figment gets the boot, Figment will still be in the attraction. Right now it could be with Dreamfinder (he’s been on quite a bit of merch recently like MagicBands and Festival of the Arts and these upcoming Funkos), and the stuff sells so there’s clearly interest. Disney knows Dreamfinder is popular, and Disney has shown recently they love banking on nostalgia. I personally think that their current V4 plan will have Dreamfinder in the end. Whether it’s Marvel based or classic based, who knows.

I sure hope it’s classic, I’d be worried that the “extreme” Dreamfinder with the goatee looks more like a pick up artist from that fad 10-15 years ago and would just serve to “prove” to Chapek (in his mind) that an IP should go there if the response wasn’t overwhelming. The original seems much more timeless.

 

[FigmentsBrightIdeas]

I sure hope it’s classic, I’d be worried that the “extreme” Dreamfinder with the goatee looks more like a pick up artist from that fad 10-15 years ago and would just serve to “prove” to Chapek (in his mind) that an IP should go there if the response wasn’t overwhelming. The original seems much more timeless.

I agree with your statement about the original characters & attraction and how ‘that’ should be the one they go with as it was a timeless classic and never should’ve been drastically altered to begin with. Though keep in mind regarding the comic, it’s supposed to take place ‘before’ the original ride. It’s the ‘origin’ story of Dreamfinder & Figment, Hence the younger age of Dreamfinder in that particular series. At the very end we see him as his fully bearded self we know & love. So it’d be pretty pointless to make the ride an adaptation of the comic series.

 

[FigmentJedi]

I sure hope it’s classic, I’d be worried that the “extreme” Dreamfinder with the goatee looks more like a pick up artist from that fad 10-15 years ago and would just serve to “prove” to Chapek (in his mind) that an IP should go there if the response wasn’t overwhelming. The original seems much more timeless.

The comic version's goatee is basically a symbol of Dreamfinder's insecurities in the first book. Once he's able to overcome the power of the "Terminal Depression Land" that is the Nightmare Nation with the help of Figment's lingering spark (his physical form being tied to Dreamfinder's belief in him and himself), he gains the full beard from the ride and keeps it that way.