Rumor Inside Out to Replace Journey into Imagination with Figment?

[lazyboy97o]

Uh... Flight of Passage caused double digit attendance increases two years in a row?

And it cost several times more to get each of those new guests into the park. Better to spend $100 than $500 to attract a new customer.

 

[starri42]

It closed due to GM having to follow the contract which stipulated any re negotiated contract with GM -which this was - had to be for a new ride, not an overhaul.

There was also nothing stopping them from continuing on without a sponsor, or negotiating a new deal with with a different company.

This is what I mean when I say that the way they're operating now is the same way they've always operated.

 

[justintheharris]

And it cost several times more to get each of those new guests into the park. Better to spend $100 than $500 to attract a new customer.

Well I’d still wanna see numbers on that claim. Without a doubt Pandora was more expensive but Animal Kingdom is still riding high on its success.

 

[MaximumEd]

I reject the premise that people don’t care about “edutainment” in the smart phone age. The city I live in has a place called The McWane Science Center. It has 3 floors of a large building with an attached IMAX theater featuring a ton of displays centering around science, tech, and nature. The place is constantly packed and really well done. Just because I can Google the Louvre doesn’t mean I don’t want to go. Do it right and people will come.

 

[Haymarket2008]

So......Figment’s restored glory in a new iteration. How’s it looking, insiders?

 

[huwar18]

How about a 2019 iteration with the Dreamfinder?

We don't all want Epcot Center from the 1980's resurrected as it was then - some of us just aren't so creatively constrained and IP obsessed that we believe there is only one way to improve the parks.

Exactly! They have the newer Marvel comics with Dreamfinder. I would love if they brought him in. I know a lot of people discussed that idea earlier in the thread.

 

[WondersOfLife]

Do you know how popular Motion was?

You keep arguing your point of view with little to back it up.

Out of pure curiosity, because WoM is the one attraction I never researched as extensively as others... What was the popularity numbers towards the attractions later years in comparison to Test Track?

Purely out of curiosity. I actually believed I would have enjoyed WOM better much like I would enjoy Horizons more than M:S. Simply because I'm a dark ride kinda person. But I also do know that thrills draw in the crowds, sadly.

I know that Horizons started to die out due to never being updated. How about World of Motion, though?

 

[huwar18]

I can’t prove a negative. I’ll give you that. But I’ve never heard anyone suggest Imagination have a 2019 iteration. All I hear is about how we should bring Dreamfinder back and relive the glory days. And a park like epcot isn’t exactly possible anymore. We live in a post internet and cellphone world. Epcot would be hard pressed to find technology to display that I can’t find on a google search. Epcot needs a new approach which includes IPs and thrill rides. The harsh reality that nobody wants to face is that IP attractions usually attract more crowds than non-IP rides. Yes, plenty of non-IP rides are very popular. But Disney is benefiting from this IP craze

The only reason Disney benefits from the IP craze is because they are pushing it. Disney always had IP based rides. However, there was a good balance. The balance is tilting now towards all IP attractions. An Epcot Center like park can still be relevant. Seeing new technology in person is completely different than looking at it on a computer screen. That’s a totally different issue.

 

[starri42]

The only reason Disney benefits from the IP craze is because they are pushing it.

What's your rationale for saying that?

 

[huwar18]

What's your rationale for saying that?

For years, Disney created non-IP rides and they were just as big as any of the new IP driven rides. Most of them are still very popular, if not some of the most popular rides in Disney (HM, POTC, EE, BTM, RNRC etc..). Disney benefits from the IP driven rides because they are constantly adding IPs. They are not creating original attractions anymore. If I am not mistaking, the newest non-IP attraction at WDW is Expedition Everest (2006?).

 

[kurtk]

Just went back a couple of weeks and didn't see any mention of this topic so sorry if it was discussed.

I was listening to a recent podcast from Dizney Coast to Coast. I believe it was the one from June 19th with Imagineer Mark Eades. When he was asked about Figment and JII, he said most people don't care about Figment or kn0w who he is. What he did suggest I thought was brilliant.
Using Disney+ make an animated show around Figment. That would get people excited about his attraction when they came to Epcot. The attraction could be updated so that it ties in with the show. I would think that people inside Disney would find it a great project to come up with a story line for a new show and an attraction all at the same time.

Any thoughts?

 

[lazyboy97o]

What's your rationale for saying that?

When you only sell one thing, of course that is going to be your best seller. The franchise mandate was not born out of any sort of cold business decision, but a personal bias. Expedition Everest, despite its then huge cost, had a much lower cost per person than any of the attractions built since. It was a great return on investment that was disregarded because it is considered “nondescript” and was part of a business that was then hopefully going to be discarded.

 

[huwar18]

Just went back a couple of weeks and didn't see any mention of this topic so sorry if it was discussed.

I was listening to a recent podcast from Dizney Coast to Coast. I believe it was the one from June 19th with Imagineer Mark Eades. When he was asked about Figment and JII, he said most people don't care about Figment or kn0w who he is. What he did suggest I thought was brilliant.
Using Disney+ make an animated show around Figment. That would get people excited about his attraction when they came to Epcot. The attraction could be updated so that it ties in with the show. I would think that people inside Disney would find it a great project to come up with a story line for a new show and an attraction all at the same time.

Any thoughts?

I would love to see a Figment cartoon. They tried the Marvel comic based on Figment. I absolutely love the comic. However, I’m not sure how popular or successful it is.

 

[mickeyfan5534]

I would love to see a Figment cartoon. They tried the Marvel comic based on Figment. I absolutely love the comic. However, I’m not sure how popular or successful it is.

Extremely, to the point that even Bob Iger was shocked if I remember the stories correctly

 

[FigmentJedi]

I would love to see a Figment cartoon. They tried the Marvel comic based on Figment. I absolutely love the comic. However, I’m not sure how popular or successful it is.

Successful enough for multiple printings and catching even Iger's attention.

 

[FrankLapidus]

Just went back a couple of weeks and didn't see any mention of this topic so sorry if it was discussed.

I was listening to a recent podcast from Dizney Coast to Coast. I believe it was the one from June 19th with Imagineer Mark Eades. When he was asked about Figment and JII, he said most people don't care about Figment or kn0w who he is. What he did suggest I thought was brilliant.
Using Disney+ make an animated show around Figment. That would get people excited about his attraction when they came to Epcot. The attraction could be updated so that it ties in with the show. I would think that people inside Disney would find it a great project to come up with a story line for a new show and an attraction all at the same time.

Any thoughts?

If that were true, Figment wouldn't be plastered over as much Epcot merchandise as he is.

I do think it's a really good idea - apparently there is going to be an Oswald series on Disney+, so a Figment one could work; I think the attractions and character of the parks are far more suited to a medium like Disney+ than they are to cinematic franchises in general. But I don't accept this notion that people don't care about Figment or are unaware of his existence. It seems an easy get-out now for anyone who wants to downplay or dismiss the notion of repairing the damage that Disney has done to Imagination, but there is really no basis for it - people know who Figment is, Disney just like to pretend otherwise when it suits them.

 

[huwar18]

Successful enough for multiple printings and catching even Iger's attention.

That’s what I thought. I mean they sell them at the parks. I remember seeing them at the Contemporary.

 

[lazyboy97o]

If that were true, Figment wouldn't be plastered over as much Epcot merchandise as he is.

This is the big lie of the new Epcot. EPCOT Center is a supposedly dated and failed idea, but the new Epcot is being wrapped in the imagery of the “failed” EPCOT Center.

 

[kurtk]

If that were true, Figment wouldn't be plastered over as much Epcot merchandise as he is.

I do think it's a really good idea - apparently there is going to be an Oswald series on Disney+, so a Figment one could work; I think the attractions and character of the parks are far more suited to a medium like Disney+ than they are to cinematic franchises in general. But I don't accept this notion that people don't care about Figment or are unaware of his existence. It seems an easy get-out now for anyone who wants to downplay or dismiss the notion of repairing the damage that Disney has done to Imagination, but there is really no basis for it - people know who Figment is, Disney just like to pretend otherwise when it suits them.

Maybe I misquoted him or made it harsher than he intended, if so I apologize. Figment is popular for merchandise but the attraction isn't. (I know because I ride it almost every time I am in Epcot.) But it is not something I am going to recommend to friends going to Epcot for the first time.
I hate how the exit has been neglected for so long. Used to be fun for the kids when they were younger. You can still email someone a picture. WOW!

I just liked the idea as a way to make the attraction as good as the character is.

 

[*Q*]

But I’ve never heard anyone suggest Imagination have a 2019 iteration.

That must be because you ain't listening, or you're only hearing what you want to hear. I almost never see people bring up bringing back Imagination without also mentioning new effects and technology.