John Lasseter Visits Imagination Pavilion

[bubbles1812]

The story I heard was that Kodak had speculated in their contract that the show would be changed after, I believe 10 years(?). Over the years, as much as we like it, the old show with the Dreamfinder and Figment had declined in popularity. The truth is, in my opinion, the only really sparkling part of the ride was the journey with Dreamfinder and Figment in the Dream Machine at the very beginning of the ride. The rest was actually kinda boring.

So they redid the ride to exclude both Dreamfinder and Figment. Shortly after it reopened (relatively) it is rumored that Eisner rode it and immediately closed it down telling them to fix it because it was awful, awful and more awful. What we have now is that "fix" which is awful, awful, but less awful then the one preceding it. But not by much!

Sad but true.. I think some people just couldn't take the length, which more speaks to the pathetic decline in attention span of much of our population. But I'm going to have to vehemently disagree that the ride was boring. My family (we started going in the 90s so it's not like I'm even hearkening back to the days of "yore") treasured that ride for so many reasons. So inventive and dare I say imaginative It was so cool to see all the different "genres" come together... where else did you get science, literature, art, theater all come together in one place at Disney World? And the ending was out of this world. It was always our first and last ride every time we visited MK. Towards the time we stopped going to WDW as a family, my brothers were starting to graduate into that phase most boys do, where they were "too cool" for Disney. But they could never hide their enjoyment of that ride.

I do think the original ride needed an update. There were effects that needed to be fixed and heaven knows that the Figment AAs could have done with some sort of remodel but they really did destroy the spirit of the ride with the remodel as they did it The only time I see a glimmer of that original spirit is that final scene in the very colorful room at the end. I can't even imagine what the ride was like before Eisner told them to redo it.

"And so as you can plainly see, Imagination works the best when it's set free"... ironic they say that in one of the least imaginative redos of a beloved ride in the park. Ahhhh!

 

[Disneyfan_76]

Something to remember is Lasseter got his start at Disney and worked at the parks. Sure he could be touring things for a reason (and I'm sure Cars Land is already a bigger rumor because he's even there) but he could also be on vacation and/or wanting to tour things because he has a true love of Disney like so many of us. Just sayin'. LOL!

Maybe they just caught him backstage trying to videotape what was left of the upstairs...lol

 

[TinkerBelle8878]

I'm not for the Pixaring of it or turning it into another venue for events. But I wouldn't be against Pixaring Figment himself. Disney owns Figment. Its their character, correct? So why can't Bonnie in one of those Toy Story shorts, have a small Figment plush in her room that comes to life with the other toys? Have the voice be 'Figment's' voice. Have him act as he had in the original ride. Even sing bars of One Tiny Spark now and again. Make him popular enough through these shorts that there is an urgent need to fix the pavillion and sell people merchandise. I figure at least this way that they throw all imagination and creativity back into the pavillion and ride to get all his new and old fans to visit.

Instead of throwing Pixar into Imagination, how about Imagination into Pixar?

 

[Clever Name]

Figment is not very popular. Stitch Elvis could sing One Tiny Spark much better.

 

[Captain Neo]

Here's how imageworks looked as of 10th months ago

Lmao that bit with the security guard made my night

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Vintage Imagination!


The subtleties of EPCOT Center, eight wonder of the world. Shiny, clean, new crystals that therefore shimmer in the Florida sun. A subdued colour scheme, that doesn't draw attention away from architectural form, but complements it.
The real killer for me is always that the colours of the pavilion were blue and purple - Dreamfinder and Figment! As this picture shows:

The famous upstairs. Everything freshly painted and spic and span. Blue and purple again, like outside. So the two stars of the pavilion are omnipresent!
Whoever thought of closing this area down?

EPCOT Center had a real artistry about it. Avant-garde films (Radok, Magic Journeys), mosaics, lasers. And handpainted murals, everywhere, massive and gorgeous:

As a consequence of all this splendour, FW drew enormous crowds. Are you reading this, John?

 

[HMF]

The story I heard was that Kodak had speculated in their contract that the show would be changed after, I believe 10 years(?). Over the years, as much as we like it, the old show with the Dreamfinder and Figment had declined in popularity.

That's actually not true. Attendance dropped because someone in operations decided to re-route the queue to Honey I Shrunk the Audience to block off the ride entrance and marketed it as though it were the main attraction when the original design was intended to be Ride first upstairs second and Magic Eye third, The problem became that since the Magic Eye deposits you away from the pavilion toward World Showcase, Most Casual guests did not know there was even another ride there due to lack of publicity. Disney used this artificial problem as leverage to convince Kodak to finance JIYI.

 

[marni1971]

That's actually not true. Attendance dropped because someone in operations decided to re-route the queue to Honey I Shrunk the Audience to block off the ride entrance and marketed it as though it were the main attraction when the original design was intended to be Ride first upstairs second and Magic Eye third, The problem became that since the Magic Eye deposits you away from the pavilion toward World Showcase, Most Casual guests did not know there was even another ride there due to lack of publicity. Disney used this artificial problem as leverage to convince Kodak to finance JIYI.

For truth.

And with JIYI they managed to remove the pesky ride system design they didn't want to spend money in to make work. Shame it also removed 40% of the ride track but hey.

Great photos Empress. So sad. So EPCOT Center. When it was great.

 

[WED99]

This might have something to do with the new pixar movie coming out...
"The Untitled Pixar Movie that takes you inside the Mind"
The name is obviously going to change, but the movie has been described as the journey into a young girl's imagination. It is to be released in 2015, meaning an attraction could be designed in time for it's release.

I for one would be happy to see the change. However, this is not because I don't like the current state of the attraction, I actually really enjoy it! I just think every Pixar attraction turns out amazing and with the potential this movie has.... I can't even start to imagine it.

AND DON'T WORRY! Figment could be used in a show to replace EO

 

[ParentsOf4]

That's actually not true. Attendance dropped because someone in operations decided to re-route the queue to Honey I Shrunk the Audience to block off the ride entrance and marketed it as though it were the main attraction when the original design was intended to be Ride first upstairs second and Magic Eye third, The problem became that since the Magic Eye deposits you away from the pavilion toward World Showcase, Most Casual guests did not know there was even another ride there due to lack of publicity. Disney used this artificial problem as leverage to convince Kodak to finance JIYI.

I believe the reconfiguration instantly dropped the ride's popularity from second to eighth at EPCOT. It really was a slimy move by Disney to strong-arm Kodak.

 

[M.rudolf]

Figment is not very popular. Stitch Elvis could sing One Tiny Spark much better.

They'll work on that right after they teach the country bears how to rap

 

[IWant2GoNow]

Vintage Imagination!

Look how shiny the building is! I wish they would give it a power wash. It looks terrible compared to this picture. And look at that line! No fast pass days here... ahh...

 

[jdmdisney99]

Only if you enjoy watching a train wreck.

For once, I troll! Just had to poke fun!

 

[marni1971]

Look how shiny the building is! I wish they would give it a power wash. It looks terrible compared to this picture. And look at that line! No fast pass days here... ahh...

And look at the colour palette. Pale blues and purples. lovely. No garish reds or oranges.

 

[montyz81]

All I have to say is that at least he can walk through this building = Hope! He won't ever have a chance to walk through Horizons = Bitter!

 

[disneyflush]

Thank you for the pictures. I took my own family to Epcot in 2006 after not having visited since I was a kid in 1990. It was a totally different park when I went back. I miss being able to explore those big open spaces and those wonderful murals.

 

[mmalloy56]

Look how shiny the building is! I wish they would give it a power wash. It looks terrible compared to this picture. And look at that line! No fast pass days here... ahh...

A power wash and lose that red, orange, blue color scheme on the lower half. Maybe I'm alone, but I've always thought it looked awful (and was obviously a cheap way of sprucing things up).

"This building is looking a tad dated. What can we do to fix it?"

"Well, we could always redesign part of the structure, maybe build a --"

"Ahem..." (Rubs thumb against fingertips)

"I'll send somebody to Home Depot."

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

I've wondered for some time what a movie based off the original Imagination ride with Dreamfinder and Figment as the main characters might be like in the hands of Pixar and Lasseter.

But regardless, the pavilion needs to be changed, and it needs to happen 15 years ago. Lasseter visiting is probably the most imagination that has set foot inside those walls in years.

I still stand by my claim that of all the rides at Epcot, the original Imagination would remained the best aged of them all (assuming all the rides were kept in their original forms with no updating). It's message is timeless and for the most part its sets and characters didn't even look dated. Just a few minor tech adjustments would have been sufficient to get it up to today's standards. And of course maybe giving the ride system some TLC to fix the problems that have been reported. Even after watching Martin's tribute 15 years or so after its closure (and almost 30 years after it was built), the original ride still holds up. Spaceship Earth, Horizons, World of Motion, Universe of Energy, etc I still love to this day as well. But with those I can at least see a definite need to keep updating them to ensure they remain futuristic (make no mistake though, this is how it should have been instead of gutting them and replacing them). But Imagination had scant little of importance that needed addressing in the core experience. The original ride I believe would have aged extremely well. I'd still like to see a redo reminiscent of the original at least. At the very least, what is there now is completely horrible and needs to be replaced.

Great pictures above by the way. Love remembering how bright the entire place used to be with the original queue and the upstairs Imageworks. Only enhanced with that tastefully done scheme of soft colors and wonderful murals lining the walls. Beautiful!

 

[startraveler]

Can't speak to the validity of this, but I took the Undiscovered Future World Tour this week and we were told that Kodak actually owns Figment and Dreamfinder and that Disney was trying to get the rights. Seems like Kodak would be happy to unload these since they are in big trouble. Anyone know if this is true?

 

[ExtinctJenn]

Maybe they just caught him backstage trying to videotape what was left of the upstairs...lol

Man after my own heart...

Can't speak to the validity of this, but I took the Undiscovered Future World Tour this week and we were told that Kodak actually owns Figment and Dreamfinder and that Disney was trying to get the rights. Seems like Kodak would be happy to unload these since they are in big trouble. Anyone know if this is true?

I can pretty much say that you were given a line of BS on that one. I have 5 Figment plush toys ranging back as far as '83 and including the limited edition one from the 25th anniversary. I also have pens, pins, toys, etc. that have Figment on them. All of them clearly show the copyright as being Disney and none have a Kodak copyright.