As we all know, for years now there have been many rumors of Journey into Imagination being restored to its former glory(or being replaced with Inside Out 
). In my opinion, it will either be a hit or complete miss. Lately, I've been thinking about how they could bring back the new ride successfully and still have it be new and fresh for the new generation.
I may just be a kid, but I understand that in order for the ride(and pavilion as a whole) to be a success it HAS to make a profit. If it can't do this, Disney won't want it and will just slap an IP there. There are four important things this ride or any other attraction in general needs:
Fun: This is pretty obvious, if people aren't enjoying themselves, it's a fail.
Marketability: Disney pretty much thrives on plush sales. If you can't put it on anything other than a shirt or hat, they won't want it. It must have something kids will want to buy. 
Memorability: Visitors should be able to look back on that ride and go: "Oh wow, I remember that! It was so much fun!" and Replayability: It should be something that visitor will want to do every time they visit, not a thing they do once and never again.
I am dividing this discussion up into three parts, the ride, the Imageworks and merch and lastly the Magic Eye theater. Please note: I am very young and have not been able to experience JII irl before, so most of what I know comes from YouTube and from you guys! So, if I get something wrong or miss something, let me know! I would love to get suggestions and be asked questions about my ideas! Feel free to put in your ideas too!
Now that we have this established, let's move on to Part One: The Ride
As they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it! I think they should bring back the original, with a few tweaks here and there. The original is pretty timeless and would even likely be more popular now because steampunk is all the rage! And yes, Dreamfinder NEEDS to come back, he and Figment are a team. It's either both or neither. I personally like the original Dreamfinder better than the younger one from the comics. I think the Dreamfinder should help the ride appeal more to teens and adults and Figment for the kids. I think they simply need to give him a slightly upgrades outfit and give him some cool steampunk gadgets. He needs to be relatable to the older people, but still kind and friendly for the kids. Figment is fine the way he is!
Here's an example of what they could do for Dreamfinder's new look (not my art): https://shadowchroma.deviantart.com/art/Dream-Finder-Kingdom-Hearts-177024325
As for the Lobby/preshow area, I'm not sure what should be done there. As pretty as the paintings there were, I think they need something new, but I'm not sure what... I welcome ideas for this part.
The into with Dreamfinder on his Dreamcatcher talking to us was one of the hardest things to create in its day. Now that they've made it stationary for about 15 years, it's probably bust at this point. Even though it might cost a lot initially, getting a trackless ride system would be worth it. It would make this scene a lot easier and leaves room for more unique things later on in the ride. Upgrade the animatronics with the latest ones so they can have a better range of motion. The soundtrack for this part stays the same, no changes to music or script.
The Dreamport scene: I had an interesting idea for this. I think the Dreamport is a little too random looking?? and should look more like a factory with different machines working together. As the machinery works, it plays out the tune of One Little Spark. Sparks of inspiration are rooming through tubes on the walls and into holding containers. The room slowly changes to show a small and empty study room with fireplace. I was thinking of a large plush chair for Dreamfinder, a smaller one for Figment, bedroom slippers and bookshelves. Maybe other interesting things on the walls like "photos" of their adventures together, a bird in a cage and a wall mounted unicorn head or something, (That last one is a maybe, lol) This is mostly for atmosphere. Listening to the ride audio, it almost sounds like birds are singing in this part, so I thought maybe have the bird in the cage singing. They could even use an old Tiki bird animatronic. They should redo the music in this part.
I wanted to change this part because it just seemed a little weird. Oh, and, the chest of applauding hands NEED TO GO. Even if this scene is left the same as the original, the box o' hands need to go. Just saying...
The art scene: This should stay exactly the same, with new animatronics. Since they have cool new tech now, they could use projection technology to make it look like some of the plants are being colored in and then fade back to while slowly again. Maybe add in some more paper animals like bunnies or mice, popping up from holes and peeping out at you. Same music, same voice lines.
The literature scene: I am extremely torn about this part. I love the spooky feel of this part of the ride and I want it to stay. It helps give the ride more depth and makes it less cutesy for the old riders! My only concern is that parents nowadays are really picky and overconcerned and might complain about it. Does anyone know if it was scary for your kids/ you when you rode it? I really love this part and I want it to stay, music, voice lines and everything! Nothing needs to change, just upgrade the animatronics.
The performing arts scene: I say to leave it pretty much the same. Maybe add some moving magic show things in place of the laser ballet thing?? The lasers look kind of dated. It could be replaced with Dreamfinder doing magic tricks. Figment popping out of a hat maybe? All the audio is the same.
THE SCIENCE SCENE(my favorite part)
I think they should do something similar to the end scene in Mystic Manor with the fake walls that actually screens with things moving around you. It should keep the same feel as the original with the time-lapse photography, music, and narration. Maybe some light up crystals on the ground? The tunnel transition should take inspiration from something surprising... Journey into YOUR Imagination. The horror of horrors I know... but I like the constellation tunnel that forms shapes.
The finale:
Ok.. so don't get me wrong I love the original finale, but the videos of the Figment puppets will look old in modern times. Maybe it should end in the Dream Port again, in the study I described above, with Dreamfinder and Figment wishing the rider happy travels and saying that they hope we enjoyed our journey into imagination. They then remind us to check out the Imageworks and wave goodbye. Any other ideas?
The ride lets you off in the same place the original did.
Also, a random side note, even though I think they should ditch the giant perfume bottle, they should keep the rosewater scent that I read they had. I love the smell of rosewater and anything's an improvement on the skunk smell that's there now!
Well, this is the end of part one. What do you think? Suggestions? Questions? Let me know!
). In my opinion, it will either be a hit or complete miss. Lately, I've been thinking about how they could bring back the new ride successfully and still have it be new and fresh for the new generation.I may just be a kid, but I understand that in order for the ride(and pavilion as a whole) to be a success it HAS to make a profit. If it can't do this, Disney won't want it and will just slap an IP there. There are four important things this ride or any other attraction in general needs:
Fun: This is pretty obvious, if people aren't enjoying themselves, it's a fail. Marketability: Disney pretty much thrives on plush sales. If you can't put it on anything other than a shirt or hat, they won't want it. It must have something kids will want to buy. Memorability: Visitors should be able to look back on that ride and go: "Oh wow, I remember that! It was so much fun!" and Replayability: It should be something that visitor will want to do every time they visit, not a thing they do once and never again.I am dividing this discussion up into three parts, the ride, the Imageworks and merch and lastly the Magic Eye theater. Please note: I am very young and have not been able to experience JII irl before, so most of what I know comes from YouTube and from you guys! So, if I get something wrong or miss something, let me know! I would love to get suggestions and be asked questions about my ideas! Feel free to put in your ideas too!
Now that we have this established, let's move on to Part One: The Ride
As they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it! I think they should bring back the original, with a few tweaks here and there. The original is pretty timeless and would even likely be more popular now because steampunk is all the rage! And yes, Dreamfinder NEEDS to come back, he and Figment are a team. It's either both or neither. I personally like the original Dreamfinder better than the younger one from the comics. I think the Dreamfinder should help the ride appeal more to teens and adults and Figment for the kids. I think they simply need to give him a slightly upgrades outfit and give him some cool steampunk gadgets. He needs to be relatable to the older people, but still kind and friendly for the kids. Figment is fine the way he is!
Here's an example of what they could do for Dreamfinder's new look (not my art): https://shadowchroma.deviantart.com/art/Dream-Finder-Kingdom-Hearts-177024325
As for the Lobby/preshow area, I'm not sure what should be done there. As pretty as the paintings there were, I think they need something new, but I'm not sure what... I welcome ideas for this part.
The into with Dreamfinder on his Dreamcatcher talking to us was one of the hardest things to create in its day. Now that they've made it stationary for about 15 years, it's probably bust at this point. Even though it might cost a lot initially, getting a trackless ride system would be worth it. It would make this scene a lot easier and leaves room for more unique things later on in the ride. Upgrade the animatronics with the latest ones so they can have a better range of motion. The soundtrack for this part stays the same, no changes to music or script.
The Dreamport scene: I had an interesting idea for this. I think the Dreamport is a little too random looking?? and should look more like a factory with different machines working together. As the machinery works, it plays out the tune of One Little Spark. Sparks of inspiration are rooming through tubes on the walls and into holding containers. The room slowly changes to show a small and empty study room with fireplace. I was thinking of a large plush chair for Dreamfinder, a smaller one for Figment, bedroom slippers and bookshelves. Maybe other interesting things on the walls like "photos" of their adventures together, a bird in a cage and a wall mounted unicorn head or something, (That last one is a maybe, lol) This is mostly for atmosphere. Listening to the ride audio, it almost sounds like birds are singing in this part, so I thought maybe have the bird in the cage singing. They could even use an old Tiki bird animatronic. They should redo the music in this part.
I wanted to change this part because it just seemed a little weird. Oh, and, the chest of applauding hands NEED TO GO. Even if this scene is left the same as the original, the box o' hands need to go. Just saying...
The art scene: This should stay exactly the same, with new animatronics. Since they have cool new tech now, they could use projection technology to make it look like some of the plants are being colored in and then fade back to while slowly again. Maybe add in some more paper animals like bunnies or mice, popping up from holes and peeping out at you. Same music, same voice lines.
The literature scene: I am extremely torn about this part. I love the spooky feel of this part of the ride and I want it to stay. It helps give the ride more depth and makes it less cutesy for the old riders! My only concern is that parents nowadays are really picky and overconcerned and might complain about it. Does anyone know if it was scary for your kids/ you when you rode it? I really love this part and I want it to stay, music, voice lines and everything! Nothing needs to change, just upgrade the animatronics.
The performing arts scene: I say to leave it pretty much the same. Maybe add some moving magic show things in place of the laser ballet thing?? The lasers look kind of dated. It could be replaced with Dreamfinder doing magic tricks. Figment popping out of a hat maybe? All the audio is the same.
THE SCIENCE SCENE(my favorite part)
I think they should do something similar to the end scene in Mystic Manor with the fake walls that actually screens with things moving around you. It should keep the same feel as the original with the time-lapse photography, music, and narration. Maybe some light up crystals on the ground? The tunnel transition should take inspiration from something surprising... Journey into YOUR Imagination. The horror of horrors I know... but I like the constellation tunnel that forms shapes.
The finale:
Ok.. so don't get me wrong I love the original finale, but the videos of the Figment puppets will look old in modern times. Maybe it should end in the Dream Port again, in the study I described above, with Dreamfinder and Figment wishing the rider happy travels and saying that they hope we enjoyed our journey into imagination. They then remind us to check out the Imageworks and wave goodbye. Any other ideas?
The ride lets you off in the same place the original did.
Also, a random side note, even though I think they should ditch the giant perfume bottle, they should keep the rosewater scent that I read they had. I love the smell of rosewater and anything's an improvement on the skunk smell that's there now!
Well, this is the end of part one. What do you think? Suggestions? Questions? Let me know!
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