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News New Play Pavilion to replace Epcot's Wonders of Life
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
castlecake2.0
Well-Known Member
could figment move and the imagination pavilion become the new festival centre?
Magic Feather
Well-Known Member
Is the old ImageWorks (not the part under the pyramid being used for DVC) still usable space? While access is a little tricky (wouldn't be too bad if they brought the escalators back), I'm surprised that Events hasn't targeted that space.
It’s still there but IIRC it’s an ADA issue depending how it would be used. WDI and ops have used it but for guest use it still relies on a wheelchair refuge in the event of fire. There was a plan for an escape ramp out the back years ago when there was talk of bringing it all back into use.
HauntedMansionFLA
Well-Known Member
The area that’s used a the Chase Lounge?
DreamfinderGuy
Well-Known Member
Chase lounge was Wonders and then American Adventure. Imagination's VIP lounge is cast space, the lobby area of the Image Works is a DVC lounge. The actual Image Works area is mostly empty now, main entrances and exits blocked off from the lounge. A small portion of the footprint is now used for lounge-related storage.
HauntedMansionFLA
Well-Known Member
Interesting information. Could it be used for events? Thanks
DreamfinderGuy
Well-Known Member
Most likely not, partly because it's a mess back there and partly because of the aforementioned ADA issues.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
Areas of refuge are still allowed even in new construction.
In that case I don’t know why there was a push for an alternate exit.
Frankly, I don't WANT a new version of Imag, figment, or anything else.
I'll roll the dice and say what we have now, is about as good as we will ever get.
I have ZERO faith in Disney being ever able to top (or even match) the amazingness that was the original version.
I'll roll the dice and say what we have now, is about as good as we will ever get.
I have ZERO faith in Disney being ever able to top (or even match) the amazingness that was the original version.
DreamfinderGuy
Well-Known Member
I dunno, it’s a pretty low bar.
owlsandcoffee
Well-Known Member
The annoying thing is the unwillingness to admit that, yeah, the original was actually pretty much perfect and just needed some updates and maybe a new ending.
DreamfinderGuy
Well-Known Member
I mean I don’t see where they’ve been unwilling to admit that at all, especially recently. Point your finger at Kodak if you want someone to blame.
owlsandcoffee
Well-Known Member
I must be out of the loop then! Sorry, statement retracted then.
Rich Brownn
Well-Known Member
Well that and the original contracts stated to renew the pavillion must be signifigantly altered.
DoleWhipDrea
Well-Known Member
Add to the fact that WDI were still the ones that ultimately came up with the terrible design for Journey Into YOUR Imagination. Disney was pushing Kodak to pay up for having something new for the Millennium Celebration, even though Kodak was doing terribly financially. From what I've heard about that pitch session, there wasn't any models or concept art - they tried to wow them with some lighting and sound effects.
If there had actually been a smart person in that room that day, they would have said that the budget Kodak could offer couldn't build a brand new, impressive attraction, and that the money would have been better spent on refurbishing the original attraction as it was, updating some special effects. Sadly there were imagineers too focused on making a name for themselves as opposed to looking at the bigger picture.
There seem to be plans to have Figment in some sort of VR experience in the PLAY! Pavilion, but he is the park's mascot, after all. No need to kick him out of his actual home. I would really love to see the concept of imagination with Figment and the Dreamfinder fully embraced in an update, but who knows when that will happen.
If there had actually been a smart person in that room that day, they would have said that the budget Kodak could offer couldn't build a brand new, impressive attraction, and that the money would have been better spent on refurbishing the original attraction as it was, updating some special effects. Sadly there were imagineers too focused on making a name for themselves as opposed to looking at the bigger picture.
There seem to be plans to have Figment in some sort of VR experience in the PLAY! Pavilion, but he is the park's mascot, after all. No need to kick him out of his actual home. I would really love to see the concept of imagination with Figment and the Dreamfinder fully embraced in an update, but who knows when that will happen.
Brer Panther
Well-Known Member
Didn't somebody on here say that the Splash Mountain retheme stole the budget for a fourth version of Imagination?
Inspired Figment
Well-Known Member
It was ‘NOT’ Kodak to blame for what happened to Journey Into Imagination… it was Disney’s upper management/parks ops and they used Honey, I Shrunk the Audience queue ropes, monorail spiels, & advertising to intentionally downplay the ride’s role within the pavilion in order to artificially get attendance numbers to drop. That way, they could show those attendance numbers to upper management to say “Honey I Shrunk the Audience is more popular than Journey Into Imagination”. And ‘that’ is how Journey Into YOUR Imagination got greenlit.
Had they not changed the guest flow or way they advertised both the Journey Into Imagination ride (along with ImageWorks) & Magic Eye Theatre film (in this case, Honey I Shrunk the Audience) back around ‘96-98.. Imagination I believe would’ve been enhanced/updated the way it was supposed to back in ‘98. Minor spfx updates, possibly upgraded AAs, aswell as other minor additions (elements initially planned for the ride but scrapped due to budget when originally built in 82/83.) You can’t blame Kodak for WDI’s creative choices and the way WDI ‘spent’ the little budget they received to do it.
The fact is, it NEVER should’ve been changed to a Honey, I Shrunk/Medfield College film IP based experience AT ALL to begin with. Because Dreamfinder, Figment, and the original attraction never genuinely lost love or popularity.. and that has clearly been proven by the amount of complaints they received when they first changed it... and ‘still’ receive to this day with the mean spirited, half-assed version they have there now where Figment’s portrayed as a negative, “upside down thinking” interference that gets his way by making a big stink and a huge blast by the Friends of Figment, finally convincing Dr. Channing by the very end .. it’s literally Tiki Room: Under New Management with the roles in reverse (mocking Figment and the fans’/Friends of Figments’ complaints with the bad redo rather than New Management’s views/plans on the classic Tiki Room)… Infact, that was literally the inspiration behind it if you read old news articles about “Figment’s Return” in ‘02. ;
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