Poor Figment

[Paper straw fan]

I mean, who goes to this ride expecting Splash Mountain? It’s a campy little dark ride. It’s good for some amusement and cold AC the 10 months a year it’s miserably hot here in FL. Really the whole front of the park for years has existed as ‘here’s some rides for your bored/whining kids to go on before you head to the showcase for mommy juice’.

It could use a facelift, sure. But there’s so many irons in the fire right now for Epcot and WDW in general that I’m sure updating this is wayyyy down the list of things to do. They could use a theme change, animatronics/ effects upgrade and maybe move on to a new actor/professor for Figment to annoy, perhaps either Johnny Galecki or Jim Parsons from Big Bang Theory.

 

[Brer Panther]

Figment annoying Leonard WOULD be pretty satisfying.

 

[Paper straw fan]

Figment annoying Leonard WOULD be pretty satisfying.

I completely agree it could use a facelift, but just don’t think it’s priority at all. But yeah, HD the video up, perhaps refresh the tech on some of the (still effective) special effects, maybe redo the story with a similar theme, possibly a new actor. Could be done in under a year, but they won’t bother until the rest of Epcot isn’t tarped and walled off.

 

[JustAFan]

If they would at least rotate the smells, that would be nice. I get tired of the skunk smell every single time. lol

 

[FigmentJedi]

Poor Nigel Channing is giving a perfectly fine and fairly intriguing tour to us folks, yet Figment keeps interrupting, telling us to use our imaginations in ways that aren’t even relevant. It comes off extremely annoying and obnoxious to me. The storyline itself is problematic.

Going to the doctor's office for basic hearing and vision tests is a fine and fairly intriguing tour?

 

[UNCgolf]

I mean, who goes to this ride expecting Splash Mountain?

Anybody who rode the original, which was a better ride than Splash Mountain. Not that Splash Mountain isn't great, because it is -- just that the original Journey into Imagination was one of the best rides Disney has ever built anywhere. And it wasn't just the ride itself; the whole pavilion was a ton of fun.

It's the people that remember the original that want the pavilion to receive a massive overhaul and become a centerpiece again. But considering the original has been gone for over 20 years, I'm sure there are fewer and fewer people who care.

 

[Paper straw fan]

I get those saying it’s not what they remember 20 years ago (that’s true for a lot of things in life) but to just be unimpressed with the ride... yeah, no kidding, it’s not overly impressive. They could gussie it up some but even then it might just go from boring to mildly amusing. I myself even ride it mostly for nostalgia (and to sit down in AC when it’s 3000 degrees out) but admittedly the original has faded in my memory.

I do hope they go the refurb/reboot route with it over killing it to use the space for character spot/food booths/nothing though.

 

[NickMaio]

Figment is the face of EPCOT.
Regardless of what your opinion is of the attraction Figment the character likely is not going away.
I do hope they do more with the Imagination Pavilion and the Figment attraction.

I bet that 90% of the WDW going population, who are not on these boards, fo not know who Figment is anymore.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

I bet that 90% of the WDW going population, who are not on these boards, fo not know who Figment is anymore.

So they will go to EPCOT and know...

 

[UNCgolf]

I get those saying it’s not what they remember 20 years ago (that’s true for a lot of things in life) but to just be unimpressed with the ride... yeah, no kidding, it’s not overly impressive. They could gussie it up some but even then it might just go from boring to mildly amusing. I myself even ride it mostly for nostalgia (and to sit down in AC when it’s 3000 degrees out) but admittedly the original has faded in my memory.

I do hope they go the refurb/reboot route with it over killing it to use the space for character spot/food booths/nothing though.

Yeah, because the current ride is terrible and very unimpressive. It's not remotely like the original, which again, was one of the best rides Disney ever built. Changing it from what it was into what it currently is was one of the worst decisions Disney has ever made with the theme parks (and they've made plenty). I don't know how anyone thought it was a good idea at the time to build a completely new (and shorter!) ride.

I don't think there's any chance they turn it into just a character spot/food area, though. They know they need rides/attractions. I wouldn't be surprised to see something completely different from what is there now and from what was there before, but it'll still be a ride of some sort.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

So they will go to EPCOT and know...

I bet that 90% of the WDW going population, who are not on these boards, fo not know who Figment is anymore.

It is a shame that there are people who don't...

 

[Brer Panther]

Do you know what I just realized? Bob Chapek is kind of like Dr. Nigel Channing.

Think about it. Nigel insists that imagination must be captured and controlled. Meanwhile, Bob Chapek is all about only letting new attractions be based on IPs with no original attractions allowed to be built anymore. Essentially, he's controlling the imaginations of the Imagineers.

 

[NickMaio]

It is a shame that there are people who don't...

I know right........

 

[ppete1975]

Anybody who rode the original, which was a better ride than Splash Mountain. Not that Splash Mountain isn't great, because it is -- just that the original Journey into Imagination was one of the best rides Disney has ever built anywhere. And it wasn't just the ride itself; the whole pavilion was a ton of fun.

It's the people that remember the original that want the pavilion to receive a massive overhaul and become a centerpiece again. But considering the original has been gone for over 20 years, I'm sure there are fewer and fewer people who care.

the biggest loss to figment wasn't just the ride but the pavilion itself. It used to be full of activities, life and fun (it was almost like another attraction) things inside and outside was full of life. Ive heard ada restrictions closed the top floor activities but to me this is the biggest loss and what epcot needs right now as do all the Disney parks (more little things to do esp for little ones). Epcot had it right when it when was built instead of things to do in the queue, which sometimes slows down the line they had tons of activities to do after the ride unlike the old ride then gift shop.

 

[ppete1975]

Poor Nigel Channing is giving a perfectly fine and fairly intriguing tour to us folks, yet Figment keeps interrupting, telling us to use our imaginations in ways that aren’t even relevant. It comes off extremely annoying and obnoxious to me. The storyline itself is problematic.

It doesn’t help that Eric Idle plays the role of the scientist with charisma and enthusiasm, making him a very likeable character. It also doesn’t help that Figment has a scratchy voice, small head, and yellow eyes, and isn’t perceived to be cute by many riders. So the execution makes the storyline even more problematic.

The ride gets poor ratings and I fully understand why.

And if they do keep Figment in a new version, they’d be wise to give him a redesign.

I disagree with his look, his merchandise sells incredibly well (the little they make) and hes the face of most of the festivals. The problem with figment... besides Disney misusing him is that in the original he is a toddler and is curious and loveable. In the current version hes a teenager full of angst and mischief that's only fun to him and his teenager friends.

 

[Brer Panther]

Again, all Figment does is mess up Nigel Channing's science experiments because Nigel won't get it through his head that imagination works best when it's set free. As far as Bugs Bunny-ish characters go, he's pretty tame.