Real Reason Why Imagination Changed!?

[aladdin2007]

Hi everyone,

Ive been reading a book called Realityland about the history of Disney World. And this part I had never heard about before admidst all of our Imagination conversations and threads, and just wondered if you think its true? from page 291 for those of you that have it.

With the opening of Honey I Shrunk the Audience, new management realized it now had a weapon to kill off Figment and Dreamfinder. They switched the main queue line in front of the pavilion so that it instead led to the 3D theater. Immediately, ridership at Journey into Imagination plummeted. Overnight, the ride fell from the parks number two attraction to number eight. Executives could then use charts and graphs to prove to Kodak that the public had lost interest in the ride. The ride was closed and show building gutted." etc etc we all know the rest.

So is this a fact? Or just the author twisting things around?. Im wondering if they could get away with pulling something that low today with an attraction. I dont know it just makes me mad if they did that.

 

[janoimagine]

First, that is a great book and a great read.

I am sure it has some base in reality, and it wouldn't be the first time management has done something like this to push their desires on a sponsor. 20K, though not sponsored by anyone I that I was aware of, met a similar 'sandbagged' fate.

 

[Figment632]

Hi everyone,

Ive been reading a book called Realityland about the history of Disney World. And this part I had never heard about before admidst all of our Imagination conversations and threads, and just wondered if you think its true? from page 291 for those of you that have it.

With the opening of Honey I Shrunk the Audience, new management realized it now had a weapon to kill off Figment and Dreamfinder. They switched the main queue line in front of the pavilion so that it instead led to the 3D theater. Immediately, ridership at Journey into Imagination plummeted. Overnight, the ride fell from the parks number two attraction to number eight. Executives could then use charts and graphs to prove to Kodak that the public had lost interest in the ride. The ride was closed and show building gutted." etc etc we all know the rest.

So is this a fact? Or just the author twisting things around?. Im wondering if they could get away with pulling something that low today with an attraction. I dont know it just makes me mad if they did that.

The real reason it closed was because in the contract it had to be updated after a certain amount of time. The elimination of Figgy and DF was just a bad choice.

 

[Alektronic]

Hogwash! or maybe the author was just using his imagination, Especially the terms immediately and overnight? No way! If anything it brought more people to the pavilion and ride. HISTA opened in 1994 and JII closed in 1998. Sounds like overnight to me.

The real reason was to reduce maintenance and upkeep costs.

 

[marni1971]

They switched the main queue line in front of the pavilion so that it instead led to the 3D theater.

The queue layout - and options to ride or go direct to the theatre - were always the same.

Imagination (the 1983 ride) had issues that were never fully resolved, and required effort to continue to run. Fully fixing the issues would have required time and money. Kodak wanted an upgrade. WDI made the changes with the funding and direction stipulated by the purse string holders.

 

[Rob562]

The queue layout - and options to ride or go direct to the theatre - were always the same.

Imagination (the 1983 ride) had issues that were never fully resolved, and required effort to continue to run. Fully fixing the issues would have required time and money. Kodak wanted an upgrade. WDI made the changes with the funding and direction stipulated by the purse string holders.

I've always thought that the current traffic flow layout of the pavilion was a hinderance to the "aimless wandering" Guests, making them only see one out of two of the attractions in the Imagination pavilion, either the ride or the movie.
When you get off the ride and exit out from the current Imageworks, you come out facing a low wall, which is the railing of the ramp going up to HISTA. Although there are stairs off to your right, the design subtly urges you around to the left, away from HISTA. So to get to HISTA you'd ahve to walk to the end of the ramp and make a U-turn to walk BACK up to the HISTA entrance. But once you get out to the ramp, most people just continue walking in the direction they were headed.
Conversely, if you go to HISTA first, you then exit back down the ramp which is ushering you down and away from the building. Not as many people veer off to the left to head to the main entrance of the pavilion.

I think the pavilion's layout was much better when the JII lobby was open, and there was direct access from the JII/Imageworks lobby to the Magic Eye Theater lobby.

-Rob

 

[BrerFrog]

Why was managementso eager to kill Dreamfinder and Figment?

 

[marni1971]

Rob, yep. You`re right. Kind of a make-do situation. Unless they thought the MET would be a weenie enough for exiting guests to walk upto it. It was far better pre 1998. The original pavilion had great flow plans.

Out front though it is still the same as it was in 1983. Aside from the horrible colour scheme of course. And lack of switchbacks in use.

 

[hokielutz]

The queue layout - and options to ride or go direct to the theatre - were always the same.

Imagination (the 1983 ride) had issues that were never fully resolved, and required effort to continue to run. Fully fixing the issues would have required time and money. Kodak wanted an upgrade. WDI made the changes with the funding and direction stipulated by the purse string holders.

Such a sad set of events.... Imagination was ahead of its time... but when you use your imagination, that is exactly what you get.

Just wish those in charge could have seen the bigger picture, invest in properly fixing the attraction, and it wouldn't be the lowest attended attraction in Epcot today.

 

[Disneyfanman]

I've heard from many that the original attraction required lots of attention and money to keep it running, due to its cutting edge (at the time) ride mechanics. I also think that our memories of the ride far exceeded the experience and that it wouldn't hold up today side by side with the newer Epcot stuff. That said, the characters of DF and Figment worked really well inside the framework of EPCOT, and you can't argue with the fact that Disney really botched the ride. It's the single biggest snoozer for me in all of WDW. My family of teens and young adults actually loves to play with all of the interractive stuff in the Imageworks. They just hate going on the ride to get to it.

 

[aladdin2007]

I've heard from many that the original attraction required lots of attention and money to keep it running, due to its cutting edge (at the time) ride mechanics. I also think that our memories of the ride far exceeded the experience and that it wouldn't hold up today side by side with the newer Epcot stuff. That said, the characters of DF and Figment worked really well inside the framework of EPCOT, and you can't argue with the fact that Disney really botched the ride. It's the single biggest snoozer for me in all of WDW. My family of teens and young adults actually loves to play with all of the interractive stuff in the Imageworks. They just hate going on the ride to get to it.

Very much agree. Actually though you dont have to go on the ride to use Imageworks. Just enter through the exit into the store and make your way towards the back.

 

[EpcotServo]

I think the pavilion's layout was much better when the JII lobby was open, and there was direct access from the JII/Imageworks lobby to the Magic Eye Theater lobby.

-Rob

Speaking of which-Anyone have pictures of the access area from the Imagination lobby to the Magic Eye Theater waiting area that is gone now? I'd like to see that. All I remember was the little gift shop...

 

[BwanaBob]

Imagination (the 1983 ride) had issues that were never fully resolved, and required effort to continue to run. Fully fixing the issues would have required time and money.

Ladies and gentleman... I introduce to you the future fate of EE and the Yeti.

 

[marni1971]

Speaking of which-Anyone have pictures of the access area from the Imagination lobby to the Magic Eye Theater waiting area that is gone now? I'd like to see that. All I remember was the little gift shop...

I`ve a quick video clip in my Imageworks 82 tribute shot looking that way coming down the escalator. The short coridor is straight ahead.

 

[mcjaco]

I never considered the flow of the building to be all that great. I always thought it was clunky. Get in line for the ride, then get off. Go to the right to go to the Magic Eye, or head up the escalator for the ImageWorks. And it you went to the Magic Eye, you exited outside, and had to go back down, then into the building, and then back up to the ImageWorks.

Granted, after getting off the ride, you always wanted to go upstairs, but it wasn't as easy as it is now, where they dump you into the Imageworks.

 

[raven]

It doesn't make sense to kill an attraction for no reason, especially with that big of attendence. I think the person writing that was kinda going for a stretch of Imagination himself.

 

[janoimagine]

It doesn't make sense to kill an attraction for no reason, especially with that big of attendence. I think the person writing that was kinda going for a stretch of Imagination himself.

Not exactly ... how would you explain what happened to Mr. Toads and 20K then?

 

[RSoxNo1]

Not exactly ... how would you explain what happened to Mr. Toads and 20K then?

They wanted a Winnie the Pooh attraction, and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride was the most logical fit?

 

[misterID]

Yeah, I think that was kind of the point... They do get rid of popular rides to put others in. In Toads case it was actually the opposite of Imagination, which was kind of a better ride, imo.

But I've heard Imagineers say they would target attractions and had all kinds of ways to try and get rid of them. Imagination would've been pretty easy because of how much money they've saved replacing it with cheap crap.

 

[marni1971]

Granted, after getting off the ride, you always wanted to go upstairs, but it wasn't as easy as it is now, where they dump you into the Imageworks.

It was easier. You walked the exit corridor, after Dreamfinder had just asked you to go upstairs, and followed the signs to reach the escalator, stairs or elevator not 20ft away. Couldn`t have been easier. Then your exit naturally took you to the Magic Eye, with a small exit option available too.