I think the strength of the original JII, was it's strong set-up, the section of the attraction where Dreamfinder is piloting his balloon, explaining the imagination process, and them introducing Figment. But even back in the original attraction, a large number of people did not make the connection between the set-up and the series of scenes they travelled through later. Many times I overheard other guests not understanding what they were riding through once they left the introduction scene. If you paid attention to everything Dreamfinder said and sang, it made the rest of the attraction quite enjoyable, but if you didn't pay attention, the rest of the attraction seemed like a bunch of ramdom scenes with a purple dragon dressed to fit the scene.
The second version, Journey Into Your Imagination, while a complete departure from the original, DID try to explain what you were about to see in a much easier way. The problem was, they yanked the heart out of the attraction and really dumbed it down. While trying to create an attraction to compliment the Imagination Institutes "HISTA", they p.o'd a lot of loyal JII fans. I personally didn't hate the second version JIYI, but felt cheated, because the heart was gone. Maybe if we'd never seen the original, this second version wouldn't have come off as such a stinker.
The lastest version definately adds a little more charm to the last version. Figment's presence adds a little bit of his mischivousness back into the ride and in a sense, brings back alot of the old memories. It's a much better attraction than version 2, but it will never replace the original.
By the way, my daughters (now 10 and 13) still remember the original. That says alot for it.
