[RUMOR] Imagination's potential replacement?

Brer Oswald

Brer Oswald

Well-Known Member
Magicart87 said:
I ask in jest but a few of the rumors hint at Imagination's closure and depending on which rumor one follows; it's possible replacement. Then there's the rumor that Figment and The Dreamfinder might become a hybrid 4D show taking over Captain EO/Honey I Shrunk. That rumor then spun off into speculation.

5 years ago rumblings about a new 4D show to replace Honey I Shrunk was brought up. About 3 years ago it was suggested that a movie actor, such as the likes of Jack Black would be taking on the role of Dreamfinder. Recently; this was substantiated in a podcast by a person many no longer trust as a reliable source, myself included. That rumor has since fizzled out. I firmly believe that something will eventually happen to Imagination! although I haven't heard a definitive, multi-confirmation from sources.

The most recent rumors suggest one of four scenarios:

1) The tracked Imagination! will be retooled to include screenz and will try to replicate the charm of the original using minimal AAs and a possible actor in place of the previous AA dreamfinder. That one's the most interesting because it combines both rumors taking the best of both, mashing them together into essentially an idea purported as fact. I kind of like the idea of Disney giving us the charm of the original while beefing up the effects using 4D effects and screenz.

2) Imagination will be retooled but with a new storyline based around the graphic novel. This hasn't been mentioned on the forum I don't think so take that "rumor" with a grain of salt.

3) The 4D show with Imagination shuttered and eventually re-imagined around Pixar IP.

4) Nothing happens for another 5 years.

Does anyone REALLY!? know what the future holds for Imagination! or are we going to have 10 more years of 20 questions and speculation. Surely something will pan out in the next 3-5 years?
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The Jack Black rumour was revealed officially by Ron Schneider, the original Dreamfinder actor. He said they had plans in place to make a film in conjunction to the ride in the Magic eye theatre, where Black would play Dreamfinder's son. He would learn how to be more Imaginative by Figment.
 
Figments Friend

Figments Friend

Well-Known Member
Part of the 'problem' with getting a decent refreshening of the Attraction in this Pavilion is simply because the suits running the show in Burbank have no clue how much the Original version is missed, and how much these characters mean to people.
They don't fully understand the impact the Original had on people simply because they are located 2,800 miles away from Epcot and most of the younger ones don't even remember the Original.

Folks in Glendale remember...and would love to go in and revamp it to return it to a worthwhile form, but that's not going to happen unless Burbank is fully convinced this needs to happen.
From their perspective, sitting in their padded chairs on the West Coast, there is no need to invest in a major redo as Figment merch continues to sell like crazy.
So in their minds, everything is just peachy keen.
What they don't understand is the reason behind WHY that merch sells so well....
Most of the people who buy it are those like me who remember the Original Attraction and the profound impact it had and 'know' those characters from that....NOT from the current Attraction.
I bet 80% of all 'retro' related Imagination merch and current Figment offerings are bought primarily by people who experienced the Original.



Some years ago, when the first series of 'Figment' comics were released, the success of those really surprised some of the suits in Burbank.
I was told by someone who would know first hand that it made them sit up and take notice of this 'phenomenon' related to the characters of Dreamfinder & Figment and the Original Attraction they came from.
It was the first time in absolute ages since that happened...and this was a monumental moment.

There was talk of doing a live action / cgi fantasy film to tie in with the comic series, which was hoped to happen by certain individuals as a way of perhaps pushing for a redo of the Pavilion Attraction.
Things were looking positive for a short time...but alas , all of that attention was short lived and dissipated.
To date nothing has really happened on either fronts, but it is good to know they are at least aware of this now.

It is going to be some time before anything major happens at this Pavilion.
I just hope that when it does, it will be done properly and worth the long wait.

-
 
jt04

jt04

Well-Known Member
Imagination, like Horizons had lost its luster. Passive dark rides that do not evoke the nostalgia of those at Disneyland aren't likely to make it past blue sky IMO.

Expect bigger, bolder and higher tech. Those were the orders from management.
 
Disney4family

Disney4family

Well-Known Member
Magicart87 said:
Should we assume Disney doesn't yet know what to do with Imagination? That would explain the delay and conflict rumors on how the character(s) will be used.
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Pretty much, I guess. From what he implied, they know what they want to do, but they have to figure out a way to do it because they don't want to tick off the Guests who want Figment to stay. As @Figments Friend said, they're clueless as to what WDW Guests want and that caught them off guard (although they're probably pleased to see the revenue from Figment merch). They just didn't expect Guests to say, "Don't you dare replace Figment - just bring back the original!" They were hoping we would shrug our shoulders and just say, "Sure. Give us something new. Who's Figment anyway?"
 
brb1006

brb1006

Well-Known Member
Figments Friend said:
Part of the 'problem' with getting a decent refreshening of the Attraction in this Pavilion is simply because the suits running the show in Burbank have no clue how much the Original version is missed, and how much these characters mean to people.
They don't fully understand the impact the Original had on people simply because they are located 2,800 miles away from Epcot and most of the younger ones don't even remember the Original.

Folks in Glendale remember...and would love to go in and revamp it to return it to a worthwhile form, but that's not going to happen unless Burbank is fully convinced this needs to happen.
From their perspective, sitting in their padded chairs on the West Coast, there is no need to invest in a major redo as Figment merch continues to sell like crazy.
So in their minds, everything is just peachy keen.
What they don't understand is the reason behind WHY that merch sells so well....
Most of the people who buy it are those like me who remember the Original Attraction and the profound impact it had and 'know' those characters from that....NOT from the current Attraction.
I bet 80% of all 'retro' related Imagination merch and current Figment offerings are bought primarily by people who experienced the Original.



Some years ago, when the first series of 'Figment' comics were released, the success of those really surprised some of the suits in Burbank.
I was told by someone who would know first hand that it made them sit up and take notice of this 'phenomenon' related to the characters of Dreamfinder & Figment and the Original Attraction they came from.
It was the first time in absolute ages since that happened...and this was a monumental moment.

There was talk of doing a live action / cgi fantasy film to tie in with the comic series, which was hoped to happen by certain individuals as a way of perhaps pushing for a redo of the Pavilion Attraction.
Things were looking positive for a short time...but alas , all of that attention was short lived and dissipated.
To date nothing has really happened on either fronts, but it is good to know they are at least aware of this now.

It is going to be some time before anything major happens at this Pavilion.
I just hope that when it does, it will be done properly and worth the long wait.

-
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I think a Journey Into Imagination film would do better if it was part of the Disney Animated Canon. Not only would it be the first Disney Feature Film to be based on a Disney Theme Park attraction. But will also give more exposure to the characters and hopefully serve as a wake up call. Especially since the duo are more well-known from the Walt Disney World and Epcot community unlike the locals at Disneyland.
 
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jt04

jt04

Well-Known Member
brb1006 said:
I think a Journey Into Imagination film would do better if it was part of the Disney Animated Canon. Not only would it be the first Disney Feature Film to be based on a Disney Theme Park attraction. But was also give more exposure to the characters and hopefully serve as a wake up call.
Click to expand...

Umm, huh? Feature Film? Is this animated or live action?
 
Figments Friend

Figments Friend

Well-Known Member
There were ideas suggested for a possible live action / cgi fantasy film based on the adventures of Dreamfinder & Figment some time ago back when the first series of Figment comics proved successful.
I didn't hear anything about a animated feature.

The idea was the do it live action, but with obvious cgi effects and some animation.
Think of the recent live action / cgi films Disney is doing these days ( 'Pete's Dragon' remake, 'Beauty & the Beast' remake, etc. ).
I don't know how seriously it was considered, but it was talked about within certain circles at that time.
The success of the comic series surprised a LOT of people within the Company.
That is a good thing.

It would be great to see a quality film happen...someday.
A lot of potential there for a good fantasy film that could boost interest in the characters and the Original concept that once contained them.



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brb1006

brb1006

Well-Known Member
Figments Friend said:
There were ideas suggested for a possible live action / cgi fantasy film based on the adventures of Dreamfinder & Figment some time ago back when the first series of Figment comics proved successful.
I didn't hear anything about a animated feature.

The idea was the do it live action, but with obvious cgi effects and some animation.
Think of the recent live action / cgi films Disney is doing these days ( 'Pete's Dragon' remake, 'Beauty & the Beast' remake, etc. ).
I don't know how seriously it was considered, but it was talked about within certain circles at that time.
The success of the comic series surprised a LOT of people within the Company.
That is a good thing.

It would be great to see a quality film happen...someday.
A lot of potential there for a good fantasy film that could boost interest in the characters and the Original concept that once contained them.



-
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I don't care if this is a fan made poster but this needs to become a reality.
b92a34ffba35618c40c74cfbcece5038.png

While I do like the idea of it being Live Action with animation. I still would love to see that idea turned into an animated film. After all Peter Doctor who worked on Carnium Command would eventually work on Beauty And The Beast and he eventually directed Inside Out (Which has a portrait of Figment that is a blink or miss). It would be so good to get him and help with Tony Baxter and get Ron Schenider to reprise his role as Dreamfinder. The only voice actor that I think would match and come closest to Billy Barty's Figment voice would have to be Charlie Adler. And they could combine the Figment comics with the charm and love from the original attraction and give us new characters from the comics such as Spark.
 
po1998

po1998

Well-Known Member
Disney4family said:
A few weeks ago, we spoke with a CM about such a change. He said that through surveys Disney has seen that Figment does have a strong following (albeit for the original). He said Disney was hoping for a different reaction so that they could completely replace it. Now they feel stuck trying to keep what Guests want and yet change/replace it for the future (what they want).
Again, it was just a CM in the parks so take it for what it's worth.
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Do you really believe that TDO cares what guests want? If so, GMR would be updated and MMRR would have been located in the Animation Courtyard, the Yeti would have been fixed years ago, there would still be a night time parade would still be held at the MK, summer hours at MK would not have been slashed down to nothing this summer, SSE descent would not be a total joke, etc...


IMO...TDO could not care less how guests feel about something as minor as Figment.
 
FigmentJedi

FigmentJedi

Well-Known Member
brb1006 said:
I don't care if this is a fan made poster but this needs to become a reality.
b92a34ffba35618c40c74cfbcece5038.png

While I do like the idea of it being Live Action with animation. I still would love to see that idea turned into an animated film. After all Peter Doctor who worked on Carnium Command would eventually work on Beauty And The Beast and he eventually directed Inside Out (Which has a portrait of Figment that is a blink or miss). It would be so good to get him and help with Tony Baxter and get Ron Schenider to reprise his role as Dreamfinder. The only voice actor that I think would match and come closest to Billy Barty's Figment voice would have to be Charlie Adler. And they could combine the Figment comics with the charm and love from the original attraction and give us new characters from the comics such as Spark.
Click to expand...

Schneider's too old to do the young Dreamfinder seen in the comic reboot.

As for Figment, I almost think they should start fresh and get Warwick Davis.
 
Disney4family

Disney4family

Well-Known Member
po1998 said:
Do you really believe that TDO cares what guests want? If so, GMR would be updated and MMRR would have been located in the Animation Courtyard, the Yeti would have been fixed years ago, there would still be a night time parade would still be held at the MK, summer hours at MK would not have been slashed down to nothing this summer, SSE descent would not be a total joke, etc...


IMO...TDO could not care less how guests feel about something as minor as Figment.
Click to expand...
I know. Sad in so many cases you stated and as for Figment - it's not just a "character" to so many people - it's a whole pavilion of "imagination", childhood, possibilities, etc.
 

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