Two Spirited Quickees...Imagination closing

[Figments Friend]

The last time I was there, January 2013, the fountains were not aimed properly. They were no longer leaping across to the spot made to receive it. Some missed the mark by a pretty good amount. I'm hoping it has been fixed since then...have to say it truly disappointed me on that visit.

The foam-ish screening was rather well worn last i viewed them up close a few months ago.
They did indeed look as though they needed some attention, but that area is not really a priority now since it has little Guest traffic when compared to other areas.
Perhaps they will receive a refresh when the refurb/redo happens next year.

 

[Figments Friend]

who is taking over Imagination?

I really wish i could say this :

*Tony Baxter*

 

[Captain Neo]

I admire your determination, but really, no one even noticed. You were and are the one that misses out. I don't think Phineas & Ferb are going in there but even if they did. Your absence is not going to mean anything to anybody. You, on the other had might not have given something a chance and predetermined that what is in there is not worthy of seeing. Really, if anyone is continuing to want the original back (not sure you are), it is never going to happen. Never! They're just setting themselves up for disappointment.

If they did replace it with P & F, you may be right and that it will suck, but, I for one, am not willing to predetermine that. I will see it and if it sucks I will be in the forefront of letting everyone know. Until then, I just don't know.

What exactly did I miss out on at Disneyland during those years? From what everyone has said those were the absolute worst years in the parks history and a few people even died while visiting. Meanwhile I was spending my vacation money elsewhere including WDW at the time. I didn't prejudge anything I saw what tomorrowland and DCA looked like at opening through video, Internet, word of mouth, driving by and I wasn't impressed. Eventually disney did cave in to not just me but the thousands of others who felt the same way and began reworking tomorrowland and revamping DCA.

I know the original version of imagination isn't coming back but Disney should be striving to wow us in the same way as the original not go for a cheap overlay based on a children's TV program. I was really hoping for a spiritual successor to the original with dream finder and figment and not Three caballeros redux. Fortunately this is all just a rumor so there is n point getting worked p about it. I am simply signaling my disapproval of the idea in the assumption that Disney is considering it.

 

[CDavid]

Can we please stop showing showing this image without a Warning: Graphic Content disclaimer? Thanks.

 

[Figments Friend]

It's rather ironic and extraordinarily sad that the current contingent of imagineers lack the imagination necessary to bring the Imagination pavilion back to its former glory with an ORIGINAL story.

While i can understand this from a frustrated fan*s perspective, i am sure there are some plans afoot that just have yet to be realized for one reason or another. For several years there has been rumblings from within about creative types working on some concepts and a sense of anxiousness to get in there are do something about the currant ride. Wether or not completely true...one has to take with a grain of salt.

The biggest hurdle is always getting your concept accepted and winning a budget to build.
Money always comes into play when something like a major re-imagining is needed.

I think a lot of uppers at Disney believe that the 3rd version of the Imagination attraction *corrected mistakes* made by the atrocious 2nd version. After it opened, Figment fans seemed pleased and in general i get the impression it was felt that this Pavilion has been *fixed*.
Of course over the years other voices have come forward to challenge this, which has been entertaining and also quite wonderful in some cases. Tony Baxter speaking his mind at the IAAPA immediately takes the crown. I think every serious classic EPCOT Center fan agreed with his statement that the currant Imagination attraction does not really work. Something is indeed missing...
Oh..right...imagination is it !

Nothing will ever top the Original. I have said it before, i will say it again:
One of WDIs greatest dark-ride attractions ever made..right up there with Pirates and Mansion.
Way ahead of it*s time but timeless. Absolutely amazing in so many ways...from design standpoint, engineering standpoint, artistic standpoint...the list goes on.
It is a great loss that this truly unique and inspiring experience can no longer be...experienced.

Here is hoping for a new experience, that captures the whimsey and inspirational tone of the Original but adds in a dash of originality and uniqueness all it*s own.

 

[Expo_Seeker40]

The great thing about Figment and Dreamfinder is that they are as timeless as a child's imagination. They were created toward the end of an era when Disney created UNIQUE characters strictly for it's parks. They "lived" together in harmony with the characters so many fans had come to love via film and tv.

I fear that any modern day characters they put inside Imagination 4.0 will become dated and forgotten within a few years. They need to push the Dreamfinder and Figment duo again. The problem with the original show was how expensive it was to operate, some of the technology used to operate it, and the technicality in Kodak's contract that said the show had to change after x number of years.

It's amazing that upstairs in the old Imageworks there are still a few of the original interactive exhibits up there. Heck, the purple and blue walls are still their original color up there and the carpeting hasn't changed! It's a scary throwback to the 80s.

The Imagination Pavilion needs new life no doubt, but here's hoping to what they did with Test Track 2.0... an attraction that is revised, but with EPCOT Center edutainment for the 21st century.

Give Imagination a new 3d film where Dreamfinder and Figment take us on a journey into the human imagination and allow a brand new ride to compliment it with new physical set pieces and story...and then upstairs...a 21st century interactive ImageWorks with a few old friends still refurbished such as the rainbow corridor and pin-tables.

 

[Hakunamatata]

I think the biggest challenge to Epcot is that most everyone can hold the future in the palm of their hand, even for free if you can't afford one because the president will give you a phone. When E.P.C.O.T. opened the future had not really been miniaturized and mass produced so that it was more affordable. Now that advancements in technology have not changed so much in size, but in capacity, it's more difficult to theme around it. Just my opinion and not based on any personal knowledge or fact.

 

[Communicore]

Can we please stop showing showing this image without a Warning: Graphic Content disclaimer? Thanks.

The videos of the gutted Communicore is graphic content as well.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

IF the Imagination pavilion gets a new Dreamfinder/Figment attraction, Dreamfinder should be played by Neil Patrick Harris.

That is all.

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

^^ Please no.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Breaking News!

Imagination to close in EPCOT. Figment to find a new home in DAK, where he'll host the nighttime show 'Cry Me A River Of Light'.

As part of Figments move, he is re-imagined into a more realistic looking dragon, to better fit in with DAK realist look, and with the dragon of DAK's logo. In the accompanying backstory, Dreamfinder gets mistaken for a Steak Of Their Imagination by Figment's relatives, and they ate him. Said he tasted 'just like chicken'.

Figment as he'll spearhead a mini-Beastly Kingdom. Rumours speak of a Figment Dueling Dragons spinner:

picture courtesy of @George

 

[NoChesterHester]

I've read a lot of thoughtful posts on here tonight. My feelings....

The novelty of 3D has worn off. In the age of EO and HISTA it was next to impossible to see a high quality 3d movie at your local theater. No longer. We have even reached the saturation point where it is so commonplace that viewers are choosing to forgo the 3D viewings. Just look at the plummeting 3d viewership of movies in theaters.

So... If another 3D movie were produced for the magic eye... I would find that to be a waste of resources that I would rather be spent on the ride or the exhibits.

I personally can't see them tearing the building down unless there is really good reason to. It is well sited and it could be freshened up. That being said, while I have a long nostalgic love for the attraction and the laminar flow fountains out front I find the building itself to be quite dated. Late 70's early 80's space frame and heavy mullion curtain wall dominate my opinion of the structure itself. It reminds me of a soaring space frame atrium at a local mall... One that just closed down. It was pretty popular at the time. (You see it too, it is ok to admit it.)

As far as the ride renovation - Imagination needs to look forward. I can't imagine a scenario where reinstalling the original ride would be anything but a disaster except for a select couple people that probably all read this message board. I can all but guarantee it would be a disservice to the stellar original.

A new vision is needed and looking backwards just rarely works well. Times have changed and we need something that reflects our modern culture and what a positive message Imagination can pose in these cynical times.

 

[FigmentJedi]

IF the Imagination pavilion gets a new Dreamfinder/Figment attraction, Dreamfinder should be played by Neil Patrick Harris.

That is all.

No, if you had to cast a celebrity as Dreamfinder, it must be Jeff Bridges.

And even if say, they decided for some arbitrary reason to make Dreamfinder a more youthful character like you're suggesting with NPH, I'd go with David Tennant because Dreamfinder might as well be a Time Lord from what bits and pieces we've gotten of his backstory.

 

[englanddg]

No, if you had to cast a celebrity as Dreamfinder, it must be Jeff Bridges.

And even if say, they decided for some arbitrary reason to make Dreamfinder a more youthful character like you're suggesting with NPH, I'd go with David Tennant because Dreamfinder might as well be a Time Lord from what bits and pieces we've gotten of his backstory.

All due respect...that's not much different that what is there now.

 

[FigmentJedi]

All due respect...that's not much different that what is there now.

True. Celebrity connections are something that Epcot should be weaned off of. I'm mostly thinking of it in terms of hypothetical stuff, though let's face it, it's not going to happen in modern Epcot and you bet if Disney were to reintroduce a character with a cult following, they'd do some stunt casting.

Also, thought that just occurred to me, anybody else realize that NIgel Channing is basically just Mr. Banks?

 

[Rescue Ranger]

As long as Dreamfinder comes back and with Figment. We need a new....better attraction. Not that it ever needed changing to begin with, however.

I am pretty sure we can almost guarantee Figment at the very least will not be going anywhere. He is a staple of Epcot. Disney knows how much these two are loved. They just need to do something good with it.

 

[Santa Raccoon 77]

IMHO i think Figment needs to be removed completely .People here call for him to be "re-instated to his former glory" , I beleive (like the 80's) that this is long gone.something new and forward thinking needs to go into this underused pavillion not stepping back in time.If Figment was so sucsessfull we would still see him being promoted around the parks big style. TThe fact that the figment merch has dried up suggests to me a small fanbase.WDW is all about making money (not an observation just a fact) If they were to put something new that a large percentage of the public can buy into then they are onto a winner,I just don't see Figment as this.
All this is just my opinion (and for the record no i never rode the original and yes i do actually like figment)

 

[Wikkler]

Why is everybody in the theater smiling?

 

[Wikkler]

Oh yeah, I'm not too excited for this Monsters mini-land going near Hollywood Land, either. I can think of better things than Monsters. These are the times I wish I had received an invite to that brainstorming session not too long ago. You know what the worst part is? The actual Hollywood is right up the street, a thirty to forty minute drive away. It's right there, and they just keep failing at what should be a fun and interesting part of the park. I just don't get it.

I think the DCA executives noticed Cars Land and decided to Pixar-fy DCA...

 

[Captain Neo]

Why is everybody in the theater smiling?

because they are getting paid