The Complete History of Figment & Journey into Imagination at EPCOT

[@fifthrider]

I never cease to be amazed how "improvements" end up meaning "scaling back." What a loss. Maybe someday it can be restored.

[@ttintagel]

The nail in the coffin was that the contract with Kodak specified they had to overhaul the attraction within a certain number of years, but in a bizarre twist it didn't say Kodak was required to contribute any money toward it. They probably just assumed Kodak would WANT to, but by that time they were having financial problems and didn't volunteer any funds.

[@fifthrider]

@@ttintagel Wow. Dang. So if not for that the attraction may have gone unaltered, at least for a while? That's wild. Thanks.

[@scottburleson7215]

The original ride was beautiful, inspirational with a great story. If Disney would bring it back, with updated technology, it would be the jewel of Epcot

[@allisongomez7263]

Figment and Dreamfinder deserved so much more respect and love then they got. I sincerely hope that eventually this ride will be brought back towards the original vision for it, but updated with today's technology. Fans have been asking for this for years.

[@katcalico9142]

OMG the original figment experience was my jam and as a kid Epcot was my favorite park in the late 80’s/early 90’s. It makes me so sad when I hear parents complain that Epcot is boring and has nothing for kids. Forget ears, forget Minnie & Daisy - I love the pictures of 9 year old me in a somewhat bizarre full on figment hat thing, wearing a figment shirt, and holding a figment stuffy.

[@standpoint_]

If only Disney would just refurb it back to the original, with modern technology.

[@occheermommy]

I was going to say the same thing

[@notdarrell]

At least bring back the rainbow hallway. And Dreamfinder!

[@dannygrau2983]

@@notdarrell What if they made a new version of the ride and instead your now on a train visiting the islands of personalities and figment was your guide. I know it may sound like to much but just hear me out , the movie inside out is already giving me imagination vibes.

[@gamberlane]

Man, this got me right in the childhood. I just feel so unbelievably grateful for getting to experience the original version as a child, as well as the rest of original Epcot. It just filled me with such wonder and hope that isn't available there for kids today.

[@ttintagel]

I may be old and sick and poor, but darn it, I've still got my imagination. Kids need so badly to know how important imagination is, because it's one of the few things nobody can ever take away from you. Cancel Reply

[@disneytherapy8028]

One of the biggest crimes ever committed in Disney history. Maybe one day Figment will get the respect he deserves. Bring back the DREAMFINDER!

[@ReddOchober]

If there is one thing I could wish back into existence at Disney, it would be the original pavilion and ride.

[@karebear3152]

Justice for Dreamfinder!! Bring him back with a ride inspired by the original but updated to modern tech. Nigel needs to go. I have actually rode ALL THREE versions of this ride, and nothing will ever beat the original in my heart. I was absolutely devastated when I rode "YOUR" Imagination, and I guess at that point never rode it again and never realized it had changed to what it is now until I found this channel. Finally rode it on my 2021 trip.

[@dannyobrien8314]

Anyone else thank Eric (with longer hair and bushier beard) could easily don the Dreamfinder costume ? LaurieO

[@MeredithHM]

OMG, they need to bring back a modern/ updated version of the original ride back! I have only ridden the one that's there now & was always wondering why people loved Figment. I see why after you showed footage of the original. It looks adorable & fun!

[@CinnamonGrrlErin1]

Epcot was always my favorite park, I was a nerdy little kid way more into edutainment than princesses. One of my earliest baby pictures is in front of the shiny new Spaceship Earth back in 83, one of my first memories is meeting Dreamfinder and Figment when I was 5. I grew up to love the fields of science and history, at least in part because of the wonderful layout Epcot had.

[@bdchiaccio]

Bravo on this lovingly made tribute to 1 of my favorite original rides from the 80s at Epcot

[@SafetySpooon]

You would think that people waiting SERVEN HOURS for a POPCORN BUCKET would prove a point to them!

[@DocDoccus]

SEVEN?!? Yeah, seven.

[@michellehawkins1027]

Sadly the only point they got was,we need to make more merch to sell.

[@gafgarian]

Absolutely LOVE these "Complete History" mini-docs. They are the perfect length and perfect aggregation of history. The tiny easter egg "jabs" or "tears" about what decisions were made or what almost was scattered throughout bring entertainment to those of us who may be more informed without being distracting to those that are just here to learn about a part of park history that they may never have even been able to experience. Well done as always team... and the narrator is pretty okay too 😏

[@Shilly_JD]

Thank you, Tom and the WDWNT Team!!! This brought back so many memories of the original attraction and the developments that I have seen during this ride's digression. I have visited EPCOT from when it opened until now. (The next trip is next week 2024). This is the worst story in all of the Disney Parks History in my mind. Disney... PLEASE REINVENT THIS EXPERIENCE! Bring back The DreamFinder and Figment Story with the original music! ❤

[@donkaiser6704]

A sad story, very well told. Thank you.

[@staceyotterwright2473]

As a middle school kid shortly after this building and ride opened, I remember the carpet where you could jump around to create different music notes. My little brother, cousin, and I had so much fun with that. The bonus was outside when my lil bro walked between the jumping water spaces and got hit in the side of the head. In line with being a Gen X’er big sister, I laughed! I will add by saying that nothing can beat that original version of the ride! If Disney ever wanted to do justice to what this building was supposed to be, including Figment, someone would bring back as much of the original ride as possible

[@mholme17]

Thank you Tom & Team for putting this together ! Oh boy, now that I see how amazing the original Figment ride and meaning of dream finder is, I understand a little more why Tom is grumpy over the changes of the ride throughout the years lol

[@occheermommy]

But now we have a fart machine!!!! Seriously can’t they just update it with today’s tech and make it as magical as it once was!!!!

[@UmmYeahOk]

At least they brought back Figment, and got rid of the part where they immediately insult the guests at the very beginning.

[@HerrDeutschBlood]

It’s so sad how an attraction can go from being the most popular in the park to the most underwhelming. One could only hope that it’ll get restored back to its former glory.

[@purpleflyingarmadillo]

I absolutely love these "History Of..." videos! They are such a deep dive and I enjoy every minute of it. You guys do such a great job!! I was born and raised and currently live in California, so I've never been to Walt Disney World. But I have grown to love Figment from watching your channel. I hope someday he will get a new ride.💜

[@joysjourney3212]

Tom, I want to thank you and the team so much. I'm sitting here with all the feels experiencing so many fond memories. What an outstanding job you did with this!

[@aaronpayne4574]

One of my fav easter eggs are the tennis shoes outside of the computer lab. Medfield college, the original Cinematic Universe.

[@johnvictor2451]

Upgrade by returning to the original PLEASE!

[@lindsaymoser4200]

This was such an impactful ride in its original form. I still go on the current one every time we’re in the parks, but it’s not nearly as good and who chose the skunk sent?! My SO thought I was crazy until I made him watch an original ride through. Team bring back the Dreamfinder and Rainbow tunnel

[@nevets4433]

Great work Tom and team

[@tman6495]

Excellent video... this was very well done! 😊👍

[@neilengel3715]

After the first couple of years of EPCOT, the JII show was sending out empty trains with increasing frequency til the show was closed

[@Loveofdisneybymaria]

😢 I really miss the Original rhyme, wish they would just bring it back. The one we have now is good but the original one was better. Thank you Tom for giving such a great video. It brought back a lot of memories for me.😢❤

[@chinalee-mn4vy]

I'm grateful for seeing the original version of this ride. It's not the same anymore and I don't even go to ride now due to the change. And the constant skunk smell is nauseating... I still adore Figment but I totally miss the Dream Finder...😢

[@Ziemziems]

I don’t remember the original ride, but man was it so much better than what we have now why would they ever ever change that? It was amazing.!!!!!

[@terrys4179]

The original was the best. Thanks for this stroll down memory lane Tom.

[@kerryannsmith2757]

You mentioned Billy Barty, but not Chuck McCann - who also voiced other Disney characters including some of the Beagle boys :-)

[@djdef5521]

I wish they would bring back the original attraction with some form of modern technology of course. People waited up to 7 hours for the popcorn bucket, if the original attraction would come back in some form true fans will come & wait again.

[@SMTraz]

Amazing video, thanks for the great content! Bring back Dreamfinder and the original ride (or at least a modern version of it).

[@krisrhood2127]

Reminds me of my mental tote bag which I take to places and fill with ideas

[@ttintagel]

That other Imagination song was pretty good, but I don't see it catching on like the one by the Earworm Brothers, uh, I mean the Sherman Brothers.

[@jdslyman1720]

That other version certainly reminds me of the '70s- of course when EPCOT was being developed, it was the '70s😂 Woodgrain and John Denver come to mind..

[@RetroFett]

1) The original version cannot be brought back; there isn't enough room anymore. A third of the track was removed and covered. There were issues with the original ride system and turntable, so they simplified the entire experience by just getting rid of those areas. 2) Gutting the building to restore the original ride system would require expensive upgrades to utility systems and HVAC 3) It would be easier to create a NEW version of Journey Into Imagination from scratch over in the old Wonders of Life Pavilion; the building its empty now. It would be out of the way of EPCOT guests to allow for construction, Disney could continue the current ride in the old pyramid building until the new one was ready to open on the other side of Future World, to maintain capacity

[@Songwritersbehindthecurtain]

Strobe lights on a Disney ride I had to be careful.

[@jgkidd82]

My purple God! I so miss the original JII. I wish they could use today's technology and bring Dreamfinder back and the ride back closer to its original concept.

[@IzzosPlace]

While Horizons is the thing I miss the most, I feel this was a masterpiece and I would put it up against anything in WDW (only Disney park I’ve been to) to this day. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

[@jasonrussell9637]

My wife and I were there July 1998 for our honeymoon.

[@turcj]

Now that Muppet Vision 3D is closing, I would love to see them move the show into the Magic Eye Theater. The facility is already set up to handle all of the special effects in the Muppets show and actually has a couple that could be added to the show. Do you remember when the mice escaped during Honey I Shrunk the audience? The tails on the back of your legs? I'm sure they could add that effect in somewhere. And the entire floor shakes! Perfect for the explosion at the end. I think Kermit and Figment could play well together and represent Imagination very well.

[@Mickey19286]

FIGMENT 🟪🐉

[@kencotton4645]

Disney has a distressing habit of coming up with great ideas, then dumbing them down or do away with them entirely instead of fixing problems or keeping the same ideas presented with improved technology.

[@josueelombre931]

Im sorry people actually waited 7 hours for a stupid bucket?! If people are willing to wait that long then Disney should get rid of virtual cues.

[@DocDoccus]

SEVEN?!? Yeah, seven. HAD to do it again, sorry.

[@TheNamekianClown]

You know, I totally get why since not everyone are gamers, but I do think it's interesting that so many theme park news channels who are all consistently Figment fans either don't know about or just ignore how he's in Disney Speedstorm. As well multiple other parks references only park enthusiasts would really understand and would go over the heads of most people who would want to play a Disney racing video game.

[@WDWNT]

I just don’t think the game is a big enough deal for most fans to care.

[@TheNamekianClown]

@WDWNT I dunno, I feel like Figment with a recast voice and references to Dreamfinder, SMRT-1, Kitchen Kabaret, and the Maelstrom being put into a video game in 2023 is just as big of a deal as the comic book if not bigger. (And less notable because they are still around, but also Orange Bird, the Tiki Room birds with all 4 by name, the Dapper Dans and Sonny Eclipse.)

[@heidigale9287]

I loved this!!!

[@bethanybarnes8716]

Wish ut was still like this!

[@rmannayr2129]

JOURNEY INTO IMAGINATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@spiritimagineer]

They need/must recommission Tony Baxter to get this treasure back!!!!

[@UmmYeahOk]

What about the Dream Machine? You mentioned what happened to other figures, but I don’t think you mentioned how it was repurposed at MouseGears. Ever since the remodel of the gift shop, I have been wondering where it went to.

[@WDWNT]

Prop history is something different we’ll be saving for a later time…

[@Nonfiction79]

Figment is a good-lookin’ 40 year old!

[@jdslyman1720]

Almost 41😊 If you take his ride opening as his birthday, it would be March 5, 1983. Still, he doesn't age, like all Purple Gods🥰

[@rmannayr2129]

IMAGINATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@terrakamino]

Woohoooo!!!!!!!

[@himynameiscorey]

I’m so mad that they tore up what looks to me like one of the greatest rides of all time. I’ve never experienced the original but seeing this has me so upset it was this good and what we have now… literally stinks 🤢

[@davies3rd]

I am now obsessed with that other imagination song. Does anyone know where I can hear the full version?

[@ianbowden9496]

I visited first in 1997 but can’t 100% remember if I rode the original ride. I have no problems with the Eric Idle version but after watching this, technical issues aside, think Kodak shouldn’t have wanted a new ride!

[@TheETicketReport]

Great overview of the attraction, but just not enough focus on the most impressive feat this ride accomplished which alone was its ride system. You can learn all the story hitches by watching a ride-through. I'm more interested in how the actual ride system functioned, because it was a technical marvel at the time. Tell me about the turntables, and the jaw dropping effects the ride had that made it a classic. Also not very in-depth on the thoughts behind the decisions to completely ruin the attraction, which is probably the most interesting part of the whole story. Incomplete history

[@WDWNT]

Sounds like you know already.

[@TheETicketReport]

@WDWNT The story or plot of the attraction can hardly be described as history. You just took the ride's wiki and stretched it into a 30 minute video using mostly other people's content

[@Sheri7029]

Nothing happened with Figment between 2014 and 2022???

[@Songwritersbehindthecurtain]

🤩

[@himynameiscorey]

Can we talk about how Kodak was insanely afraid of Fuji at the time? Can’t have a green dragon! Can’t make the Japan pavilion Mt. Fuji coaster because of the name! Who cares? Thank god for smartphones and good riddance to a camera company having a say in wdi.

[@EPCOTFan82]

While this video is great, I hope this doesn't mean that Back to the Future isn't coming back