I was sad to see some changes though since I was last there. Most things are changed just a smidge - classics stay classics - but there were a lot of changes over in Epcot. The Imagination ride was totally different. The entire pavillion was changed. I missed the old Imagination. Apparently, the version I saw the other day was actually the third incarnation of Imagination. The Second was a disaster that failed to include the ever popular (and adorable) Figment. It was changed again to be what it is now - Figment included - though I was really disappointed with it. You can find out a lot more on the details of the change and the history of the exhibit here and here. I have to agree with this summary:
Journey Into Imagination has proven to be a somewhat controversial attraction at Walt Disney World’s Epcot. The first version of this ride featured an audio-animatronic (in other words, Disney robot) kooky scientist named Dreamfinder and a friendly purple dragon named Figment who were your tour guides of sorts through the dreamy and whimsical realms of imagination. The ride was colorful, cute, harmless, and silly, but for some reason was a favorite of Disney diehards.
In the late 90s, Disney (in its infinite wisdom) decided that this cute and harmless ride didn’t exactly fit the educational and serious theme of Epcot, so they shut down the attraction and scheduled a complete overhaul. It opened again in 1999 with a slightly new name, Journey Into Your Imagination, only this time without the popular Dreamfinder or his sidekick Figment. Instead, your host was Eric Idle (from Monty Python fame) who plays a -you guessed it - kooky scientist. This new ride inspired to introduce you to an even zanier and more scientific approach to imagination, taking you inside an actual "Imagination Institute," which featured optical illusions and other sensory stimulation exercises. The ride was ultimately forgettable, completely un-inspiring, and in fact drew such a huge public backlash (especially about the loss of Figment who had, previously, been a sort of mascot at Epcot similar to Mickey Mouse at the Magic Kingdom) that Disney eventually did the unthinkable: they closed the attraction down and tried once again to create a ride that was both meaningful and fun (and, oh yeah, crowd pleasing).
Journey Into Your Imagination With Figment officially opened on June 1, 2002....The overall theme of the ride is still the same as the previous version: you are touring an Open House at the Imagination Institute with kooky Eric Idle as your guide...The ride starts with Idle explaining that you will be touring the Institute and exploring how your five senses can help guide your imagination. This time, however, he is interrupted by none other than Figment himself, who for some reason doesn’t seem to like Idle’s methodology (this is never fully explained) and basically threatens to keep popping up and making a general nuisance of himself during the ride.
...As for the ride itself, it has been overhauled but it seems that more has been taken away than added. For example, many of the rooms that you pass through during the ride are kind of empty, as though the props are missing. And the few props that are there are pretty much all from the last version of the ride.
...Anyway, I can’t really say much for this ride. The storyline is not cohesive and there’s not a whole lot to look at. Yeah, they brought Figment back (along with his catchy theme song, "One Little Spark") and that’s good. But it’s like they just kind of stuck him in the ride with no real rhyme or reason. I’m hoping it grows on me, but I don’t think it will. Is it at least better than Version #2? Well, yeah. But - and this may be my nostalgia speaking - nothing will be as good as the first and original. Dreamfinder, where are you?
Then again, I remember watching Captian EO (another site here that discusses the Disneyland version) at the Imagination pavilion, so perhaps I'm just jaded by old-time memories of the place. Still...I didn't so much enjoy the Imagination ride now. It just wasn't anything interesting or memorable.
I was also really saddened to see that one of my all-time favorite rides at Epcot - Horizons - was gone, and had been gone since 1999. (Guess I never heard about it's quiet death; I would have liked to ride it again before it was gone for good). The ride was neat because it had the most beautiful star field towards the end that really made you feel like you were just hanging in outerspace. And, you got to pick which of the three endings you got to see: space, undersea, or desert. There's a couple good sites out there with pictures and even a real motion video of the ride, but sad to say, it's gone for good - building and all. Epcot to me seemed very barren and lacking some of it's former sparkle in an attempt to try to give it more "umphf" I think it's just washed itself out in half-hearted rides. There doesn't seem to be a lot of reason to go there anymore which is really kinda sad. It was Walt's dream and they made it into a {badly done} side-show. (While looking up information on the changes in the other rides I mentioned, I realized the other missing thing from Epcot - told you it seemed empty - there is another. The World of Motion was replaced by Test Track. Sheesh. Nothing's there that I remember anymore.)
Hrm. Well, the kinda boring emptiness of Epcot aside (yeah, I got a little off-track with my reminiscing), we had a great time. I can't wait to go back. And, I'm thrilled to know that we have not just one more day, but three more days waiting for us. weeeeee!.
~ flowers bloom near Memory and Dream
at 6/29/2003 10:59:31 PM ~
~
