What EPCOT refurb never should have happened?

hunter88 · Post by **hunter88** » Oct Mon 27, 2008 7:34 pm

I have to Agree with Csquare FIGMENT!!! but after the refurmbishment it is like Disney took a part of your childhood away because as soon as you walked into that park you tell your parents "i want to ride figment" Now the good old imagination song is not the same and the Dreamfinder is not there no more eitherand speaking of the Dreamfinder i had my picture taken with him satnding outside of those glass pyramids with my stuffed figment and my figment hat that i just bought when i was six.

Soarin08 · Post by **Soarin08** » Nov Mon 17, 2008 10:08 pm

The Wonders of Life pavilion just sitting there. How incredibly sad.....

Soarin' was the BEST refurb, I must add (no pun intended). Without it, I wouldn't be quite the WDW freak I am today.

Donalds1Fan · Post by **Donalds1Fan** » Nov Mon 17, 2008 11:54 pm

I haven't been on a lot of these rides, but based on videos I've seen compared to the current version which I have ridden, I'd have to go with Figment. As I'm sure many think, the original seemed so creative and different. Why dumb it down to what it is now is beyond me.

Magical Wonder · Post by **Magical Wonder** » Nov Fri 21, 2008 7:02 pm

Add another for Figment. I believe that to be one of the biggest mistakes they've made so far.

Future Guy · Post by **Future Guy** » Nov Fri 21, 2008 8:33 pm

Donalds1Fan wrote:I haven't been on a lot of these rides, but based on videos I've seen compared to the current version which I have ridden, I'd have to go with Figment. As I'm sure many think, the original seemed so creative and different. Why dumb it down to what it is now is beyond me.

It was money. The old ride had the best attendance in Future World, but it was also the most expensive to operate. Kodak's contract to sponsor the pavilion was almost up, and Fujifilm wanted to take it over and put in a thrill ride. Kodak wanted to stay, so they came up with a counterproposal to install a cheaper ride. Disney went with Kodak's proposal, and thus it was that Journey Into Imagination was replaced with a joyless mockery made from cast-off pieces of defunct attractions.

Donalds1Fan · Post by **Donalds1Fan** » Nov Fri 21, 2008 11:17 pm

Future Guy wrote:
Donalds1Fan wrote:I haven't been on a lot of these rides, but based on videos I've seen compared to the current version which I have ridden, I'd have to go with Figment. As I'm sure many think, the original seemed so creative and different. Why dumb it down to what it is now is beyond me.
It was money. The old ride had the best attendance in Future World, but it was also the most expensive to operate. Kodak's contract to sponsor the pavilion was almost up, and Fujifilm wanted to take it over and put in a thrill ride. Kodak wanted to stay, so they came up with a counterproposal to install a cheaper ride. Disney went with Kodak's proposal, and thus it was that Journey Into Imagination was replaced with a joyless mockery made from cast-off pieces of defunct attractions.

That's awful. Since it was most popular, you'd think Disney would just eat the cost difference since it could be argued it helped people go to the park or stay longer. I guess that's just the workings of the non-business mind I have, though. Wish I could've seen the *real* thing back in the day. The only version I know is the current one.

jenndisney · Post by **jenndisney** » Nov Sun 23, 2008 9:44 pm

I never got to see Wonders of Life. It is one I wish I could have seen just to mark it off my list.

Future Guy · Post by **Future Guy** » Nov Tue 25, 2008 9:16 pm

Interesting news on the Imagination front. Ever since John Lasseter got there, there's been a rumor that he wants to fix the Imagination pavilion and put Dreamfinder back in. Although the project seems to have run afoul of office politics, the rumor that an Imagination rehab is in the cards has been persistent.

From what I hear, the Disney decision-makers have a negative attitude toward folks like us who think some of the old rides were better. However, starting on October 30, you can buy this pin at the Disney World properties in Florida. It's called When Dreams Come True-Figment. Now, one can't read too much into this. It may just be a case of Disney dredging up old characters to put on a pin so they can sell it. But isn't it interesting that they're selling a pin that shows Figment dreaming longingly of his old friend Dreamfinder? Maybe there are some people at Disney who want Dreamfinder back.

And maybe one day, we'll have a new, improved version of the old ride. Who knows?

secondstar · Post by **secondstar** » Dec Wed 03, 2008 11:46 pm

I think JIYI is one of the worst rides anywhere. Period.

DisBeamer · Post by **DisBeamer** » Dec Thu 04, 2008 4:56 am

Future Guy wrote:But isn't it interesting that they're selling a pin that shows Figment dreaming longingly of his old friend Dreamfinder? Maybe there are some people at Disney who want Dreamfinder back.

That pin is kind of hideously depressing. Figment dreaming of the good old days is so sad.

Of course now I have a mental image of him, Toad, Bonnie Appetit and Tom Morrow, sitting around a dive bar, reminiscing. That's a pin I'd buy.

Mr.ToadWildRider · Post by **Mr.ToadWildRider** » Dec Thu 04, 2008 11:21 am

DisBeamer wrote: Of course now I have a mental image of him, Toad, Bonnie Appetit and Tom Morrow, sitting around a dive bar, reminiscing. That's a pin I'd buy.

Sittin' round talkin' 'bout Glory Dayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyysssssssssssss

theBIGyowski · Post by **theBIGyowski** » Dec Thu 04, 2008 1:24 pm

Wow that pin is a little depressing. Makes you feel bad for the little purple guy.

"Two tiny wings...eyes big and yellow...horns of a steer...but a lovable fellow...from head to tail, he's royal purple pigment...and there...voila...you've got a Figment!"

I could see how he misses his old pal.

Future Guy · Post by **Future Guy** » Dec Thu 04, 2008 2:51 pm

But it also makes the person looking at the pin miss Dreamfinder. And if someone's never heard of Dreamfinder, their interest in him will be piqued. My thinking is, why would Disney make a pin like this if there wasn't a desire within the company to bring Dreamfinder back?

theBIGyowski · Post by **theBIGyowski** » Dec Thu 04, 2008 3:10 pm

Yeah, I think there were a few people who wanted to change it and most didn't. It's just so sad that the whole Imagination pavilion has fallen so far in the past several years. Maybe once the economy picks back up (crosses fingers) they will reinvest in that pavilion. It was actually one of the few things that I remember from my first trip to WDW when I was 4 years old...almost exactly 22 years ago! (Nov 1986)

Future Guy · Post by **Future Guy** » Dec Thu 04, 2008 3:42 pm

Yes, it was amazing. I especially liked the whimsical murals in the queue area.

Subsonic Radio

What EPCOT refurb never should have happened?

What ride/show should have been left alone?