[INTRO Sound Effects]
>>Defunctland: Previously on Defunctland, I explored how Tony Baxter took an idea from
his never built Disneyland expansion, brought it to Florida, and turned it into one of the
most beloved dark rides of all time.
Word in the creation of and relive the magic behind Journey into Imagination in Part 1
of this two part crossover between Defunctland and YesterWorld.
[INTRO Sound Effects]
>>Mark from Yesterworld: The story continues here, after the attraction was suddenly closed
on October 10th, 1998.
And we’re now going to explore what led to journey into imagination’s closure, and
it’s controversial alterations to not just the attraction but the pavilion itself,
as well as the ultimate fate of figment and the dream finder, and what traces of the beloved
attraction still exist today.
[intro]
>>Mark from Yesterworld: To fully understand why Journey Into Imagination was closed and
how it’s replacements came to be, you have to go back 5 years to 1993, when Horizons
lost General Electric as a sponsor,
as without a sponsorship and Disney in the middle of it’s euro disney financial troubles
and cost cutting initiatives set in place by Michael Eisner and Paul Presslar,
By 1998, Horizons was hanging on by a thread, after having initially been closed in 1995
only to reopen the following year,
and kept as a placeholder for the temporary closure of Universe of Energy and the construction
of test track.
And would be the first example just how reliant attractions and pavilions were on Epcot’s
sponsorship model,
in which mega corporations would use this integration to promote their brand or products,
and in turn, have incentive to put up the cash to keep their investments up to date.
The same was true, if not even more, for the Kodak sponsored Journey into Imagination
[Clip: “Inside the glass pyramids of Journey into Imagination await some of the most exciting
experiences in all of Epcot center.”]
While still one of Epcot’s most popular attractions and pavillions, Disney had been
pestering Kodak for years to put up the funds for an update or major refurbishment,
but with the rise of digital media and photography, the once dominant film imaging company was
struggling financially, and had resisted further investing into the pavilion.
However, with Epcot’s upcoming Millennial Celebration as an attempt to breath some new
life into the theme park, which even Disney executives admitted had become woefully outdated,
Disney finally put their foot down and invoked Kodak’s contractual obligation to avoid
being replaced.
[Movie clip: “You will do as we say.”]
[“No.”]
[“You have a contract!.”]
Despite being one of their biggest sponsors, Kodak was in no financial position to properly
fund the refurbishment, but with their rival Fujifilm having lobbied for years to become
a major sponsor in Disney’s theme parks,
so much so it’s rumored Kodak was behind the cancellation of the Japan Pavillion’s
Mount Fuji coaster, Kodak agreed but with one catch: they could only offer a fraction
of the requested funds.
And pressed for time and resources, Disney agreed to Kodak’s terms, and the ride was
closed in late 1998 to begin work on a new attraction to replace Journey into imagination,
And despite rumors of being based on Flubber or an adventure through the mind of a child,
it would instead be inspired by the neighboring Honey I shrunk the Audience
[Clip: “This year, Epcot is also the exhilarating center of the Walt Disney World Millennium
Celebration.”]
[Clip: “Epcot and the new millennium already embodies all of our ideas and dreams for tomorrow.”]
On October 1st 1999, despite being omitted from vacation planning videos, the attraction
debuted as Journey Into YOUR imagination.
And even before setting foot on the ride itself, it was clear this was not the refresh or refurbishment
many had hoped for,
as the once stunning atrium of beautiful murals inspired by imagination had been replaced
with a new queue involving the premise of an open house at the imagination institute,
an extension of the plot within the neighboring Honey I shrunk the audience.
[Clip: “Ladies and gentleman, the chairman of the imagination institute, Dr. Nigel Channing.”]
In this new version of Journey into imagination, Ericl Idle reprises his role as Dr. Nigel
Channing,
and in addition to a series of painfully unfunny video segments about the various experiment
labs you’ll be touring, he tells you of the imagination institutes newest invention.
[Clip: “It’s the imagination scanner, developed right here at the Imagination Institute.
You’ll be scanned twice, at the start of your journey, and then again after you’ve
completed a series of perceptual exercises.”]
If it hadn’t already, by the time you reached the new loading platform, the horror of these
new changes finally sets in,
as the once magnificent and iconic turntable showscene introducing The DreamFinder and
Figment, had been replaced by what lay before you: the loading platform itself.
[Movie clip: “How?
When?”]
Evidently, with Kodak putting up only a fraction of the funds to renovate the attraction, it
was decided to quite literally cut the attraction in half by roughly 35-40%, altering what was
once a 12 minute experience into about 5.
But believe it or not, that’s far from the most controversial change to the ride.
As while Dreamfinder and Figment had been Icons of the attraction and considered the
unofficial mascots of Epcot,
every single dream finder animatronic had been removed, and this new version contained
not a single appearance or reference to his existence,
with every single figment animatronic also being removed, who was virtually erased from
the attraction, with the character only appearing in the queue and a brief cameo on the ride,
as a “figment” of Nigel Channing’s imagination.
And to add insult to injury, the catchy and memorable tune “One Little Spark” was
non existent, leaving virtually nothing of the cherished elements of the original.
[Movie clip: “Nooooooo!”]
As far as this new experience itself, Shortly after boarding the attraction, you arrive
at the imagination scanner, only to find out that you have none.
[Clip: “Well as you can see there’s not much going on upstairs imagination wise.
That’s just perfect for our experiment.”]
After being backhandedly insulted, what follows is a mostly uninspired and lackluster experience
void of any of the magic and wonder of the original and with the exception of a single
genuinely impressive illusion,
the ride is a stream of stagnant show scenes and cheap visual and audio gags as you travel
room to room.
And while on paper these concepts might have seemed like a golden idea, without the budget
to fully realize them, Journey Into YOUR Imagination felt more like an above average carnival ride.
[Music playing]
Approaching the end of the journey, you were retested with the imagination scanner, and
wouldn’t you know it, the results are off the charts.
[Clip: “Fantastic!
Look what your imaginations have created.”]
And if fans of the original attraction hadn’t already felt their heart shatter to pieces,
the voice of an all too familiar character was sure to do the trick.
[Clip: “You’re quite clever, all of you.”]
[“What a brilliant burst of creativity.”]
But the pain isn’t over, as upon exiting the attraction, you get to see just what took
the place of the gutted portions of the ride: the new image works “what if” labs.
Even worse, as many of the experiences were less than innovative, you might have been
tempted to go upstairs to the original Image Works, only to find the elevator behind a
wall, the stairway roped off, and both escalators caged up.
As allegedly, when a Disney attraction closes for a period of 6 months or more, OSHA inspects
and reevaluates whether it meets current safety standards.
In the case of the original Image Works, it did not.
So without additional funds from Kodak to bring the original Image Works up to code,
it was simply abandoned.
It should come as no surprise that these changes and new incarnation was less than well received,
with both Kodak and Michael Eisner criticizing the new incarnation.
But despite these complaints, the attraction remained, but around a year and a half later
in mid 2001, Epcot lost it’s 3rd sponsor in less than a decade,
and with Kodak still being unhappy with the results of their investment, and guests considering
Epcot’s worst attraction,
It was decided to try to restore the ride back to some of it’s former glory, only
this time Disney would foot the bill themselves and imagineers were given a modest makeover
budget.
However, as the events of 11th had caused tourism to plummet, the budget was cut to
an estimated 8 million dollars, the equivalent of remodeling a 2,000 square foot home for
just $400.
Regardless, on October 8th of 2001, just 2 years after opening, the imagination pavilions
main attraction was again closed.
And just 6 Months later, the ride reopened as Journey Into Imagination with Figment.
[Clip: “You can go anywhere you can imagine on Journey into YOUR Imagination with a friend
named Figment.”]
Upon entering the retitled attraction, while the queue featured a few new alterations,
the biggest differences can be found immediately after setting off and approaching where the
imagination scanner had previously insulted your creativity.
[Clip: “Hello!
On your tour you’ll see how the five human senses can help capture your imagination.”]
[“Oh oh!
Can I go to?”]
[“Absolutely not.
Uh, this is one of our discoveries, the Figment of imagination.”]
[“Yeah, I know all about the senses!”]
Right off the bat, the re-inclusion of Figment and the theme One Little Spark, was a welcome
improvement.
However the rest of the ride was hit or miss, as while it did feature new shows cenes, many
elements of Journey Into YOUR imagination still remained and were simply retrofitted
within the plot of exploring the human senses,
of which only 3 the 5 are actually part of the ride, more than likely due to the budget
constraints.
But perhaps the biggest change and only real highlight of this reworked attraction, would
be it’s grand finale,
in which a room full of figments sang one little spark with it’s original lyrics,
several of which paid homage to the original figment animatronics and puppets used in the
finale.
[Singing: “Imagination!”]
While many agreeed this version was a slight improvement, it was a far cry from recapturing
the magic and wonder of the original,
with some criticizing Figment’s new portrayal as a nuesence and a manace, compared to his
childlike innocence of the original.
However, it was only meant to be a temporary solution that would be ultimately be rectified
with project Gemini:
a proposed 350-500$ million dollar overhaul of Epcot’s future world that would’ve
included drastic aesthetic changes as well as new attractions and experiences.]
Unfortunately, while then president Jay Rasulo loved the proposition, CEO Michael Eisner
would only approve parts of the overall project,
such as an initially planned alternate version of Soarin’ over California, and a little
mermaid attraction that evolved into Nemo and friends.
Ultimately, leaving Journey Into Imagination on the sidelines, as a shadow of it’s former
self.
In 2010, Kodak ended it’s sponsorship with the imagination pavilion and it’s attractions,
leaving many to wonder whether it would meet the same fate as The wonders of life pavilion,
Ellen’s energy adventure, and horizons, all of which fell into disrepair and limped
along for years without a sponsor until their eventual closure or replacement.
However presently, for better or worse, this has not proved to be the case.
And when looking back at the original journey into imagination, as far as what happened
to the iconic ride elements,
most if not all of the figment animatronics were thankfully spared, and are either in
Disney storage or in the possession of collectors.
With some having been put on display over the years since the attractions closure.
Even the puppets used in the ride’s film finale surfaced in an online auction in 2008
when being sold on an online auction.
Though their condition was less than ideal.
And while more than likely not an original, in the queue of Guardians of the Galaxy Mission
Breakout, Figment can be spotted in a frosted cage as one of the Collectors items.
Less is known about the fate of the Dreamfinder’s animatronics.
Though in Disneyland’s Paris’s Phantom Manor, you can find an animatronic, which
used the same mold as the Dreamfinder.
However, a large portion of his floating vehicle, the Dreamcatcher, can be found in Epcot’s
Disney Gear Shop, with it’s various extensions also becoming prized possessions of collectors.
Even traces of Journey into Imagaination’s original structure can be found if you know
where to look, including the escalators used to enter and exit the original Image Works.
Which up until 2016, was used primarily for conventions and company meetings before being
converted into a Disney Vacation Club Lounge, retaining much of it’s original structure.
And for a short time, members could get a glimpse into the abandoned sections which
have remained for the past two decades.
But was quickly covered up by the end of the year.
[Clip: “Epcot is reassurance that we are part of something great.
If we can dream it, we can do it.”]
Today, while the character of Figment is more popular than ever, the future of Journey into
Imagination with Figment is uncertain.
But as it’s clear big changes are coming to Epcot in the following years, woman yet
see an attraction worthy of replacing the original Journey into Imagination.
So what about you?
What do you think could replace Journey into Imagination with Figment?
And if you haven’t already, make sure to check out Part 1 Defunctland.
As always, thank you all so much for watching, and I’ll see you next time.
Yesterworld Entertainment
Kevin Perjurer Defunctland
https://youtu.be/GZ92iTDfWr4