Journey into Imagination with Figment

1983–1998: Journey into Imagination

Journey into Imagination
Epcot
Status	Closed
Opening date	March 5, 1983
Closing date	October 10, 1998
Replaced by	Journey Into YOUR Imagination
General statistics
Attraction type	Dark Ride
Designer	WED Enterprises
Music	One Little Spark
Vehicle type	Modified Omnimover
Riders per vehicle	7 (3 in the front, 4 in the back)
Duration	11 minutes
Host	The Dreamfinder (Chuck McCann and Ron Schneider) and Figment (Billy Barty)

The original attraction opened on March 5, 1983 and was the creation of Tony Baxter and Steve Kirk.^[1]. It began with the omnimover vehicles “floating” in the clouds and seeing the silhouette of a strange blimp mixed with a vacuum cleaner and hearing the humming and singing of its pilot. In the next scene the riders come right next to this vessel and the pilot, an old man with a red beard dressed in a blue suit and top hat, introduces himself as the Dreamfinder (voiced by Chuck McCann and Ron Schneider) and saying that he uses his vehicle (called the Dream Mobile or Dream Catcher by some fans) to collect dreams and ideas to create all sorts of new things. Soon he creates a figment of his imagination: "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, voilà! You've got a Figment!" Both Dreamfinder and the dragon Figment (voiced by Billy Barty) imagine things to fill the "idea bag." When the idea bag is full, Dreamfinder declares that the ideas need to be emptied in the "Dreamport" which, as he says, is "never far away when you use your imagination." ^[2]

Regarding the scene where Figment is introduced, Baxter said,

If you're telling the story of Little Mermaid or Snow White, everyone already knows who they are, what they talk like, how they sing, etc. But in a ride like Imagination, you're not familiar with the characters going into it. This opening scene allows you to meet Dreamfinder, understand how he created Figment, and get to know Figment's personality, so at the end of those four minutes you know the characters.^[3]

The omnimovers leave the side of the Dream Mobile and enter the Dreamport’s storage room, which includes a massive contraption for sorting ideas. Also in the room there are numerous objects including boxed applause, a plasma ball, and a birdcage of musical notes. After leaving the storage room, the ride continued through several rooms representing Art, Literature, the Performing Arts and Science. The Art room was mostly white colored, and had a large painting Dreamfinder was making using a large fiber optic paint brush, a carousel with giant carousel animals and a pot of rainbows held by Figment.

The Literature room was mostly focused on suspenseful tales and had Dreamfinder playing a massive organ with words coming out of it, words that turned into their meanings, a massive book featuring the raven from Edgar Allan Poe’s poem cawing menacingly and books of horrible monsters Figment tried to keep closed. The Performing Arts had Figment trying on costumes backstage while Dreamfinder conducted a laser light show in the manner of an orchestra conductor. The last of the rooms, Science, featured a large machine that Dreamfinder was operating that took a closer look at the workings of nature such as the growth of plants, the formation of crystals from minerals and looking into space.

At the end, Dreamfinder told Figment and the audience that Imagination is the key to unlocking the hidden wonders of the world. The ride then entered the final show scene. As the riders' pictures were taken, they saw Figment surrounded by several movie screens of him being a scientist, a mountain climber, a pirate, a superhero, a tap dancer, a ship captain, a cowboy and an athlete. Dreamfinder, who is behind a movie camera, gave the riders one last inspiring message and told them to use their newly found sparks of imagination in the ImageWorks and the on-ride photo was shown on a screen next to the camera.

The ride closed on October 10, 1998 in order to begin a major renovation of the attraction.^[2]

1999–2001: Journey into YOUR Imagination

Journey into Your Imagination
Epcot
Area	Future World
Status	Closed
Opening date	October 1, 1999
Closing date	October 8, 2001
Replaced	Journey Into Imagination
Replaced by	Journey Into Imagination with Figment
General statistics
Attraction type	Dark Ride
Designer	Walt Disney Imagineering
Riders per vehicle	7 (3 in the front, 4 in the back)
Duration	5 minutes
Host	Dr. Nigel Channing (Eric Idle)

The attraction reopened on October 1, 1999 as Journey Into YOUR Imagination and featured an updated theme based on the 3-D movie Honey, I Shrunk the Audience (1994). Now guests would take a tour of the Imagination Institute and be test subjects for the new invention, the Imagination Scanner. Dr. Nigel Channing, played by Eric Idle, hosted this version.^[2]

The ride began with guests going through the scanner and saying that the riders have no imagination. Then Channing decides to send us through the numerous labs throughout the Institute including Sound, Illusion, Color, Gravity and Connections. In the first room, Sound, the room starts out in total silence and complete darkness. Slowly, one can hear the sounds of cricket chirping, distant city noises, and an approaching train that comes closer and closer until it seems to pass over the audience’s heads. In the second room, Illusion, there is a fish swimming in and out of its tank and an empty cage with a butterfly that seems to materialize as riders go by. In the third room, the Color lab, there are sounds of jungle animals and cities that cause two large light screens to change colors matching the sounds. In the next room, Connections lab, the room is covered with numerous stars that soon form into constellations. Finally, in the Gravity lab, the riders enter an upside down house. For the finale, riders go through the Scanner again and find that their minds have been supercharged with ideas. The machine then "explodes" and you see a light show.

Public opinion of Journey into YOUR Imagination was generally negative. Figment’s appearances in the experience were reduced to cameos in the queue movies, a constellation in the connection lab and at the end of the ride, where he is only heard, but is shooed off by Channing. Fans were mainly upset that the Dreamfinder, a popular character from the original ride, was not present in this version. Additionally, the ride path was drastically shortened due to budgetary issues. Because of this, the attraction closed on October 8, 2001 and again, went through another renovation.^[2]