Walt Disney World’s classic attractions have been maintained well across generations, ensuring that favorites like Pirates of the Caribbean and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad continue to gain new fans and create more memories in the future. There’s one classic ride, though, that many fans believe Disney dropped the ball on. This ride is a shadow of its former self, they claim, saying its current version is nothing close to the standard-setting original. As it turns out, Walt Disney Imagineers are listening, and they agree.
After decades of fan complaints, a classic Disney World ride will be transformed into an attraction more closely resembling its original form. This includes reinstating a beloved Disney character that hasn’t appeared in years. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including Magic Kingdom’s first new ride for kids in 14 years and a massive new Disney World thrill ride.
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Classic EPCOT Attraction Being Restored with Beloved Character
EPCOT opened as Walt Disney World‘s second theme park in 1982, and instantly set itself apart from its older sibling, Magic Kingdom, by showcasing the real-world wonders of humanity rather than fanciful storybook fairytales. There was one attraction in the park’s early days, though, that was categorically more fantastical than the rest of EPCOT: Journey Into Imagination.
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A family-friendly indoor dark ride, Journey Into Imagination aligned with EPCOT’s educational focus, but did so with a talking purple dragon named Figment, a living expression of Imagination itself that Disney created especially for the ride. Figment was accompanied by another new character named Dreamfinder, a wise, bearded man in a top hat who countered Figment’s whimsy with explanations of the ride’s thematic principles, like literature and visual art.
Figment and Dreamfinder became fan favorites, but that wasn’t enough to keep them around as the park changed. In 1998, Journey Into Imagination closed, reopening in 1999 without Figment and Dreamfinder. Following poor guest response, a third version debuted in 2002, reinstating Figment, but not Dreamfinder.
The 2002 version, titled Journey Into Imagination with Figment, is the iteration still operating today. Instead of Dreamfinder, Figment’s co-star is Dr. Nigel Channing, a character who initially debuted in the now-defunct Honey, I Shrunk the Audience 3D show that previously ran adjacent to the ride. Channing is portrayed by Eric Idle.
The current version of the ride has been substantive enough to continue to make Figment and his theme song, “One Little Spark,” part of the Disney fan zeitgeist. It’s also helped boost Figment merchandise to explosive popularity, especially this decade.
Still, many fans lament the absence of Dreamfinder, even those who weren’t born yet when he was in the ride. Dreamfinder is the stuff of Disney legend, and the restoration of Journey Into Imagination has become something of a pipe dream among longtime EPCOT guests.
At long last, things are about to change.
Dreamfinder will return to EPCOT in a new version of Journey Into Imagination with Figment!
Disney revealed the news at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, the company’s official convention, where actor Neil Patrick Harris, dressed as Dreamfinder, appeared onstage with Disney Experiences Chairman Thomas Mazloum.
Disney shared very little information about what is actually coming, but did confirm that Dreamfinder is coming back to the EPCOT attraction. We assume this will be part of a revamped version of the ride. We do not have information about the timeline for this change, or when/if the current version of the attraction will close to prepare for Dreamfinder’s return.
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Figment’s ride features the song “One Little Spark,” originally composed by Richard and Robert Sherman. The brothers wrote many of Disney’s most famous tunes, including “it’s a small world” and all the songs from Mary Poppins.
Imagineers are in a cadence of reinvesting in classic attractions, sometimes as a means to avoid closing an attraction permanently. All four Walt Disney World theme parks debuted majorly updated versions of longstanding rides in the past year. One of the most recent was Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets, which replaced Aerosmith with Jim Henson’s creations. Next up is Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress, which is changing every scene. Imagineers are following a mantra to leave things better than they found them.
The Journey Into Imagination news is one of many Disney theme park announcements just revealed. Click here to see all the news revealed at D23 with our ongoing coverage!
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