Journey into Imagination with Figment
Encyclopedia
Imagination!
Imagination! is a pavilion on the western side of "Future World", one of two themed areas of Epcot, a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida USA...
at the Epcot
Epcot
Epcot is a theme park in the Walt Disney World Resort, located near Orlando, Florida. The park is dedicated to the celebration of human achievement, namely international culture and technological innovation. The second park built at the resort, it opened on October 1, 1982 and was initially named...
theme park at Walt Disney World and opened on March 5, 1983. It has been through three incarnations over the years, two of them featuring Figment, a small purple dragon, as a character. The ride features the song One Little Spark, composed by the Sherman Brothers
Sherman Brothers
The Sherman Brothers are an American songwriting duo that specialize in musical films, made up of Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman ....
.
1983-1998 - Journey into Imagination
The original attraction opened on March 5, 1983. It began with the omnimover vehicles “floating” in the clouds and seeing the silhouette of a strange blimpBlimp
A blimp, or non-rigid airship, is a floating airship without an internal supporting framework or keel. A non-rigid airship differs from a semi-rigid airship and a rigid airship in that it does not have any rigid structure, neither a complete framework nor a partial keel, to help the airbag...
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 (Chuck McCann
Chuck McCann
Chuck McCann is a film actor, television actor, stage actor, and a voice actor from Brooklyn, New York.-Early career:...
) 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 loveable fellow! From head to tail, he's royal purple pigment, and there, Voila! You've got a Figment!" (usually thought to be a dragon or winged alligator) named Figment (Billy Barty
Billy Barty
Billy Barty was an American film actor.-Biography:Barty, an Italian American, was born William John Bertanzetti in Millsboro, Pennsylvania...
). Both of them come up with ideas 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".
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
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
’s poem
The Raven
"The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in January 1845. It is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow descent into madness...
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
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
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 tells Figment and the audience that Imagination is the key to unlocking the hidden wonders of the world. The ride then enter the final show scene. As the rider's pictures are taken, they see 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, gives the riders one last inspiring message and tells them to use their newly found sparks of imagination in the ImageWorks
ImageWorks (Disney)
The ImageWorks is an interactive exhibit area at Epcot's Imagination! pavilion, described in the closing spiel of the original Journey Into Imagination as "the creative playground of the future". Originally, the attraction was in the upstairs area of the pavilion in the glass pyramids...
and the on-ride photo is shown on a screen next to the camera.
The original Journey into Imagination attraction was the creation of Tony Baxter and Steve Kirk.
The ride closed on October 10, 1998 in order to begin a major renovation of the attraction.
1999-2001 - Journey into YOUR Imagination
The second version of the attraction opened on October 1, 1999 and featured an updated theme based on the 3-D movie Honey, I Shrunk the AudienceHoney, I Shrunk the Audience
Honey, I Shrunk The Audience! was a 3-D film spin off of the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids film series that was shown at several Disney theme parks.-Synopsis:...
(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, who was played by Eric Idle
Eric Idle
Eric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer. He was as a member of the British comedy group Monty Python, a member of the The Rutles on Saturday Night Live and author of the play, Spamalot....
, hosted this version.
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 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 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 (The trick was created by putting a mirror between two halves of a swing, one of them with the butterfly on it).
In 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 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. The riders exit to an updated version of the ImageWorks.
Figment’s appearances in the experience were reduced to a few 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 ("Figment!!!"). Dreamfinder was not present at all in this version. The attraction closed on October 8, 2001 and again, went through another rehab.
2002-present - Journey into Imagination with Figment
The current version of the attraction opened on June 2, 2002. Figment returned with a larger role and appeared in every show scene. The song "One Little Spark" also returned with new verses.This time, the Institute had five labs based on the five human senses: Sight, Sound, Smell, Touch and Taste. Dr. Nigel Channing returned as well and invited the riders to the Institute’s open house. Figment (Dave Goelz
Dave Goelz
Dave Goelz is a puppeteer best-known for his association with The Muppets, and in particular with the Muppet character Gonzo. His other Muppet characters include Bunsen Honeydew, Zoot , Beauregard the janitor and Tiny...
) tags along to Channing’s dismay and causes mischief along the way.
In Sound, Figment interrupts the experiment and comes up with a telephone and the train sound from the previous version is now a “Train of Thought”. In Sight, Figment messes with the room’s eye chart and begins a sing along to "One Little Spark". The materializing butterfly appears once more upon exiting the Sight lab. However, rather than appearing in the cage, the effect is reversed in this version of the ride. It disappears. In Smell, Figment becomes a skunk
Skunk
Skunks are mammals best known for their ability to secrete a liquid with a strong, foul odor. General appearance varies from species to species, from black-and-white to brown or cream colored. Skunks belong to the family Mephitidae and to the order Carnivora...
which sprays the riders with a foul odor.
Channing, after seeing the chaos Figment has been causing, stops the tour outside the Touch and Taste lab and gives up on the tour and Figment takes us to his own open house, which he literally turns upside down with his carefree mind. Channing soon learns from Figment that Imagination should be set free ("If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!") and we go into the finale with numerous Figments in various situations while Figment and Channing sing the song together and the riders disembark for the ImageWorks.
An homage to the initial incarnation of this attraction can be found on an office door in the initial show room under the name "Dean Finder" instead of "DreamFinder".
Both the 1999 version and the current version were created by Tom Fitzgerald.
In August of 2010, the Kodak
Eastman Kodak
Eastman Kodak Company is a multinational imaging and photographic equipment, materials and services company headquarted in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded by George Eastman in 1892....
company ended its sponsorship of the pavilion after nearly 28 years.After seeing Legos sold in the Imageworks shop, the rennovation of the Lego Imagination Center at Downtown Disney, and the opening of Legoland Florida, it can be assumed that Lego will be the new new sponsers of the Imagination! Pavilion
One Little Spark
One Little Spark is a song written by the Sherman BrothersSherman Brothers
The Sherman Brothers are an American songwriting duo that specialize in musical films, made up of Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman ....
for the original Journey Into Imagination attraction.
While the song was once performed by an animatronic character, the Dreamfinder and his creation Figment, in the current (as of 2011) version of the ride, it is performed by Eric Idle
Eric Idle
Eric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer. He was as a member of the British comedy group Monty Python, a member of the The Rutles on Saturday Night Live and author of the play, Spamalot....
and Figment.
See also
- Epcot attraction and entertainment history