Figment!

This picture is from our Disney trip in the summer of 2007. For a short time Figment's Place was located near the entrance of Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. Figment would make appearances here throughout the day. Before our last visit in October of 2008, my wife learned that Figment was no longer appearing as an in-park character. She did learn that people had started requesting his return at Guest Relations near Spaceship Earth and Innoventions. I hope that he does return as Figment is one of the true classic EPCOT characters who has been around since the early '80's. With Mickey and Co. still making appearances surely Disney will recognize that Figment is also a favorite and he will return.

Return to Retro?

Recently, I've seen/heard some welcome news. First of all, on my last trip to the World, at the Imagination pavilion we saw t-shirts they were selling featuring Figment with Dreamfinder. This is quite amazing considering Dreamfinder (pictured above with Figment) has not featured in the attraction for several years now. In addition to this, some rumors have been circulating about the return of Dreamfinder in some capacity to the attraction. Personally, I enjoy the current incarnation of the attraction, but the original was first rate. I would welcome elements of the original attraction coming back. Anytime the best of EPCOT Center can be joined or returned to be mixed in with the best of Epcot I definitely think that is a positive.

Dreamcatcher's uh, Dream Catcher

This photo from the original Journey Into Imagination features the vehicle that we first see Dreamcatcher and Figment on the attraction. This is a very Jules Verne inspired contraption. The father of science fiction also had an influence on a part of the Horizons attraction where an audio-animatronic figure was even made of him. When thinking about it he also inspired parts of the Living Seas and probably countless other ideas in Future World. I'll look at some of these other Verne-inspired ideas in later posts.

Imagination!

This shot was taken on a rainy night at Epcot last year. Even in the gloom of the Florida rain the pyramids of the Imagination pavilion are still a wonderful sight. The main attraction in the pyramid has now gone through a couple of changes and the current incarnation "Journey Into Imagination with Figment" has suffered some criticism. Yes, while this isn't the original incarnation it's a lot better than the last version and has become one of my family's favorites at Epcot. After all, when at Disney cares should disappear and everyone should be a kid. That advice helps to enjoy this ride fully. While hardly ever a long queue for this ride, it is one that can be enjoyed in rain or shine and mulitple times.