The Imagination Pavilion hit its zenith back in the late 80’s. Journey into Imagination was a bright, colorful, much beloved ride. In the other part of the pavilion Captain EO, staring the biggest star of the last 30 years, was playing. Outside you had a building with amazing architecture, jumping fountains, and backwards waterfall. How could things get better?
In time Captain EO had to be replaced. That was understandable. Not many movie based rides can stand the test of time. To replace it Disney placed Honey I Shrunk the Audience into that theater. That was an odd choice. Those movies were good but not classics. Despite that fact it was a good attraction. It wasn’t as good as Captain EO when it was at its peak but it was good.
The real trouble started when the original Journey into Imagination was closed for a major overhaul. When I heard that I was shocked. That attraction was the attraction in Epcot. No other attraction had the impact it had. The biggest reason for this was the characters in that ride. Figment and the Dreamfinder were huge hits. Beyond that the ride was stunning. From an artistic standpoint it was one of the best rides Disney had every made. I’m not a fan of art but that ride even wowed me with it’s colors, animatronics, and special effects.
The new Imagination ride opened in 2000. It was one of the biggest mistakes, if not the biggest, in Disney’s history. I really wonder what the people who designed this ride were on. Whatever it is, I want some. If they have someone that makes a torture seem good I think we all need some. Sometimes I think there was a contest among the imagineers to see who could ruin the ride the most. I honestly believe that someone sat down and thought “What works? People love figment. People love Dreamfinder. The song is a classic Sherman brothers song. There are lots of bright colors. There is a fantastic mural in the queue. This is a well lighted ride. It’s happy and it’s upbeat, leaving you feeling good after. How can I ruin every single one of those things?”
The new ride was dark, insulting, boring, and actually found a way to KILL you imagination. Figment, Dreamfinder, and the beloved song were all gone. Not only that the ride actually found a way to leave you drained and depressed. It seemed to last forever even though it was dramatically shorter.
To say there was outrage is an understatement. According to a number of sources, the overhauled ride garnered more complaints than any other ride in the history of Disney World. In fact so many complaints were received something unprecedented happened. After only two years the ride was closed down and overhauled again. The new version of the ride had Figment and the Sherman Brother’s song loaded back into it. It was a much better version but still a sad shadow of what it once was.
Where are we now? The ride is still there. It needs help. You can’t replace a classic unless you’re replacing it with something that is at least equal to the original. Therefore, without a complete overhaul this ride will always be a failure. The Honey show is still there. Remember what I said about movie attractions? Honey is so antiquated and outdated that you now have teenagers who were not alive when the movie the attraction was based on was in theaters. Add that to the fact a lot of people have never even seen the movie. It’s not what I would call a Disney classic.
It’s sad. This pavilion has suffered so much and fallen so far. It was once the top dog at Epcot. Now it’s competing with the Universe of Energy for next to last. Last of course is the Wonders of Life Pavilion. If you didn’t know, the Wonders of Life was euthanized a few years back.
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