Today in Disney history is a biggie for fans of early Epcot history. On March 5, 1983, the original Journey Into Imagination attraction debuted in FutureWorld at Epcot, introducing guests to Dreamfinder, Figment and a lovely little song titled “One Little Spark.”
The original attraction’s storyline began with Dreamfinder gathering up materials to inspire new ideas. With the help of his imagination he creates a companion named Figment, who is described as having: “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 – a Figment of imagination!” From here, Dreamfinder took Figment – and us guests – along on an exploration of the Dreamport, the place where the duo used their imaginations to try out new ideas in the arts, literature, technology and more.
The attraction’s Image Works post-show offered guests a chance to experiment with creativity hands-on in different activity stations, including Magic Palette (digital drawing), Lightwriter (laser writing/drawing technology), Bubble Music (image projection combined with sound), and other interactive fun. One of my personal favorites was the Rainbow Corridor/Sensor Maze, pictured above, which assigned a color to each person who entered and followed the person throughout.
The attraction later became Journey Into Your Imagination in 1999, and the current version, Journey Into Imagination with Figment, debuted in 2002.
What are your favorite memories of Figment? Share your birthday wishes the “Comments” section below.
Comments
It would be so awesome to bring the original ride back. I never got to go on the ride, but the videos I have seen make it look really cool. Happy belated birthday, Dreamfinder and Figment! 🙂
I adored Figment as a child, and it was my favorite ride at EPCOT. I remember seeing the Dreamfinder holding Figment outside the ride and he creeped me out a bit because he wasn’t a very pleasant guy. As an adult, I realize having a bunch of people paw at you probably isn’t very fun, and he was probably having a bad day! The characters used to get mobbed when they were out and it is handled much better now. I still think of that when I see a picture of him, lol.
I have now taken my kids on the ride many times, and they love it just like I did.
I love the original Journey and all things Figment! I have a small figment on my desk at work, several pieces of artwork featuring him at home, multiple t-shirts, and the list goes on. I even use him as my avatar on several Disney related forums and front and center of the shirt I proudly wear during RunDisney events.
I have two memories of the original pavilion that stand out in addition to the “normal” things others have mentioned. My little brother and I had a great time playing with the “pin tables” in ImageWorks that made moving illuminated patterns when you pressed up under them. As a kid I also was amused by the motion sensing faucets in the restroom around the corner of the building; on an early trip that is the first time I recall ever using one!
As others have suggested now it is time for me to fire up One Little Spark!!!
I’ll never forget the original ride, as it is/was my mom’s favorite ride. She loves all things Figment. I just remember her being like a little kid on that ride, and I had never seen her act like that again. We are going in July and I can’t wait for her to see Figment once again.
My favorite Journey into Imagination memories have to do with the part of the ride that took your picture. My Mom, Dad, and I would always be in the seat together, so we started having fun with the photo. We would do “See no, Hear no, Speak no evil” and other funny gags. The best one was the time that we brought Groucho Marx glasses to wear during the shot. We had everyone in our car, plus the cars around us, cracking up. I wish they had been able to sell ride photos back then!
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