1/3: Epcot Envisioned, Pt. III

[Al Lutz]

Guest Columnist Alain Littaye continues his series on Epcot concept art; Today we run Part Three, Journey into Imagination. Discuss it here!

DIRECT ARTICLE LINK: http://www.miceage.com/guest/gu010308a.htm

[Asterix]

Thank you for these pictures, Alain.

This was one of my all-time favorite rides. I really wish they hadn't taken it away.

I remember watching people have a real emotional response to JII. I'd say that's a sign of great achievement for a humble dark ride. I read a story somewhere about a guy who had been very moved by the ride as a child; once he was grown he brought his own child to Epcot hoping to share that same experience, and was incredibly sad to find out that the ride had been taken away.

Disney promises "wonder" and "magic" and this pavilion delivered...well, I was pretty young when I saw it so I might be overly sentimental about it. But it felt earnest and honest, not jaded or ironic...and, the concept was much less prone to becoming dated than the other Future World attractions, so why tear it out?

I'd like to hear the inside scoop on why they took this ride out. I heard that the maintenance was too expensive.

[JiminyCricketFan]

The original JII was wonderful. I particularly loved that the music was the kind that sicks in your head.

But the one flaw was that Disney did not use its characters in this ride. While I love figment, the whole ride would have been a "must see" if the Disney characters where more prominently presented. The Imagineers of Epcot should have realized that while a park that envisioned the future was great, even greater would have been a park where Disney characters also went along for the ride. Imagination would have been the perfect pavilion to present those familiar Disney characters who could only enhance the experience of learning about imagination.

If there was to be an upgrade for this attraction, it would not have been to take out the turntable or change the concept of the ride at all. Just add the Disney Characters to the ride and the kids would have flocked to it.

[Monkey joe]

Originally Posted by JiminyCricketFan

The original JII was wonderful. I particularly loved that the music was the kind that sicks in your head.

But the one flaw was that Disney did not use its characters in this ride. While I love figment, the whole ride would have been a "must see" if the Disney characters where more prominently presented. The Imagineers of Epcot should have realized that while a park that envisioned the future was great, even greater would have been a park where Disney characters also went along for the ride. Imagination would have been the perfect pavilion to present those familiar Disney characters who could only enhance the experience of learning about imagination.

If there was to be an upgrade for this attraction, it would not have been to take out the turntable or change the concept of the ride at all. Just add the Disney Characters to the ride and the kids would have flocked to it.

I think that attraction was fine, the way it was. I heard that Tony wanted to make a TV spinoff with the characters when Epcot opened. Something along the lines of "The Disneyland TV Show" but calle "Epcot" focus on a different attraction or area each week.

[SciFi96]

I think that this may actually be original concept of the Land Pavillion. I heard Tony Baxter speak one time and he said that originally he wanted the land pavillion to be made of large crystals. Someone nixed it, and so he made the Imagination Pavillion of glass pyramids, but in his speech he said that they were the same pyramids from his Land design. I'm pretty sure that the Land Pavillion rendering can be found in the Imagineering book.