"Journey Into Imagination Starring Figment" to close 1/2/14 for year-long renovation?

[DCTooTall]

Introducing Disney's Latest attraction, The EPCOT Ghost town.

Enjoy an authentic Disney Park Ghost town as you pass by the many empty and abandoned buildings on your way to one of our many World Cuisine Restaurants in the World Showcase. See the classic "retro-future" architecture from the late 70's and 80's from an area designed to be Futuristic, and the way nature reclaims the land. Listen to the stories from the walk-around 'retired Cast Members' streetsmosphere as they explain what used to be housed within these buildings and explain the attractions within.


Coming soon: A "Behind the closed doors" tour for guests wishing to see up-close and personal these old buildings. For the low tour price of $100 per person you can get a guided tour inside these closed pavilions and experience the attractions that were left in place first-hand. See Figment as he annoyed guests throughout the early 21st century. Witness the 'Cranium Command' of the 90's. Watch the Kitchen Kaberet like you haven't seen it in decades before you go and 'Listen to the Land'. Visit Sea Base Alpha. Counter Service Lunch is provided in the Odyssey Restaurant. Now you no longer have to rely on Youtube videos to experience the Disney attractions of yesteryear.



........

I better shut up now.... I don't want to give Disney any more ideas....

 

[Kat016]

Introducing Disney's Latest attraction, The EPCOT Ghost town.

Enjoy an authentic Disney Park Ghost town as you pass by the many empty and abandoned buildings on your way to one of our many World Cuisine Restaurants in the World Showcase. See the classic "retro-future" architecture from the late 70's and 80's from an area designed to be Futuristic, and the way nature reclaims the land. Listen to the stories from the walk-around 'retired Cast Members' streetsmosphere as they explain what used to be housed within these buildings and explain the attractions within.

Coming soon: A "Behind the closed doors" tour for guests wishing to see up-close and personal these old buildings. For the low tour price of $100 per person you can get a guided tour inside these closed pavilions and experience the attractions that were left in place first-hand. See Figment as he annoyed guests throughout the early 21st century. Witness the 'Cranium Command' of the 90's. Watch the Kitchen Kaberet like you haven't seen it in decades before you go and 'Listen to the Land'. Visit Sea Base Alpha. Now you no longer have to rely on Youtube videos to experience the Disney attractions of yesteryear.

........

I better shut up now.... I don't want to give Disney any more ideas....

Lol!!

 

[FiggieFan]

Brilliant DCTooTall! LOVE the post. Sad, but true. EPCOT is need of attention. EPCOT and HS used to be my favorite 2 parks. It is no wonder that in the past few visits, my favorite park has now become MK.

 

[Kat016]

I was at epcot march of 2012. I didn't notice empty buildings. But....I was there 20 yrs before. So its been a while. But I do recognize the exhibits that you mentioned are closed. Why are all the exhibits closing and why wouldn't Disney want to fix that??

 

[OKW Lover]

I was at epcot march of 2012. I didn't notice empty buildings. But....I was there 20 yrs before. So its been a while. But I do recognize the exhibits that you mentioned are closed. Why are all the exhibits closing and why wouldn't Disney want to fix that??

Well lets see. People still come to the parks. Very few seem to even notice that the WoL building is no longer a working attraction. Why would Disney decide to spend money on it?

Say what you will about JII, but its probably the lowest drawing attraction in FW. If they closed it, would anybody notice?

 

[Flrancho]

Here's hoping that they will bring back the original, or at least some version of the original attraction.

Its probably wishful thinking on my part since this was my favorite when I was a kid, but I do have to wonder.

Firstly, if they were to replace it Disney already saw with the change over from the original to version 2.0 that people did not like not having Figment. The drones of upset people ultimately led them to change the ride to what we have now. Would they honestly make that same mistake again and get rid of Figment? I'd hope Disney isn't that stupid.

Secondly, I would consider something Phineas & Ferb pretty risky. Yea, its popular now, but where will it be in five years? TV shows don't last forever. Figment and/or Dreamfinder are timeless. They seem like a much wiser betting choice for me.

I have to wonder with the somewhat recent history of Disney resurrecting old attractions if they haven't been planning something all along or at least testing out the possibilites to see how retro attractions fared.

First they bring back Captain EO. 3D movie, not too hard or expensive to bring back, not hard to remove it completely flops either. Then we have the MSEP. Not too hard or expensive to bring back either I wouldn't think. There's no major construction changes that have to be done; it can easily be removed and replaced by another parade later on. Then the Tiki Room catches fire and we see the original come back here. Probably a little more expense required here than in a 3D movie or a parade, but still a lot of what they needed was already there. Take out a few things, do some refurb and they more or less have a version similar to the original back.

Could Disney have been reviving these cheaper retro-attractions to test guest response in preparation for a possible larger scale endeavor? Bringing back something that would take more money to pull off; something that's "riskier" because of the cost involved. Something that can't just be ripped out as easy as a movie or parade if it falls on its face. Perhaps something like a full blown ride instead of a movie, parade or show. Perhaps JII?

 

[DCTooTall]

Well lets see. People still come to the parks. Very few seem to even notice that the WoL building is no longer a working attraction. Why would Disney decide to spend money on it?

Say what you will about JII, but its probably the lowest drawing attraction in FW. If they closed it, would anybody notice?

The sad thing was, It was at one time the biggest drawing attraction in FW (short of Spaceship Earth who had the prime location). Of course, that was before they decided to mess with the pavilion.

 

[figment_jii]

Say what you will about JII, but its probably the lowest drawing attraction in FW.

I dunno, I think Ellen's Energy Adventure would be lower.

If they closed it, would anybody notice?

Well, some of us would probably notice. The vast majority of first time visitors? Probably not.

 

[OKW Lover]

The sad thing was, It was at one time the biggest drawing attraction in FW (short of Spaceship Earth who had the prime location). Of course, that was before they decided to mess with the pavilion.

Can't disagree with that. I loved the original version. At least the first half of the original version. The second half (after you left the circular introductory scene) wasn't quite as interesting. Remember the picture at the end? By the time people got to where they took the picture everybody have a bored look on their face.

Now if they could combine the original first half with the current attractions they would have something.

I dunno, I think Ellen's Energy Adventure would be lower.

You may be right about that. Its hard to judge because Ellen's has such a large capacity. Its also difficult to compare continuous loaders like JiI to batch loaders like EEA. But its a valid point. I wonder if EEA will be the next casualty.

 

[doconeill]

I generally agree that of the larger population of guests, most probably notice. We do JII every so often. It's a nice break and shorter than Ellen.

I dunno, I think Ellen's Energy Adventure would be lower.

I don't think so. They still seem to fill that up a fair amount and the capacity is HUGE. At JII, the longest we've EVER had to wait it one car. I don't know what the total capacity is though. One page I found lists it at 2,576/Hour, which is quite significant...but it also calls it an Omnimover system, which it isn't (At least not that I think of...was it in the original version? I didn't think they changed the ride mechanism)

I should try and keep a list of OHRCs for attractions...

 

[OKW Lover]

I don't think so. They still seem to fill that up a fair amount and the capacity is HUGE. At JII, the longest we've EVER had to wait it one car. I don't know what the total capacity is though. One page I found lists it at 2,576/Hour, which is quite significant...but it also calls it an Omnimover system, which it isn't (At least not that I think of...was it in the original version? I didn't think they changed the ride mechanism)

I should try and keep a list of OHRCs for attractions...

Not sure which attraction you are talking about as far as Omnimover goes Brian. EEA, and its predecessors all used the same moving cars following an embedded wire ride system - which probably has a more technical name.

The original Imagination ride was very much the same kind of ride mechanism as the current attraction. Are you saying that isn't an omnimover?

 

[DCTooTall]

You may be right about that. Its hard to judge because Ellen's has such a large capacity. Its also difficult to compare continuous loaders like JiI to batch loaders like EEA. But its a valid point. I wonder if EEA will be the next casualty.

Universe of Energy (Sorry...I have a hard time letting go of the original names for attractions. ) has a couple advantages over the current incarnation of JII for a lot of people.

1. You get to sit for quite a long period of time in the single, air conditioned spot. Great for naps/breaks.

2. DINOSAURS!!! Kids always love them some Dino's.

I'd also say the location may be a bit better for UoE. These days that side of FutureWorld is much more popular with people, Making it more likely they'll see and decide to check out that pavilion while over there..... even if it's just a time killer while waiting for the FP window to open up. Soarin is the only real draw these days for most people on that JII side of FutureWorld, so that, combined with the usual guest traffic flow (straight thru the communicore/Innoventions gap across to the Land)... I think it could hurt the walk-up traffic for JII.

I mean seriously.... Other than nostalgia, Is there any reason whatsoever for most guests to bother going towards the JII pavilion anymore? The ride is literally only a fraction of it's former glory (Literally... They shortened the ride track)... The Upstairs is closed, and the downstairs exhibit space is in really sad shape. The Magic Eye Theater is showing a glorified extended form Music Video from the 80's starring a guy who had some REALLY bad PR in the years following it's original run. There really isn't anything really interesting to draw people into that pavilion anymore.

 

[doconeill]

Not sure which attraction you are talking about as far as Omnimover goes Brian. EEA, and its predecessors all used the same moving cars following an embedded wire ride system - which probably has a more technical name.

The original Imagination ride was very much the same kind of ride mechanism as the current attraction. Are you saying that isn't an omnimover?

I'm talking about JII as an omnimover. It isn't at least in the sense of the other omnimover systems like Haunted Mansion, Spaceship Earth and Buzz - continuous movement linked vehicles...at least that's what I think of as an omnimover. JII has independent cars, stops in places, etc.

I guess at some level it's considered a "modified" omnimover system.

 

[DCTooTall]

Not sure which attraction you are talking about as far as Omnimover goes Brian. EEA, and its predecessors all used the same moving cars following an embedded wire ride system - which probably has a more technical name.

The original Imagination ride was very much the same kind of ride mechanism as the current attraction. Are you saying that isn't an omnimover?

I think it was originally classified as an Omnimover, but because most people think of omnimovers as the continuously moving vehicle trains like at Haunted Mansion or Living Seas, they don't always associate the system name with this type of vehicle.


From What I recall, Even the original vehicles (which I believe were identical to the current ones....only Purple) had the unique and "new" capabilities to move at different speeds. Because of the rotating theater with the Dreamcatcher they couldn't use a single omnimover train like at the with the Doom Buggies or Sea Cabs.

World of Motion I believe also used the exact same style of vehicle as JII did back in the day.

 

[bcrook]

I generally agree that of the larger population of guests, most probably notice. We do JII every so often. It's a nice break and shorter than Ellen.




I don't think so. They still seem to fill that up a fair amount and the capacity is HUGE. At JII, the longest we've EVER had to wait it one car. I don't know what the total capacity is though. One page I found lists it at 2,576/Hour, which is quite significant...but it also calls it an Omnimover system, which it isn't (At least not that I think of...was it in the original version? I didn't think they changed the ride mechanism)

I should try and keep a list of OHRCs for attractions...

Yes! That would be good!

 

[Kat016]

Well lets see. People still come to the parks. Very few seem to even notice that the WoL building is no longer a working attraction. Why would Disney decide to spend money on it?

Say what you will about JII, but its probably the lowest drawing attraction in FW. If they closed it, would anybody notice?

I would... only because I'm a figment fan. I go on the attraction only to see figment. Im not a fan of the new version though. I like the original.....

 

[Kat016]

I generally agree that of the larger population of guests, most probably notice. We do JII every so often. It's a nice break and shorter than Ellen.

I don't think so. They still seem to fill that up a fair amount and the capacity is HUGE. At JII, the longest we've EVER had to wait it one car. I don't know what the total capacity is though. One page I found lists it at 2,576/Hour, which is quite significant...but it also calls it an Omnimover system, which it isn't (At least not that I think of...was it in the original version? I didn't think they changed the ride mechanism)

I should try and keep a list of OHRCs for attractions...

I didn't like the original energy pavilion. I had no idea they added Ellen to it until last year. Now its more entertaining IMO.

 

[Gamegrl1]

Sure hope it *is* a rumor! We've never been and will go in January 2014 for the first time. There are so many things that I hope to not miss and Figment was one. I have a pin with him on it, but no frame of reference.

 

[skier_pete]

I think "close and abandon" is a lot harder for JII than Wonders of Life. WoL was somehow set back from all the others, and most people don't even notice it's there. (Disney provided some help with that as well.)

JII is rather prime real estate. I think the reason it isn't popular is that anyone that's been there in the last 20 years rides it once and never again (or rarely). That and it's high capacity.

I would bet that they will do something with it. Epcot has been neglected for too long now.

 

[wishing4PA]

Oh, please, please, powers that be, keep EEA for another couple of years. I meant to experience that attraction last week, but for one reason or the other, I didn't. So I hope the PP is wrong who heard it was going.
But I hope you guys are correct about JII getting updated (keeping Figment). It was fun now, but I recall it being better, and it could be again. The story line fits FW well, too.
OTOH, IMHO it doesn't really matter what goes in the theater, as long as EO ends its limited engagement for good. I finally saw it last week, and I say this as a former college student of the 1980's, who owns at least one MJ vinyl somewhere ... that show was incredibly boring for a show that would have scared my DD half to death if she had been there. What a waste of time. At least I could rest my aching feet, once the only slightly more interesting pre-show was over. But I still wanted my 17 minutes back.