Journey into Imagination at Epcot Center

Journey into Imagination was a ride that opened at Epcot Center at the Walt Disney World Resort back in 1983. It was a "dark ride". This means that the ride was indoors and took riders through various scenes to convey a story. Journey into Imagination was an iconic ride that a large number of people miss even today.

Some people reading this article may think that I am mistaken because they just got back from Epcot Center and rode the Imagination ride. Unfortunately the original incarnation of the ride which is still so beloved was closed on October 10th 1998. Since then there have been two other versions of this ride. First there was the massive let down of Journey into Your Imagination and then there was the marginally better Journey into Imagination with Figment. Neither of those rides is probably ever going to have a sentimental opinion piece written about them.

Journey into Imagination was a really cute ride with a certain fantasyland quality. The interesting thing about it, and what may have contributed to its demise, was that it was completely original and unique to Epcot. It had no movie tie in yet managed to be extremely popular for several years. The characters of the Dream Finder and Figment were captivating and friendly.
They transported you into a magical world that was rooted in reality by the various forms of artistic expression presented throughout the ride. There was a painting room, a literature section, a theater section, and even a science room.

The Dream Finder was your host here. He was a kind of mythical character who traveled in his magical flying machine and collected dreams. Or more accurately according to the ride script he collected "sounds, colors, ideas, anything that sparks the imagination." You followed them through the clouds and into the Dream Port so that Dream Finder could store what he'd found on his "flights of fancy." Then you went onto explore the most popular realms of imagination in everyday life.

One of the best things about this attraction was that it was all set to a tune called "One Little Spark" written by Disney Legends the Sherman Brothers. The Sherman Brothers had previously written such Disney classics like "It's a Small World," "Chim Chim Cher-ee", and "Winnie the Pooh," just to name a few. "One Little Spark" was an instant classic like those other songs and just as likely to get stuck in your head. In the current incarnation of the ride at the finale they have thankfully brought back at least part of this song.

One of the most enduring features of this original ride is the little dragon named Figment. Figment was given the name because he was just that a figment of the Dream finder's imagination. Figment is a happy, lovable, purple dragon who still has a very large fan base to this day. As a matter of fact it was this fan base that caused Disney to close the second version of the ride and add back in parts of the original attraction.

After the ride was over comes the Image Works. This was a place where you could do all kinds of really fun things that were kind of technological marvels for the time but mostly just fun. For example they had giant table of pins hanging down that you could push on to make images rise out of the table. One of the technologically fun items was this giant paint brush that you would aim at a picture across the room and shoot colors of your choice into different parts of the picture. If you ask me that is much more interesting than emailing a funny picture of yourself to friends and family.
Today they still have a version of the Image Works but it's no longer in the massive upper level that was a giant pyramid room that was all windows. It's down in a basement like area and has had quite a few things removed like the paintbrush I mentioned above and the rainbow tunnel that featured so prominently in the guidebooks for years.

In the end it's nice to have Figment back but many of us still miss the Dream Finder and many other aspects of this classic ride. If you would like to find out more about this "Extinct Attraction" you merely have to do a search for any of the terms above and you will see a plethora of media information at your disposal.

If any readers have any memories of this attraction that you would like to share please leave a comment so that everyone can wax nostalgic with you.