2. Journey into Imagination with Figment

Replaced: Journey into Imagination

In 1983, Epcot opened Journey into Imagination – a whimsical dark ride about how wonderful and fulfilling imagination can be (featuring a charming score from the Sherman Brothers, of course). The main characters, a friendly old man named Dreamfinder and an impish purple dragon named Figment, hosted the titular journey and, over time, grew their own devoted fan base. Then, in 1998, Disney decided to close the ride down.

When it reopened in 1999 as Journey into YOUR Imagination, things were a bit … different. The new ride was designed to continue the story told in Honey I Shrunk the Audience (then the 3D film alongside the pavilion) and featured Monty Python-alum Eric Idle as Dr. Nigel Channing, an Imagination Institute researcher looking to test out his new “Imagination Scanner”.

It used the much of the same track layout as the original ride, but chopped off a significant portion in order to make the runtime much shorter -- all while replacing the child-like whimsy of the original attraction with a disjointed, joyless story. Unfortunately, this update didn't work, and Journey into YOUR Imagination was universally panned. Rumor has it: when then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner finally rode the attraction in 2001, he was so appalled that he immediately signed off on a multi-million dollar renovation.

The current version, Journey into Imagination with Figment, brought back the purple dragon and downplayed some of the more cynical themes of the previous edition. But even in its improved state, it's nowhere near as charming and inspiring as the original ride – even though they both share mostly the same ride vehicles and track layout.

1. Enchanted Tiki Room

Replaced: The Enchanted Tiki Room, Under New Management

Alright – this one's a bit different than the others, but bear with me.

When Walt Disney World opened in 1971, it featured a clone of Disneyland's wildly popular Enchanted Tiki Room called “Tropical Serenade.” While the show had some very subtle differences from the California edition, it was essentially the exact same experience. Up until 1998, that is.

That year, building off the popularity of animated films Aladdin and The Lion King, Tropical Serenade reopened as the Enchanted Tiki Room (Under New Management) – with characters from those films, Iago and Zazu, taking center stage.

The resulting attraction was one of Disney's most post-modern experiments. It began much the same way as Tropical Serenade, with the Polynesian birds awaking from their slumber to begin a lovely sing-song. But, midway through the iconic Sherman Brothers song “The Tiki Tiki Tiki Room”, Zazu and Iago would interrupt the proceedings to announce their ownership of the Tiki Room, and to debate the quality of the show itself.

Zazu loved all the old charm and history contained within, while Iago would actually say he found the whole show to be incredibly boring. After some tiki-themed hijinks, Zazu would win out, Iago would learn to respect others, and everyone sang along together. It was a truly bizarre experience.

In 2011, a fire destroyed the Iago animatronic, thereby forcing Disney to refurbish the ride back to its original state. That means the show's main characters – Jose, Michael, Pierre, Fritz, and the rest of the cast of birds and enchanted tiki gods – remain just the way they were on opening day in 1971.

So, while Disney sometimes chooses to repurpose its old attractions for reasons of cost and ease, the ultimate effect is that sometimes, those old rides aren't gone forever.