Journey into Imagination with Figment

Image: Kelly Verdeck, Flickr (license)

And now for something far less spooky and much more, well, abstract. Journey into Imagination with Figment is the third iteration of Epcot’s lovable (and divisive) attraction featuring a mischievous purple dragon named Figment.

Originally dreamed up by Imagineers in 1983, Journey into Imagination was intended to be a lighthearted exploration of the imagination, as well as a fun attraction guaranteed to appeal to Epcot’s younger visitors. Guests boarded their Omnimover vehicles and were led on an adventure by the enigmatic, Willy Wonka-esque Dreamfinder, who created Figment with a whimsical contraption called the Dreamcatcher. From there, the pair introduced their guests to the four areas of the imagination: art, literature, performing arts and science. It was a novel concept, if a little zany, and one that managed to capture the enterprising spirit of Walt Disney without invoking any of his well-known characters.

Today, the attraction is still just as original as ever, though a bit watered-down from the 14-minute version that debuted in the 80s. Following a failed reboot in 1999, Imagineers decided to take the attraction in an entirely different direction for its third and final unveiling in 2002. Rather than bringing guests on a guided tour of the imagination, Imagineers grounded the ride’s abstract storyline by focusing it on more tangible elements: the five senses. They jettisoned the Omnimover system and replaced the Dreamfinder with Dr. Nigel Channing, a paranoid scientist who hosts an open house for the Imagination Institute and tries his best to thwart the curiosity of little Figment along the way.

Guests board their ride vehicles as Dr. Channing leads them through a tour of the facility, beginning with the Sound Lab and continuing on through the Sight Lab and Smell Lab. Figment can’t help but wreak havoc, and pushes Dr. Channing’s last button after materializing as a skunk and releasing a foul stench in the Smell Lab. Every time the doctor claims that the five senses can be used to “capture your imagination,” Figment tries to prove that one’s imagination can only reach its full potential when it is set free. As the frustrated Dr. Channing bails on his own open house, Figment takes readers through a wacky tour of his own upside-down world.

While the current version of Journey into Imagination with Figment isn’t nearly as fanciful or nostalgia-inducing as its original, it still seeks to give guests something that they won’t find in any other Disney Park or land: the chance to explore their own imagination.

Mission: Space

Image: Loren Javier, Flickr (license)

For those not keen to explore their imagination or their senses with Figment, Epcot offers another unique, thrilling experience over at Mission: Space. This isn’t the mild space-themed simulator of, say, Disney Hollywood Studios’ Star Tours, but a realistic rocket launch simulator that gives its would-be astronauts a taste of outer space — and all the G-forces that go with it.

When Horizons shuttered for good in 1999, Disney was still on the lookout for a suitable replacement: something that could comfortably fit in its oddly-shaped building and play on progressive ideas of space travel and exploration. Failed sponsorships put the kibosh on a Space pavilion in Epcot’s Future World, and Disney not only needed its first true outer space attraction, but something worthy of an E-ticket designation.

Finally, in 2003, Imagineers devised an attraction that would supposedly simulate the experience of training for a mission to Mars in 2036 (minus all the cool inventions that humans will have invented by then, we can assume). Within the safety of a simulated environment, guests are given specific roles to play — navigator, pilot, engineer and commander — as they help guide the spacecraft to and from Earth. Centrifuge-based motion simulators spin artificial spacecraft to create a G-force of 2.5, while the astronauts-in-training run through the appropriate protocol for a rocket launch, slingshot around the moon, entering and exiting hypersleep, descending to and lifting off from Mars, and navigating a safe return to Earth.

Following its overhyped debut, however, it quickly became apparent that the attraction was too realistic. Despite numerous stated and posted warnings around the attraction, guests who chose to ride the simulator were subject to bouts of claustrophobia, motion sickness, nausea and chest pain, among more severe symptoms. Four years after Mission: Space opened to the public, Disney offered a milder alternative called “Green Team,” where riders could enjoy the choose-your-own-adventure elements of the attraction without the intense spinning of the “Orange Team” variation.

Creating an original attraction isn’t always about developing an imaginary world for guests to lose themselves in. Sometimes, as in the case of Mission: Space, it requires bringing elements of the real world into sharper focus. It may be another 20-some years before NASA deploys its first manned mission to Mars, but thanks to the creativity of Disney’s Imagineers, we can enjoy a little bit of that thrill today.

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Of course, this is by no means an exhaustive list of Disney's original attractions. You’ll find plenty more unique, non-story based attractions sprinkled throughout the six Disney Parks, including the Matterhorn Bobsleds, Jungle Cruise, Kali River Rapids, it’s a small world, The Hall of Presidents, Spaceship Earth, Soarin’ Around the World, Expedition Everest and Test Track, among others.

Which Disney Parks original attraction is your favorite?