Happy birthday Figment. I guess.

Journey Into Imagination is 28 years old.

It’s pretty well known what I think of the creepy Dreamfinder and the cloying Figment. (See the first “Mousejunkies” book.)

Ah geez.

But all kidding aside, let me paraphrase a quote to explain my true feelings about it: A bad day on the Imagination attraction is better than a good day 1,500 miles away from Walt Disney World.

I will say that while I wasn’t crazy about the original attraction, it had a lot more heart than the current incarnation. And this is coming from a huge Monty Python fan. It’s hard to admit, but I could do without Eric Idle as Dr. Nigel Channing.

Here, have a look at the original Journey Into Imagination (it’s pretty dark, but you’ll get the idea.)

Here’s the second, largely Figment-free incarnation, that ran from 1999-2001:

And finally, here’s the current attraction – full of Figment:

What do you think Dreamfinder is doing today? Food service at Pinnochio’s Village Haus? Housekeeping at CBR?

6 Comments

  1. Eric Hoffman

    Ya know I want Figment (and Dreamfinder) to be so much more than they are now. With them both being characters birthed IN and FOR a Disney park and not spawned from a Pixar movie for once, I want them to be utilized and succeed as an example of original character creation from Disney. They aren’t though. They are dying a slow and ugly death, sadly.

    The latest example or an original (using that term loosely) Disney park character, Duffy the Disney Bear, I want to shoot out a potato cannon.

  2. Bill Burke

    Re: Duffy/potato cannon – seriously… I think we can make this happen.

  3. sthissell

    Wow, that would have to be one large potato cannon…let’s get the Imagineers on it!

  4. Ron Schneider

    FYI — Dreamfinder is enjoying your blog… and looking for work in OrBlando.

  5. Bill Burke

    Ron – I kid because I love. ;-)
    I hope my affection for all this comes through.

  6. John

    Hey Ron, email me some time! Former cast member / Imagineer who found a way to create a Disney job with better pay!

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