Connecting the dots with a potential return of Dreamfinder

[dbm20th]

from Mousetunes...

Coming from Epcot - There is an event taking place in September, called "Imagine the Possibilities - A Friendly Figment Reunion." The event will take place on Saturday, September 9th, 2006. According to the Disney event listing: "Come together with old friends and make new ones as we Imagine the Possibilities!Epcot® is pleased to offer the first ever Figment sculpt featuring his beloved friend and creator, Dreamfinder, by Walt Disney Classics Collection; available exclusively at the Walt Disney World® Resort.

This limited edition Dreamfinder with Figment sculpt will be available as part of this special one-day event and will also feature a companion Jumbo Pin that will be available exclusively to Event Guests. Additionally we are excited to have Bruce Lau available for signings." LINK: http://psc.disney.go.com/eventservices/disneygallery/wdwfigment.html

Our thinking is that this $350.00 per person event may lend some credibility to the rumors that Dreamfinder may be returning. Also, since the next promotion is "Year of a Million Dreams," who better to bring dreams to Epcot than the Dreamfinder?

Ever since the Year of a Million Dreams thing was released, I thought that the Dreamfinder rumors would soon make their way into this. I think they have a point. Why would they be making such a big deal about Dreamfinder for just one event??? Hmmm......

 

[MJMcBride]

I for one am not a huge Dreamfinder fan and really don't care if he comes back one way or another. But bringing him back would be a nice way of celebrating the 25th. And I think you're right in your conclusions.

 

[kjkcool]

What in the world is Dreamfinder ?!!!!I've never heard of it!Me the disney princess of my house!The supreme knower of all things disney and now this!!!!WHYYYYYY?!!!!!

 

[Tink's Tormentor]

Dream Finder was one of the original characters and host of Journey Into Imagination... Figment is Dream Finder's creation... This rumor has been swirling around since Jim Hill wrote an article about it last month.... John Lassetter supposedly wants Dream Finder back.. Tony Baxter is rumored to be desiging a complete Journey rehab...

 

[rocketriter]

Dreamfinder represented a key part of Epcot's mission when it opened: to inspire. He focused the idea that the park's attractions could lead people to upbeat, hopeful new ways of looking at our planet's cultures and its future. With Dreamfinder gone, it became all too easy to slide that focus away from inspiration to cheap thrills.

 

[A GoofyTigFig]

All I can say is I certainly hope Dreamfinder and Figment will be back.
What childish delight and what a spark of imagination that first ride was

 

[dbm20th]

Here he is...

He was...strange to say the least. That original ride was cool because it was very trippy. This creepy looking guy was flying around on some Jules Verne contraption with a purple dragon that giggles and wears the ugliest sweater you'll ever see.

 

[mickeyfan2]

He was...strange to say the least. That original ride was cool because it was very trippy. This creepy looking guy was flying around on some Jules Verne contraption with a purple dragon that giggles and wears the ugliest sweater you'll ever see.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Figment does not wear the ugliest sweater you'll ever see!!!!!!

 

[daber]

Taken from the Dreamfinder and Figment Event page on the Disney Gallery website:

"The Journey into Imagination Pavilion was ready for Opening Day of Epcot®, October 1, 1982, but the elaborate attraction inside would continue in development for quite some time. The results, however, were well worth the wait. Imagineers created a timeless character, sparkly and magical, sharing the joy of just one spark!

Calculating how the imagination works is no easy task. It took six months of research, and the help of scientists, art teachers and a variety of other professionals, to help Imagineers realize that even though everyone's imagination is different, the process is the same. First we gather information. Then we store it. Finally, it is used to create something new.

Tony Baxter, Senior Vice President of Walt Disney Imagineering, recalls, "The story needed to describe the complex process in an engaging, interactive way without seeming like a lecture. A persona was needed to give the process personality, but having a human character seemed too selective. A friendly imaginary being that could delight in the wonders of imagination would be more inclusive."

Before Figment was “born” into the Dreamfinder’s world, he existed in the Imagineers’ minds as “just a thing,” says Tony, “We didn’t know what it was.” Then one night, as Tony watched an episode of Magnum P.I. in which Higgins garden was a mess, because Magnum was hiding a goat there. “ ‘It’s just a figment of your imagination,’ says Magnum. Higgins replies, ‘Figments don’t eat grass.’ On that line, a light bulb went off. At work the next day, I held the model of this dragon and said, ‘Say hello to Figment everyone’ Everyone’s jaw dropped.”

In March of 1983 Journey Into Imagination, starring Dreamfinder and Figment opened. This original attraction featured Figment and Dreamfinder as they rode a “Dream Catching Machine” to explore realms of the Imagination. This attraction also introduced the beloved song “One Little Spark,” written by the Academy Award-winning Disney composers Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman.

Although the attraction has changed over the years, the principles it embodies and the spirit it excites has remained the same. “Figment has childlike enthusiasm for new ideas,” explains Tony, “He hasn’t been worn down by growing up and having that notion of ‘everything’s possible’ taken away.” In fact, on June 1, 2002, the re-imagined attraction was officially renamed Journey Into Imagination, with Figment, as a testament to the elfin dragon’s enduring charm and significance."

 

[dbm20th]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Figment does not wear the ugliest sweater you'll ever see!!!!!!

If you own this sweater...well I apologize for offending you. I guess it just ain't my style.

 

[kjkcool]

Thanks evryone! I heard of the JIIWF(Journey Into Imagination With Figment),never rode it though.Dreamfinder dude does looks interesting...in a freaky, almost phyco way.
Figments sweater is DEFINETLY not all that!I'm sure it's not THE ugliest sweater you'll ever see,but it is still pretty ugly .Figment needs to be turned in to the fashion police.

 

[mickeyfan2]

If you own this sweater...well I apologize for offending you. I guess it just ain't my style.

I have an entire closet of those sweaters. I wear them every day.

 

[MJMcBride]

it became all too easy to slide that focus away from inspiration to cheap thrills.

Alright, since when did cheap thrills become a bad thing. I mean this is outrageous.

 

[Ariel Mae]

I was always a fan of Dreamfinder, and the day I found out they had replaced him, I was literally in tears. I remember getting pictures with the guy outside of the pavillion and singing along in the ride. Admitted, the new ride is fun, but it's not child friendly. It has a bit of a theme that would have upsetted me when I were little. There's more darkness and more loud noises and bangs, whereas, the original version was colorful and full of addicting music. I miss the original Figment.

 

[dbm20th]

There's more darkness and more loud noises and bangs, whereas, the original version was colorful and full of addicting music. I miss the original Figment.

Well they tried to bring it back without the opening verse, which was specific to the scene it appeared in, but they don't do enough with the chorus. That's a simple change and will have the same effect that it did in the 80's. I can still remember people all over the park singing that silly tune. It was as addictive as "Small World". Of all the things to lose, that really was a stupid choice on WDI's part.

 

[JRawkSteady]

From what I heard, John Lasseter is trying to get the original ride back. He was also pushing to bring back traditional animation. Kind of sad that our executives couldn't figure all of this out for themselves...

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Why would they be making such a big deal about Dreamfinder for just one event??? Hmmm......

They think there are fans of the old ride who will pay a lot of money for the event and the Walt Disney Classics Collection sculpture.

That's a far cry from spending $20 million or more to rebuild a ride that was junked some years ago because it was no longer drawing enough guests.

I think that gutting the old Imagination ride and shortening the track was a mistake — especially because both versions of the replacement attraction are inferior to what was replaced — but it's too late now to undo that decision.

I also don't expect Disney to bring back Horizons or World of Motion — even if Disney issues Walt Disney Classics Collection sculptures based on scenes from those rides, and hold events to publicize them.

 

[minnie61650]

From what I heard, John Lasseter is trying to get the original ride back. He was also pushing to bring back traditional animation. Kind of sad that our executives couldn't figure all of this out for themselves...

I miss the original Figment ride with Dreamfinder also. At least the present one has Figment in it a lot more than the first redo. When Kodak sponsored the original Figment Disney signed a contract that the ride would be redone before the year 2000. For those of you never got to experience the original Figment or if you would like to relive it this is a great website.

http://figmentsimagination.com/

Here is an except from that website that explains why the Original Figment ride was Changed:

"It has been confirmed by a Disney source that the original Journey Into Imagination was closed due to a contract agreement between Kodak and Disney. The contract stated that JII was to be changed by the year 2000. The original JII, due to large amounts of projectors, sets, lighting and animatronics, was VERY expensive to maintain each year. JII was the most advanced attraction of its kind in the US when it opened in 1983. Even when it closed, the technology involved with producing the show was ahead of other theme park attractions. Many Imagineers were not at all happy about making the changes because they had fear that the new attraction would fail. Armed with a budget far less than they had to build the original JII, the replacement opened and the fans were not happy. WDI realized that mistakes were made but at this point, there is no physical way to return the attraction to its original state because of the way the building has been altered and the money that would be needed to do it is not there. The current budget to redo JIYI is still not enough to restore the magic we all miss. But we will be able to see Figment again! "




This excerpt is from this site:

http://waltdatedworld.bravepages.com/id37.htm

The chances of Figment making a full return looked bleak. Disney sold part of the ride props on eBay and used one of Dreamfinder's flying machines as a prop in the Mouse Gear store. Then the ride closed in the winter of 2002 for renovation and reopened in June of 2002 as Journey Into Imagination with Figment. While Eric Idle and the Imagination Institute are still featured, Figment has been added to every scene and a new version of One Little Spark is sung. Dreamfinder is still MIA but one of the lab office doors is now labeled as belonging to "Dean Finder

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I really hope they revamp the ride and make it more like the original ride!