A real Journey Into YOUR Imagination

The year was 1999. You were just a little boy and girl anxious for your visit to Epcot.  And, guess what?  You have to check out Figment, and his buddy the Dreamfinder, because your mom kept telling you every year before your trip how cool Journey into Imagination was when she first went. Guess again.

Instead of Figment, Dreamfinder and the original ride, you get Eric Idle . . .I mean . . . Dr.Nigel Channing and the Imagination Institute. After you end, you start to complain- where's "One Little Spark"? And Figment? This is a Journey into YOUR Lack Of Imagination. Now, hang on, bud, let me show you the other side of the coin.

The real deal is that attraction is 100% original. Before I continue, I must explain what I mean by "original". When something is original, it doesn't uses characters, settings, or even the story from an already created franchise This includes books, movies, games, and theme parks attractions. So Journey into YOUR Imagination is 100% original.  (Well, 90% because the theme started on Honey, I Shrunk the Audience.)

But that doesn't changes the fact that Journey into YOUR Imagination was bad, right? Wrong. Let me remind you that Disney is always known for cute little things, for nice movies, for great characters and for . . . a mouse. So when Disney decides to create something totally different, the public reactions are not really good. That happened with Alien Encounter, and it happened with Journey into YOUR Imagination too. Let's be frank:  Some people only complained because Figment wasn't there, and that's Disney's fault.  After all, they promoted their character SO much, that it soon became one of the icons of EPCOT!

That was the real problem with Journey into YOUR Imagination, and if you understood what I just said, understand this:  That was the problem of EPCOT Center. Think about this. Since 1955, Disney has been known for making theme parks with attractions based on their famous characters, and often, one time or another, making original attractions such as Pirates of the Caribbean and Space Mountain. Some of them don't have a story, but they are a great experience! Then, suddenly, in 1982, Disney throws that "cute-theme park" past out of the way and open EPCOT Center, a new experience. Everything is educational. Universe of Energy?  Educational. World of Motion?  Educational. Living Seas?  Educational. And think about it, they were educational, but they were fun!

That was 27 years ago. The parks are now filled with characters. When something new opens at the parks, its either based on a Pixar/Disney character, or its just a show. Some people say that Disney Parks such as EPCOT failed because they were against what Disney did in the past.  What happened to all the originality? That's why I love, and always will, the old EPCOT Center.  I can clearly say that, when talking about parks, Disney is on a Journey into YOUR Lack Of Imagination.

Oh well, maybe Star Tours 2 will be fun.