Disney Legend Wants To Give Figment the Ride ‘He Deserves'

Disney Legend Wants To Give Figment the Ride ‘He Deserves' - Inside the Magic

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Disney Legend Wants To Give Figment the Ride ‘He Deserves’

in Disney Parks, Walt Disney World

Posted on November 30, 2024 by Rick Lye

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An image of two glass pyramidal buildings at sunset. The structures, part of EPCOT, are lit up with colorful lights. A banner reading "Journey Into Imagination" is displayed near the entrance of the building in the foreground. Trees and greenery surround the base of the pyramids, leading to a Disney Vacation Club Member Lounge.

Credit: Disney

When each Walt Disney World park opened, an iconic attraction defined the park. At Magic Kingdom, it was Cinderella Castle; at EPCOT, it was Spaceship Earth; at Hollywood Studios, it was the Earful Water Tower; and at Animal Kingdom, it was the Tree of Life.

A bright purple dragon character, Figment, wearing an orange sweater stands cheerfully with one arm extended in greeting. The background is a grayscale outdoor adventure park setting with a sign for "Tiana's Bayou Adventure" and a water tower labeled "Tiana's Retheme. — Credit: Inside the Magic

While three of four have maintained their defining attraction, Hollywood Studios decided to remove the water tower and hasn’t replaced it.

However, none of the parks have a mascot, except one. Disney fans have been arguing for years that Figment is the mascot for EPCOT.

The original Journey Into Imagination opened in 1983 and introduced audiences to Figment. Iconic Imagineers Tony Baxter and Steve Kirk created the ride.

Figment at his new meet and greet in EPCOT — Credit: Disney

The ride fit perfectly with the original aesthetic of EPCOT: learning and inspiration. As EPCOT moved away from its original mission, Journey Into Imagination changed into Journey Into Imagination with Figment in 2002, but the ride did not change much.

However, EPCOT has continued to change in the past decade with the addition of Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind, Frozen Ever After, and, coming this year, a new Test Track. But while the park has continued to change, Journey Into Imagination has remained the same.

While Disney has introduced a Figment meet-and-greet for fans, little else has changed in the ride. However, a Disney legend would like to change that.

Figment and Dreamfinder from the original Journey Into Imagination — Credit: D23

Actor Josh Gad went to EPCOT over Thanksgiving weekend to be the first reader at EPCOT’s Candlelight Processional and decided to give Disney Imagineering some inspiration.

Gad took to his Instagram account and wrote:

Disney Imagineering, call me. We need to give this guy the ride update he deserves.

Josh Gad (left) and Luke Evans (right) in Beauty and the Beast — Credit: Disney

Nearly everyone agreed with Gad that Figment needs a more exciting ride and deserves more as the mascot of EPCOT. Most of the commentators wanted to see the Dreamfinder’s return, the ride’s original narrator.

Despite the fans’ and Gad’s demands, it does not appear that Disney has any plans to update Journey Into Imagination. Disney has already shelved plans to update Spaceship Earth and add a Mary Poppins ride to the United Kingdom pavilion in World Showcase.

So, sorry, Figment fans. You’ll just have to enjoy the ride you have now and hope that Disney will take Gad up on his offer.

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