Credit: Justin Smith, FlickrWatching beloved attractions disappear from theme parks, especially EPCOT, can be heartbreaking. Since its opening in 1982, EPCOT has transformed from a celebration of human achievement and culture into a park focused on franchises like Marvel and Frozen. For those who cherished the original EPCOT and its iconic experiences like Horizons and Dreamfinder’s Journey Into Imagination, each change feels like a loss.
The Rainbow Corridor, a nostalgic emblem of 1980s EPCOT, closed in 1992 and joined the list of lost treasures. However, Disney occasionally surprises fans by honoring the park’s legacy, and during the 2026 International Festival of the Arts, EPCOT is doing just that, evoking genuine emotion among nostalgic guests.
Figment’s Inspiration Station Honors the Disney Rainbow Corridor
The Odyssey building, which has become EPCOT’s go-to temporary venue for festival-specific experiences, has been transformed into Figment’s Inspiration Station for the Festival of the Arts. The space serves drinks and treats while celebrating Figment, EPCOT’s purple dragon mascot, who has maintained a devoted fanbase despite the degradation of his attraction over the years.
What makes this iteration of The Odyssey particularly special is how thoroughly it embraces 1980s EPCOT aesthetics. The interior features rainbow projections that directly reference the original Journey Into Imagination and specifically the Rainbow Corridor that became an EPCOT icon during the park’s early years.
The original Journey Into Imagination, which opened with EPCOT in 1983, starred Figment and Dreamfinder taking guests through a journey exploring how imagination and dreams are collected and created. The ride exit led guests to ImageWorks, an upstairs interactive play area featuring hands-on exhibits and the Rainbow Corridor, a walkway lined with rotating colored lights that created an immersive rainbow environment.
The Rainbow Corridor, also known among fans as the Rainbow Tunnel, quickly became one of EPCOT’s most photographed and beloved spaces. The rotating colors combined Disney’s signature visual appeal with technology that felt appropriately futuristic for EPCOT’s mission. The tunnel gained mainstream recognition in 1984 when Michael Jackson shot photos there while touring Florida, creating iconic images that captured both the pop star and the distinctive EPCOT aesthetic.
What Was Lost
The Rainbow Corridor closed in 1992 when the Imagination Pavilion underwent renovations that fundamentally changed the guest experience. ImageWorks moved downstairs and was renamed ImageWorks: The “What If” Labs, losing much of the charm and whimsy that made the original upstairs version special. The second floor of the pavilion remained closed for years until reopening in 2016 as a Disney Vacation Club lounge inaccessible to general guests.
For EPCOT purists, the loss of the Rainbow Corridor represented more than just one element disappearing. It symbolized the broader trend of Disney removing distinctive original EPCOT experiences in favor of cheaper, less ambitious replacements that failed to capture what made those original attractions special.
Journey Into Imagination itself underwent disastrous refurbishments that removed Dreamfinder entirely and turned Figment into a secondary character in his own attraction. The current Journey Into Imagination with Figment, while better than the universally despised second version, still pales compared to the original attraction that inspired such devotion.
The Inspiration Station Experience at Disney
Figment’s Inspiration Station covers The Odyssey building in rainbows and stars as direct homage to the Rainbow Corridor and 1980s EPCOT design language. The rainbow projections create an immersive environment that evokes the original ImageWorks experience for guests old enough to remember it while introducing younger visitors to aesthetics they’ve only seen in vintage EPCOT videos.
Beyond the nostalgic decor, the venue serves limited-time food items including the Figment Fantasy Cake for $5.79, a sponge cake filled with strawberry whipped cream and topped with white chocolate ganache and orange icing. There’s also the Figment Artist Popcorn Bucket available for $29 while supplies last through mobile order, featuring Figment in artist gear and including rainbow popcorn.
The Figment presence extends throughout this year’s Festival of the Arts with the scavenger hunt, merchandise, and various food offerings creating what could genuinely constitute an entire Figment-focused day at EPCOT.
Why This Matters
Disney’s decision to embrace Rainbow Corridor aesthetics at Figment’s Inspiration Station might seem like a small gesture, but for longtime EPCOT fans it represents acknowledgment that the park’s history matters and deserves celebration. These fans have watched EPCOT systematically erase its original identity for years, replacing distinctive experiences with generic overlays and intellectual property integrations that could exist at any Disney park.
Seeing Disney intentionally reference the Rainbow Corridor and original ImageWorks demonstrates that someone in Imagineering or park operations understands what made classic EPCOT special and believes honoring that legacy has value. It suggests that perhaps Disney recognizes the passionate fanbase that exists for original EPCOT and wants to give them moments that acknowledge their loyalty and nostalgia.
The Demand for More Disney Nostalgia
The enthusiastic response to Figment’s Inspiration Station from EPCOT historians and longtime fans highlights the hunger that exists for more substantive acknowledgments of the park’s history. These aren’t people demanding that EPCOT freeze in 1982 and never change. They’re people who want the park to evolve while maintaining connections to its original mission and distinctive character.
There are countless elements from classic EPCOT that could be honored through similar treatments: Horizons references, World of Motion callbacks, original Spaceship Earth narration acknowledgments, or celebrations of the other beloved attractions that defined the park’s early decades.
Disney has demonstrated with Figment’s Inspiration Station that these nostalgic nods resonate with guests and generate positive responses. The question now is whether this represents a one-time gesture or the beginning of Disney more consistently honoring EPCOT’s rich history while continuing to move the park forward.
For now, EPCOT fans should visit Figment’s Inspiration Station during the Festival of the Arts to experience rainbow projections that honor the legendary Rainbow Corridor and remind themselves of when EPCOT felt truly magical.