24. Journey into Imagination
Topped with giant stupid triangles, Epcot's Imagination Pavilion has been the home of Journey into Imagination since the ride opened in 1983. In its original incarnation, the ride's omnimover vehicles come across a giant blimp flying in the sky, the ride of choice for the Dreamfinder. Turns out the blimp can collect dreams and ideas to be placed in the Dreamport.
Assissting Dreamfinder is a small, purple, dragonish creature that is the literal figment of imagination, aptly named Figment(voiced by famous little person Billy Barty). Traveling through the Dreamfinder's storage room, the ride journeys past a number of rooms, experiencing how art, science, literature, performing arts and music can influence the power of imagination. Making it to the Dreamport, riders disembark as Dreamfinder explains how imagination is the key to unlocking the hidden wonders of the world.
Then Disney shut it down and screwed the whole thing up.
Following a year long renovation, the ride reopened as Journey into YOUR Imagination and featured a couple changes. First of all, the ride location now takes place in the Imagination Institute, a facility dedicated to studying imagination's power(also where the then-next-door Honey I Shrunk the Audience took place). Second, neither the Dreamfinder nor Figment are to be found, instead replaced by the Institute's head, Dr. Nigel Channing(Eric Idle). Channing, utilizing a new invention called the Imagination Scanner, discovers that the riders have literally no imagination, so he sends you through a bunch of rooms and blah blah blah your imagination is now supercharged and the scanner explodes. Surprisingly, this version sucked hard, so the ride shut down once more.
Only to reopen for the currently last time, now Channing is still the head of the Institute, but now plays the studious English foil to the wacky and fun-loving Figment(now voiced by Bunsen Honeydew/Gonzo muppeteer Dave Goelz). As Channing shows the guests through an open house, showcasing the five senses' influence on imagination, Figment interrupts at every turn, turning a boring open house into an exhibition on the magic of imagination. Eventually, Channing relents and realizes the Figment is correct in believing the imagination should be set free.
As much as people get mad at the changes made to the new Imagination ride compared to the original, I love it. It's kind of great to see a juxtaposition between the free Figment and the stuffy Channing. People just want everything to be the same as it was before, but it's funny how perception works sometimes. And imagination plays a big part in that.
