©Disney

We resume our occasional series looking at the original EPCOT Center. Our next attraction is Future World's Journey Into Imagination. Now let us take a look back at the way things were.

As we enter the pavilion under one of the large glass pyramids, we see an elevator surrounded by a circular staircase. Once we reach the front of the line, we board a vehicle that we later determine is in a train of four vehicles each. As we start off on our ride, we see an animated projection of an odd blimp-looking contraption passing through the clouds, and we hear a voice singing.

©Disney

Soon, we see come upon that blimp and its pilot, Dreamfinder. He tells us that he is using his machine to capture the things that will inspire imagination. As we fly along with him, he introduces us to one of his ideas, a purple dragon-like creature named Figment, a figment of the imagination.

Dreamfinder then explains a little about imagination to Figment, as well as the rest of us, as he continues to gather things. Eventually, his Idea Bag is full, so we must go to the Dreamport, where he keeps all of the ideas he collects.

Once we are in the Dreamport, we see the Idea Bag being unloaded. We see many items and hear many sounds that could be used to spark imagination, and then we begin to move through the other areas of the Dreamport.

Our first area is Art, where Dreamfinder stands in front of a large painting that seems to change as we go by. We next enter an area that has many animals and plants that look to be made of white paper. Colorful lights and shadows seem to change the appearance of everything as we pass by. Figment is sitting off to the side with a pot of gold, like one would find at the end of the rainbow, that he is using to colorfully paint the white animals and plants.

Looking up into one of the glass pyramids from inside

At the exit of this room, we see lightning bolts in the clouds on the wall. We then see Dreamfinder sitting at a large comptuer keyboard; above this keyboard is a large letter "A" that also appears to be an erupting volcano. We see large words around us: the word "shake" is doing just that, while the word "avalanche" seems to be falling down around us as we pass underneath it. Figment is nearby holding letter blocks between his hands. As the blocks spell "bat", we see a shadow of a bat on the wall behind him. But as the first block flips over from "b" to "c", the bat shadow changes into a cat shadow.

We continue through this depiction of the slightly darker side of imagination to find Figment using his hands to make a shadow of the word "shadow" on the wall behind him. We see the raven and the poem from Edgar Allen Poe, and we see Figment trying to keep a large, frightening book closed.

From there we move to what appears to be a theater dressing room. Figment, dressed in a tuxedo, is standing on a box in front of a make-up mirror, and he is holding a Dreamfinder mask. Figment sings along with Dreamfinder, who is only heard, not seen, about performing. Up next we see Dreamfinder dressed as an orchestra conductor waving his baton. On the wall beside Dreamfinder are several entertainment-related laser projections that move and rotate.

Then to our side is Figment wearing a spacesuit as we move into a long tunnel. We hear Dreamfinder asking his question, "What about science?" as he said in the opening song. In the following circular room, Dreamfinder is standing in a large time-altering device. Projected on the screens overhead are such things as flowers rapidly growing and crystals growing. We then pass a window where Figment appears to be caught in Dreamfinder's machine. He gets bigger and smaller as he flies and jumps around.

The Monorail passing in front of Journey Into Imagination

We move on toward large film strips to see Dreamfinder looking in a crystal ball as Figment looks on. Figment is speaking of using his imagination to do things. In the next circular room, Figment is standing on top of a large film reel. Projected on the screens around us are images of Figment doing such activities as flying, climbing a mountain, weight lifting, and riding a stick horse. All of the filmed Figments sing harmony to the singing of the Figment on the film reel.

We then see Dreamfinder sitting behind a movie camera. Projected on the screen next to him is a picture of us in our ride vehicle! Dreamfinder thanks us for coming along and invites us to vist Image Works next to put our creativity to use. And then we reach the exit of the ride.

After exiting the ride, our next stop is the Image Works. At the second floor of the building, we can look up into one of the large glass pyramids, or look out and see Future World. In the Image Works are found a variety of interactive exhibits. Among them is the Stepping Tones. On the floor of a carpeted room are many colored hexagonal shapes. Stepping on each one produces a different sound, and it is fun to jump from one sound to another. Another popular feature is Dreamfinder's School of Drama. Here guests selected from the audience stand in front of a monochrome background. On overhead monitors, guests see Dreamfinder narrate a story that is acted out by the guests standing in front of the screen, which allows them to be placed against several differnt backgrounds. Unintentionally humorous results happen when a guest is wearing a shirt the same color as the background, causing them to look as if they have no torso. Among the other things found in the Image Works is an area where guests can "conduct" an orchestra. By raising and lowering their hands over circles representing the different orchestra sections, such as strings, brass, woodwinds, and percussion, the guests can raise or lower the volume of that particular section.

We then move on to see Magic Journeys, a 3D movie presented in the Magic Eye Theater. Before the movie starts, we see a pre-show. Set to the song "Makin' Memories" are photographs from the early days to the present, demonstrating how pictures can be used to capture moments in time - perhaps a slightly less than subtle plug for the pavilion's sponsor, Kodak. We then move into the theater and put on our 3D glasses to see the movie. This film features several scenes from a boy's imagination, and makes great use of the 3D technology. Such effects as a lion jumping through a hoop toward the camera or the petals from a dandelion being blown about almost seem real.

The Upside Down Waterfall at night

Following the movie, we exit the theater into our final stop at the pavilion, a fanciful garden with different topiary shapes and unusual fountains. The most popular fountains are those that shoot a stream of water from one circular area to another, and occasionally over the heads of guests. Dreamfinder and Figment have been known to greet guests in this garden and pose for pictures.

The Jellyfish Fountains, named because of the shape the water makes in the air

Journey Into Imagination was one of the most popular attractions among guests at EPCOT Center. This was largely due to its whimsical nature that contrasted greatly with some of the more serious presentations in the rest of the park. Also helping guests were the well-rounded characters of Dreamfinder and Figment. These characters were created so well that guests felt as though they had known about them for a long time, even though they were created exclusively for the attraction. Figment in particular became so popular that many different merchandise items were created bearing his image, from hats and shirts to plush characters and figurines. He became the unofficial mascot of EPCOT Center. Providing the voice of Dreamfinder was veteran cartoon character Chuck McCann. And the unmistakable voice of Figment was provided by Billy Barty.

Part of the Leapfrog fountains, where water jumped from one circular area to the next

Contributing their talents to this attraction were the songwriting brothers Richard and Robert Sherman. The Sherman brothers wrote all the songs heard at the pavilion. "One Little Spark" was the song first sung by Dreamfinder at the beginning of the ride and then heard in different variations throughout the rest of the ride. "Makin' Memories" was heard in the preshow of the 3D film, and "Magic Journeys" was the theme song for the 3D film of the same name. As with most all songs written by the Sherman brothers, these tunes proved to be very popular, especially "One Little Spark."

The lightheared, upbeat theme, catchy songs, and great characters helped to make this one everyone's favorite attractions. It had more "kid-appeal" than many of the other Future World offerings. But really, it had something for everyone. And by attempting to explore the process of imagination, it always seemed to leave us just a little more imaginative.

- Story and Photos by Steve Burns
Posted

Steve is a three-time Disney Store National Trivia finalist and webmaster of BurnsLand, home of Steve's Disney Railroad Adventures.

E-mail Steve at steve@startedbyamouse.com, discuss this article in the StartedByAMouse.com Disney Discussion Forums or use the Talkback feature below.

We Were Started By A Mouse Too!  •  When In Cyberspace ... Disney Link Directory  •  

  •  Purchase Walt Disney World Tickets here - DISNEY TICKETS via DWTickets.com  •  

  •  Receive discounts on ORLANDO VACATION HOMES near Disney World from OrlandoVacation.com  •