Changes

When original designs for EPCOT Center were being drawn up, an Imagination pavilion was nowhere to be found. In fact, the Imagination pavilion was the last pavilion designed for Future World <ref name= "Martin"> http://www.martinsvids.net/?p=95 </ref>. The structure that would eventually be become the Imagination pavilion was a recycled took inspiration from an idea that Tony Baxter had for the Mineral and Ecology pavilion that was originally planned for EPCOT Center but never constructed<ref name= "wedway"> Parish, Matt, Nate Parish, and Michael Crawford. "5:3 The large glass pyramids that topped the Imagination pavilion had initially been part of an idea for the cancelled Ecology pavilionOriginal Land Pavilion." Audio blog post. WedWay Radio. N.p., 20 May 2013. Web. </ref>. Imagineer Tony Baxter had worked on early plans for that pavilion, and however after its cancelation, it was decided that the pavilion should go in a different direction (due to the fact that Kraft had assumed sponsorship) he turned his attention to the Kodak pavilion<ref name= "E82"/>. Although Kodak had originally signed on as an EPCOT Center sponsor in 1977 <ref name= "Martin"/>, the company did not have a firm idea of what they wanted their pavilion to focus on <ref name= "E82">http://www.epcotlegacy.com/historical-expositions/2010/6/30/gather-store-re-combine-a-history-of-imagination-part-1.html </ref> . According to Tony Baxter:

With a theme now in place, Tony Baxter and his Imagineers began fine tuning their plans for the pavilion. Baxter had initially impressed representatives from Kodak with his models for Captain Marvel and his pet dragon. These characters had initially been designed for an expansion of Disneyland called Discovery Bay<ref name= "wedway"/>. Although the expansion was never constructed, Baxter continued to rework the characters for his other projects. In fact, Captain Marvel was going to be renamed Landkeepr and used in Tony Baxter's early version of the land pavilion <ref name= "wedway"/>. With his attention now focused on Imagination, Baxter (as well as Steve Kirk and X Atencio) was able to rework Captain Marvel and his dragon into Dreamfinder and Figment, the stars of the Journey Into Imagination pavilion<ref name= "E82"/>.

Construction on the Journey Into Imagination pavilion began in July 1981, only 15 months before the park was set to open<ref name= "Martin"/>. When completed, the pavilion would feature the dark ride attraction that was also titled Journey into Imagination, the Magic Eye Theater which showed the film Magic Journeys, and the interactive ImageWorks area on the pavilion’s second floor.

Although the Journey Into Imagination pavilion was completed in Epcot Center’s opening day, inside the pavilion only Magic Journeys was open to guests. Five days later on October 6, 1982 the ImageWorks area opened to guests<ref name= "E82"/>. Lastly, on March 5, 1983 the Journey Into Imagination attraction finally opened to guests. It would was not until the attraction opened that the pavilion was officially named Journey Into Imagination <ref name= "Martin"/>. Although the attraction had been more or less ready to go since the pavilion opened, Disney executives felt that Imagineers needed more time to work the kinks out. According to Tony Baxter:

The Journey Into Imagination pavilion remained essentially the same until 1986, when Magic Journeys closed <ref name= "mouse"> https://www.mouseplanet.com/11109/The_Vacation_Kingdom_of_the_World_Its_a_3D_World_After_All </ref>. The attraction (which was eventually moved to [[Fantasyland]] in the [[Magic Kingdom]]) was replaced with a new 3D show [[Captain EO]] <ref name= "mouse"/>. Captain EO was created in partnership with Lucasfilms and stared pop icon Michael Jackson as the title character, who was a space captain charged with saving the universe. The new show featured technologically not present in its predecessor, including in-theater special effects such as laser and smoke to go along with traditional 3D effects <ref name= "E82Part2"> http://www.epcotlegacy.com/historical-expositions/2010/10/25/gather-store-re-combine-a-history-of-imagination-part-2.html </ref>.

In 1998, with Kodak's sponsorship ending shortly, Fujifilm approached Disney with an offer to sponsor the Journey Into Imagination Pavilion <ref> http://www.disneyparkhistory.com/imagination.html </ref>. Their sponsorship would have included a complete restructuring of the pavilion, including getting rid of the Journey Into Imagination attraction. Although the attraction was popular, it cost a lot of money for Disney to maintain. Fujifilm told Disney that they would replace the attraction with an "E-Ticket" thrill ride, that would be just as popular as Journey Into Imagination, yet cheaper to maintain <ref> http://www.wdwradio.com/2006/06/world-history-the-imagination-pavilion/ </ref>. Kodak, not wanting to lose their sponsorship of the pavilion (especially not to rival Fujifilm) pitched their own idea to Disney <ref> http://futureprobe.blogspot.com/2008/10/journey-into-imagination-remembered.html </ref>. They told Disney that they would make Journey Into Imagination more scientific, and use cheaper special effects. Although their proposal may not have seemed as glamorous as the FujiFilm proposal, Disney has had concerns about turning the attraction into a thrill ride (as such a ride would still be costly to maintain). With this in mind, Disney accepted Kodak's proposal and Journey Into Imagination closed for renovations on October 10, 1998 <ref> http://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions/journey-into-imagination/news/10oct1998-journey-into-imagination-closed-for-major-refurbishment.htm </ref>.

When the Journey Into Imagination Pavilion reopened on October 1, 1999, its name was changed to the Imagination! pavilion <ref> https://www.mouseplanet.com/10792/Remembering_the_Magic_Imagination_Pavilion </ref>. Following the refurbishment, the pavilion featured a drastically different layout. For starters, the jumping fountains located outside of the pavilion were significantly reduced in size, in order to accommodate the addition of a new gift shop <ref name= "Martin2"> http://www.martinsvids.net/?p=135 </ref>. The color scheme and signage on the exterior of the pavilion were also changed dramatically, as they now reflected Kodak's company colors of red and orange<ref name= "Martin2"/>. Furthermore, the ImageWorks, which had originally been located on the second floor of the pavilion, was moved to the first floor and reduced in size<ref name= "Martin2"/>. At this time, the attraction was also renamed the “Kodak What If Labs". Although its basic premise remained essentially the same, many guests complained that the new What If Labs were simply one big advertisement for Kodak. After exiting the What if Labs, guests were funneled into a the aforementioned new gift shop, where they could buy photos, Epcot souvenirs, and Journey Into Your Imagination merchandise<ref name= "Martin2"/>.

While many things changed both outside and within the Imagination! Pavilion in 1999, there was no bigger change then the new Journey Into Imagination attraction. Now titled Journey Into ''Your'' Imagination, the attraction was rethemed as a tie-in to Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. Taking place inside the Imagination Institute, Dr. Nigel Channing (Eric Idle) now gave guests a tour of the institute, using them as test subjects for a new invention, the Imagination Scanner. To the surprise of many guests, Dreamfinder was completely removed from the attraction, and Figment (once the mascot of Epcot) was reduced to only a brief cameo<ref name= "Martin2"/>.

The new Journey Into Your Imagination attraction proved to be extremely unpopular with guests and many decided to boycott the attraction (as well as Kodak) to protest the changes. This campaign proved to be quite successful, as guest complaints (along with pressure from Kodak and Michael Eisner) led to the attraction getting another overhaul in 2001 <ref> http://www.epcotlegacy.com/historical-expositions/2011/3/28/gather-store-re-combine-a-history-of-imagination-part-3.html </ref>. Journey Into Your Imagination closed on October 8, 2001 <Ref> http://www.epcotlegacy.com/historical-expositions/2011/6/13/gather-store-re-combine-a-history-of-imagination-part-4.html </ref>, before reopening on June 2, 2002 as "Journey Into Imagination with Figment" <ref name= "Martin2"/> <ref> http://www.disney-pal.com/Epcot/journey_into_imagination.htm </ref>. Following the refurbishment, the attraction now still focused on Dr. Nigel Channing once again giving guest a tour of the Imagination Institute. Instead of testing out his Imagination Scanner however, Dr. Channing now explained how the five senses can trigger human imagination. Figment returned in this version of the attraction, disrupting the doctor’s tour, and showing guests his imagination. Although the focus of the attraction was changed, the basic premise and the track structure of the ride remained basically the same. Also of note, The Kodak What if Labs remained essentially the same, however Figment was added to many of the exhibits <ref name= "Martin2"/>.

On March 26, 2015 Disney announced that Captain EO would be temporarily closing on April 10, 2015 <ref>https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2015/03/exclusive-sneak-peek-of-disneys-tomorrowland-coming-to-disney-parks-inapril/ </ref>. Following the attractions closure, the Magic Eye Theater showed a sneak peak of the 2015 Disney movie "Tomorrowland". Following After the end of the preview period , on July 19, 2015 Captain EO returned to the Magic Eye Theater <ref> http://blogs.disney.com/insider/2015/07/24/he-is-here-to-change-the-world-again-captain-eo-returns-to-epcot/ </ref>. Finally, on December 6, 2015 Captain EO was permanently removed. Taking its place in the Magic Eye Theater is the Disney Pixar Short Film Festival <ref> https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2015/11/disney-pixar-short-film-festival-to-debut-at-epcots-magic-eye-theater/ </ref>. The new attraction shows three Disney-Pixar short cartoons.