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/* Attraction History */
Journey Into Imagination was an attraction located in the Journey Into Imagination pavilion in [[EPCOT Center]]. The attraction was operational from 1983 until 1999. If you are looking for the second and third version of the attraction see: [[Journey Into Imagination With Figment]]. If you are looking for the pavilion in which the attraction is located see: [[Imagination!]]
==Attraction History==
The genesis of the Journey Into Imagination attraction began when Imagineer Tony Baxter was tasked with working on creating a pavilion for Kodak in EPCOT Center. Although the company had agreed to sponsor a pavilion in the developing theme park, a suitable topic had not yet been decided on. When giving Baxter instructions for the pavilion, Kodak's only request was that it be "very imaginative" <ref name= "E82"> http://www.epcotlegacy.com/historical-expositions/2010/6/30/gather-store-re-combine-a-history-of-imagination-part-1.html </ref>. Taking these words to heart, Tony began to work on a pavilion based on Imaginationimagination.
After thinking about the intangible subject, Tony came to conclusion that all imagination, no matter the subject, is happens when you, "gather, store and re-combine" <ref name= "E82"/>. To portray this concept, Tony created The Dreamcatcher (as its unofficially known), which Imagineer (and attraction art director) Steve Kirk described as "a giant vacuum cleaner floating through space" <ref name= "E82"/>. The Dreamcatcher would essentially would collect sparks of imagination and store them. Later, they could be recombined into something new.
When looking to create a host for the new attraction, Tony turned to an old idea that he had developed for the unbuilt Discovery Bay expansion of Disneyland. One of the attraction's attractions for this new land was to be the Gallery of Illusion, hosted by Professor Marvel <ref name= "E82"/>. The older gentleman was somewhat based on the Wizard of Oz <ref name= "Korkis"> http://yourfirstvisit.net/2015/08/21/a-friday-visit-with-jim-korkis-figment-and-dreamfinder/ </ref>, and in one of the scenes he was to show he domesticated dragons, even holding a baby one. As the imagination attraction developed, Professor Marvel was transformed into Dreamfinder, who Baxter described as "A Santa Claus-type who is wise and older and knows all the great things, a great thinker. <ref name= "mouse"> https://www.mouseplanet.com/10073/Tony_Baxter_Figment_and_Imagination </ref>" According to Imagineer Steve Kirk:
[[Image:KirkFigment.jpg|400px|thumb|Steve Kirk's model of Professor Marvel and his dragon. The duo would evolve into Dreamfinder and Figment]]
Kodak liked the idea of Dreamfinder and the imagination concept, but they wanted to know if they got the dragon too <ref name= "allears"/>. This request, led Baxter and his team develop a second character for the attraction- Figment.
The formation of Figment began when Tony Baxter was watching an episode of Magnum P.I. <ref name= "E82"/>. In the episode, Magnum had hidden a goat in Higgins’ yard, and the animal had predictably torn up the vegetation. When Higgins suggested that a goat was ruining his yard, Magnum replied that it was all just a figment of his imagination. Higgins’ response that “Figments don’t eat grass!” gave Baxter the inspiration for his new character, named Figment <ref name= "E82"/>. Tony would later explain that Figment was a character that everyone knows about and , but has never been visualized<ref name= "E82"/>.
Taking some inspiration from the dragon in the Gallery of Illusion attraction, Figment was initially sketched by Steve Kirk, who turned in a rough drawing of the character <ref name= "intercot"> http://www.intercot.com/edc/Imagination/jfacts.html </ref>. Imagineer X Atencio then slightly altered the drawing to, "make the character lovable, in a way that kids could relate to" <ref name= "intercot"/>. With their two main characters designed, Imagineers set about finding voices for the duo. Although finding a voice for Dreamfinder was relatively simple (with actor Chuck McCann filling the role <ref> http://allears.net/ae/issue722.htm </ref>) finding a voice for Figment proved to be much more difficult. Disney had men, women, boys and girls all audition for the role, but no voice was deemed suitable <ref name= "intercot"/>. Eventually, they found Figment's voice in veteran voice actor Billy Barty, who was deemed perfect for the role <ref name= "intercot"/>. When talking about the role of Figment, Tony Baxter said:
{{Quotation| There were two roller coasters segments that never happened because the ride system wouldn't behave. One was down into the monster dungeon, and the second one was into the spiral of film in the finale. And because you were thrilled and excited and screaming, that was where we would take that picture <ref name= "interview"/>}}
This ending was eventually deemed unfeasible, after problems with the attractions ride system<ref name= "interview"/>. Furthermore, Imagineer's Imagineers initially wanted to give guests the options of buying their photograph by using a digital camera to print out the photo right after the ride ended<ref name= "interview"/>. Kodak bristled at the idea of using digital as opposed to chemical photography, and the idea was dropped.
[[Image:JourneyConceptArt.jpg|350px|thumb|Journey Into Imagination concept art. Note the green Figment.]]
Of all the Future World pavilion's Journey Into Imagination was the last to begin construction <ref name= "Martin">https://vimeo.com/3015806 </ref>. Although the pavilion was read ready for EPCOT Center's opening day, technical issues with the attraction's turntable, and loading and unloading mechanisms, caused the attraction to be delayed <ref name= "Martin"/>. Tony Baxter has since asserted that the attraction was up and running, yet Disney executives did not think it would be reliable enough, and they were concerned that a ride breakdown would cause a bad impression, thus the opening was delayed <ref> Koenig, David. Realityland: True-life Adventures at Walt Disney World. Irvine, CA: Bonaventure, 2007. Print. </ref>.
Finally, on March 5, 19931983, the Journey Into Imagination attraction opened to the public <ref> https://d23.com/a-to-z/journey-into-imagination/ </ref>. At the attraction's opening, Kodak CEO Colby Chandler stated:
{{Quotation| We knew from the very beginning it would be a challenge to create a journey that would capture the imagination of everyone. But we also knew that if anyone could do it, Disney could...Epcot Center itself is a tribute to the reach of human imagination <ref> Sklar, Marty. Dream It! Do It!: My Half-century Creating Disney's Magic Kingdoms. Disney Editions, 2013. Print.
The original Journey Into Imagination was a dark rides which focused on human imagination.
After making their way through the queue, guests would board their ride vehicles. The vehicles were trains consisting of four cars. As the vehicles began to move, guests could hear a voice singing the attractions theme song, "One Little Spark". In the clouds to their left, the shadow of a flying contraption could be seen sucking up various objects. As the song continued, the clouds would part relieving revealing Dreamfinder as the pilot of the flying contraption known as the Dreamcatcher. Dreamfinder and guests would then fly together at the same speed as he introduced himself.:
{{Quotation| Oh, hello there. So glad you could come along. I am the Dreamfinder. Ah, ha, ha. Musical notes! What delightful melodies those will make. I love these flights of fancy. Searching the universe for sounds, colors, ideas, anything that sparks the imagination.}}
A figment of imagination!}}
Figment would then appear alongside Dreamfinder, telling him that (Figment) was perfect. Dreamfinder would respond that Figment still needed a "dash of childish delight". Dreamfinder would then show Figment the "guests" that had joined them. Together they discussed how everybody could use their imagination. As the Dreamfinder and Figment began to sing about various things, the objects of their imagination would appear. They would then begin to imagine all kinds of things. Dreamfinder imagined a stormy night, and lightning combined with ghostly shivers and a full moon.He then told Figment they could "turn them into a tale of fright!" (as menacing laughter could be was heard). Figment then imagined a rainbow, that he could color with. He then imaginedcontinued imagining:
{{Quotation| "Numbers, letters, papers for writing. Costumes, make-up, stages for lighting. Teardrops, laughter..."}}
{{Quotation| "Science! We'll need electron beams and crystal prisms, gyroscopes and magnetisms, holograms in three dimensions"}}
While he talked about science, projections of the equation E=MC², an atom and the elemental symbol CO2 appeared. While Figment was imagining science, Dreamfinder had to cut him off. On the flying machine, the world "full" lit up and Dreamfinder had to inform Figment that the bag could not hold any more ideas. He then told both Figment and the guests that, "We must store these ideas with the others in the Dreamport. ". When Figment asked how far away the Dreamport was, Dreamfinder told him that it was never far away, when they used their imagination.
Guests would then travel with Dreamfinder and Figment to the Dreamport. Here, they would see various objects, ideas, and thoughts covered with gears and cogs. The Dreamport was the place where Dreamfinder and Figment stored all of their ideas. At this point, guests could see Dreamfinder's bag, hooked up to a machine known as the Imaginometer. The Imaginometer, which sorted through the ideas, grouping them together. The groups that the Imaginometer sorted included: dreams, sights, words, sounds, colors and ideas. The machine also had a meter which read how full the Imaginometer machine was.To the left of the machinedevice, was gold container labeled, "Deep Thoughts". Guests could see inside the container, through a window. Inside the Dreamport guests would also see:
[[Image:imaginometer.jpg|400px|thumb|The Imaginometer which could be found in the middle of the Dreamport.]]
* A giant coffee pit pot pouring coffee right above guests guest's heads
* A chest labeled "Fog Bank"
* A box, which opened to reveal numerous clapping hands
* A neon sign which read "Neon"
* Molecular structures
* Bags which held the warm North wind Wind and the cold South windWind. They would blast guests when the ride vehicles went by.* Barrels with the word "laugh" written on them(get it- a barrel of laughs).
* A bird cage containing musical notes, sitting on perches.
* A File cabinet which was labeled "Buzzes", "Groans", "Barks", "Oohs" and "Aahs". Guests could also hear these noises.
* A bottle of Morning Miss perfume, which sprayed guests and made the room smell like fresh flowers.
After exiting the Dreamport, guests would enter the art Arts scene. Here, spouts poured "Sun Rays," "Molten Lava," and "Gem Stones", which Dreamfinder then used to would paint with. He then used his paintbrush (which changed colors depending on what he was painting) to create a river, flowers , and animals. In this scene, Dreamfinder would sing:
{{Quotation|"Mix red and gold<br>
A work of art"}}
As guests continued on, they could see various 3D animals and flowers. They , which were all colored white and appeared to made out of paper. The objects were lit with colorful lights, and serine music could be heard. Guests could see a large fish, lion, ostrich, unicorn and camel are rotating under a giant flower. In the art scene, guests could see Figment could also be seen, sitting at the base of a group of flowers wearing a beret and tie. He was painting the rainbow that he had mentioned earlier, while sitting next to a pot of gold
The scene then shifted to the "Tales of Terror" segment. As the clouds , which lined the top of the room , turned grey and angry, Dreamfinder could be seen playing a haunting tune on a volcano shaped, organ. The organ is also was unique, in that it has had a typewriter for a keyboard, instead of the standard musical keyboard. As Dreamfinder played, lava and smoke would erupt from the top of the volcano. The words smoke would then turn into words such as , "Horror," "Danger," and "Thrill". In this room, Dreamfinder sang:
[[Image:Onceuponatime.jpg|400px|thumb|The words "Once Upon a Time" led guests to a haunted castle.]]
{{Quotation|One chilling word<br>
A mystery story!<br>}}
At this point, the scene once again shifted, now showing a magical library. Here, books with names such as "Serpents", "Trolls", "Giants", "Leprechauns", "Knights", "Dragons", and "Eyes"could be found. The phrase "Once Upon a Time" could also be seen here, leading guests towards a castle. Lightning would then strike, as the word "lightning" appeared to guests. Figment could then be seen holding a flickering candle. The candle cast a shadow of the word "Shadow" onto an open book behind him. On guests left, they could read the word "Dungeon", as red eyes of monsters peered at them. Figment could then be seen hanging from chains on the ceiling, and holding a book entitled, "Nightmare". At this point, guests could hear a Raven cawing, and see it's its shadow on an open book. The book was actually Edgar Allen Poe's poem the Raven, with the page reading, ""Quoth the raven, nevermore.". A book reading titled vampires could then be seen along with a book titled, "Monsters" , which Figment was trying to keep closed.
As guests moved out of the scary literature scene, they entered a scene depicting the backstage of a theater. A large marquee reading, "World Premiere Performance" could be seen, along with three rotating signs which read words such as, "Dance", "Music", "Tears", "Laughter". On their left, guests could see Figment dressed in a tuxedo and standing in front of a make-up mirror. In his hand was a mask of Dreamfinder's face. A sign above him read, "A Brand New Show!". Dreamfinder (unseen) and Figment then began to sing again:
==Fun Facts and Trivia==
* In the scene where Figment sat with the blocks that spell out "CAT", other words could be found. One set of blocks spelled out "WED" for Walter Elias Disney (or WED Enterprises) and another spelled "TB" for Imagineer Tony Baxter <"ref name="intercot"/>.
* The laser show that the Dreamfinder conducts, was actually the test program that came with the laser equipment. Originally, the scene was to have featured Figment dancing and chasing a ballerina around the stage <ref name="intercot2">
==References==
