===The Original Journey Into Imagination Attraction (1983-1998)===
The basic idea for the What would one day be known as Journey Into Imagination attraction came , began as an idea from Disney Imagineer, Tony Baxter. The idea Baxter was tasked with working on an attraction for the character figment came to him while watching an episode of the television series Magnum P.I. In the episode Magnum had hidden a goat in HigginsEPCOT Center' yards Kodak Pavilion, and with the goat had predictably tore the garden up. When Higgins suggested only request being that a goat was ruining his yard. Magnum replied they wanted something that it was all just a figment of his imagination, to which Higgins countered would be "Figments don't eat grass!very imaginative". This lineBased on this request, gave Tony Baxter came up with the idea to create of a character "that everyone knows about and has never been visualizedDream Catcher (as it is unofficially called); a machine which traveled through space collecting sparks of imagination.
Figment was first sketched by Disney artist Steve Kirk who turned in a rough drawing of Piloting the characters. Imagineer X Atencio then slightly altered the drawing toDream Catcher, "make the character lovablewould be Dreamfinder, in a way that kids could relate to"whimsical inventor who collected and reused imagination. The Dreamfinder, Figments creator character actually began as the host of an unbuilt attraction called the Gallery of Illusion. This attraction was designed after Imagineer Joe Rhode, who would later to be lead designer built in the never constructed Discovery Bay expansion of Disney's Animal Kingdom. The Dreamfinder's voice Disneyland, and it was performed by actors Chuck McCann and Ron Schneider. Finding a voice for Figment proved to be much more difficult howeverhosted by an investor named Professor Marvel. Disney had menIn one of the scenes in this attraction, womenProfessor Marvel showed how he domesticated dragons, boys and girls all try out for the role, but no voice was deemed suitableeven holding a baby one. EventuallyWhen work began on Journey Into Imagination, they found Figment's voice in veteran voice actor Billy BartyCaptain Marvel became the inspiration for Dreamfinder, who was perfect with Joe Rhode serving as the model for the rolecharacter.
It took Disney nearly six months to come up with an idea The second character created for the Journey Into Imagination attraction, was a purple, childlike dragon named Figment. To help them with their understanding Figment’s creation began when Tony Baxter was watching an episode of imaginationMagnum P.I. In the episode, Disney brought Magnum had hidden a goat in various scientist Higgins’ yard, and artists. Eventually they came to the conclusion goad had predictably torn up the vegetation. When Higgins suggested that while every bodies imagination a goat was differentruining his yard, how people get their Magnum replied that it was all just a figment of his imagination is . Higgins’ response that “Figments don’t eat grass!” gave Baxter the sameinspiration for his new character, named Figment. Tony Baxter said: would later explain that Figment was a character that everyone knows about and has never been visualized.
Taking some inspiration from the Gallery of Illusion attraction, Figment was initially sketched by Disney artist Steve Kirk who turned in a rough drawing of the character. Imagineer X Atencio then slightly altered the drawing to, "make the character lovable, in a way that kids could relate to". 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) 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. Eventually, they found Figment's voice in veteran voice actor Billy Barty, who was deemed perfect for the role. When talking about the role of Figment, Tony Baxter said:
{{Quotation| "The story needed to describe the complex process in an engaging, interactive way without seeming like a lecture. A persona was needed to give the process personality, but having a human character seemed too selective. A friendly imaginary being that could delight in the wonders of imagination would be more inclusive."}}
Journey Into Imagination With Figment finally opened as simply their characters in place, it took Disney nearly six months to come up with an idea for the Journey Into Imagination on March 5attraction. To help them with their understanding of imagination, 1983Disney brought in various scientist and artists. Although Eventually they came to the Kodak sponsored pavilion conclusion that housed the attraction had been open since Epcot's opening day, the pavilion remained nameless until Journey Into Imagination gave it it's namesake. The original attraction while everybody’s imagination was a dark ridedifferent, which helped guests explore how people get their imagination. The ride was hosted by is the popular characters Dreamfinder and Figmentsame. 71 different special effects were created for the original Journey Into ImaginationThus they decided to focus on how we gather, more then tall of the effects created for the opening of the Magic Kingdom. The ride remained essentially the same from 1983 until 1998store and recombine ideas.
Despite originally scheduled as an opening day attraction, Journey Into Imagination opened on March 5, 1983, five months after EPCOT Center’s opening day. Although the rest of the pavilion opened with the rest of EPCOT Center, technical issues with Journey Into Imagination’s turntable, loading and unloading mechanisms caused the attraction to be delayed. According to Tony Baxter:
{{Quotation| “ “ready to go, everything was running and they made the call that the show was not perfected enough to guarantee the reliability they wanted,” |Tony Baxter}}
After opening, Journey Into Imagination remained essentially the same until 1998, when it was closed for refurbishment.
[[Image:Dreamfindermodel.jpg|thumb|The original model of the Dreamfinder.]]