Scott Hanko
Imagination Pavilion
While the pavilion itself has technically existed since 1982, it has so far gone through three significant phases. The original started out as an area in which the 3-D film Magic Journeys was played with a song by the same name by the Sherman Brothers. The Makin' Memories slide presentation, a history of photography was the pre-show presentation. When Journey Into Imagination opened a year later, the area was dubbed The Journey Into Imagination Pavilion. From 1983 to 1986 it held Journey Into Imagination, the (upstairs) ImageWorks, and Magic Journeys. In 1986, however, Magic Journeys was replaced by Captain EO, a more advanced 3-D film created by George Lucas and starring Michael Jackson as the title character. In 1994, Captain EO was replaced by Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, starring Rick Moranis as Professor Wayne Szalinski and Eric Idle as the Imagination Institute chairman, Dr. Nigel Channing. The pavilion was renamed Imagination! in 1999, (when the new ride opened) after the alternative title of the Dreamfinder's song. The actual name of the song however, is "One Little Spark" (which was also a Sherman Brothers creation) and is the Imagineers unofficial theme song, although some believe the title to be the former.
In 1997, Fujifilm, (Kodak's biggest rival at the time) came to Disney with an offer: make Journey into Imagination into a thrill ride that had nothing to do with imagination. Kodak's sponsorship contract was almost up, and Fujifilm knew that when the contract ran out, Disney would need someone to sponsor the building. Kodak, however, wished to stay with Disney and continue the contract. Kodak realized that in order to compete with Fujifilm, they too must come up with a new attraction to go into the building. Their proposal was to make Journey Into Imagination, already an E-Ticket attraction, into something more scientific. The ride would also be shorter and have cheaper special effects. At the time, Journey Into Imagination was the most expensive ride in Epcot to keep running, despite the fact that it got more visitors in a day than Epcot's flagship ride Spaceship Earth. The guests made it all worthwhile for Disney to keep it running, but Disney still wasn't satisfied with it. It was the most technologically advanced dark ride in history. A roller coaster would mean much more money to build and keep running, and they feared it wouldn't be nearly as popular as Journey Into Imagination. Therefore, by the end of 1997, Disney accepted Kodak's idea.
In 1998, the original Journey Into Imagination went down for a rehab. During this rehab, the upstairs ImageWorks was closed and the building's white and blue painting exterior was replaced with different colors, navy blue being primary. The original glass sign was replaced by one made of wood and metal. The leap frog fountains were reduced in size to accommodate the new gift shop at the exit of the new Journey Into Imagination. Despite the fact that the pavilion already had a gift shop right next to the 3-D film playing at the time, Disney felt that this one would be more successful. The glass pyramids remained intact, although the upstairs ImageWorks was closed, to be replaced by the downstairs ImageWorks.
The attraction opened in 1999, in time for the Millennium Celebration. Fans were upset that Dreamfinder, a popular character from the previous ride, was gone. Furthermore, Figment, another popular character, only made cameo appearances until his short dialogue at the end of the ride. They felt that Disney tried too hard to theme the attraction as The Imagination Institute and the ride was designed to be a poor tie-in with Honey, I Shrunk The Audience. In addition, for some fans, the downstairs Imageworks appeared to be little more than an advertisement for Kodak.
Fans of the original attraction took action and boycotted the new ride and Kodak products. This campaign proved to be successful, especially with additional pressure from Kodak. By the end of 2001, Disney closed the ride and modified the attraction, bringing Figment back into a more prominent role, although the Dreamfinder remained absent.
In the summer of 2006, the finale of a Kim Possible interactive activity was set up temporarily in the upstairs ImageWorks as a test, themed as Dr. Drakken's base, with a station in World Showcase loaning out "Kimunicators" for interactive activities
Imagination Pavilion
Walt Disney World Epcot Orlando Fl
Imagination Pavilion
While the pavilion itself has technically existed since 1982, it has so far gone through three significant phases. The original started out as an area in which the 3-D film Magic Journeys was played with a song by the same name by the Sherman Brothers. The Makin' Memories slide presentation, a history of photography was the pre-show presentation. When Journey Into Imagination opened a year later, the area was dubbed The Journey Into Imagination Pavilion. From 1983 to 1986 it held Journey Into Imagination, the (upstairs) ImageWorks, and Magic Journeys. In 1986, however, Magic Journeys was replaced by Captain EO, a more advanced 3-D film created by George Lucas and starring Michael Jackson as the title character. In 1994, Captain EO was replaced by Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, starring Rick Moranis as Professor Wayne Szalinski and Eric Idle as the Imagination Institute chairman, Dr. Nigel Channing. The pavilion was renamed Imagination! in 1999, (when the new ride opened) after the alternative title of the Dreamfinder's song. The actual name of the song however, is "One Little Spark" (which was also a Sherman Brothers creation) and is the Imagineers unofficial theme song, although some believe the title to be the former.
In 1997, Fujifilm, (Kodak's biggest rival at the time) came to Disney with an offer: make Journey into Imagination into a thrill ride that had nothing to do with imagination. Kodak's sponsorship contract was almost up, and Fujifilm knew that when the contract ran out, Disney would need someone to sponsor the building. Kodak, however, wished to stay with Disney and continue the contract. Kodak realized that in order to compete with Fujifilm, they too must come up with a new attraction to go into the building. Their proposal was to make Journey Into Imagination, already an E-Ticket attraction, into something more scientific. The ride would also be shorter and have cheaper special effects. At the time, Journey Into Imagination was the most expensive ride in Epcot to keep running, despite the fact that it got more visitors in a day than Epcot's flagship ride Spaceship Earth. The guests made it all worthwhile for Disney to keep it running, but Disney still wasn't satisfied with it. It was the most technologically advanced dark ride in history. A roller coaster would mean much more money to build and keep running, and they feared it wouldn't be nearly as popular as Journey Into Imagination. Therefore, by the end of 1997, Disney accepted Kodak's idea.
In 1998, the original Journey Into Imagination went down for a rehab. During this rehab, the upstairs ImageWorks was closed and the building's white and blue painting exterior was replaced with different colors, navy blue being primary. The original glass sign was replaced by one made of wood and metal. The leap frog fountains were reduced in size to accommodate the new gift shop at the exit of the new Journey Into Imagination. Despite the fact that the pavilion already had a gift shop right next to the 3-D film playing at the time, Disney felt that this one would be more successful. The glass pyramids remained intact, although the upstairs ImageWorks was closed, to be replaced by the downstairs ImageWorks.
The attraction opened in 1999, in time for the Millennium Celebration. Fans were upset that Dreamfinder, a popular character from the previous ride, was gone. Furthermore, Figment, another popular character, only made cameo appearances until his short dialogue at the end of the ride. They felt that Disney tried too hard to theme the attraction as The Imagination Institute and the ride was designed to be a poor tie-in with Honey, I Shrunk The Audience. In addition, for some fans, the downstairs Imageworks appeared to be little more than an advertisement for Kodak.
Fans of the original attraction took action and boycotted the new ride and Kodak products. This campaign proved to be successful, especially with additional pressure from Kodak. By the end of 2001, Disney closed the ride and modified the attraction, bringing Figment back into a more prominent role, although the Dreamfinder remained absent.
In the summer of 2006, the finale of a Kim Possible interactive activity was set up temporarily in the upstairs ImageWorks as a test, themed as Dr. Drakken's base, with a station in World Showcase loaning out "Kimunicators" for interactive activities
Imagination Pavilion
Walt Disney World Epcot Orlando Fl