Imagination belongs to all of us!
Just a few posts ago, I called Horizons the thesis statement of Futureworld. It was the "what" and the "why" of EPCOT, sitting on the sharp-edged east side of the park, where the achievements of humankind were put on display.
If Horizons represented the mind of EPCOT, then Journey into Imagination was its heart. It was the "how" and the "who" of Futureworld, sitting on the curved west side, where the natural world and more fantastical concepts had homes. The two attractions served as a pair of strong pillars, holding up the entire concept of Futureworld's bright vision for how you were going to improve the future, a powerful balancing act of complimentary attractions. With all due respect to Horizons and its left-brained approach, though, Journey did it with spirit and soul; more in one show scene than most attractions could even hope for.
For his celebration of the capacity for the human imagination, Tony Baxter -- who contributed quite a bit to this list -- led a team in designing a tangible ride around the completely intangible concept of the creativity of the human mind. That feels maybe a little impossible, but they accomplished it by designing a series of layered, abstract show scenes that were positively enchanting, and focusing on the three main steps of the creative process: gathering ideas, experimenting with how to use them, and producing something from those ideas.
The ride was housed in probably EPCOT's second most iconic building (which is saying a lot). The Imagination Pavilion, with its giant, glass pyramids, enticing upside-down waterfall, and playful leaping fountains remains one of the most smile-inducing features of Futureworld. Entering took you to the lobby of one of the largest dark rides ever built, with colorful murals foreshadowing what you found inside.
The story of Journey featured a trip to the clouds, where you met Dreamfinder, some manner of whimsical fantasy steampunk explorer with a giant vacuum blimp he used to find and store new ideas. The ever-efficient omnimover carried guests into this literal dream world, and from the very start, it did something incredible.
As the name implies, an omnimover is always moving, but the first act of Journey into Imagination featured what was practically a theater show. In long form, you sat and watched as Dreamfinder piloted his blimp, told you what he was doing, collected new ideas, and introduced you to his sidekick: the purple dragon Figment. It was a long, memorable introduction to our characters and the setting, accomplished by having the show scene move with the ride system. It was so subtly accomplished it was easy to not even realize something genius was happening.
Dreamfinder then took you to the Dream Port, a nifty sci-fi station full of gags and designs to represent human imagination that felt like something from Yellow Submarine in its surreality, before unloading the inspirations he and Figment had found through scenes about art, literature, theater, film, and science.
The art sequence featured the world's largest polarized light mural and a gigantic fiber-optic paint brush, using color and lighting to simulate the creation of a giant painting. That opened up to an absolutely stunning forest of paper craft, with dancing colors around the stark white physical details. One of the most striking features was an origami carousel, which also provided the music for the scene.
As serene and peaceful as the art section was, literature followed up by being one of the scariest sections a Disney ride has ever created. A combination pipe organ/letter A/typewriter/volcano served as the signature set piece, an object so patently ridiculous to describe, it should be obvious how well this ride represented the idea of being in an imaginative dream state where things that do not blend together did so anyway. The words coming out of the volcano gave life to concepts, with an emphasis on horror and mystery. The word "avalanche" started crashing down above the vehicles, and a massive raven shadow cawed across the word "nevermore."
The ride being about abstract concepts makes describing it with words remarkably difficult. This wasn't a ride with thrills or mind blowing effects. Instead, it was a trip through detailed, immersive scenery that represented thoughts and ideas rather than real places. Thus, it is somewhat hard to explain what made it so great; it's an unfortunate case of "you had to have been there." The sites were just so charming and beautiful, brimming with endless special effects so there was always something captivating to look at. They needed to be seen in person to be felt. Some rides are like novels or movies, with a narrative and a story to tell; this one was more like a piece of art, there to be felt and enjoyed for what it represents visually alone.
To really make it a classic, it even had Sherman Brothers music. Their original tune, "One Little Spark," was practically the anthem for Futureworld, and has a legacy that has survived long beyond the ride. Joyful, infectious, and able to be rearranged for each of the ride's different settings, it belongs right next to "Great, Big, Beautiful Tomorrow," and "it's a small world" among the greatest hits of the two legendary brothers.
The experience didn't end after the ride, though; Journey featured -- without argument -- the single greatest post show in theme park history. After having their imaginations stoked, guests were funneled into The ImageWorks, a "creative technological playground of the future." There, inside the huge glass pyramids, they were encouraged to play with games and interactives, and get their creative juices flowing more. You would conduct an orchestra with your bare hands, paint pictures on a computer, and induce sound by touching pictures. It featured the world's largest pin point impression table, and -- most memorably -- a long, rainbow hallway where the colors followed you.
This ride was there to tell you how powerful, how important, and how accessible your imagination is. The colorful, detailed surrealism was enjoyable enough on its own, but the message was what made it so significant. Representing that was Figment, who -- along with Dreamfinder -- was Disney's first original character to come from a ride and not a different medium. With two tiny wings, and eyes big and yellow, Figment became EPCOT's beloved mascot, representing our inner child in a fun creature with a distinctive design. The finale of Journey featured Figment achieving a wide variety of dreams and goals to remind you that you can be whatever you want.
It's an indelible message that is no less important today than it was in the early 80s. Horizons was great because through hopeful optimism it told you the future would be awesome because you would do awesome things. Journey reminded you the limit was not just living in the future; there is no limit, your imagination can take you anywhere and help you do anything. Horizons was the thesis on EPCOT, but Journey was the thesis on human creativity far beyond that.
Those gorgeous sets, that catchy song, and that unbelievably positive message will live in my brain forever. To an entire generation of theme park goers, Dreamfinder, Figment, and their world served to remind us: everyone can create new things, because they can imagine too.
Thanks, Figment. You were one heck of a pal.
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