Mouse Extra

Today marks an anniversary that fills me, and many long time fans of Epcot, with nostalgia.  On this date in 1983 Journey into Imagination opened its doors for the first time to welcome Future World audiences at Epcot Center.  Now it is twenty six years later and the pavilion is only a shadow of what it once was.

Frequent readers of Mouse Extra already know that I am rarely a nostalgic guy when it comes to extinct attractions at Walt Disney World.  I usually applaud change and look forward to something new from the Imagineers.  But this attraction is different for me.  Not because I am a purist, which I am not by any definition, but because WDI has never been able produce a version of Journey into Imagination that even comes close to how good it was in 1983.

Don’t get me wrong, the original Journey into Imagination was by no means a perfect attraction.  And I certainly remember that only a few years after it opened it was the ride in that side of Future World that usually had little or no wait to get on.  My family and I went there often only to get out of the sun and have a nice air-conditioned few minutes in a seat.  But regardless of those shortcomings, it was always able to entertain and that song would stick in your head all day.  Now, Disney has removed many of the pavilion’s great features and turned the ride into something barely worth the few minutes of air-conditioned rest.  After two attempts they still do not have a story, or even a song, that comes near the entertainment value it once had.

It is hard for me to believe that the attraction’s sponsor, Kodak, is happy with this pavilion as it currently stands.  As a marketing engine I don’t see what it really produces for them.  The ride is often empty, and most people don’t even seem to hang around the post-show area much either.  In the early days this entire pavilion was an imagination playground with so many things to see and discover.  Now it is a disappointing way to cool down and quickly move along to something more interesting.  If you go in the winter when heat isn’t an issue, it can just be skipped over without ever missing it.   That’s a sad thing to say for a beautiful Epcot pavilion.

I am not calling for a return to the original ride, though I know many readers would be thrilled with such a result, but it is time to give this one another try.  Hopefully the third time will be the charm.