Journey Into Imagination

**Journey Into Imagination** is an attraction from Walt Disney World's Epcot.

## Backstory

Journey Into Imagination had guests go on a tour through the Realms of Imagination hosted by the jolly inventor known as the Dreamfinder and his creation Figment, an animate figment of imagination.

## Summary

Guests entered this attraction throughout the *Imagination! Pavilion* of EPCOT, the *Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow*. Inside they would board vehicles that set out for the Realms of Imagination where they met the Dreamfinder, riding atop an arcane-punk flying machine. After introducing himself he explained his science of collecting, "Sparks" of imagination for his science and then summoned his creation of Figment.

Following this, guests following the pair of characters throughout the Realms of Imagination and its five realms: the Realm of Art, Realm of Literature, Realm of Theatre, Realm of Science, and Realm of Film.

## Spin-offs

### Attractions

#### *ImageWorks - The "What If" Labs*

This post-show area for *Journey Into Your Imagination with Figment*, guests explore the labs of the Imagination Institute and can experiment with their technology and sciences.

#### Journey Into Your Imagination

In this largely disdained replacement, guests were taken on a tour of the Imagination! Pavilion's labs, operated by the Imagination Institute. The tour was lead by institute chairman Dr. Nigel Channing where he harassed and demeaned guests for having no imagination until after lecturing them in sterile rooms for approximately six minutes he decreed them as having imaginations thanks to his lecturing skills. Dreamfinder was completely absentee in this version of the attraction and Figment only made a blink-and-miss-it cameo.

#### Journey Into Your Imagination with Figment

In this replacement to *Journey Into Your Imagination*, Channing attempts to do his tour of the institute only to be tormented and terrorized by Figment. While in the original *Journey Into Imagination* Figment was portrayed as something of a wide-eyed innocent child, here he is a mischievous trickster who causes chaos for the institute and Channing. The queue for this attraction also contains allusions to different members of the Institute and their inventions. Dreamfinder was still absentee in this version of the attraction though referenced with a lab belonging to one, "Dean Finder".

### Printed materials

#### Disney Kingdoms

Journey Into Imagination and its spin-off attractions were the basis for two stories within the shared continuity Disney Kingdoms comics.

##### Figment

This comic was an origin story for the Dreamfinder and Figment. In it, Dreamfinder appears under the name of Prof. Blarion "Blaire" Mercurial which show him as having been a young victorian scientist at the *Academy Scientifica-Lucida* (a reimagining of the Imagination Institute). While trying to develop a spark-converter which would create electricity from brain-waves he accidentally created a portal to the realms of imagination. The story revolves around this young Dreamfinder and Figment journeying through the psionic realm and saving it from controlling villains.

##### Figment 2

In Figment 2 they would come from the realm to modern day at the academy's base in the jungles of Florida (the Imagination! Institute). After failing to properly study the giant monolith of Spaceship Earth, Dreamfinder would transform into his villainous counterpart The Doubtfinder with Figment needing to team up with his descendent to save him and the academy.

## Connections

### Discovery Bay

The Dreamfinder and Figment were originally conceived by Tony Baxter to appear in Discovery Bay with Dreamfinder under the name of, "Prof. Marvel" (a name likely taken from the 1939 film adaptation for *The Wizard of Oz*). He would have been a professor working under Jason Chandler in Discovery Bay and he would have had two affiliated attractions. Firstly he would have had, " *Professor Marvel**'**s Gallery of Illusion*" in which he and his pet dragon would highlight different illusions to guests and secondly there would have been the skyway inspired, "*Professor Marvel's Balloon Descent*" where guests would ride artificial hot-air balloons from Discovery Bay to a proposed Dumbo's Circus area in Fantasyland.

### Disney Springs

An advertisement for the, "Dreamport" can be found along the Christmas Tree Trail of Disney Springs, advertising access to it via the Rainbow Corridor.

### Skipper Canteen

Dreamfinder makes a cameo in the audio-loop for the *Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen*. In the background of the restaurant (set c. 1938), the Dreamfinder can be heard asking cast-members where he can park his Dream Machine.

### Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: BREAKOUT!

Figment makes a cameo in the queue for this attraction set within the Collector's Fortress of intergalactic artifacts. One of his containers hanging from the ceiling can be seen holding Figment within it. The technology holding Figment is inferred to come from *X-S Tech*, the evil alien corporation from the defunct Tomorrowland attraction ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter.

### Films

Many of the members and affiliates of the Institute come from science-fiction oriented comedy films made by Disney. These films including: *Honey I Shrink the Kids*, *The Absent Minded Professor, Flubber*, and *The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes.* Many of these pertain to Medfield College, an affiliate of the Imagination Institute.

## References

1. ↑ https://allears.net/2019/11/09/check-out-the-2019-christmas-tree-trail-posters/