Dreamfinder is Returning to EPCOT’s Journey Into Imagination

Dreamfinder is reuniting with Figment at EPCOT.  

The announcement at D23 heavily implied a long-awaited refurbishment for the Journey Into Imagination with Figment attraction, but included no other details, including timeline or scope of the project. 

“We are taking a new journey into imagination at EPCOT with Dreamfinder and Figment!” Disney Experiences Chairman Thomas Mazloum told the cheering crowd. “I’m so happy to share this news tonight. We know how important this is to you. We’ve heard you, and this is one more way we’re putting you in the center of everything we do.” (Over on the Disney Parks Blog, we noted that “journey into imagination” is conspicuously lower-cased.)

Speculation that this announcement was coming reached a fever pitch this week when actor Neil Patrick Harris appeared alongside Disney Experiences executives in promo content. This fueled online rumors that Harris might be cast as a live-action, modernized iteration of the Dreamfinder for a brand-new trackless version of the ride. No such details were announced, but that only means the speculation will continue. 

The refresh is long overdue. The current version of the ride has been operating for more than 24 years, and it has been a flashpoint for criticism for its entire run. 

The original ride operated from 1983–1998, and it was a sprawling, 13-minute celebration of universal creativity. Designed by Disney Legend Tony Baxter, Journey Into Imagination introduced Dreamfinder, an eccentric, bearded inventor piloting a blimp-like “Dream Mobile,” and his sidekick Figment, a small purple dragon created from a literal figment of imagination.

The ride featured a 75-foot rotating turntable sequence that allowed guests to spend several minutes alongside Dreamfinder as he sang “One Little Spark” and collected ideas like night terrors, musical notes, and colors. From there, the ride explored a range of creative culture—art, literature, performing arts, and science. It ended with the first use of on-ride photography at Disney World. 

The first retheming of the ride, which opened in 1999, provoked such a backlash that Disney pulled the plug after 2 years. This version of the ride shelved Dreamfinder and replaced him with a tie-in to the nearby Honey, I Shrunk the Audience attraction. In addition to reducing Figment to blink-and-you’ll-miss-him video cameos, the ride’s track was cut nearly in half.

Disney then rushed a second overhaul of the ride. While they kept the  “Imagination Institute” lab aesthetic and Dr. Nigel Channing (played by Eric Idle), they brought back Figment as a heavy presence in every scene, reintroduced “One Little Spark,” and shifted the plot to feature Figment.

In the years—decades—since, Figment has become an ever-more-popular park mascot. Peak Figment may have come in 2022, when Disney released the first Figment popcorn bucket at the Festival of the Arts and some fans waited 6 or 7 hours to buy one.    

And fans have never forgotten Dreamfinder. In 2014, Disney teamed up with Marvel for a 5-issue comic book series that detailed  how the eccentric inventor and his dragon companion met. A follow-up series brought the characters into the 21st century for a new adventure.

All of this has made the future of this ride a constant topic of speculation among fans, reaching a fever pitch in the days before this year’s D23 Expo.

Now that a refurbishment has been announced, fans can start to speculate about how long the ride will be down, and what it will look like when it finally returns.