25 years ago, Disney destroyed this classic Epcot attraction with a terrible makeover

The disaster of Journey Into YOUR Imagination

When the attraction closed on October 10, 1998, there was the usual sadness and complaints but fans were eager to see what could come next. They expected the same storyline just with updated effects and a great showcase of Figment. What they got was not that.

Opening on October 1, 1999, as part of the big “Millenium Celebration” of the time, the new ride transformed the pavilion into the Imagination Institute with British comic Eric Idle reprising his Honey, I Shrunk the Audience role as Dr. Nigel Channing. So we already lost Dreamfinder, a major blow against this makeover. 

The ride had guests scanned to show they had “no imagination” and sent through rooms to find it. There was one of pure darkness with sounds, another showing optical illusions like a butterfly vanishing and appearing, an upside-down house, and more. The only notable part was the ending as the trams stopped in a dark room that lit up to show they were in the exit area. Oh, and because of budget, the ride track was almost half the time of the original ride.

The key problem is that the pavilion was trying to do a scientific approach to imagination, which makes no real sense. The original pavilion showed that imagination is free-flowing, hitting all kinds of genres and limitless. The new version was more about the senses and dryly reciting facts, no music, no whimsey, no fun at all. As trite as it may be to say, a pavilion dedicated to Imagination suddenly had none.

This went beyond merely disappointing to guests. It was a full-fledged massive backlash, word soon out that Imagination had gone from must-ride to “Avoid at all costs.” Attendance plummeted as by early 2000, the ride wasn't even a walk-on, it was barely anyone going on it. Even the Imagineers would admit their mistake and worked fast to change it.